I was reading Pitchfork’s Top 200 albums of the decade and I was compelled to do my own (except just 100). Here are my top picks:

Honorable Mentions:

• Ariana Grande, My Everything
• Ariana Grande Thank U, Next
• Beyonce, 4
• Beyonce, Beyonce
• Flying Lotus, Cosmogramma
• Flying Lotus, Flamagra
• Jack Conte, VS4
• Jacob Collier, In My Room
• Kamasi Washington, Heaven and Earth
• Kero Kero Bonito, Bonito Generation
• Kero Kero Bonito, Time ‘n’ Place
• Natalie Prass, The Future and the Past
• Periphery, Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal
• The Internet, Ego Death
• Tyler, The Creator, Flower Boy

Top 100:

100. Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto

99. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

You know, a lot of people have this for album of the decade, and I see why. So much time and effort went into creating this work, and it’s filled with loads of influences and collaborations. The beats are groovy and it is very catchy and anthemic. Kanye shows his egoism and vulnerability like he never has before, and he reconciles with his flaws, and issues a half-apology to the world. This half-apology, along with his general dickishness this decade, prevents me from enjoying this record as much as I could.

98. Moonchild, Little Ghost

97. James Blake, Overgrown

96. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Nonagon Infinity

95. BROCKHAMPTON, Saturation

94. Young The Giant, Young The Giant

93. Big Thief, U.F.O.F.

92. Iglooghost, Neo Wax Bloom

91. FKA Twigs, Magdelene

90. Thom Yorke, Anima

89. Childish Gambino, Camp

High school feels. Camp has definitely not held up over time, but every listen brings me back to singing these tunes on the way to high school football games with my buds.

88. Com Truise, Iteration

87. Tierra Whack, Whack World

86. Knower, Think Thoughts

This album is one of a few which completely shifted my tastes in music. This glitchy electronic-pop group that I found on YouTube combines funk, pop, and experimental sounds to create irresistible ear-worms. They don’t care about convention, they don’t care about having deep lyrics, they care about groove and showing that weird is cool.

85. Beyonce, Lemonade

84. Rapsody, Eve

83. Pusha T, Daytona

82. BROCKHAMPTON, Iridescence

81. Hiatus Coyote, Tawk Tomahawk

80. Big Thief, Two Hands

79. The 1975, The 1975

This is an absolutely guilty pleasure for me. Cliches abound with questionable lyrical choices. Despite that, their take on pop music is the way I’d like to see pop move.

78. Anderson .Paak, Malibu

77. Kali Uchis, Isolation

76. Noname, Room 25

75. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel…

74. Gorillaz, The Now Now

“Humility” is one of my favorite songs of the year if not the decade. I hesitate to use the word “bop”, because I’d like that trend to stop.

73. Charli XCX, Charli

This should be what pop strives to be. Listen to “Shake It”.

72. MGMT, Little Dark Age

71. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

70. M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

69. The 1975, I like it better when you sleep…

68. Nai Palm, Needle Paw

67. Frank Ocean, channel Orange

66. Sampha, Process

65. boygenius, boygenius

64. Yaeji, EP2

Though only an EP, each song has it’s own flavor. Standout lyric: “Mother Russia in my cup”

63. Moonchild, Voyager

62. BROCKHAMPTON, Saturation II

61. The Roots, How I Got Over

60. The Carters, Everything Is Love

59. Quelle Chris, Guns

Quelle Chris is the poster child for my favorite brand of hip-hop, music that doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet says more than music that does. On Guns, Quelle Chris takes the pertinent political issues of the day and produces a memorable album that makes you think.

58. Pinegrove, Skylight

The homey d.i.y. production is the only thing keeping Skylight down this low on my list. Pinegrove is one of my favorite new indie bands, and I can’t wait for further releases.

57. Bon Iver, Bon Iver

56. Macklemore, The Heist

55. Brittany Howard, Jamie

54. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.

53. Laura Mvula, Sing To The Moon

52. Com Truise, Galactic Melt

Com Truise is a electronic music producer than has a series of quality Synthwave releases this decade. As soon as I saw some gameplay from the video game “Hotline Miami”, a top-down shooter featuring 1980s-Miami-inspiring graphics and music, I was blown away by the power and edginess of rough synths and retro-sounding drum machines. Com Truise was my gateway into this world, and I regard his music as some of the best in the genre.

51. Com Truise, In Decay

50. Dirty Projectors, Dirty Projectors

49. Kids See Ghosts, Kids See Ghosts

48. Fleet Foxes, Crack-up

Hardly a pop record, Crack-up is Fleet Foxes’ epic album compelled me to stop everything I was doing just to listen to it. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this as much as I did. It demands all of your attention, but if you submit to it, it will immerse you into its lush instrumentation and deep story about friendships and other relationships.

47. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Murder of the Universe

46. Periphery, Periphery

I listened to a bunch of progressive and metal records in my teens and this one is the one that still stands up for me. One of my favorite tracks of the decade is the 13-minute long epic “Racecar” which includes really tight chord progression, smooth songwriting, and of course, heavy djent features.

