I love Take Me To Church, great lyrics and choral atmosphere, the vocals are fantastic, Hozier delivering them preacher style. Sad that the wrong one if his singles reached number one

I’ve already eulogised about Lorde when talking about Royals in the number one ranking, that first ‘The Love Club’ EP was excellent, it stood out so much as something different when I first heard it. Pure Heroine after it was even better. I love Tennis Court and also Team, but Ribs is definitely another highlight. Such simple arrangements but so effective, and I loved the hip hop influence she brought in.

However my absolute favourite would probably be something from Melodrama, I maintain it’s the best pop album this century. It often changes but maybe Writer In The Dark or Hometown Dynamite atm?

30 minutes ago, Jaz13music said:

I love Take Me To Church, great lyrics and choral atmosphere, the vocals are fantastic, Hozier delivering them preacher style. Sad that the wrong one if his singles reached number one

I’ve already eulogised about Lorde when talking about Royals in the number one ranking, that first ‘The Love Club’ EP was excellent, it stood out so much as something different when I first heard it. Pure Heroine after it was even better. I love Tennis Court and also Team, but Ribs is definitely another highlight. Such simple arrangements but so effective, and I loved the hip hop influence she brought in.

However my absolute favourite would probably be something from Melodrama, I maintain it’s the best pop album this century. It often changes but maybe Writer In The Dark or Hometown Dynamite atm?

I did wonder if you would appreciate the choral elements of 'Take Me To Church' too based on what I've gathered from your taste so far, yay <3

Choosing between Pure Heroine and Melodrama is liking picking a favourite child for me but I do appreciate how accomplished the latter is too, especially for such a young mind - "I'm 19 and I'm on fire" indeed! 'Homemade Dynamite' is my absolute favourite from it so nice shout there, I always nominate it in ROTD <3 'Writer In The Dark' is wonderful too, has quite a Kate Bush quality to it.

2010s

#04 Lana Del Rey - 'Ride' (2012)

#03 Gotye - 'Somebody That I Used To Know' (feat. Kimbra) (2011)

Next up is another special artist to me (and my apparent celebrity lookalike) as I put Lana Del Rey at the very top of my list when Gezza ran the 'BuzzJack's Favourite Female Solo Singer' contest on here!

Lana entered my life in late 2011 when 'Video Games' became a hit. This song had been sent to BJSC and even won the contest during the summer months but I was years away from signing up. I remember watching the DIY music video for 'Video Games' on 4Music and was utterly entranced. It made #2 in my personal chart where it was blocked by Coldplay and Rihanna's 'Princess of China' duet. But I loved follow-up single 'Born to Die' even more so that swiftly gave Lana her first #1 for me.

Debut album Born to Die was massively impactful for Lana. The critics didn't properly warm to her shtick yet, but it was so popular, especially with chronically online Tumblr teenagers like myself. I cannot begin to explain how influential the likes of Lana, Lorde and MARINA were in this space. Born to Die still has a huge place in my heart even if I do think albums like Ultraviolence and Norman F****ng Rockwell! were more impressive showcases for her artistry. She's one of those singers who doesn't have a bad album for me which is pretty good going now her discography has expanded so much. Even my least favourite Blue Banisters still has its moments.

Lana has soundtracked my life with so many songs and I finally got to hear her perform some of them live last year. I was originally supposed to watch her in 2020 but my Birmingham tour date was cancelled, not because of lockdown, but instead she was ill. So I patiently waited to see her in the U.K. again and my time finally came 5 years later when she announced some Wembley Stadium dates, better late than never! Her set-lists are a bit lazy and it was laughable that she disappeared for a few songs, to be replaced by a hologram version of Lana instead, but it was still magical to hear some of my favourites live for the first time. A sea of like-minded people all singing 'Ultraviolence' together genuinely made me feel 17 again. I also got to hear the Lana song I've always connected with most in the flesh, 'Ride' <3

Born to Die was such a bonafide success that Lana expanded it for us with a separate collection of songs called Paradise. The two would also be packaged together as Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. 'Ride' was chosen as the song to lead the Paradise EP. It was written by Lana and Justin Parker while produced by Rick Rubin, shockingly the only time she's ever worked with the latter.

