Classic Albums of the 2010s
 

Which records from this decade will be looked back on as classics? Has the way that we look at and determine classics changed in response to the digital age? What are the defining albums of this decade?

A couple that come to mind

Death Grips - The Money Store
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (unfortunately)
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Deafheaven - Sunbather (maybe)

I love the album Sunheaven by the band Deafheaven.

Death Grips - Money Store
Kanye West - MBDTF, Yeezus
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Pinata
Kamasi Washington - The Epic
Bon Iver - s/t
David Bowie - Blackstar
The National - High Violet, Trouble Will Find Me
Kendrick Lamar - Last three projects (excluding Untitled, Unmastered)
James Blake - s/t
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
D'Angelo & the Vanguard - Black Messiah
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Car Seat Headrest - Teens Of Denial
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Sun Kil Moon - Benji
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Knife Man

To name a few.

Here have a ball:

https://rateyourmusic.com/customchar...one&countries=

/thread

That's all you need.

Yep, I was going to post the same thing. Obviously quite a few in that Top 40 won't actually go down as classics, such as:

A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your service
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Death Grips - The Powers That B
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

etc.

Going back through previous decade lists show you that generally what is considered to be a "classic" in any kind of general music circle is reflected on RYM. Other than maybe the 2000's list. That's got a few strange ones up there.

Probably won't be, but it should.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...9D82WfaWTrxVYw

I guess it is getting to be that time in the decade where we start to look back on at the media and see what contributed to the cultural zeitgeist. A few that I can think of off the top of my head.

Run The Jewels - Run the Jewels (2013)

You can swap this one with whatever your preferred one is, but I've always liked their first album most.

My Bloody Valentine - m b v (2013)

Over 20 years in the making so the fact that it came out is pretty incredible, the fact that it's actually very good is a damn right miracle.

Darren Korb - Bastion Original Soundtrack (2011)

Not really all important to the music of the decade overall, but certainly a turning point for video game soundtracks.

Panopticon - Kentucky (2012)

You can criticize this album for being a little on the gimmicky side (I mean black metal and bluegrass music on the same album?) but it is a very well made album either taken as a black metal album, or a bluegrass album.

BADBADNOTGOOD - BBNG2 (2012)

Probably their high point for a lot of fans (I still think III is their best work). Their covers are very well done and their original work juxtaposes incredibly well, being noticeably darker in tone and arrangement. The fact that it was released for free was a nice addition.

Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini (2010)

Definitely their best work thus far, and while their two follow up albums in 2012 and 2015 were not bad, they didn't leave as much of a mark as I felt this album did.

Now that's what I call an unpopular opinion. I think you could package the first three albums as a classic bundle though, because they left a big mark on the hip hop world. However, I can't help listening to them and thinking that they're going to sound hella dated in ten years (despite how much I love em).

The first RTJ album just resonated with me more. I kind of thought it was supposed to be a one off joke album, released as kind of a parody of the summer jam album. I definitely do agree with you about them possibly sounding dated, but I'm curious if the same can be said for Death Grips.

I've wondered about DG myself and never came to any kind of firm conclusion. It's easy to say that they're a product of their times--and they might be--because of the manner that they blew up in, but that's not really the same as sounding dated. Outside of noisiness that could be attributed to other influences, the chaos in their music didn't really dissipate into the hip hop realm in a way that can be directly linked to them. I kind of feel like they've already become dated in some ways, but it could be more of a stylistic rut. I don't know if any datedness when it comes to their sound will come from other artists taking and improving on their ideas or if it's just because they're Death Grips and they saturated the scene. Only time will tell how it goes I guess.

How much time has to pass before a record can be declared a classic?

1 day, five centuries, until a significant contributor to that album dies, etc.

This thread is more about predictions and how we define classics anyways.

I don't think dated so much as they're a collection of pretty great singles and pretty good singles from a guy who's had more groundbreaking work and a guy who's good but the world wouldn't have missed had he never been in RTJ. They'll eventually be beloved El-P fan secondary albums basically.

Well Kanye's sorry **** is going to fade fast because it's ****ing boring.

As a mild fan of some Kanye I kinda agree. He's got some **** worth remembering but in general I think he'll be regarded as highly overrated five years from when the general public decide he's past his prime. Like Poison basically.

Possibly. I think it has a far larger audience than either of the two that will maintain its position as a classic.

Run the Jewels
El-P
Killer Mike

That **** is so far from revolutionary I don't even want to talk about it.

