Eleven years ago, I ranked R.E.M.’s albums and placed 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant at #3. I have some quibbles about that list and would likely shuffle some titles were I to revisit it today, but I stand by the placement of this album.
Pageant was the album where R.E.M. started the transition from the alternative to the mainstream. It’s more polished and muscular than its predecessors, but not as radio-friendly as what was to come. It sits nicely in that sweet spot.
My #11 album of the 2010s is the only one on this list that I didn’t hear when it first came out. Jason Isbell’s Here We Rest eluded me for six years.
I discovered Isbell after reading year-end praise of his 2017 album The Nashville Sound (recorded, like this one, with his backing band The 400 Unit). The excellence of that album prompted me to download the rest of his catalog.
Today’s selection is a great example of how opinions change over time. Back in late 2014, I ranked Beck’s Morning Phase as my #13 album of the decade so far.
Now, five years later, I have it at #12 on my whole-decade list. And a few of the albums I ranked above it back then aren’t on this list at all.
The best pure pop album of the decade came from Carly Rae Jepsen, who two years earlier seemed like the ultimate one-hit wonder following the runaway success of her track ‘Call Me Maybe.’
E*MO*TION proved that Jepsen definitely had the chops as a songwriter and performer to transcend that early spike, even as the album tragically failed to find much of an audience.
Both of Lorde’s albums came out this decade, with 2013’s Pure Heroine introducing the startling young talent to the world and 2017’s Melodrama proving that she was far from a one-album fluke.
I’m a big fan of both albums, but for my money Melodrama is definitely the stronger effort. It takes more risks both musically and lyrically, all of which pay off.
Meet Me In Montauk 