'Ride' is about Lana's loneliness and how she finds solace in going on drives. I enjoy the lyrical duality of her recklessness with more peaceful imagery, particularly the first line in the chorus: "I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fast", where's she's speedy but passes calming sights. She also explores why she is the way she is, with some familial context, such as: "dying young and playing hard, that's the way my father made his life in art". She also uses the word "daddy" earlier on in the song which is a reference to Lolita, much like Alizèe earlier in the countdown. I had plenty of teenage angst so particularly connected with the "war in my mind" line, but it still rings true, as a life long chronic overthinker. This manages to be a hugely escapist anthem for me despite the dark place it comes from.

I love Lana's husky, soulful vocal performance throughout. She also switches things up in a breath-taking way on the bridge, vulnerably declaring lines like "I'm tired of feeling like I'm f*****g crazy" in a higher register. The final "I just riiiiiiiide" on that bridge gives me goosebumps every time.

The production also shines. The beautiful piano and soaring strings give the track an incredibly cinematic feel.

The music video caused controversy due to glamourising prostitution and violence, in addition to calls of cultural appropriation when Lana was wearing the Native American war bonnet. I've just re-watched the whole 10 minute experience (which has been compared to both A Streetcar Named Desire and Lolita) and particularly appreciate the more freeing scenes, especially when Lana is on a tire swing, but I can definitely see why the video was criticised for cultural appropriation - that headdress would not fly today!

'Ride' matched the peak of Lana's earlier song 'Blue Jeans' when it also reached #32 in the U.K. singles chart, in 2012. Fellow Paradise highlight 'Gods And Monsters' also had a moment in the 30s (#39 to be exact) later in 2014 when it was used in a trailer for EastEnders' 'Who Killed Lucy Beale?' storyline, what a time to be alive.

...

My bronze medal for the 2010s is my favourite #1 hit of the decade!

Australian singer Gotye joined forces with New Zealand's Kimbra to produce something magical. What a time for Kiwis with Lorde of course making my top 5 too.

'Somebody That I Used To Know' is yet another example of a song that was sent to BJSC a few months before it took off here. The song finished in unlucky 13th in that final during September 2011 and then entered the U.K. chart in January 2012. I distinctly remember its initial 97-36-21-7-3 run before it fully exploded into a chart topper for 5 non-consecutive weeks. I was quickly on board so it was a #1 in my personal chart during early 2012. This song was absolutely massive yet I surprisingly never tired of it. 'Somebody That I Used To Know' received my top marks when a rate of the 2010s U.K. #1s took place on the forum, which it also won, taste. I was again reminded of the song when RabbitFurCoat recently ranked the 2012 #1s and ended up playing it on a loop, such is its spell on me. It's quite something that the public embraced this to such an extent, but I'm glad they did, as it gave us such a unique #1 hit.

Gotye's foundation for this song was a sample of Luiz Bonfá's instrumental track 'Seville'. He then found the drums and started working on the lyrics and melody, including the wobbly guitar sample melody. He then took a break before returning to the session a few weeks later, now with a chorus chord progression, chorus melody and added sounds like the Latin loop, flutes and some additional percussion. But then he hit a brick wall. Gotye once again came back to the song in a third session and decided the way to develop it effectively was to write from the female perspective too.

Aside from the 'Seville' sample, the beats and xylophone also play a melody based on 'Baa, Baa, Black Sheep', which sounds bizarre on paper but is oddly entrancing.

The track is about two ex-lovers, who were once each other's world, but are now effectively strangers. The perspectives read as quite messy, as Gotye appears to believe the two of them just drifted apart, while Kimbra's character feels she was emotionally abused and called it off for that reason. I love the emotional depth to this storytelling. The way it's presented feels so special too, with a delicacy that is also grappling with a darker rage, both vocally and in the production. I think both singers deliver their parts with such nuanced passion and come together wonderfully with the harmonies. I always felt Kimbra's voice had a touch of Katy Perry to it.

