The most rock music albums of the decade

When it comes to rocking music, the 2010s have had their ups and downs. A few months before the dawn of the decade, Kanye West snatched the mic from Taylor Swift. West recently hit rock bottom with what is sure to be the religious equivalent of the Fyre Festival. He wasn’t the only musician, the years have gone down a notch. Showy singers like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera have lost to more quiet singers. And, of course, music greats like Prince and David Bowie fended off that deadly reel.

But enough of the low, let’s get high. Although Bowie is deceased, he left the album Black Star as a farewell gift. Bands like The Black Keys and Vampire Weekend continued to produce rock anthems. New bands like Girlpool and Kevin Abstract have wowed audiences while shattering stereotypes. On this list we count on the top 10 most rock albums of the last decade.

Cover photo: Ryan McVay (Getty Images)

10. ‘Blackstar’ by David Bowie

David Bowie’s career spans decades and Black Star is his swan song, released just before his death in 2016. Full of dense references to music and culture, our favorite gem is the inclusion of Nadsat, a fictional language in the book A mechanical orange.
9. “The OOZ” by King Krule

Although the story behind the album name is absolutely dirty, the feeling behind his songs is a great empathy. This ginger Brit looks set for a long and productive career, which makes the previous entry on the list a little less pungent.
8. “American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story” by Kevin Summary

This album is an ode to the difficult years of high school. Always blurring the lines, Abstract transcends his previous work, digging deeper as a musician and artist.
7. “Salad Days” by Mac DeMarco

Mac DeMarco recorded his second album, Salad days, in his Brooklyn apartment. In keeping with this, the lyrics and tone are more personal, while retaining their psychedelic rock vibe.
6. “7” by Beach House

Melodic, foreboding and catchy are all words that describe this album. Although the album title isn’t the most creative, the band brought a lot of art to songs like “Dark Spring” and “Drunk in LA”.
5. Girlpool’s “Girlpool”

While we loved Girlpool’s second album, Before the world is big, we went with their self-titled debut album. Just listen to the song “American Beauty” to find out why this album was selected.
4. “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk

Daft Punk’s fourth album, Random access memories, was popular with critics and fans. The song “Get Lucky” in particular made this cybernetic duo a worldwide funk sensation.
3. “Babel” by Mumford & Sons

Like a wolf howling at the full moon, this album moves us. It’s an instant classic of American folk-rock circa 2012.
2. “Modern City Vampires” by Vampire Weekend

On this album, Ezra Koenig and his acolytes lower their apathetic glances from the mansard roofs to more earthly scruples. The catchy rhythms, poetic lyrics and the influence of world music are a real return to form.
1. “Brothers” of the Black Keys

The Keys stepped into the decade with this album at # 1. Every song, from the roaring beat of “Everlasting Light” to the sad twang of “Never Gonna Give You Up”, still has us stomping our feet after all these years.