Top 30 Albums of the Decade

Some people say the time for the Album is slowly coming to an end... well that sounds like my nightmare.

A song can only say so much, but packaging 10 to 15 songs into one piece, with accompanying notes and artwork can tell an entire story. There is nothing like listening to an album from start to finish, the way that an artist intended it - and if you do, you'll find it often tells a story. You listen to Fleetwood Mac's Rumors and can hear the story of everything they went through in the process of breaking up as a band. You listen to Beyonce's Lemonade and you hear the story of her marriage and how she and Jay-Z handled infidelity and a lack of trust.

In the pop world, Albums also signify different musical eras in an artist's life. In 2019 it's the easiest it has ever been for an artist to flit from genre to genre - and artists are taking advantage of it! I will always remember Joanne as Lady Gaga's stripped-down singer-songwriter era, just as I will always think of ARTPOP as her party hard, techno-pop era. Regardless of the style, an album adds so much context to an artist's life and what they are going through.

Similar to my list of top 50 songs of the decade, this list will consist mostly of Pop music, with a few exceptions. I hope you enjoy!

30. Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die

Panic! At The Disco (2013)

Before this album, most of Panic! At the Disco had dissolved leaving Brendon Urie to front a project for the first time. What resulted was an autobiographical and extremely eclectic alternative rock album that explored new genres and a generally more fun sound. I believe this to be Brendon's best work to date.

Standout Track: This Is Gospel

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2

29. MASSEDUCTION

St. Vincent (2018)

This album is concise, complex, weird, sexy, fun, sad... It's everything you could want on an album and more. Annie Clark will go down as a musical genius one day, and MASSEDUCTION is just one example of her immense talent.

Standout Track: Slow Disco

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #10

Grammy Nominations: Best Alternative Music Album

28. Dirty Computer

Janelle Monáe (2018)

On an album that fully celebrates self-love, queerness, and female power, Janelle Monáe delivers a soundscape that is somehow futuristic, yet till feels like it's meant to be played at a live rock show. The hooks are vibrant, and Janelle has never sounded better.

Standout Track: Make Me Feel

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #6

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year

27. The Heist

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (2012)

I used to renounce the hip-hop genre entirely at the start of this decade... I always viewed it as a homophobic genre (and maybe a lot of it was). Then I heard "Same Love" and was immediately interested in what Macklemore had to say. Since then I have expanded my interest in the genre but it all started with The Heist. Every song is a winner!

Standout Track: Wings

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year

Grammy Wins: Best Rap Album

26. Queen of the Clouds

Tove Lo (2014)

This album is a synth pop marvel with lyrics that subvert what one expects from a pop record. Split into three parts (Sex, Love, Pain) Tove tells a story with the unique production and raw emotions she exudes.

Standout Track: Timebomb

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #14

25. Cuz I Love You

Lizzo (2019)

Lizzo shines on her debut album proving that she has the heart and energy to be a star. What sets this album aside from other offerings this decade is just how positive it is. Full of self love anthems sprinkled over a wide variety of subgenres (pop, hip-hop, soul, r&b, rap - she does it all here) this is an artist with something to say... and she says it in no uncertain terms.

Standout Track: Jerome

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #4

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Urban Contemporary Album

24. Rainbow

Kesha (2017)

Rainbow is a bit of a left turn for Kesha (now sans dollar sign) who had previously leaned into radio-friendly sing-talk pop music that was always very "of the time." On this album, she goes for a whole new vibe exploring more of a singer-songwriter style with pop and rock thrown in there too. After being restricted from releasing music for over 5 years, Kesha showed restraint and vulnerability all while making an empowering feminist record in the midst of a trying court hearing... it's truly a marvel.

Standout Track: Prayin

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album

23. The Human Condition

Jon Bellion (2016)

Jon Bellion is full of surprises on his debut album, creating a world of his own on every track. The style of music changes from song to song, often using his own voice as multiple instruments. The album begins with "He Is the Same," a beat-boxing backed faux-rap track, but then immediately transitions into a synthpop wonderland in "80s Films." He continues these somehow seamless transitions until the epic finale that combines every song from the album in one gospel choir assisted mega-reprise.