The music video is so simple but effective too. Firstly, Gotye's eyes are very expressive during the close-up shots. I also love the wide shots of the two vulnerable, nude singers being connected through geometric art - very striking. The stop motion effects are pretty cool too.

'Somebody That I Used To Know' has certainly stood the test of time with over 2.5 billion Spotify streams. It was also sampled on Doechii's top 3 hit 'Anxiety' just last year.

Don't know that Lana track but the two singles 'Video Games' and 'Born To Die' gave me chills particularly the latter - great but sad tracks.

'Somebody I Used To Know' was good and interesting at the start but yeah overplay ruined it for me and I prefer Doechii's 'Anxiety'.

I have to admit I initially didn’t remember Ride when you mentioned it here, maybe I didn’t listen to the Paradise Edition of Born To Die as much as the main album? But it’s really lovely, epic and dramatic with those strings, I can certainly see why you love it so much! Though I adore the NFR album, Video Games remains her career highlight for me, it’s still breathtaking.

Somebody That I Used to Know is such a unique song, especially one that became the biggest seller of the year, that is so rare. It has such powerful simplicity. And how many number ones have a melody based on a nursery rhyme and prominently use a xylophone, yet still sound fantastic. It shouldn’t have worked so well, but it definitely does! A real one off song.

13 hours ago, TheSnake said:

Don't know that Lana track but the two singles 'Video Games' and 'Born To Die' gave me chills particularly the latter - great but sad tracks.

'Somebody I Used To Know' was good and interesting at the start but yeah overplay ruined it for me and I prefer Doechii's 'Anxiety'.

We'll have to agree to disagree with 'Somebody I Used To Know' then, but to be fair, it really was everywhere so I can understand why the overplay would be off-putting!

I do agree that both 'Video Games' and 'Born to Die' are stunning, though great vocals, lyrics and production - I particularly love the inclusion of the harp on the former and I remember the latter tripping some people up in one of my NMTBJ rounds in the past, due to the trip-hop influences.

10 hours ago, Jaz13music said:

I have to admit I initially didn’t remember Ride when you mentioned it here, maybe I didn’t listen to the Paradise Edition of Born To Die as much as the main album? But it’s really lovely, epic and dramatic with those strings, I can certainly see why you love it so much! Though I adore the NFR album, Video Games remains her career highlight for me, it’s still breathtaking.

Somebody That I Used to Know is such a unique song, especially one that became the biggest seller of the year, that is so rare. It has such powerful simplicity. And how many number ones have a melody based on a nursery rhyme and prominently use a xylophone, yet still sound fantastic. It shouldn’t have worked so well, but it definitely does! A real one off song.

Perhaps 'Ride' isn't the most obvious choice of Lana favourite (this just inspired me to see where it is in her list of best rated songs on RateYourMusic and users currently have it in fifth, behind 'Venice Bitch', 'A&W' (this is definitely my favourite Lana song of the 2020s), 'Mariners Apartment Complex' and 'West Coast'. I'm surprised 'Video Games' is 'only' 8th there but it still has a strong rating of 4.26/5, so the site was seemingly spoilt for choice. I agree that song is such an accomplished, gorgeous debut anyway! Glad this reminder of 'Ride' was positive for you. The strings are just stunning indeed <3 both the song and its music video have such a cinematic feel.

Oh yes of course, Gotye/Kimbra not only a multi-week #1 but best seller for the whole year, incredible! That and 'Crazy' by Gnarls Barkley really stand out as particularly unique EOY #1s in the 21st century. I agree, some ingredients there that probably shouldn't have worked on paper but it all came together so well.

Thank you for the comments ❤️ the 2010s conclude this evening!

I was so into Born to Die. I was very disappointed with the album, though. It didn't live up to the classiness of the title track. Some of the production sounded cheap and plasticky. Second album was a huge improvement in how it sounded.

