40. Hand Habits –  Wildly Idle (Humble Before the Void) (2017)

Meg Duffy was an accomplished studio musician and guitarist before they finally recorded their first solo work. Befitting an artist used to being in the background, Wildly Idle was low-key and unassuming, with moseying songs that showcased their lyrical guitar playing and vulnerable vocals. Duffy’s songs portrayed introversion and shyness with startling clarity; the way they were constructed to start slowly and then open up on the choruses was reflective of most of my experiences interacting with people as a weirdly timid person.

39. Frankie Rose – Cage Tropical (2017)

Rose was a staple of the noise pop/girl group revival that started just before the turn of the decade, performing as a drummer in Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls, and then fronting her own band, The Outs. Under her own name, she started playing synth-driven pop and she peaked (thus far) with Cage Tropical, which used her life and music experience as the basis for a series of masterfully written pop gems. Her smooth, shiny production and songwriting was enough to make this album a great listen, but Rose’s lyrics and themes of self-doubt added layers of wistful emotion that made it stand out from the vast amount of synth releases.

38. Allo Darlin’ – Europe (2012)

Allo Darlin’ were the type of band that got left behind this decade, as original heart-on-sleeve indie pop was tossed to the side so every site could cheerlead for celebrities to try to drive meaningless clicks to their websites. Powered by Elizabeth Morris’ sweet and heartfelt vocals and lyrics, Europe was an irresistible jangly throwback that prioritized warmth, humanity and craft over gimmicks. This album was so sincere and gentle that it almost felt like real punk in a context where everyone else was trying so hard to be cool and edgy.

37. The Green Child – The Green Child (2018)

This collaboration between Mikey Young of Total Control and Raven Mahon, formerly of Grass Widow, was the exact kind of subtle retro-futuristic psychedelia I love. Channeling the usual bands I name in every post (Stereolab, Broadcast, etc.), they still found their own sound on their self-titled debut, which was a mix of swirly synths and Mahon’s floating vocals, which added a haunting ambiguity to the songs. The best tracks, like the stunning “Her Majesty II,” combined sounds from multiple different eras into a single thought-provoking and timeless package.

36. Field Mouse – Meaning (2019)

Rachel Browne faced an existential crisis of sorts prior to the recording of Meaning, wondering if there was any point in making art in a landscape that often seems to punish worthwhile work. Luckily, instead she channeled those fears into a relatable, endearing album with bright guitar pop songwriting and introspective lyrics that offered a rare level of insight into an artist’s frustrations. The cruel irony was Meaning going completely ignored by music outlets, somewhat proving Browne’s fears, even though this album was more timely, relevant, and enjoyable to listen to than almost anything I heard in 2019.

35. Nona – Through the Head (2013)

One of the true hidden gems of the decade, Nona released just this one album, which didn’t make it too far outside of their local Philadelphia scene (I was lucky to hear about it on Twitter). Through the Head had that scrappy local indie band charm, with songs that rocked and were fun to listen to without any pretension. But what really made them special was singer Mimi Gallagher, who had a voice unlike anyone else’s — her high-pitched, energetic singing and lyrics about riding the bus, youthful crushes and anxiety were a portal back to childhood, including some of the parts you’d rather forget.

34. Girlpool – Powerplant (2017)

Girlpool started off making intentionally amateurish music that centered on the unique bond and musical chemistry of Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad. On Powerplant, the band added a drummer and daringly made actual rock songs, but instead of watering the band down, the pair’s strengths shined through even more. The vulnerable lockstep harmonies now were met with noisy blasts of guitar on songs with quiet/loud dynamics, which gave the album the feeling of young people entering the frightening real world while still having each other’s backs.

33. Widowspeak – Expect the Best (2017)

By the time they released Expect the Best, Widowspeak had established themselves as a band that made gorgeous sounds but seemed to live in the past too much. This album played off that perception of them, weaponizing the natural nostalgia in their music and asking difficult questions to the listener and themselves, about the dangers of inertia and not moving forward. Singer Molly Hamilton had one of the best pure voices in music, and on Expect the Best she matched it with a powerful emotional core.

32. Afrirampo – We Are Uchu No Ko (2010)

I have to go on memory on this one because We Are Uchu No Ko is impossible to find now and I lost the mp3s two laptops ago. The Japanese noise band’s presumed final album added a slight layer of sophistication to their trademark chaotic bursts of noise and energy, showing all of their many strengths gained through an odd career that included touring with Sonic Youth and living with African pygmy tribes. The songs on the album’s front half, including single “Miracle Lucky Girls,” were loud and frantic bursts of craziness and joy, while its back half showed Oni and Pika’s more meditative side with a long instrumental passage that was psychedelic and entrancing.

31. Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising (2019)

In the mold of a few albums on this list, Titanic Rising was a beautiful album made with disaster looming over it. Weyes Blood was inspired by climate change, but thankfully didn’t fall into the trap of singing about glaciers melting in an obvious, pandering way. She imagined herself as a character living her life as a movie — a relatable conceit to everyone living through these heightened, unreal times — and she soundtracked her film with opulent strings and piano, which along with her rich vocals gave the album a pleasant throwback vibe that added power to the internal struggles in its lyrics.

When I started writing this blog way back in 2011, I only intended it to be a hobby, a writing outlet that maybe a small number of my friends would be interested in. It’s crazy to think that from those humble beginnings, the blog has become what it is now: a writing outlet that maybe a small number of my friends are interested in. This blog has opened absolutely no doors for me, has never gained a real audience, and if anything it has probably hindered my personal and professional success. But I’ve had a lot of fun writing it, and so I’m proud to present this albums of the decade list to the always accepting and understanding void.

