COUNTDOWN Top 10 of the Decade

The Top 10 Tracks of the 2010s

#10 “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons

(2012 pop rock)

       The band’s inaugural album Night Visions is already an alternative rock classic, undoubtedly. I heard the band’s music from the second the album hit the radiowaves, and everything about their style stood out significantly from anything I had ever heard. So many unnecessary bits of production made this album stand out, particularly on this song with a random and intermittent mandolin.

Additionally, Dan Reynolds’ songwriting is unlike any other musician I have encountered. Certain rhymes and verses are constructed in a way I can only describe as backwards; other songwriters would say that “I see that you are spent/now I know what you have meant”, but Dan would say “So this is what you meant/When you said that you were spent”. Those small details in how phrases are worded really aids the production in making the song feel like this grandiose piece of composition that feels larger than life.

#9 “Fear” by Tech N9ne

(2014 hip hop ft. Mackenzie Nicole)

       Tech N9ne’s incredibly long career has never been dry in any sense of the word but perhaps the most meaningful music of his legacy came in 2014 following the death of his mother after a lengthy battle with cancer. The music video for “Fear” was in the middle of production when his mother finally passed away, and it’s obvious that Tech knew his mother was running out of time just from seeing his expression and hearing his voice waver on this track. Not only does he struggle with his mom forgetting who he is, but he also addresses his issues with faith in his God, on account of a lack of action being taken to preserve the one person in life who he believes to be pure. He reassures his listeners that he is not denouncing the deity, as he prays daily for his mother’s longevity, but ends the song on a contradictory and somber note:

“I know it's a blessing, that I raised kids 'cause I got skill
And thank God that gangbang thing didn't bring me hot steel
Now my mom's worse and a lot ill
My fear is that this God I'm prayin' to for my mother is not real”

       The track is set to the tune of choir-like vocals and slow instrumentation in the background, making Tech N9ne’s delivery hit that much harder in contrast to his normal breakneck flows and synth driven beats, solidifying this track as one of the greatest in underground rap history.

#8 “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett

(2015 country)

       A country song might seem out of place in a list of the greatest songs, but there’s something different about Thomas Rhett’s classic here. There’s something somber and exciting about the languished guitar strums and the almost melancholy delivery from Rhett. The track really feels more like a gussied-up folk song rather than a mainstream country hit. The message is simple, and the message of the song is a moral only Ebenezer Scrooge could refute.

“If I never get to see the Northern lights
Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby, I could die a happy man”

       Also, the Nelly cover of this song was pretty amazing as well.

#7 “Midnight City” by M83

(2010 synth pop)

       M83’s largest hit is easily on the biggest influences on pop, and the ripple wave of effect is still occurring in 2020. The saxophone on this track sounds fantastic, the synths make the concept of an electric and bright city that much more poignant, and while the group definitely were not the first to implement these ideas into a song, they were the group whose hit song upped the ante and forced many producers to implement similar concepts into their songs. I believe this song is responsible Carly Rae Jepsen’s discography, Sky Ferreira’s sound, and surely chart toppers like “Closer” by the Chainsmokers, Iggy Azalea’s only good song “Fancy,” and even Weeknd songs like “Starboy” have an M83 sound in them. If this song hadn’t came out when it did, Skrillex and dubstep may not have had the same effect it ended up having on the EDM scene, and that truly would be a tragedy.

This song has never failed to brighten my mood. I’ve never had it overplayed. I’ve never skipped this song when it comes on through shuffle, and I am a picky listener. The only shame surrounding M83 is on the general public for not continuing to embrace the group’s albums; 2019’s DSVII will hopefully be remembered as an electronic classic years from now.

#6 “House of Memories” by Panic! at the Disco

(2016 alt rock)

       There are a few tracks from 2016’s Death of a Bachelor that could have easily made it onto this list; Panic! at the Disco is leading alt rock this decade, especially after Lady Gaga’s 2017 performance with Metallic and Imagine Dragons’ seamless transition into generic and meaningless pop music following their debut album. On one hand, Brendan Urie is an incredibly talented individual but on the other hand there hasn’t been much competition in his own genre in the past couple years. Panic! easily could have taken the same route as Imagine Dragons and pulled an Origins on us and made beaucoup bucks, but I definitely feel as if Urie understands his time spent on this earth means more than that, it definiely feels as if he spends his time perfecting his delivery and production, and that amount of effort is consistent throughout his projects. “High Hopes” and other songs from Pray for the Wicked could have made this list, but we’ve yet to discover if his newer music will end up feeling as timeless as those from Death of a Bachelor have.