Edited October 7Oct 7 by Colm

6 minutes ago, Colm said:

I was so into Born to Die. I was very disappointed with the album, though.

Aww I see, it was such a bible of my teenage years so will always have a special place in my heart, even if she did better it with other albums.

I relistened to Born to Die: The Paradise Edition yesterday and 'Born to Die' has definitely held up as my favourite from the main album

I suppose as a long term female singer-songwriter fan, I expected better production, just better melodies. Summertime Sadness seemed to be very popular but I didn't like it at all. But this is all par for the course with me. I often completely don't get why certain singers are popular. I can't really abide Florence at all.

2010s

#02 Bombay Bicycle Club - 'Luna' (2014)

#01 Frank Ocean - 'Pyramids' (2012)

English indie rock band Bombay Bicycle Club claim the 2010s silver medal with the second single from their fourth album So Long, See You Tomorrow. This record was inspired by lead singer Jack Steadman's travels from Europe through to India.

I can certainly hear Indian influences in the instrumental of 'Luna' as it incorporates Tabla drums throughout. It feels so textured with that percussion, the fluid electronic sounds and heavy bass. I love the light and shade in the development of the song, with soft verses and harsher, thrilling drops. 'Luna' ends with the instrumental taking centre stage, a euphoric crescendo.

The vocals are performed by the band's Jack Steadman and an uncredited Rae Morris. He charms with quite a laidback delivery while she provides an ethereal presence. Their synchronised interplay is absolutely beautiful to listen to.

I find the lyrics so adorable and relatable as someone who has a very overactive mind at nighttime. I think the words are prettily decorated with the lunar imagery. That yearning in both the vocals and lyrics is palpable and gives me so much joy as a listener. The enhanced intensity of the chorus also feels like a stadium moment, what a rush.

The video is a lovely watch with the synchronised swimmers. I think the song has a bit of an aquatic feel anyway, with the production that ebbs and flows, in addition to an opening line like "I will bathe myself", so that visual ties in quite nicely on that front.

Bombay Bicycle Club sadly do not have any U.K. top 40 hits to their name. 'Luna' charted at #78 and spent four weeks in the top 100.

...

Taking the top spot for the 2010s is a song I've genuinely seen described as the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or 'Paranoid Android' of R&B thanks to its ambition and structural complexity.

I can clearly remember the first time I ever heard 'Pyramids' back in 2012. In secondary school we had an off timetable week every year called 'Innovation Week' with a number of themes to choose from, each one ran by a different teacher. I signed up to the 'film club' option that year, which involved activities such as going to Harry Potter studios, the cinema and reviewing a film we watched in school. The latter turned out to be The Woman In Black so maybe this teacher had a thing for Daniel Radcliffe. Although, we also watched the third Men In Black film in the cinema, so that's a fun titular connection between those two movies. Anyway, we all had to write a review of The Woman In Black and the one deemed the strongest would win a prize. Well... I was picked as the winner! My prize was a pretty cool radio. I'm not sure how that had anything to do with film but I was still chuffed. Guess where I'd hear 'Pyramids' for the first time?

I set up this new radio and put my station of choice on at the time, Radio 1, to test it. I vividly recall discovering both Solange's 'Losing You' and Frank Ocean's 'Pyramids' that day. However, this was certainly an abridged version of the latter, as the full track is almost 10 minutes long. Still, even this shortened iteration was enough to wow me, so I swiftly downloaded it on to my iPod and became obsessed with the full thing. At the time I was an admin on Glee Wiki (!) and you could customise your profile with a song that would automatically play in the background, so 'Pyramids' was mine. The synth instrumental part still gives me flashbacks to editing that profile even now

I was attracted to 'Pyramids' for a number of reasons. Firstly, the production really impressed me with its sprawling, shape-shifting execution. It opens with a warped R&B sound and then transitions into my favourite part, with the addictive electro house synths. The song then cools down into a more spaced out, trappy, slow jam section. There is then a lengthy, epic guitar solo performed by an uncredited John Mayer that fades out into the song's climax. This all sounds amazing but takes on further meaning when contextualised with the lyrics. The song has two distinctive sections, one set in the past, while the second half takes on a more modern narrative. Therefore, the first half of 'Pyramids' is produced to sound suitably throwback, while the trappy transition takes us to more modern clubs.

