Fuck it, I made a top 20.
20: Obscure Sphinx - Void Mother (2013)
This is the album on here I've discovered the most recently, thanks to Sacul sending a song from it in my most recent roulette. Oppressively dark, immensely thick guitar riffs, fantastic vocals, and one of the best closing tracks I've heard in recent memory. If it weren't for one lackluster track (Decimation) this might have ranked even higher.
19: Anathema - We’re Here Because We’re Here (2010)
Anathema's second best album. Great record, but everything this album does well is, in my opinion, done even better by the other Anathema album on this list.
18: Destiny Potato - Lun (2014)
There's a few tracks on here I'm not crazy for, but when it comes to the songs I like (which is the majority of them) I can't stop listening to them. Best pop metal album (unless you count some of Devin Townsend's poppier albums) and the best female metal vocalist I've ever heard.
17: Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015)
I'm glad Steven Wilson went with a more modern sound on this album after all the retro throwbacks he did previously. Couple that with some fantastic songwriting, incredibly melancholy atmospheres, and some gut-wrenching emotion at points, and you get easily his best solo album, if you ask me.
16: Kauan - Muistumia (2014)
I guess this is technically a compilation instead of a proper album, but fuck it, it works as an album and all of the old songs on it have been completely re-recorded, so I'm going to count it. Fantastic atmospheric wintery post-blackdoomfolk metal.
15: Thy Catafalque - Sgùrr (2015)
Thy Catafalque has been one of my favorite bands as of late, or rather artist since it's basically just one dude from Hungary. This is his most sprawling, experimental, and consistently great album from front to back. A must-listen if you're into atmospheric / experimental black metal.
14: Ghost - Meliora (2015)
This album is solid from front to back, and every song on it is just packed with memorable hooks, crunchy guitar riffs, and tasty gothic instrumentation. Not much else to say about it.
13: Agalloch - The Marrow Of The Spirit (2010)
While this album isn't quite on the level as Ashes Against The Grain, it's easily my second favorite Agalloch record, and also their most atmospheric, which has always been what the band is all about. Everything on this album works to compliment its overwhelmingly dark and murky atmosphere, from its raw production to its more freeform, experimental composition. I'm not the biggest fan of The Watcher's Monolith (and the intro track), but every other song on here is great, especially Into The Painted Grey and Black Lake Nidstang.
12: Periphery - Periphery III: Select Difficulty (2016)
I didn't expect Periphery to ever top their second album (spoliers), and they haven't, but this album came really damn close. My only complaints about this one are that it feels more like a collection of songs than a single cohesive album, and a few of the tracks aren't that great. But so many of the songs on here are just so damn good; the eight song, 40+ minute run from Marigold to Catch Fire is nearly flawless.
11: Devin Townsend - Epicloud (2012)
A lot of Devin Townsend's records this decade have been trying to go in a more accessible direction, and this is by far the album where it payed off the most. From front to back, this album is anthemic, massive, emotional, and incredibly catchy. Fantastic album, and one of the most accessible metal albums in existence. In a good way.
TOP TEN
10: Ulver - The Assasination Of Julius Caesar (2017)
This is the album that truly sold me on Ulver, and I can't think of any other record quite like it. They took their signature dark and experimental sound, infused it with catchy, poppy new wave songs, and the end result works infinitely better than it has any right to. It has a good amount of variety too, remaining engaging throughout with a mix of more straightforward songs and more freeform, experimental tracks like the amazing closer Coming Home. If you haven't listened to this, do it.
9: Periphery - Periphery II (2012)
This would be my favorite djent album of all time if a certain underdog hadn't swiped that title from it one year later. Every single song on here has something uniquely memorable and captivating about it. Great riffs, fantastic hooks, lots of variety, and infinitely better execution than the endless number of copycats trying to replicate this sound.
