A quick detour
I have something to confess. As much as I seem to be posting more, as much as I’m finding a few blinders while working through this monster list, I do have moments where living in 1970 can be a bit… well, tiring.
There’s only so much boomer music you can listen to before you get a bit bored.
So it was a nice surprise this morning when I saw a summary of the 50 best albums of THIS decade in The Independent. It’s a damn fine list, even if it has a few odd omissions – Jack White? Royal Blood? Idles? Hookworms? LCD Soundsystem?
John Hopkins? Young Fathers? Chvrches? Songhoy Blues? Taylor Swift’s “1989” (and the fun Ryan Adams cover)?
FKA Twigs? Seriously?
(OK I’ll stop now)
Anyway, here’s the list:
- 50. Nils Rahm – Spaces (2013)
- 49. Bill Callahan – Dream River (2013)
- 48. Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino (2018)
- 47. Richard Dawson – Nothing Important (2014)
- 46. Julia Holter – Have you in My Wilderness? (2015)
- 45. Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time (2013)
- 44. Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls (2012)
- 43. Stormzy – Gang Signs and Prayer (2017)
- 42. Todd Terje – It’s Album Time (2014)
- 41. Big Thief – Two Hands (2019)
- 40. Christine and the Queens – Chaleur Humaine (2014)
- 39. James Blake – James Blake (2011)
- 38. Skepta – Konnichiwa (2016)
- 37. Bon Iver – Bon Iver (2011)
- 36. And Brun – When I’m Free (2015)
- 35. Jamie xx – In Colour (2015)
- 34. Mitski – Be the Cowboy (2018)
- 33. Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour (2018)
- 32. Björk – Vulnicura (2015)
- 31. Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability (2018)
- 30. These New Puritans – Field of Reeds (2013)
- 29. Ahohni – Hopelessness (2016)
- 28. Joanna Newsom – Have One on Me (2010)
- 27. Fatoumata Diawara – Fatou (2011)
- 26. Arca – Arca (2017)
- 25. David Bowie – Blackstar (2016)
- 24. Adele – 21 (2011)
- 23. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories (2013)
- 22. Lana Del Rey – Norman F***ing Rockwell (2019)
- 21. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell (2015)
- 20. Rihanna – ANTI (2016)
- 19. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (2010)
- 18. St Vincent – Strange Mercy (2011)
- 17. Nick Cave – Ghosteen (2019)
- 16. Taylor Swift – Red (2012)
- 15. Frank Ocean – Blond (2016)
- 14. Leonard Cohen – You Want it Darker (2016)
- 13. Solange – When I get Home (2019)
- 12. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (2011)
- 11. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2018)
- 10. Robyn – Body Talk (2010)
- 9. A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
- 8. Lorde – Melodrama (2017)
- 7. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN (2017)
- 6. D’Angelo – Black Messiah (2014)
- 5. Beyoncé – Lemonade (2016)
- 4. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange (2012)
- 3. Lana Del Rey – Born to Die (2012)
- 2. Solange – A Seat at the Table (2016)
- 1. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
Now, a few of these will show up in the 1001 Albums list (11 in fact), but I might take a few moments as I work through this to listen to the others over the next few weeks.
I’ve already spent this morning listening to the A Tribe Called Quest album, and the Ahohni one as well, both of which I liked. So there’s plenty more to discover…