Standout Track: Hand of God

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #5

22. Born This Way

Lady Gaga (2011)

There is nothing small or intimate about this album. Gaga sings her heart out on anthem after anthem. Whether it's a track about self-love, equal rights, or dealing with death, she is able to transform every single emotion into a stadium-ready bop. She is consistently pushing her own limits and never backing down she wants to explore a new idea or genre.

Standout Track: Edge of Glory

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album

21. 1989

Taylor Swift (2014)

1989 is Taylor Swift's sleekest and most concise album to date. After skirting the pop genre throughout her last few albums, she decided to wave goodbye to her country roots and dive headfirst into the pop stratosphere... and damn did it work. Both a critical and commercial hit, this album made Taylor Swift the first woman to win Album of the Year twice at the Grammys.

Standout Track: Clean

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Wins: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album

20. Gone Now

Bleachers (2017)

Whether you realize it or not, Jack Antonoff is sprinkled all over this list. He is the executive producer of 6 albums listed here, and while he loves to collaborate with some amazing artists, Gone Now is his story. Full of old synthesizers and saxophone solos, Jack masters his technique creating a signature sound that is all his own.

Standout Track: Don't Take The Money

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #44

19. Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Lana Del Rey (2019)

On her most critically acclaimed and most awarded album to date, Lana Del Rey shows off her timeless voice with her unmatched songwriting abilities. This is the most vulnerable she's been writing about the crumbling world around her and longing for a simpler time. Not one to follow conventional rules, she takes her time expressing herself, with one song even lasting almost 10 minutes.

Standout Track: Love Song

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #3

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year

18. Bloom

Troye Sivan (2018)

On Bloom, Troye Sivan made the most explicitly gay mainstream pop album this decade. With raw and honest lyrics (like those on The Good Side) and crazy catchy melodies and beats (like those on Dance To This) Troye explores all facets of his experience finding and losing love - without shying away from the most personal details.

Standout Track: Animal

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #4

17. Sway

Tove Styrke (2018)

Although under the radar, Tove Styrke shows off her brilliant songwriting talents on one of the weirdest albums this decade, Sway. Throughout the album, she delivers masterful pop songs with sly and oftentimes funny lyrics, sexy melodies, and fun beats. At only 9 songs long, this concise album doesn't waste a single second - every line on this album is important and justifies its place.

Standout Track: Mistakes

16. Golden Hour

Kacey Musgraves (2018)

Kacey Musgraves somehow managed to turn the country genre on its head on her third album, Golden Hour. Utilizing vocoders and synths, mixed in with the classic twang of a guitar, she sang about love, heartbreak, and smoking some psychedelic drugs. In her seventies-tinged era, Kacey made a household name for herself not just in country music, but globally as well - taking home Album of the Year at the 2019 Grammys.

Standout Track: Space Cowboy

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #4

Grammy Wins: Album of the Year, Best Country Album

15. I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

The 1975 (2016)

The 1975 knows how to create a mood. On their second album, they create an ambitious vessel that transports the listener away from reality on an entire album of electro-pop/soft rock songs is filled with sexy lyrics and oftentimes irresistible melodies.

Standout Track: The Sound

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Best Boxed Package

14. Red

Taylor Swift (2012)

In this genre-spanning album, Taylor Swift proved she could do it all. Jumping from country ballads (Red) to stadium rock (State of Grace) to dubstep-light pop (I Knew You Were Trouble) she hit every mark expertly, proving that no one can put her in a box. On top of all of this, she managed to write All Too Well, her career-defining ballad that just might be her best song ever written.

Standout Track: All Too Well

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Country Album

13. EMOTION

Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)

After the force that was Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen decided to avoid working with any traditional pop hit-makers on her second album and instead work with a small group of friends better known for indie pop. She wrote her own lyrics and melodies and what resulted is a pop album so self-aware and mature, you might almost forget the song that propelled her to pop stardom, to begin with.

Standout Track: Run Away With Me

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #16

12. Thank U, Next

Ariana Grande (2019)

Ariana Grande knows how to take heartbreak and heal through music. She did it last year, dealing with the aftermath of the Manchester Bombing on her album Sweetener, and she did it again this year, on thank u, next - dealing with a failed engagement and the recent loss of her ex, Mac Miller. Regardless of what life throws her way, Ariana finds therapy in her music and at times is brutally honest with how she is feeling. Thank u, next is no exception - on her tightest and most concise album to date, Ariana reminds us that she is a pop force that is here to stay.

