My Ten Favorite Albums of the 2010s

This is the time of the year when I'm always busy finalizing my year-end top tens. But before I unveil my selections for 2019, I thought it would be fun to reflect back upon this entire decade. I'm not saying these are the "greatest" or "best" albums of the 2010s. They're just my personal favorites. These are the albums I keep going back to again and again - the ones I'll probably still be listening to in another ten years. Many of these were albums I highly acclaimed as soon as they came out. Others have grown on me. Let's get to it!

10. Sugar Stems - Can't Wait (2012)
Wisconsin's Sugar Stems were one of the top American power pop bands of the early 2010s. This, their second album, was originally released on Screaming Apple Records before getting an American release on Dirtnap Records. I enjoy all of this band's albums, but Can't Wait is where Betsy captured her greatest magic as a songwriter.


9. Pale Lips - After Dark (2019)
If I measured these releases purely based on how many times I've played them, this one would be at a disadvantage since it just came out this year. But I've got a feeling it will rise up these charts over the years. If After Dark is one of my top ten favorite albums of the decade, it has to be my #1 album of 2019, right? I would never reveal such things before New Year's Eve!


8. Something Fierce - Don't Be So Cruel (2011)
This was my first-ever album of the year for this blog. It still holds up. Kind of like what later Clash could have been.


7. Kurt Baker - Brand New Beat (2012)
I love all of Kurt's stuff. But something special happens when he and Wyatt Funderburk get together and write pop songs.


6. Midnite Snaxxx - Chew On This (2017)
Perhaps the finest modern-day example of how to do '77-inspired garage punk with power pop hooks. 
 

5. The Cheap Cassettes - All Anxious, All The Time (2014)
Chaz and Kevin originally released the bulk of these songs one at a time on their Bandcamp, so it was like we all got to experience the making of an album together. Great rootsy, punky power pop from these ex Dimestore Haloes.



4. The Dahlmanns - All Dahled Up (2011)
Ramones-inspired punk meets power pop carried off to perfection. To this day, this remains the only Dahlmanns full-length album. True story: I was listening to a Dahlmanns song on Little Steven's Underground Garage one day in 2011 and it dawned on me that I needed to start writing about music again. The rest is history.


3. Night Birds - Born To Die In Suburbia (2013)
THE punk rock band of the decade. All of their albums are great, but this is the one I'm most likely to put on when I'm in a Night Birds state of mind.


2. The Cry! - self titled (2011)
A classic power pop album by way of '50s/'60s pop and rock and roll. Hard to believe all of these guys were under 21 when this record was made. A huge influence on the subsequent powerpop/punk of this decade.


1. Nato Coles- Promises To Deliver (2013)
I've been a longtime Nato fan, but I think it was the Rum Bar Records reissue of Promises To Deliver that caused me to realize I loved this album even more than I realized. I first popped the CD into my car player four years ago, and I've never really stopped playing it. The best of Midwestern punk and heartland rock combined into one band. If I were a ball player, the title track would be my walk-up music.

Honorable Mentions:
Stiletto Boys - Liberator (2013)
First Base- Not That Bad (2017)
The Number Ones- self titled (2014)
Shanda and the Howlers - Trouble (2017)
Missing Monuments - Painted White (2011)

Bonus: Favorite Song of the 2010s


Doing a list like this, I can really see my true power pop colors coming out. But the above is definitely a nice overview of the sort of stuff I've enjoyed over the past decade. Man, there sure were some amazing albums that came out in the past ten years! If we bring singles collections into the conversation, I'd say it would be a fierce battle between Sheer Mag self-titled and Fashionism's Smash Singles for the top of that category. I think what I've loved best about this decade of music is the same thing I've loved the least: there's so much good stuff out there that it's literally impossible to hear all of it. To sum up the 2010s, I'd say this was the decade where I stopped complaining about mainstream music being such crap. I mean, come on. It's almost 2020. Who cares what they're playing on the radio?! If you like good music, this is a damn fine time to be alive.

-L.R.