8: The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum (2011)
Okay, this "album" is a bit of an outlier here, as it's less of an album than it is an anthology. At 36 songs and over two hours long, it's absolutely immense, and there's a good amount of that runtime that I don't enjoy all that much. BUT, the fact that none of those 36 songs (well, except for one, which should be obvious if you're familiar with the album) feels like filler is frankly astonishing. This collection is broken into nine different EPs, each representing a different color, and there's a massive amount of variety in style across all of them. It's because of that variety that every song on here is memorable and feels warranted. I love concept albums like this where the concept is composition-based rather than thematic or literary, and this album executes that concept flawlessly.
7: David Maxim Micic - Bilo 3.0 (2013)
Leave it to some random dude to take all the best elements from Periphery and Devin Townsend, mix it with a heaping portion of child-like wonder and nostalgia, and create one air-tight and varied album that covers so much ground in a relatively short amount of time and executes it all effortlessly. This is just a really special album. Songs like Where Is Now? and Daydreamers make me happier listening to them than almost anything else.
6: Pendulum - Immersion (2010)
Okay, seriously, how is this album so consistently good? With fifteen full songs and a runtime of almost 70 minutes, you'd think that some of those tracks would be lackluster. But nope, all of them are decent at worst (which is only a few of them) to amazing at best. Despite many of these songs sharing the same drum and bass rhythm and tempo, nearly all of them have something uniquely memorable about them, and there's enough variety in the tracklist to keep the album engaging throughout. If you've enjoyed some electronic music before but are still on the fence about it, this album might just tip you over.
5: Ihsahn - After (2010)
At this point in the list, we're getting to albums that have virtually no low points. This album is just fantastic blackened progressive metal from start to finish, with a bleak, apocalyptic atmosphere that never lets up even for a moment, and some SICK SAXOPHONE PLAYING as a bonus. Ihsahn will likely never top this record, and I'm okay with that.
4: Anathema - Weather Systems (2012)
Many people will say this album is just We're Here Because We're Here but not as good. Look, musical tastes are entirely subjective and all, but come on. This album takes everything that its predecessor did so well and elevates it to an almost transcendental level. From start to finish, it hits you with one song just overflowing with passion and heart-wrenching emotion right after another. Untouchable Part 1, The Beginning And The End, Internal Landscapes... just to name a few. It's bright, it's melancholy at times, it's warm, it's incredibly atmospheric, and it's just amazing.
3: The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)
My favorite concept album of all time. The concept by itself is amazing: a record that takes you from the surface of the ocean to its deepest, darkest depths, with the music progressively getting more dark, intense, and dire over time. And of course, it executes that concept perfectly. As cliche as it sounds, this isn't just an album, it's a journey. And one that keeps you in its grip and never lets you go.
2: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)
This album is so atmospheric that the mental images and landscapes it conjures in my mind just by listening to it are unparalleled. That's really what this album is all about. If you're waiting for "exciting stuff" to happen on this record, you're missing the point. It's very quiet and ambient, and you need to just sit down and soak it all in. But at the same time, it's not ambient to the point where there's nothing to grab onto besides texture. It's very melodic, and incredibly engaging if you're willing to put in a bit of attention. I love every song on it, and I hope that Wilson and Akerfeldt do another true collaboration sometime in the future.
1: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction (2011)
Well, here it is. Even almost a decade later, this is still one of the craziest, most ambitious, and most immense albums I've ever heard. I'll admit that some of the sillier moments on it (specifically on the title track) haven't aged quite as well as the rest of it, but still, I can't think of any other record from this decade that I'd rank over this one. It's one of those albums that's so brazen, so out there and indulgent, that it sticks with you forever. Despite being so immense, both in runtime and compositional density, it somehow manages to be captivating and satisfying throughout its entire duration. I think a lot of that is due to the album having an amazing flow, starting off relatively reserved and gradually getting more crazy and demented over time. Every aspect of it feels meticulously crafted with the utmost attention to detail, and as a whole, I'm hard pressed to think of many other musical artistic statements that I admire and enjoy more.
Topic: Best Album of the Decade 2010 to 2019- AND WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!! (Read 23462 times)