Standout Track: Thank U, Next

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album [pending]

11. Beyoncé

Beyoncé (2013)

It's hard to think about this album without concidering the circumstances in which it was released. Dropped at midnight with no warning or lead up of any kind, Beyoncé (the album) became a cultural phenomenon in an instant. With impecable production and shocking lyrics, Bey's fifth studio album showed the world that she is so much more than a pop star... she is a Queen.

Standout Track: Drunk In Love

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Urban Contemporary Album

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Wins: Best Surround Sound Album

10. 22, A Million

Bon Iver (2016)

Trading in his acoustic guitar for synths and 808s, Justin Vernon somehow combined two unlikley genres, and became more vulnerable in the process. Sometimes using nothing more than his voice to convey emotions, this futuristic folk album covers topics of love, loss of faith, growing up, and gaining a new perspective on a past life.

Standout Track: 715 Creeks

Grammy Nominations: Best Alternative Music Album

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2

9. Ceremonials

Florence + The Machine (2011)

With Ceremonials, Florence Welch grows to even more etherial heights than in her previous work. With each track, she exudes drama, as she whales over songs of love and spirituality. The production is stadium-ready, and each song grows and grows - like in Lover to Lover which starts with light piano and builds to Welch belting out the repeated chorus and soaring over gospel choirs and full bands - she makes it look too easy.

Standout Track: Shake It Out

Grammy Nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #6

8. Teenage Dream

Katy Perry (2010)

Katy Perry achieved pop perfection on her second album, Teenage Dream. Each song was catchier than the one before it, leading this to be only the 2nd album in history to produce five #1 singles. Between Teenage Dream, Firework, Last Friday Night, ET, and more - it's hard to pick a favorite. With sugary sweet pop melodies and lyrics that are sometimes cutting but always catchy, this album has become a staple in pop history.

Standout Track: Teenage Dream

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

7. Pure Heroine

Lorde (2013)

At 16 years old, Ella Yelich-O’Connor, now internationally known as Lorde, put out an album mature beyond her years. With lyrics like poetry on topics of fitting in, growing up, and holding on to your youth, she displayed an ability to craft a song better than anyone in her demographic. Using sparse synths and focusing on her voice, she created an album of music unlike anything that was being played at the time - in fact, before his passing David Bowie said that Lorde is the "future of music"

Standout Track: Ribs

Grammy Nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #3

6. The Fool

Ryn Weaver (2015)

Ryn Weaver made initial waves with her debut single OctaHate, but with the following record, The Fool, she proved that she is a songwriter with a lot to give. Each song feels as personal as a diary entry and ranges from fun (Pierre) to heartbreaking (Traveling Song). With indie pop productions and a stiff vibrato in her voice, Ryn stands out as a unique offering in the overflowing pop world. She knows who she is and has a clear vision in this album that makes it just so fun to go on the journey with her.

Standout Track: Octahate

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #30

5. Born To Die

Lana Del Rey (2012)

With Born to Die, Lana Del Rey introduced herself to the mainstream by building her own world full of sex, money, American flags, sugar daddies, Pepsi-cola, cigarettes, denim, horse-races, nostalgia, and of course summertime sadness. In building this world, she set the stage for future albums and built an aesthetic and brand so self-aware and profitable, I can't help but admire her business sense. While this album (and Lana herself) initially had mixed reviews, in the 7 years since it's release, it has become adored by many music critics and is a staple in pop history.

Standout Track: Video Games

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #2

4. Reputation

The greatest bate and switch this decade was when Taylor Swift had the entire world believe that she was going to release an album of petty revenge songs on her sixth album, Reputation. What we got, however, was an extremely personal look into her life as she navigates falling in love during the most tumultuous time in her career. With stellar production by Max Martin and Jack Antonoff, Taylor created her most cohesive and mature album to date. And although her sound became darker, her lyrics were still lit with beautiful metaphors and small details to remind you that the Old Taylor was never really gone.

