Warning: Some of the albums listed here contain explicit lyrics. Reader discretion is advised.

The 2010s were an amazing collection of musical efforts from some of the world’s most talented creators. We’ll be counting down the decade’s best albums, starting with #40-31. Let’s do this thing.

40) J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014)

Spawning countless jokes about going platinum with no features, 2014’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive is J. Cole on his own with some incredible production doing what he does best. With only two albums coming before this one, the North Carolina rapper tells stories of girl-chasing, growing up without strong male role models, and generally telling people to try and keep up.

His voice and lyrics are immediately identifiable, and his sound is now a huge influence on many rappers. Other than Kendrick Lamar and Drake, I’d argue no rapper had a bigger decade than J. Cole simply because every rapper wants to be him and every rap fan listens to him. Unless you’re a square, then you probably complain about him. Which, if that’s the case, G.O.H.D.

39) Tame Impala – Lonerism (2012)

Tame Impala’s 2012 album Lonerism is Kevin Parker’s greeting to the music industry. 2010’s InnerSpeaker felt incomplete, and 2015’s Currents isn’t quite up to this level of completeness. In a way, Lonerism is a wake-up call for indie rock.

There are a lot of people who started seeing bands like The Killers and The Strokes making room for more invasive pop sounds, and Tame Impala is a project meant to counter genre as a construct. It’s heavy on the Beatles-adjacent harmonies and layered instrumentation, but it’s not a Beatles rip-off. That’s a really tough balance to find, and now Kevin Parker is producing and writing for the world’s biggest artists. It all starts here in 2012.

38) Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial (2016)

What started as singer/songwriter Will Toldeo’s solo project turned into 10 albums by the time he was finished with college. 2016’s Teens of Denial is his most complete work, only rivaled by 2018’s reworking of his 2011 album Twin Fantasy. Toldeo’s voice is representative of a generation of millennials seeking for meaning in a world that consistently throws them garbage.

Love even feels unfulfilling in a world going to hell, but guess what? It’s this or nothing at all. There’s a hope to be found in this album, and there are also really fun tracks that can make you want to move. It’s hard to find a dance-y indie album that maintains its seriousness, but Teens of Denial is worth every one of its 70 minute run time.

37) CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye (2015)

CHVRCHES is equal parts pop, indie, and electronic. That’s a huge reason why the Glasgow trio made waves in 2013 with The Bones of What You Believe. If The Bones was the band getting its feet wet while finding its sound, Every Open Eye was the band jumping in head first, knowing full well that multiple parts of the audience were coming with them.

Fans of pure electronic can soak in Iain Cook and Martin Doherty’s synth landscapes, while more traditional indie-pop fans can swoon with Lauren Mayberry’s unrivaled vocals. It’s a balance most bands try to find and might achieve by album 3 or 4. CHVRCHES nailed it the second time around, avoiding the sophomore slump and laying the groundwork for another great follow-up in 2018.

36) IDLES – Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018)

Who would have thought the biggest band to come out of the U.K. in the second half of the 2010s would be a leftist punk band decrying the Tory party and Trump-era politics? It’s insane seeing how much influence IDLES garnished for their 2018 album Joy as an Act of Resistance, but it’s well deserved. The band’s political commentary fits into the activist wing of punk’s history while still feeling fresh for the modern social climate we’re all trying to stay alive in.

It’s tough picking albums in the last few years as best choices from the entire decade, but this placement isn’t a second guess. From celebrating immigrants to fighting racists, and even supporting men’s mental health, this album is thoughtful, endearing, and absolutely necessary.

35) Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel… (2012)

Fiona Apple waited seven years to record this album after 2005’s Extraordinary Machine. Not only did the time give her plenty of recording material and inspiration, but it also spurred one of the best album titles of the decade. Its full name is The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.

Nobody calls it that, but everyone remembers the first time they hear it. With a simplicity to her sound and a complexity to her craft most songwriters would kill for, Fiona Apple is a unique wonder in music. In 45 minutes, Apple takes us on a journey through her mind and emotions. It’s hard not to hit repeat right away on this one.

34) Chris Stapleton – Traveller (2015)

Everyone likes to think of Chris Stapleton as an overnight sensation but his prog-bluegrass band, The SteelDrivers, was tearing up the Americana scene for years before Traveller released in 2015. On top of his bluegrass band, he wrote music for other country stars, including George Strait, Kenny Chesney, and Tim McGraw. In his solo debut, however, country fans weren’t the only ones picking up this record. It’s American-style songwriting at its best. Stories of heartbreak, hopes and dreams, and incredibly vivid pictures of the human experience, make this the best country release of the decade by far.

33) Waxahatchee – Cerulean Salt (2013)

Katie Crutchfield embodies one of the most compelling parts of the 2010s. Bedroom recordings and lo-fi stylings developed after each solo release until a full-band, studio quality album was in store. The result is 2013’s Cerulean Salt, an album with the value and influence of releases from indie darlings like Conor Oberst and Elliot Smith. Crutchfield’s voice is equal parts pure and tainted, with incredibly unopposing lyrics seeming like musings in one moment, and then deep revelations in the next. One of the more overlooked albums in this list, it’s set to stand the test of time for decades to come.

32) Alt-J – An Awesome Wave (2012)

What started in the 2000s as a garage rock revival from the U.K. somehow ended up transitioning to trip-hop inspired, shoegaze-adjacent indie rock by the 2010s. Alt-J’s pattern was simple: get high, write progressive electronic music with pop leanings, and of course, lean into the almost untranslatable vocals of singer Joe Newman. The album wasn’t quite as exploratory as an Animal Collective record, but it was catchier, and An Awesome Wave had the pleasure of skirting pop radio success and indie adoration for the better part of 18 months after its 2012 release.

31) Tigers Jaw – Charmer (2014)

Tigers Jaw was bound to be a leader in emo’s fourth wave revival after the 2010 release of their self-titled debut. Instead, three band members, including the lead singer and songwriter, left the band once everyone started wanting to pursue different projects in different states. That left founding members Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins with a choice: disband and start anew elsewhere, or continue together under the Tigers Jaw moniker. They opted for the latter, and Charmer showed a band on the eve of next-level success, not an outfit scrambling to survive.

With their dual harmonies and great indie-emo songs, the band would end up stronger than ever and has toured to great crowds ever since. It rounds out our first ten of the best albums of the decade for its energy, emotion, and longevity in a genre that has bent and broken down countless times.

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Editor’s Note: The list is finished! Check out 30-21, 20-11, and 10-1 to round out this list!