Over time I really began to appreciate how well-crafted the lyrics of this song are too. The tale of 'Pyramids' begins in ancient Egypt with once much respected and beloved pharaoh Cleopatra, who then brings dishonour to her country by becoming Mark Anthony's mistress, so is later driven to her death. Her king/the narrator that she cheated on and ran away from was left devastated by her actions. The song then transitions to a modern scenario that Ocean links back to the ancient tale. This new Cleo is revealed to be a prostitute as Ocean, in character as a pimp, details her morning routine. There is then a plot twist in a later verse as a new character is now introduced, who has parallels to the king in the earlier part of the song. It is revealed that this man is also paying for Cleo's prostitution services, like the pimp character a little earlier, but it wasn't always this way ("your love ain't free no more") as they were formerly an actual item. But his current situation isn't looking great - as he's unemployed and has resorted to paying a former lover for her services. He's essentially humiliated like ancient Cleopatra's king. I think the parallels throughout already make for glorious storytelling, but on top of this, there's a deeper meaning.

Ocean's overarching topic is the struggles of black women in modern society, facing issues such as systemic racism, sexism and identity fragmentation. Ocean uses ancient Cleopatra's tale but amends her character to be black in 'Pyramids', in addition to the later Cleo also being a black woman, to fit this deeper message. In this song, the character goes from a powerful Queen so revered in her homeland that men would die to protect her honour ("the jewel of Africa"), to a contrasting role in the modern Western world - as she is later portrayed as an exploited prostitute. The older lovers in the story are broken apart due to infidelity, but the modern ones perhaps never even got a monogamous chance, as Cleo has seemingly been institutionalised to only want men for money. Essentially it's layers upon layers and a fascinating record in terms of both its lyricism and production.

In addition to all of that, Frank anchors each shapeshifting moment of the song like a pro vocally, providing an emotional and varied performance throughout.

Channel ORANGE is a fantastic album in general but this will always be its crowning jewel for me, an ambitious effort that really paid off.

'Pyramids' did not chart in the U.K. but 'Lost' and 'Thinkin Bout You' from the same album both made the top 100. The former reached a new peak of #44 in 2022, after it took off on TikTok, but sadly wasn't granted a reset so that viral moment felt a lot bigger than its chart position actually suggests.

Congrats to Frank Ocean who joins The Ronettes, Kraftwerk, Visage, Depeche Mode and Roger Sanchez in my hall of fame! Just one more left to reveal...

2010s

TOP 10 RECAP

#01 Frank Ocean - 'Pyramids' (2012)

#02 Bombay Bicycle Club - 'Luna' (2014)

#03 Gotye - 'Somebody That I Used To Know' (feat. Kimbra) (2011)

#04 Lana Del Rey - 'Ride' (2012)

#05 Lorde - 'Ribs' (2013)

#06 Hozier - 'Take Me To Church' (2013)

#07 Vitalic feat. David Shaw and The Beat - 'Waiting For The Stars' (2016)

#08 Billie Eilish - 'when the party’s over' (2018)

#09 Ariana Grande - 'no tears left to cry' (2018)

#10 Drab Majesty - 'Ellipsis' (2019)

