(NOTE: I have two #36's on this list because I fucked up my counting, and I didn't want to delete any albums off my list. So deal with it!)
40. Magnitude - To Whatever Fateful End (Triple-B Records, 2019)
A number of bands from America's geographic South have recently devoted themselves to mid 90's New Age/Victory Records worship. The general consensus from hardcore heads is that most of this material is simply derivative. This is, until Magnitude's To Whatever Fateful End. The North Carolina group channels Strife, One King Down and Earth Crisis through a modern production and performance lens, with dynamic results. The album brings a classic sound to a new generation with an execution old heads can't deny.
39. Boosie Badazz - BooPac (Atlantic/Trill, 2017)
Boosie made waves on VladTV when he suggested he would borrow the namesake of a deceased rap icon for a highly personal, introspective mixtape. When the risks he took on BooPac didn't pay off commercially, the Louisiana rapper lamented he would only make "turn-up" records from then on. A damn shame, as BooPac is a gem. The lyrics about personal growth and community stand out like a sore thumb in an era when rappers of Boosie's vintage are becoming more and more detached from reality. BooPac is a win from a compositional standpoint as well -- the complexity of the rhyme schemes are unmatched by anything this decade.
38. Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book (Self Released, 2016)
According to Wikipedia, Chance the Rapper's religious re-awakening happened slightly before Coloring Book was written. It must have been a perfect storm, because his third mixtape is a perfect transition point between someone who was "xanned out every fucking day" and someone who thought it would be a good idea to write a 70-minute concept album about his wedding. The gospel rap sound is all over this album, but it also has a strong low-end and a lyrical edge that isn't there on many of the other rap sermons we've had to endure in the past five or so years.
37. A$AP Ferg - Trap Lord (RCA Records, 2013)
Anyone who knows me, knows I love stupid music. Trap Lord is among the stupidest albums ever made. The first line of the lead single is "short n***a but my dick long", pretty much setting the tone. The choruses to two of Ferg's songs are simply "I fucked yo bitch, n***a" repeated over and over again, and "get the fuck out my motherfucking face" over and over again. But for all the stupidity, there are many redeemable qualities. Ferg says it best himself: he's "kinda silly doe, but [he's] lyrical". There's also a fair amount of compositional intelligence and risk-taking in the song structure, which breaks up the monotony and gives the album a flow. Ferg dials up the stupidity on Trap Lord, but there's more than enough substance to go with it.
36. Various Artists - Mixed Signals Compilation (Run For Cover Records, 2011)
This decade marked the beginning of the streaming age, and the compilation gave way to the curated playlist. 2011's Mixed Signals may be the last great example of a truly important punk comp. Curated by a fledgling Run For Cover Records, Mixed Signals presents 12 previously unreleased songs from that era's creme de la creme of indie-leaning post-hardcore. Half of the bands lent the comp songs that could be considered in the top five of their catalogs at the time. The compilation album may be a lost vessel for getting people into new music, but Mixed Signals proves that when done right, comps can be a special time capsule.
36. Lil Uzi Vert - Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World (Generation Now, 2016)
All you need to do to piss off an old head or Eminem stan is mention "mumble rap". Then watch the boomer's eyes roll into the back of his head as he spouts gibberish about coloured braids, lean and face tattoos. To be fair, he's not exactly wrong. Mumble rap has been responsible for it's fair share of musical atrocities this decade. It's also had a number of high water marks -- perhaps none higher than this 9 song tape. The hallmarks of mumble rap are all there -- the kazoos, recorders and unintelligble lyrics about diamonds. However, the production is raw and laser focused, and the hooks are plentiful, making vs. The World a standout among a sea of flexing and gibberish.
35. The Rival Mob - Mob Justice (Revelation Records, 2013)
Seeing the Rival Mob on the third day of this is hardcore in 2012 was a revelation to me. I had bought a one day ticket to see Bane, Title Fight and Code Orange Kids (who I missed). So when I walked in part-way through Rival Mob's set, I was taken aback by how raw and distilled they played hardcore. I was also taken aback by the sheer amount of people beating the shit out of each other in the pit. I downloaded their new album when it came out a year later. It took about four years to grow on me, but eventually I came to love earworms like "Boot Party" or "Brutes of Force" along with mosh anthems like the intro and title track. Mob Justice is our decade's best representation of the straightforward, Lockin' Out, New York by way of Boston sound.
34. Joyce Manor - Joyce Manor (6131 Records, 2011)
I think the consensus favourite for Joyce Manor is their third album. I disagree. Their self-titled debut is overflowing with a type of rage they tried to replace, first with sarcasm, then earnestness. They never quite scratch the same itch. Most of the songs on the self-titled are under two minutes long, but they have the pop sensibility to make them anthemic. The production on this record is the only thing holding it back, as almost every one of the albums' ten songs can get caught in your head.
33. Kodak Black - Project Baby 2 (Sniper Gang Records, 2017)
Kodak Black seemed to be poised for superstardom in 2017. He had released a string of promising mixtapes, but had his career derailed by numerous legal problems. In 2017, he released his first proper album, the well-received Painting Pictures, and followed it up with PB2, a sprawling, expansive mixtape that dealt with personal pain, incarceration, and alienation in a realer fashion than anything else this decade. Kodak was destined to break through, but he faced more jail time, and never seemed to have the same focus with the pen or in the booth as a result. If 2017 remains Kodak's banner year, he will go down as one of this century's biggest broken promises. At least we'll have this tape as a reminder of what could have been.
32. Pianos Become the Teeth - The Lack Long After (Topshelf Records, 2011)
The five bands who comprised "the wave" are introspective, navel-gazing, and sometimes, melodramatic. To say they put a premium on lyrics is an understatement. Those five bands probably account for hundreds of lost notebooks, scribbled in the margins, overflowing with prose. Pianos Become the Teeth's greatest lyrical contribution is perhaps the realest and most heart-wrenching the wave produced, as vocalist Kyle Durfey chronicles the loss of his father to MS. Durfey's lyrics, backed by a carefully-crafted wall of noise and a booming percussion section, etch PBTT into the halls of screamo cannon.
31. Xerxes - Our Home is a Deathbed (No Sleep Records, 2012)
While "the wave" is an important musical statement in its own right, the five bands also inspired a legion of kids who grew up on Thursday to dive deep in the crates and pull from bands like American Nightmare and Pg.99. Xerxes aren't the first band to mix the pacing of "Metal-Zone youth crew" with the atmosphere and melody of skramz, but they are the darkest, ugliest, and I would argue, the best. Deathbed sounds like Touche Amore with basement production and better lyrics. Main songwriter Will Allard is a dynamic mastermind, and vocalist Calvin Philley is a bona-fide poet. Our Home is a Deathbed is currently, barely a footnote on a genre cast aside. However, my hope is when kids rediscover this type of music, they'll pick up this record and fall in love with it like I did.
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