       The somber and heartfelt lyrics hadn’t communicated their meaning to me until recently. The phenomenal production served as a distraction from the message, which in a way is a metaphor for the song’s message. I’ve always interpreted the moral being to never set boundaries too early, to never box yourself in preemptively. He speaks of a relationship built on a temporary passion rather than a permanent commitment. He proclaims that they have build their house on memories, as opposed to building it based on trust, loyalty, and real values. At the end of the day, the meaning is open to interpretation, but the song’s ability to make a profound statement regardless of its interpretation is further support for its placement on this list.

#5 “Dollhouse” by Melanie Martinez

(2014 art pop)

       Melanie Martinez’s 2014 Dollhouse EP served as a teaser to the album Cry Baby, a remarkably intelligent art pop concept album that extensively worked with common idioms and terminology about childhood to perpetrate such an immense and compacted amount of double entendres that you might think Eminem had sold out, called it quits, and made a pop album. The entire project revolves around the character Cry Baby, a child based off Martinez herself who unfairly was subjected to more mature things earlier than is healthy for a child. After this album went platinum, she went on to release an equally clever project album K-12 that continued the well written story into a classroom setting.

       “Dollhouse” tells the story of a family that seems picturesque on the outside but, as revealed through Cry Baby’s perspective, the mother has resorted to alcohol to cope with her son’s increasingly involvement in the world of substance abuse and her husband’s rampant infidelity.

"Places, places
Get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains
Picture, picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?
Everyone thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through the curtains”

       The idea of being in “your place” not only implies that the family has an obligation to appear likeable to the public, this line actually serves as a triple entendre, with ‘getting in your places’ referring to actors preparing for a rehearsed scene and the idiom being “put in your place” invoking the fear of a family being humiliated and exposed for the emotionally destitute condition they live in. This entire album is genius front cover to back, and I hope to see more of Melanie Martinez this decade. She is the most intelligent thing that’s happened to popular music since Madonna and Aaliyah.

#4 “Young Dumb & Broke” by Khalid

(2017 contemporary R&B)

       Khalid burst on the pop scene out of nowhere in 2017, and he quickly proved himself to be a versatile artist who insisted on becoming a mainstay on the Billboard charts. Every track he has released since “Young Dumb & Broke” and his American Teen album have been meticulously perfect in regards to melody. The man could have hummed out this track and it would have been just as catchy. He actually reminds me a lot of Jason Derulo, if I have ever found Jason Derulo’s writing to be anything other than unnecessarily misogynistic or likeable in any regard.

Brevity suits this tracks defense the best; I believe the reason the track ranked this high is largely out of a nostalgic connection I have with this song, as well as how relatable Khalid is to me, even though many of the album’s themes carried more weight while I was still in high school. If catchy music is your thing, then Khalid is your thing… end of story.

#3 “Suicide Doors” by Spose

(2019 rap ft. P.M.O.)

       If there’s any track this decade I need everyone to listen to, it’s this one. Spose is a rapper from Maine who had always stuck out to me as a kinda corny white dude who made YouTube songs… until I found this track in April of 2019, after the YouTube search algorithm picked it up following Nipsey Hussle’s death, as the topic of the track is the relationship between online communities/expectations from fans and the untimely deaths of celebrities in this decade, especially those whose fatalities were self inflicted. The track works on a pretty poignant analogy about suicide doors, lamenting that everybody wants to be rich and famous and have luxury cars with the suicide doors, but it’s difficult for us to understand how empty some celebs might feel in the face of everything they’ve lost and forfeit in the climb to reach popularity, and it’s additionally difficult for us to sympathize with the rich when they fall on their tough times.

“If you've ever seen the comments section
Then you know why fame comes with depression
‘I hope you die, slut, thot, fat, ugly, photoshopped’
Every dick's opinion from inner Finland to Omaha”

       Spose additionally requiems that we believe very deeply in the American Dream but society as a whole tends to demonizes those that end up reaching a cultural apex, as he demonstrates at the end of the third verse:

“If Kim K snaps and unloads a strap on every Mandy and Randy insulting her family
I got her back over trolls and jerks
Look, I probably wouldn't last 20 minutes as her
If I couldn't eat dinner in peace
And people expecting me to be a, 10 instead of a 3
And viewed me competitively to celebrities
I would snap like, chat, I would blast right, back
I would crack, probably end up the same place as Mac [Miller]”

       Personally, I have different reasons for generally disliking the Kardashians, but the point stands. What hit me the most about this track was its relevance to this decade. Suicide has become an increasingly sensational issue, further aided by the rise of substance abuse and nonchalant online harassment of celebrities. Spose obviously lists Mac Miller, but legends like Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain have always been limelights of this conversation. The trouble further deepens with acts like Lil Peep who, regardless of your preference for the man’s music, died sooner than a man his age should die at.