Honourable mentions: 'Do I Wanna Know?' by Arctic Monkeys was the last song I cut, love that album in general. 'JUNKY' by BROCKHAMPTON was also close to making it. Them, Dave and Kendrick Lamar are definitely my favourite hip-hop acts of the 2010s. The xx feel like a notable omission also, I'd have to choose either 'On Hold' or the beautiful 'Angels' for the 2010s. I didn't have any room for ROSALÍA's 'MALAMENTE' either sadly. Or my favourite of my own BJSC entries, 'Sinking' by Somnium. Other big favourites that stand out from my ROTD votes over the years include: 'Blind Faith' by Chase & Status, NERO's 'Guilt', Lykke Li's 'I Follow Rivers', Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep', Disclosure's 'Latch', The Neighbourhood's 'Sweater Weather', Woodkid's 'Run Boy Run', Chris Malinchak's 'So Good To Me', Clean Bandit's 'Mozart's House', CHVRCHES' 'The Mother We Share', alt-J's 'Every Other Freckle', Bowie's 'Blackstar' if he didn't already feature in the 20th century, Tame Impala's 'Let It Happen', Grimes' 'Flesh Without Blood', Paradis' 'Toi Et Moi', Charli xcx's 'Vroom Vroom', Dua Lipa's 'Be The One' and Bring Me The Horizon's 'nihilist blues' amongst others...

Time for a short break before we launch into the 2020s (so far) at the weekend! That's right... almost at the finish line. 😱

Bombay Bicycle Club are a fantastic underrated band (I couldn’t believe it when you pointed out they had no top 40 singles!) and I love ‘Luna’, great uptempo indie with a driving rhythm and the interesting tabla and, what sounds like a glockenspiel, as percussion. The vocals are excellent though, I love a male/female duet anyway, and it has really beautiful dynamic here. It was in my top ten songs of 2014 back in the day, so definitely in agreement with you…

As I am with your number one, which was also in my top ten of 2012! I confess I adore Frank Ocean, such a fascinating innovative artist, I’ve followed him all the way from his early days in the Odd Future collective (with Tyler The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt et al) ‘Swim Deep’ is an early favourite of his. ‘Pyramid’ was the moment he really became a favourite though, an epic shifting almost symphonic opus, with its clever allegory story telling, which you described excellently. A great choice for number 1. He went on to make one more proper album after ‘channel ORANGE’, the wonderful groundbreaking ‘Blonde’ ten (!) years ago. It’s one of my all time favourites. And then, apart from a few scattered singles and features, nothing!

Heartbreaking!

Another excellent ten, with more great commentary, thank you!

My best of 2010s list would look something like this

Get Lucky – Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers

Runaway (feat. Pusha T) – Kanye West

Tilted – Christine and the Queens

Out of the Black – Royal Blood

NOBODY'S BABY – Sheer Mag

Let It Happen – Tame Impala

Stay High (feat. Hippie Sabotage) – Tove Lo

212 (feat. Lazy Jay) – Azealia Banks

HUMBLE.  – Kendrick Lamar

Seigfried – Frank Ocean

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire

This Is America – Childish Gambino

Video Games – Lana Del Rey

One Life Stand – Hot Chip

Luna – Bombay Bicycle Club

Loud Places (feat. Romy) – Jamie xx

All My Friends (feat. Tinashe) – Snakehips

Royals – Lorde

Cellophane – FKA twigs

Oblivion – Grimes

Baptism – Crystal Castles

Dance Yrself Clean – LCD Soundsystem

Step – Vampire Weekend

Assume Form – James Blake

We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna

when the party's over – Billie Eilish

Feel the Love (feat. John Newman) – Rudimental

I Follow Rivers – Lykke Li

Stained – HMLTD

Hold Up – Beyoncé

Losing You – Solange

Midnight City – M83

Edited October 8Oct 8 by Jaz13music

I had a listen to Pyramids and enjoyed it a lot, I can see why you put it in first place. This is my top 10, some of them didn't appear in my all time top 1000 chart as they came out after I compiled it or I discovered them later on.

