John Mayer – Born And Raised (2012)

Mayer actually reached an artistic peak with this breezy Neil Young-inspired album and his follow up Paradise Valley – too bad nobody bothered to listen in.

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Josh Ritter – The Beast In Its Tracks (2013)

The best Blood On The Tracks of this decade.

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Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park (2013)

The smart, confident country album so well written that country haters couldn’t hate it.

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Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

Chris Rock discovering a new part of Pussytown, Fergie and Elton John paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson, King Crimson and Bon Iver samples breaking the rules for what a rap song (or any song) was allowed to do, and Kanye West asking the most important question of the decade: who will survive in America?

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LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening (2010)

Sound Of Silver is still his classic album, but LCD Soundsystem’s farewell album might actually be the best thing James Murphy has ever made.

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M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (2011)

Even if the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness comparisons don’t exactly work out, “Midnight City” still has my vote as the song of the decade so far.

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My Bloody Valentine – mbv (2013)

The album’s triumph, even more so than being a worthy followup to Loveless, is that the entire world heard it at the same time – for one of the few times this decade, an album release was an event.

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The National – High Violet (2010)

The sound of the fear and anxiety that all well-mannered, educated men feel between 22 and 72.

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Queens Of The Stone Age – …Like Clockwork (2013)

For all the vampyres, sledgehammer guitars, and Elton John cameos, this album is essentially Josh Homme trying to figure out how to be vulnerable and him admitting to us that it’s ok to be afraid of death.

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Real Estate – Atlas (2014)

An breezy yet powerful album that asks the important life questions while also soundtracking your hipster pool party.

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