45. Bon Iver, 22, A Million

Contains Marlowe’s favorite song “715 CR33KS” and others. In my opinion, this is Bon Iver at their best. The electronic elements really propel Justin Vernon’s normally folky songwriting to new heights. Watch NPR’s Front Row on this if you have time.

44. SBTRKT, SBTRKT

43. Grizzly Bear, Painted Ruins

42. Rosalia, El Mal Querer

Rosalia is really taking off, in large part due to this album. “Malamente” is such a good song– one I would play on repeat (and I never put songs on repeat, ever)

41. Animal Collective, Painting With

Marlowe and I saw them tour this album live, and it was AWESOME. Would see again. I found myself picking up this record again and again after seeing them live even though it varies significantly from the live performance. In fact, at first listen I was thoroughly turned off by it because the unconventional harmonies were sometimes grating and sometimes annoying. The more I listened to it, the more I saw the beauty in it.

40. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues

39. Bilal, A Love Surreal

38. Jamila Woods, Legacy! Legacy!

37. Christine and the Queens, Chris

36. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Sketches of Brunswick East

35. Pinegrove, Cardinal

34. Neon Indian, Vega Int’l Night School

Had this electronic-pop album on repeat all of 2016 and 2017. It’s so left of center and delicious.

33. Frank Ocean, Blonde

32. Grizzly Bear, Shields

31. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Infest the Rats Nest

You’ve seen King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on my list a few times now, and if you don’t know who they are, you might be confused. This Australian rock band is not only one of the most prolific (see their five full-length albums in 2017), but also one of the most quality of the decade. Each of their albums is a different sub-genre of rock (from jazz rock to thrash metal, like this album), but they still retain certain Gizz elements in all of them– changing time-signatures, rock sensibilities, and grooves that never fail. Infest the Rats Nest is a hard hitting record that I thought I would hate but absolutely loved. It bangs.

30. Tame Impala, Lonerism

29. The Roots, Undun

The Roots have so much great music that I just haven’t had time to appreciate, but this one is my favorite of this decade. Their music is always consistently of a high quality, but this album has the added benefit of telling a single story the entirety of the record.

28. The 1975, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships

27. Todd Terje, It’s Album Time

26. Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool

25. Malibu Ken, Malibu Ken

This is a truly unique record that is unlike any hip-hop record I’ve heard yet. Listen to the gross “Tuesday”.

24. Knower, Let Go

23. Childish Gambino, Because The Internet

22. Lianne La Havas, Blood

21. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell

20. Disclosure, Caracal

19. Thundercat, Golden Age of Apocalypse

Stephen Bruner, better known as Thundercat, is my favorite artist. He has already appeared on this list below in Kali Uchis’ Isolation, and even Childish Gambino’s Because The Internet (just found this out this month). He is a bassist extraordinaire and he has developed a sound that is so desirable in many R&B and hip-hop records of this decade. Thundercat creates this luscious deep bass tone that often arpeggiates over jazzy progressions and simple back beats. On his albums, he sings about whatever and creates these otherworldly grooves that absolutely dominate your attention. This album, Golden Age of Apocalypse, is his least polished album, and my least favorite, yet ends at number 19 because it is still amazing.

18. Tame Impala, Currents

17. Robert Glasper Experiment, Black Radio 2

(See Black Radio, ahead)

16. Quelle Chris & Jean Grae, Everything’s Fine

15. Thundercat, Apocalypse

14. Snail Mail, Lush

I admit, I crushed so hard on the lead singer of this band, Lindsay Jordan. They put out this record of very simple, kind of samey indie-rock songs, that in theory would bore me to tears. In fact, I love every song and know many of the words (a rarity for me)! What makes this album so great is the use of non-linear melody. Most songs use stepwise motion for the most part so that each note follows the previous. Additionally, the melodies will often start and end in the chord that’s playing, so that it sounds smooth. Lindsay will often end her melodies on notes that are not in the chord, though tastefully as to not leave you hanging. The result is a beautiful coming of age indie record.

13. Disclosure, Settle

12. Thundercat, Beyond/Where the Giants Roam

11. SZA, Ctrl

10. Louis Cole, Time

Louis Cole, one half of the band Knower (see Think Thoughts, above), comes through with a super fun collection of songs, each with interesting chord progressions and oozing with talent. Like Thundercat, his lyrics tend to be about anything and everything from the mundane to the existential, yet his grooves are electrifying. I like music that makes me want to pick up an instrument and start practicing so that I can be as good as the musicians playing. This makes me want to join in, and then some.

9. James Blake, James Blake

I like “sad” music. This may take the cake. This enchanting self-titled album pairs pianos and keyboards with James’ British crooning. Often manipulated and processed many times over to create new sounds (listen to “I Mind”), this felt like a breakthrough in my musical listening journey. I was immediately attracted to these jarring yet soothing melodies (if you can call them that). I tell people “it’s only sad if it’s bad,” and this is emphatically not bad.