While I have a blast writing and sharing these lists, I always have some ambivalence about ranking things, which I know is reductive and unfair. These are just my personal favorites, not any kind of attempt at saying these are “the best,” and I’m not trying to contrive up some weird narrative of what the decade was through songs. However, I will say I know this narrow range of music I love quite well, and I believe there is an internal logic to this list even if you don’t agree with it. Above all, I hope people find something new or something old that they overlooked and are encouraged to give it a listen based on this ranking.

50. Wild Flag –  Wild Flag (2011)

Before the formation of Ex Hex and the ill-fated reunion of Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss, and Mary Timony formed this predictably one-off indie rock all-star team along with Rebecca Cole. Nobody has talked about this album in at least seven years, but it holds up in part because of the ephemeral nature of the project, which made every song feel like friends jamming together instead of worrying about their careers or legacies. Timony’s contributions were most welcome after she had been out of the limelight for awhile, particularly “Glass Tambourine,” which perfectly melded Brownstein and Weiss’ rock heroics with her spacey, psychedelic vision.

49. Tess Parks – Blood Hot (2013)

There are “old souls,” and then there is Tess Parks, who in her early 20s sounded like she’d smoked cigarettes for 40 years and on Blood Hot released a stubbornly old-fashioned collection of druggy 60s-style psychedelic rock songs. Parks’ raspy vocals and cool aura made Blood Hot feel like a throwback to the original spirit of rock and roll, where it was just about hearing a unique presence and voice backed by basic instrumentation. This album was very out of step with current popular trends, but it was easy to imagine another time where Parks was a legitimate rock star.

48. Carly Rae Jepsen – Emotion (2015)

As the nefarious trend of clickbait poptimism took hold of the music industry, pop stars became multi-media brands that generated viral content aimed at deranged lunatics online, who were more like cult members than appreciators of music. In this depressing context, the strategically-titled Emotion became a bright light because Carly Rae Jepsen dared to write actual songs with actual feeling, with a focus on the art of the pop song instead of novelty. The thoughtful craft and open-hearted performance on songs like “Run Away With Me” took on a certain humble charm that felt revolutionary in a world full of egotistical pop.

47. U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited (2018)

Over the course of the decade, I gained a healthy distaste for “message music” that sought approval through its valorous political statements instead of its craft. In a Poem Unlimited worked because the politics in it felt like they organically came out of Meg Remy’s narratives, whether it was about a woman seeking revenge against an abuser on “Velvet 4 Sale” or her personal loss of faith with a former president on “M.A.H.” This album never settled for easy platitudes; the harsh realities espoused by Remy were abrasive and complex, just like its noisy-yet-sweet pop sound.

46. Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest (2017)

Charlotte Gainsbourg’s dark, disco-inspired album was full of catchy and danceable songs, the kind that are often colloquially referred to as “jams” or “bangers.” The production and funky sound of Rest was its big hook, but its themes of grief and loss were what made it memorable, and Gainsbourg’s lyrics (occasionally in French) often formed a clash with the naturally joyous sound. This was one of the albums that had the best balance of the good parts of pop with a sense of sophistication and artistry.

45. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (2011)

St. Vincent spent the latter half of the decade cultivating a self-conscious and inorganic “look how weird I am” persona, but her sound worked best when the strangeness was more subtle and subversive like on Strange Mercy. What made her music compelling to me at this time was how it twisted indie rock norms; songs that sounded normal would be twisted by her blasts of guitar and the more innocent sounds often served as fronts for dark and occasionally creepy lyrics. This album had just the right amount of strangeness and experimentation in its otherwise accessible indie rock shell.

44. Julia Holter – Aviary (2018)

Aviary was, as the kids say, “extra,” with its 90-minute run time and assortment of deep references and quirky sounds, including one song that was basically a bagpipe wailing for eight straight minutes. Julia Holter’s epic project captured the overwhelming non-stop news and media cycle of this time, but she turned the excessiveness into a beautiful alternate reality that encouraged listeners to explore and try to solve its many riddles. Even if Aviary was more admirable than enjoyable at times, its ambition, distinctiveness, and timeliness made it an album I thought about a lot, and I suspect it will hold up in the future.

43. Cold Beat – Into the Air (2015)

Into the Air was the album where Cold Beat established themselves as one of the decade’s most intriguing rock acts, a band with a sound that seemed so familiar yet was oddly hard to define. Hannah Lew’s project broke through on this album in part because of its sequencing; starting with more traditional post-punk, there was a gradual feeling of ascension through the songs until by the end, they had turned from a traditional guitar band into an icy synth band. Its biggest highlights, “Cracks” and “Am I Dust,” were in the middle of the album and showed the band mid-evolution, leading to a bracing tension and clash of styles.

42. Nervous Trend – Shattered (2015)

Nervous Trend were the best rock band that barely anyone ever heard of and I fondly remember them for being too punk for their own good. While so many other bands understandably promote themselves and do everything they can to earn attention, this group from Australia seemed completely indifferent to anyone even hearing their music, to the point that I had a difficult time finding a way to pay them money (eventually I bought a vinyl from them even though I don’t own a record player). It may seem aggressive to rank this two-song single — the only official release from this band before they broke up — as one of the top releases of the decade, but the fire and urgency on display here was far beyond what almost any other rock band in the decade was capable of.

41. Marie Davidson – Working Class Woman (2018)

On Working Class Woman, Marie Davidson injected a healthy dose of personality into electronic/club music with songs marked by her dark humor and ambivalence about her career. Part of the fun with these songs was trying to figure out her motivations: was “Work It” intended to be a surface-level empowering club jam, or was she mocking our pointlessly competitive workaholic culture and the ridiculous peppiness of most electronic music? I don’t think there was an obvious answer, and this album’s complexity and difficulty in both its sound and the portrayal of its protagonist were its greatest strengths.