It's not bad but that level? No ****ing way.

Ja.

**** no.

Ja.

Plus classic isn't always synonymous with revolutionary or innovative. I still say that RTJ is the mainstay unless El-P's future solo stuff takes off.

I thought we weren't defining classic

You thought wrong.

Just how popular is RTJ? I honestly have no idea. Among music fans it's obviously mainstream, but I don't hear any plebs talking about them. As far as I know RTJ is more high profile but El-P is just as well known even if his actual albums are a bit more under the radar. And sounds to me like El-P's **** will be talked about for longer even if it's not all quite as accessible in general.

They're filling up arenas like El was never able to do. I do think that El-P's music will have a lot of staying power and won't suffer as much from being dated in the future, but I think RTJ has simply reached people on a far wider level than either artist has and that's a large factor in what we call classics.

...Or is it? Half of my reasoning for making this thread is wondering how the bar for how we define classics has changed. Do personal favourites have more pull now? Or does it just make a lot more sense to have genre classics instead of simply "The Essentials of [Time Period]"? Because come to think of it, while I think RTJ will be remembered on a widespread level because of them being a big voice in festival culture, El-P will definitely be considered to be the more classic artist among the heads.

RTJ are quite popular. They performed on the main stage at Glastonbury quite high up the queue for what that's worth.

I think it's fair to say that RTJ is a cross-cultural success that does deserve recognition as a major force on the cultural zeitgeist in this decade. Like others have said, they have been selling out shows and playing main stages at multiple fests over the past few years. I've also seen songs show up in TV shows and video games, which isn't the most accurate means of testing something's cross-over success, but it's something at least.

Yep. Their track with DJ Shadow was on the closing credits for an Ozark episode I watched last night for example.

Would a random person off the street definitely know who they were?

I'm gonna go with yes with that qualifier tbh. Do you think that's a relevant enough factor in what's considered a classic these days?

I predict Another Eternity by Purity Ring will become a classic.

:rofl:

Purity Ring is on tour with Katy Perry and Carly Rae.

I agree with most of the ones added, and I'd add Exmilitary by Death Grips, Lonerism and Currents by Tame Impala, A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead, 22, A Million by Bon Iver, and a **** ton of others that I can't really think of.

No. That album is a giant borefest.

For me anyway, I might add Let England Shake- PJ Harvey, Carrie and Lowell- Sufjan Stevens, Sleep- Ty Segall (my favorite album of the decade- so throw tomatoes at me).

And of course (and I know it was already mentioned) Blackstar- David Bowie.

This can be divided into two categories. While some LCD Soundsystem, Bowie,and Kendrick Lamar albums are undeniably both classics and masterpieces of the 2010s, what most people will call classics of this decade are mainstream albums which are not of that level of quality.

Quality 2010s classics:
. Daft Punk- Random Access Memories
. Kanye West- MBDTF, Yeezus
. Frank Ocean- channel orange, blond
. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
. Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp a Butterfly, good kid mAAd City, DAMN.
. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening, american dream
. David Bowie- The Next Day, Blackstar
. Chance The Rapper- Coloring Book, Acidrap
. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy
. The National- High Violet
. Bon Iver- Everything he´s done
. Beach House- Teen Dream
. WOLF- Tyler, the Creator

Other classics:
. Ariana Grande albums
. 2010´s Coldplay
. Lady GaGa albums
. Katy Perry albums
. Kesha albums
. Dumb trap songs like rockstar by Post Malone
. Demi Lovato, Selena Gomes and that type of pop garbage
. Fifth Harmony
. Gangnam Style, LMFAO and other viral/electronic dance music.
. K-Pop

I know what I´m talking about here, I´ve asked my friends who also grew up in this decade like me and they usually name those artists and songs as classics of the 2010s. Such a shame, they´ve missed out on the true great music of this era like the stuff I named on the first list.
Anyways, this is merely my opinion.

If you'd just come in here with that hipster mother****ing Pitchfork list with your chest puffed out I wouldn't have said anything... but you just had to drag Ke$ha through the mud.

Look at that ****ing hipster. LOOK AT HIM!!!

having a list made up of almost entirely pop artists and then ****ting on pop music

i luv it

Will Gangam Style really be considered classic?

Also I like The Next Day more than a lot of Bowie's material but it hella ain't a classic.

If you're somehow hoping Ke$ha peruses MB and really appreciates all the support you give her and that maybe one day you actually meet, she would never fuck you.

My hopes are dashed like a baby's brain against a big rock.