Standout Track: Delicate

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album

3. 21

Two years after winning the Grammy for best new Artist, Adele returned with Rolling in the Deep, a timeless sounding kiss-off to an ex-lover. The song wasn't expected to make much of an impact, but clearly something struck. The album that followed was raw and emotional both in lyrical maturity and vocal performance. 21 tracked Adele's breakup, heartbreak, and healing after her ex-boyfriend left her unexpectedly for another woman. She bares all as she tells the story of her healing, and reminds us that wallowing is all just a part of the process - as are anger and eventually forgiveness. She hopes that both she and her ex can learn lessons from the relationship, and provided the world with a roadmap to dealing with heartache in the process.

Standout Track: Rolling In The Deep

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Wins: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album

2. LEMONADE

Entertaining, soul-crushing, political, empowering. These words barely scratch the surface on Beyonce's sixth album, Lemonade, which was released in tandem with a stunning visual counterpart. While her past songs like Single Ladies united people for love of pop, now songs like Formation elicited a dichotomy among listeners. Some people loved it, some people hated it. Regardless of how you felt about her new sound, Beyonce used her art to preach acceptance, forgiveness, and pick up the pieces of a broken marriage. She laid everything on the table, documenting the ups and downs, and on All Night, her eventual reconciliation with her husband.

On Lemonade, Beyonce is open and honest, being unapologetically black and female... in Freedom, she calls out police brutality and sparks conversations of Black Lives Matter, in 6 Inch she sings a feminist manifesto of working hard to make her own money. There are also moments where she opens up unlike ever before - songs like Daddy Lessons and Sandcastles let listeners into a piece of Beyonce that she had previously kept locked away. Sonically, she is at her most adventurous, bringing in sounds of rock, country, jazz, and hip-hop, she follows no conventional rules, and in doing so creates an album that is entirely her own.

Lemonade is Beyonce's Magnum Opus.

Standout Track: Formation

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year, Best Music Film

Grammy Wins: Best Urban Contemporary Album

1. Melodrama

Melodrama is my favorite album. And while I could probably write a dissertation on the whole thing, I will attempt to keep this short and sweet. Graduating from the cool electric sounds of her freshman album Pure Heroine, Lorde partnered with Jack Antonoff to craft a weird and wild sophomore record filled with warmth. As the album tells the story of a house party in all of its glory and drama, we are brought through all of the feelings you have as you process heartbreak.

The first standout on Melodrama is its opening track... On Green Light, we are welcomed into a story of recovery with a disco-rock tune that I consider to be the best "start again" song ever written. "Honey I'll come get my things but I can't let go" is such simple but heavy thought. You can collect all your belongings, you can burn memories of a past lover, but it takes so much more than the physical representations of a relationship to move on.

Lorde wisely uses metaphors and callbacks throughout the album (including full reprises) that are unlike any other pop album today. On the second track, Sober, she sings of a reckless night with the rush of euphoric highs and lows - she ends the track "can you feel it? can you feel it?" Five songs later, she answers that call on Sober II, "You asked if I was feeling it, I'm psycho high." Lyrically, She layers little bits like this throughout the entire album: questions and answers, recurring metaphors of ribbons and the idea of considering a person your home. Sonically, she has repeating phrases and sounds, whispers and tiger roars hidden throughout each track. It's so meticulously and cleverly crafted that I will likely continue to find small details for years to come.

Never to be one-trick, Lorde takes time to show that she is funny and playful, whether it's in her lyrics ("They'll hang us in The Louvre... down the back, but still The Louvre") or her voice (the tiny "boom" sound she makes in Homemade Dynamite), she has a sly wink in every song. Throughout the story she's telling, you can see that she has grown up over the course of the time it took her to write the record. In Liability, a sparse self-loathing track, she believes the worst of herself as she sings "truth is I am a toy that people enjoy til all of the tricks don't work anymore" but by the time we get to Hard Feelings she's singing "I care for myself the way I used to care about you." She is learning while the album goes on, and we are getting the lessons along with her.

After the wild night out in Supercut, and the hangover that is Liability (Reprise), Lorde stumbles home, heals in hand, and watches the sunrise on Perfect Places, the album's closing track, and one of my personal favorites. "It's just another graceless night," she sings of the perfect night she just had - all the terror and the trauma and the fucking melodrama included - she will look back on this moment in life as an important chapter of growth... one that she thankfully documented for us to enjoy.

Standout Track: Green Light

Billboard Hot 100 Peak: #1

Grammy Nominations: Album of the Year