8. Solange, A Seat at the Table

Certainly a masterpiece and a must-listen from Solange, A Seat At The Table is not only a musical triumph, but a lyrical treasure as well. Solange speaks to her relationship to America as a black woman, and the challenges that she’s faced along the way. As a white man in America, I will never have the same experiences, but listening to the songs on this album helps me empathize with the plight of those that don’t have the same advantages as I do. I also do not want to understate the quality of the music! Solange is an amazingly talented vocalist and producer, and there is no weak track in the bunch.

7. Kendrick Lamar, Good Kid m.A.A.d City

Good Kid m.A.A.d City came out when I was in college, or just before, and I had heard all the hits, “Poetic Justice”, “B***h, Don’t Kill My Vibe”, “Swimming Pool (Drank)”, “Money Trees”, “Backseat Freestyle”, etc. It was only until recently that I listened to the whole album front-to-back, and this changed my opinion on this wholly. Not only does listening to the same artist for an hour help get your brain in a specific mindspace, but engaging in the story helps elevate the music to another level. Kendrick is a master at weaving his personal experiences into tracks that on the surface sound like hip-hop bangers but in fact tell a deeper message, in this case, about his struggles and thoughts about growing up on the streets of Compton. Kendrick said something like, “we ain’t rapping, we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us”.

6. Daft Punk, Random Access Memories

Daft Punk know how to write a tune. Apparently they also love disco. This has slowly grown to be one of my favorites, and really stands the test of time. I predict this will still be in my 20 favorite albums in 20 years.

5. Hiatus Coyote, Choose Your Weapon

Oof. This is just GOOD. Hiatus Coyote is a future soul band that is led by Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield. From the epic title/intro track to the epic finisher in “Build A Ladder”, each track is filled with a heavy dose of synths while mixing funk, jazz, electronica, and soul. The talent that every member brings is hard to fit into every space in the mix, but they succeed in doing so here. I was going to pick a favorite song, but I cannot. I will say my favorite moment is in “By Fire” when Naomi impressively sings in unison with the synth and bass on the repeating descending motif.

4. Radiohead, The King of Limbs

I’ve seen a lot of places call The King of Limbs (TKOL) the worst Radiohead album, but I completely disagree (and it’s not just because it was my first Radiohead record, ok maybe a little). From the enchanting, unrelenting groove in Bloom, to the solemn closer in Separator, Radiohead delivers a consistent mood throughout its short 8-track track listing, and it’s one of pondering, musing. Each play of this album has been more enjoyable than the last. I feel differently when listening to this record than any others– I honestly feel like I am part of it, inside of it. I am touched sonically in a way that even other Radiohead records have failed to do. It is something special.

3. Robert Glasper Experiment, Black Radio

This is the album that got me into R&B, and has informed many of my tastes this decade. Robert Glasper is a supremely talented keyboardist that I had the pleasure of seeing live in Richmond for like 5 bucks (a thievery). His experiment with “The Experiment”, Black Radio, is filled with vocal features from top R&B singers and consistent backing from Robert, Derrick (bass), and others. When I heard their rendition of “Afro Blue” with Erykah Badu, I was theirs forever. Whenever this album is on, I feel like I am in good hands. It is instantly comforting– I hold this one close to my chest.

2. Thundercat, Drunk

Finally, Thundercat’s most polished and extensive work in “Drunk.” My favorite Thundercat songs in “Lava Lamp”, “Friend Zone”, “Tron Song II”, and so many others are on this record. Each track gives me a lethal dose of Thundercat bass and keys that I never knew I needed. Produced in part by Flying Lotus, Drunk from beginning to end contains the kind of music that I see myself making. It falls in the center of my musical tastes, and therefore rightfully earns the title of my favorite record, next to my favorite record.

1. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly

To Pimp A Butterfly is my favorite album. Kendrick tells a story of greed, love, hate, drugs, street life, sex, celebrity, and ultimately, redemption in an awe-inspiring 79 minutes. Not only is each track lyrically potent on its own, the narrative he weaves and the character he draws from beginning to end is deep and complex. The first time I listened through this album, I was already in love, but not for the reasons mentioned above. The music was produced by Sounwave, Flying Lotus, and others, and most of the tracks were touched by a jazz group including Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and (you guessed it) Thundercat. They created a jazzy, funky, atmosphere that follows Kendrick through Compton, to South Africa and back. My favorite track of the album is the epilogue, Mortal Man, which reveals the meaning of the poem Kendrick has been repeating throughout the whole album (I won’t spoil it). My love of this album flourished tenfold after listening to a podcast about it called “DISSECT”. Each episode delved into the details of almost every line on the album, and connected the narrative arc from beginning to end. It was a brilliant series, not only because it was produced and executed expertly, but it elevated my appreciation for the music and honestly changed the way I think about music entirely. Kendrick Lamar has truly created something to behold with this deeply personal, deeply emotional, deeply powerful, deeply funky album of the decade.

Thoughts?

That was it! I had a lot of fun making this list and I plan on using it mostly for my own memories. There were a bunch more albums that didn’t make the cut, and I’m PRETTY certain I forgot some, so let me know if there what I missed. (I didn’t miss the new Lana Del Rey, I thought it wasn’t great…)