       The music video is a must-watch. Small act Spose deserves more views for being able to put such a wide encompassing topic into perfectly worded and emotional verses.

#2 “All Time Low” by Jon Bellion

(2017 contemporary R&B ft. Stormzy)

       Jon Bellion is perhaps one of the most talented pop artists of all time who has refused to release music. The man has been making music professionally since 2011, but he actually won a Grammy before ever even teasing his debut project on a major label. He won the award with Eminem and Rihanna for co-writing “The Monster” in 2013. In the seven years since that song’s released, he’s only put out 2 projects and, while they are equally great, it perplexes me to think he hasn’t pushed more. This man’s tracks shine with the production quality of U2 and Pink Floyd with the intense delivery of Michael Jackson.

       While both projects are stellar, the one that had more chart impact was 2016’s The Human Condition, which sported “All Time Low” as the lead single that promptly went platinum three times over. The entire concept of the album is hyper-relatable, and even though Jon said in an interview with Idolatry that the track was meant to represent the stages of grief a person endures following a break-up, it is truly comforting to experience the song and feel as if it covers a myriad of situations not specifically pertaining to Bellion. There are so many times when human nature dictates that you look up and feel as though you are in an inescapable abyss; Jon Bellion encapsulates raw and pure emotion. Lines like “I’m a ghost; I say your name, you look right through me” are so powerfully poignant that Shakespeare could not write a better-worded lyric to match the tone of this song.

       Also, for the sake of brevity, Stormzy’s verse was a beautiful addition to the remix. While none made this list, I am confident that the magnum opus of UK hip hop and grime will arrive at some point in the next decade, whether that be due to Stormzy or acts like Dave that are exponentially piquing my interest.

#1 “i” by Kendrick Lamar

(2015 hip hop)

       Kendrick Lamar is, as of the time of writing, the greatest mainstream rapper of all time. The few artists that can tie well-worded lyricism into perfect, pummeling production like Kendrick Lamar can fail to do it consistently like Kendrick Lamar has. And no artist that has a gangsta or hood persona can come from such a disheveled and economically destitute environment like Compton and make positive music despite an unapologetically negative upbringing. Even Dr. Dre’s hit “Forgot about Dre” couldn’t stray from certain guest features telling stories of random arson and murder. Kendrick Lamar’s lead single from To Pimp a Butterfly is overwhelmingly inspirational, with a chorus acknowledging the flaws of the world yet implying that a healthy attitude and an eager mind would effectively stifle any detriment the universe throws at you.

“I love myself!
(The world is a ghetto with big guns and picket signs)
I love myself!
(But it can do what it want whenever it want, I don't mind)
I love myself!
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love my... self!
(One day at a time, sun gonna shine)”

       The energy that Kendrick Lamar carries in his vocals are unmatched by music professionally released by any other artist this decade. If this list was a Top 100s list, “HiiiPoWeR” would be on here, “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” would be on here, “Now or Never” would be on here, half of DAMN. would be on here, but I have to choose this song because it educates all of us on a very important life lesson: mental health does not come free of charge. It is something that must be reaffirmed personally time and time again. Affronts to mental health in the form of trauma will relentlessly through themselves at you, as personified by the breakneck third verse, which again culminates at Kung Fu Kenny screaming his declaration of self-love.

“I could never take the lead, I could never bob and weave
From a negative and letting them annihilate me
And it's evident I'm moving at a meteor speed
Finna run into a building, lay my body in the street
Keep my money in the ceiling, let my mama know I'm free
Give my story to the children and a lesson they can read

And the glory to the feeling of the holy unseen
Seen enough, make a motherfucker scream, ‘I love myself!’”

       Everything about this track is perfect and I honestly prefer the album version of this song in the context of To Pimp a Butterfly’s story, and I could definitely go on and on about every aspect of this track; I haven’t really even touched the track’s orchestral production. However, I think this suffices, and I cordially invite anyone who hasn’t heard this song or any other song on this list to crawl out from underneath their rock and educate themselves.

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       Conversely, feel free to educate me in the comment section below or on my social media. I can’t possibly come across every great track that’s been released this decade, so give me your top 10 anywhere you please. Most importantly, I think it’s important to note that culture builds upon the foundation of culture. Music cannot fundamentally hit a dry spell. It only goes up from here, and I’m hopeful for the 2020s. See ya later.