For those of you who don't have all the time in the world, here's the quick-list (in no particular order of rank):
1. Brand New- "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me"
2. Kendrick Lamar- "To Pimp a Butterfly"
3. Adele- "21"
4. Green Day- "American Idiot"
5. OutKast- "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
6. Modest Mouse- "Good News For People Who Love Bad News"
7. Justin Timberlake- "Future Sex/Love Sounds"
8. Amy Winehouse- "Back to Black"
9. fun.- "Some Nights"
10. Beyoncé- "Lemonade"
11. MGMT- "Oracular Spectacular"
12. Mumford and Sons- "Sigh No More"
13. Eminem- "The Eminem Show"
14. Drake- "Views"
15. The Weeknd- "Trilogy"
16. Frank Ocean- "Channel Orange"
17. Tool- "10,000 Days"
18. Fall Out Boy- "From Under the Cork Tree"
19. Bon Iver- "For Emma, Forever Ago"
20. Kanye West- "Graduation"
Now, where did this list come from?
1. Brand New- "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me"
Perhaps it's the undying emo kid in me, but even at 22, I find Brand New's 2006 album to be a beautiful sonic portrait of depression. This album is a big departure from their days of fast emo, pop-punk. It's slower, more melodic and moodier. It's hard not to scream along to the breakdown in "Sowing Season (Yeah)" or the bellowed chorus of "Degausser." It's the perfect rainy-day album.
2. Kendrick Lamar- "To Pimp a Butterfly"
It's easy to understate the importance that this album had upon the time of its release, during the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement. Lamar mixes his own traumatic personal experiences ("i," "These Walls") with reflections on the state of being black in America (the brutal "The Blacker the Berry"). Its messages are ripe for digestion and will hold their weight for years to come. It is the kind of music that is, more than anything, a snapshot in time. Rather than rapping about getting bitches, paper and baking soda, Lamar actually raps about how he feels, setting him apart from others in the industry.
3. Adele- "21"
Few mainstream pop artists are quite as depressing as Adele, but that's exactly the reason she is so special. Her music is unapologetic, and her sophomore album, "21," is the perfect example of what happens when you break an artist's heart: you become an album.
4. Green Day- "American Idiot"
I tried not to be biased with this one (Green Day has been one of my favorite bands since childhood), but I don't think it's easy to overlook the impact that American Idiot has had on our culture. Upon its timely release in 2004 (months before a Presidential election), the album was praised for its mix of teenage angst and political criticism.
The fact that a rock opera could produce individual chart-topping singles ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Wake Me Up When September Ends") is impressive in itself.
The impact it had on culture is perfectly exemplified in the eponymous Broadway musical based on the album. It was one of the most buzzed-about theater productions in the last decade.
5. OutKast- "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
In terms of scope, few hip hop albums match "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," but the same can be said for song quality. Both halves of the mammoth double album are packed with classic jams. Big Boi and Andre 3000 prove that nothing is off the table by including the poppy, energetic "Hey Ya!" It's hard to ignore the song, and even harder to hate it.
6. Modest Mouse- "Good News for People Who Love Bad News"
Often regarded as Modest Mouse's best album, "Good News" is arguably already a classic. Everyone in the world has heard the hit, "Float On," but the whole album is jam-packed with examples of why the band deserves all their acclaim.
7. Justin Timberlake- "Future Sex/Love Sounds"
There is no better example of musical maturation than Justin Timberlake's sophomore album. It was easy to assume that a fraction of a boy band would go on to do nothing after (that's what happened to all the others). Timberlake proved he could stand on his own.
Justin has managed to stay in our good graces by not doing too much of a good thing, and spaces his albums out between the years.
8. Amy Winehouse- "Back to Black"
Amy Winehouse was one of those pop stars that should have been born in another era. The best part about "Back to Black" is that Winehouse offers up the alternative perspective to drug use. In an industry that often revels in the use of heavy drugs, this album talks about the personal toll it took on Amy's relationships, including remarks on her abusive, expolitative relationship with her father. Amy recognizes she is both a victim and a user.
9. fun.- "Some Nights"
You know those albums where every song sounds like a single? That's "Some Nights." It's loud, melodic and sharp in its lyricism. fun. is the example of what every pop band should be.
10. Beyonce- "Lemonade"
My biggest question after hearing this album: how does one even go about cheating on the Queen B? But aside from the obvious theme of adultery and acceptance, "Lemonade" is Beyonce's most artistic album to date. It also shows her range as an artist with the variety of styles she incorporates on this album ("Don't Hurt Yourself," "Daddy Lessons" and "Sandcastles" to name a few examples). It's also Bey's maturest album to date.
