Best Albums of 2010s

This is a running list of the greatest albums of this decade. The list is made from a mixture of my personal taste and recognizing what albums and artists keep garnering the most praise and attention from music critics and experts. These are listed chronologically and will not be ranked until the decade is over.

Currently, there are 223 albums on this list.

2010

January

• Vampire Weekend – Contra 
• Beach House – Teen Dream 
• Four Tet – There Is Love in You

February

• Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me 

March

• Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) 
• Earl Sweatshirt – Earl 
• Titus Andronicus – The Monitor 

April

• Caribou – Swim 
• Crystal Castles – (II) 

May

• Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma 
• The National – High Violet 
• Sleigh Bells – Treats 
• LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening 
• Janelle Monáe – The ArchAndroid 
• Tame Impala – Innerspeaker 

June

• Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
• Emeralds – Does It Look Like I’m Here?
• Actress – Splazsh 

July

• Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
• The-Dream – Love King 

August

• Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

September

• Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
• How to Dress Well – Love Remains 
• No Age – Everything in Between

October

• Waka Flocka Flame – Flockaveli

November

• Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
• Robyn – Body Talk 

2011

January

• Destroyer – Kaputt

February

• James Blake – James Blake
• PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
• Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise
• Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 
• Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place
• Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra

March

• Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo
• The Weeknd – House of Balloons

April

• Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape
• Bill Callahan – Apocalypse
• tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l

May

• Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
• Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
• EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

June

• Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
• The Caretaker – An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
• Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver 
• Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
• Beyoncé – 4

July

• John Maus – We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
• Kendrick Lamar – Section.80

August

• Jay-Z / Kanye West – Watch the Throne 
• Danny Brown – XXX

September

• Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
• St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

October

• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
• Real Estate – Days
• Rustie – Glass Swords

November

• A$AP Rocky – LIVELOVEA$AP
• Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica
• Drake – Take Care

2012

January

• Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
• Schoolboy Q – Habits & Contradictions
• Grimes – Visions

February

• Burial – Kindred
• John Talabot – Fin

March

• Julia Holter – Ekstasis

April

• Chromatics – Kill for Love
• Death Grips – The Money Store
• Future – Pluto

May

• Beach House – Bloom
• Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
• Japandroids – Celebration Rock

June

• Hot Chip – In Our Heads
• Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel Is Wiser…
• Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse

July

• Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
• Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
• Purity Ring – Shrines

August

• Jessie Ware – Devotion
• Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes
• Swans – The Seer

September

• Grizzly Bear – Shields

October

• Miguel – Kaleidoscope Dream
• Tame Impala – Lonerism
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
• Bat for Lashes – The Haunted Man
• Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d. city
• Andy Stott – Luxury Problems
• Mac DeMarco – 2

December

• Chief Keef – Finally Rich

2013

February

• My Bloody Valentine – m b v

March

• Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt

April

• The Knife – Shaking the Habitual
• James Blake – Overgrown
• Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Daze
• Jai Paul – Jai Paul

May

• Savages – Silence Yourself
• Chance the Rapper – Acid Rap
• Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City
• Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
• Majical Cloudz – Impersonator

June

• Disclosure – Settle
• Deafheaven – Sunbather
• Kanye West – Yeezus
• Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels

August

• Earl Sweatshirt – Doris

September

• Janelle Monáe – The Electric Lady
• Bill Callahan – Dream River
• Drake – Nothing Was the Same
• HAIM – Days Are Gone
• Lorde – Pure Heroine

October

• Danny Brown – Old
• Darkside – Psychic
• DJ Rashad – Double Cup
• Arcade Fire – Reflektor
• Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time

November

• Blood Orange – Cupid Deluxe

December

• Burial – Rival Dealer
• Beyoncé – Beyoncé

2014

February

• Sun Kil Moon – Benji
• Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire for No Witness
• St. Vincent – St. Vincent

March

• Real Estate – Atlas
• The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
• Future Islands – Singles

April

• Mac DeMarco – Salad Days
• Todd Terje – It’s Album Time

May

• Swans – To Be Kind
• Sharon Van Etten – Are We There

August

• Spoon – They Want My Soul
• FKA Twigs – LP1

September

• Aphex Twin – Syro
• Perfume Genius – Too Bright

October

• Flying Lotus – You’re Dead
• Caribou – Our Love
• Vince Staples – Hell Can Wait
• Grouper – Ruins
• Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2
• Taylor Swift – 1989

November

• Arca – Xen
• Ariel Pink – Pom Pom

December

• D’Angelo – Black Messiah

2015

January

• Panda Bear – Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
• Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love
• Björk – Vulnicura
• Rae Sremmurd – SremmLife

February

• Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
• Drake – If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late

March

• Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Bitterfly
• Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
• Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside
• Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell

April

• Young Thug – Barter 6

May

• Kamasi Washington – The Epic
• Jamie xx – In Colour
• Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment – Surf

June

• Thundercat – The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam
• Vince Staples – Summertime ’06
• Miguel – Wildheart

July

• Tame Impala – Currents
• Future – Dirty Sprite 2

August

• FKA Twigs – M3LL155X
• Carly Rae Jepsen – EMOTION

September

• Julia Holter – Have You in My Wilderness
• Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down

October

• Deafheaven – New Bermuda
• Kelela – Hallucinogen
• Joanna Newsom – Divers

November

• Floating Points – Elaenia
• Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete
• Grimes – Art Angels

December

• Archy Marshall – A New Place 2 Drown

2016

January

• David Bowie – Blackstar
• Anderson Paak – Malibu
• Rihanna – ANTI

February

• Kanye West – The Life of Pablo

March

• Kendrick Lamar – untitled unmastered

April

• Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – EARS
• Beyoncé – Lemonade

May

• ANOHNI – HOPELESSNESS
• Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
• Kaytranada – 99.9%
• Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book
• Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial

June

• YG – Still Brazy
• Mitski – Puberty 2
• Blood Orange – Freetown Sound

August

• Noname – Telefone
• Frank Ocean – Blonde
• Young Thug – JEFFEREY

September

• Angel Olsen – My Woman
• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree
• Nicolas Jaar – Sirens
• Bon Iver – 22, A Million
• Solange – A Seat at the Table
• Jenny Hval – Blood Bitch
• Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition

October

• Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker

November

• A Tribe Called Quest – We got it from Here…Thank You 4 Your service

December

• Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3

2017

January

• Migos – Culture

February

• Sampha – Process
• Thundercat – Drunk

March

• Mount Eerie – A Crow Looked At Me

April

• Arca – Arca
• Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.

May

• Perfume Genius – No Shape
• Slowdive – Slowdive
• Jlin – Black Origami

June

• Big Thief – Capacity
• SZA – CTRL
• Lorde – Melodrama
• Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory
• Jay-Z – 4:44

July

• Tyler, the Creator – Flower Boy

August

• The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding

September

• LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
• Moses Sumney – Aromanticism
• Kamasi Washington – Harmony of Difference

October

• Kelela – Take Me Apart
• King Krule – The OOZ
• Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights
• Fever Ray – Plunge

November

• Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest
• Björk – Utopia