11. MGMT- "Oracular Spectacular"
Indie-pop greatness at its finest. MGMT are a band who didn't want to be popular, but the tracks on "Oracular Spectacular" are too catchy to ignore. The best thing about this album is that MGMT thought they sold out by making such simple, easy-to-jam-to music, but their lyrics, "move to Paris, shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars," aren't exactly "sellout" lyrics. They're an impressive musical duo, and this album is where the magic all starts (and ends, since their later albums try too hard to be esoteric).
12. Mumford and Sons- "Sigh No More"
At a time when most bands were either synthing it up or screaming, and nothing in between, Mumford and Sons released an album that sounded like the music they enjoyed. It's fast and folky, a true example of Mumford and Sons' musicianship and songwriting ability.
13. Eminem- "The Eminem Show"
What's better than one of the greatest rappers ever in his prime? This album has some of Marshall's biggest hits. It's also incredibly meta, which is hard for rap to be in an original way. Eminem succeeds, though, without pulling punches on the entertainment industry and its over-saturated stars.
Plus, that second verse on "Without Me" is genius.
14. Drake- "Views"
Perhaps this is simply to show my objectivity in the matter (I hate Aubrey with a burning passion), but I can already see this album being cherished years later by the pop-rap community that worships this false god.
Did I mention that Drake sucks?
15. The Weeknd- "Trilogy"
Before The Weeknd couldn't feel his face and I couldn't stand his music, he actually produced something credible, and lengthy (it's three albums in one). With a late 80's sound and whole lot of soul, "Trilogy" is great alternative R&B. It also pokes holes in the sweet bliss of the party life by examining all the pain associated, using its own genre against itself.
The Weeknd might be well on his way to becoming our generation's Michael Jackson.
16. Frank Ocean- "Channel Orange"
Hardly any second album has had as much hype as Frank Ocean's "Blonde," and that's mostly because "Channel Orange" blew our minds upon its release. Ocean delivers a quality piece of art that is the pinnacle of the alternative R&B movement of the early 2010s.
If that is not enough, the album's theme deals mostly with Frank's feelings for a man he could not be with. Again, a man. This is only important because it's arguably the first major representation of a homosexual relationship in the genre.
17. Tool- "10,000 Days"
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and perhaps that's why every Tool album feels like gold, given the eons that separate all of their releases. Tool is a metal band that people who don't like heavy metal should listen to, and this is the album to check out first.
Musically, Tool does their usual shtick of turning time signatures on their heads. Everything also sounds so much deeper on this album. Frontman Maynard James Keenan wrote the album shortly after his mother died and he had an existential, metaphysical epiphany.
18. Fall Out Boy- "From Under the Cork Tree"
Because we all went through that Fueled by Ramen phase, right? "From Under the Cork Tree" was the album that put Fall Out Boy on the map, and with good reason. Soon, they were arguably the biggest rock band in the world. The team of Patrick Stump writing songs and Pete Wentz writing lyrics is like a modern Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. Unfortunately, Fall Out Boy managed to fall more and more from grace to the point they recorded heavily-sampled and downright lame power pop that lacked soul and originality.
19. Bon Iver- "For Emma, Forever Ago"
Nothing like recording in a Wisconsin cabin to put things in perspective. Hipster king, Justin Vernon, lays all of his pain out in this cryptic poem. There's something relentlessly serene about this album. Even in the more upbeat songs like "Skinny Love," there is an intimacy. We may not always know the specifics of what Vernon is talking about but we can feel the sadness in his signature falsetto.
Bon Iver's sound evolves a little more every album, never bad, but none feel as cozy as "For Emma."
20. Kanye West- "Graduation"
Believe it or not, there was a time before Kanye married Kim Kawhatever and sacrificed all his artistic credibility. "Graduation" is a good example of classic Kanye, when he was a quality producer and rapper. Later in his career, someone told Kanye he could sing and they shouldn't have lied. Now we have a burned out narcissist who blew all his money on a joke called "Life of Pablo."
This is a throwback we can lean on when we are forced to hear the Dark Ages of Kanye's career.
Honorable mentions:
Childish Gambino- "because the internet"
Radiohead- "OK Computer"
Coldplay- "A Rush of Blood to the Head"
Rihanna- "Loud"
Lady Gaga- "The Fame"