1. Secrets Of Angels - Karnataka

2. Untouchable Parts 1 and 2 - Anathema

3. And I Will Kiss - Underworld and Dame Evelyn Glennie

4. Gaza - Marillion

5. Routine - Steven Wilson

6. Carousel - East India Youth

7. There Used To Be A Darkness - Mikko Joensuu

8. I Hold You - Clann

9. Promises - Nero

10. Touch - Daft Punk

That top 2 is amazing - I discovered Pyramids quite a few years after it came out, though didn't fully appreciate it until I heard Channel Orange on my first album bucket list. The epic first part with gradiose synths matching the historical context gradually seguing into the more subdued but subtle parallels the change in perspective brings is really striking and as you say, a really layered and complex song, I think it will be remembered as one of the all time greatest songs from around the time in the future. The whole album was fantastic and I really need to get into Blonde at some point as that's on my second one. If he indeed never makes music again, he's certainly left a good legacy x

I love Luna as well, that would be similarly high up for me too, I have a lot of final year of uni memories associated with it and the merging of his vocals with Rae Morris' works wonderfully and adds a lot of emotional weight to the song as you say. There are few other songs I quite like from them, but that remains by a mile my favourite.

Some good BJSC picks - I gave Drab Majesty ten points and it has stuck with me a bit, I had to remind myself of the Vitalic song, it was a commiseration for me at the time but definitely points-worthy listening to it now, maybe it was a strong contest x I do have quite clear memories of around that period in BJSC and my taste was very influenced by it.

I do find Lana Del Rey a bit too samey sometimes (though I have been meaning to look into her other albums as they have had a lot of acclaim), but I loved her first era and it also holds a lot of uni memories. Ride wasn't quite as good as Video Games and Born to Die (or West Coast from the next era for that matter) for me but do appreciate the extremely cinematic atmosphere and strong chorus.

When We All Fall Asleep... was a hell of a first era for Billie Eilish, and quite influential in bringing that kind of quirky/alt-pop style back to the mainstream at the time, I do think her albums have gotten better each time and her sound has really evolved, like you, but a lot of the singles from there still sound great. My favourite would be Everything I Wanted, but When the Party's Over is similarly beautiful and shows how good she was at doing that haunting ballad sound. A good one from Ariana too, I think I'd have Breathing or Into You as my favourite from the decade (We Can't Be Friends from the next decade though is rapidly approaching that), but it was a special moment after that awful tragedy and showed real artistic diversity and personal growth.

I've been documenting my favourite songs of the year since 2011 on this forum so I actually have a reference point for my own personal list which I compiled in 2019 (granted it's still not particularly final as I'm rediscovering and checking out things I missed from this decade all the time)

1. Two Steps from Hell - Miracles

2. CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share

3. Alan Walker - Faded

4. Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

5. Lights & Motion - Fireflies

6. Wintergatan – Sommarfagel

7. Thomas Bergersen – One Million Voices

8. Bombay Bicycle Club – Luna

9. Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin – Don’t You Worry Child

10. M83 – Un Nouveau Soleil

11. Of Monsters & Men – Dirty Paws

12. Films - clone

13. Chase & Status feat. Liam Bailey – Blind Faith

14. Coldplay - Hypnotised

15. Fractal Dreamers – Clarum Somnium

16. Fractal Dreamers – Fortuna Redux

17. Marcus Warner – If Elephants Could Fly

18. Steven Wilson feat. Ninet Tayab - Pariah

19. David Guetta feat. Sia – Titanium

20. Lindsey Stirling – Crystallize

A fairly similar mix of some chart songs, BJSC/song contest stuff and very under-the-radar stuff, mainly of the epic classical/art-post rock kind of genres. I was certainly in my own bubble for a lot of the latter part of this decade, but it did really formulate my taste into what it is today.

On 08/10/2026 at 07:48, Jaz13music said:

Bombay Bicycle Club are a fantastic underrated band (I couldn’t believe it when you pointed out they had no top 40 singles!) and I love ‘Luna’, great uptempo indie with a driving rhythm and the interesting tabla and, what sounds like a glockenspiel, as percussion. The vocals are excellent though, I love a male/female duet anyway, and it has really beautiful dynamic here. It was in my top ten songs of 2014 back in the day, so definitely in agreement with you…

As I am with your number one, which was also in my top ten of 2012! I confess I adore Frank Ocean, such a fascinating innovative artist, I’ve followed him all the way from his early days in the Odd Future collective (with Tyler The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt et al) ‘Swim Deep’ is an early favourite of his. ‘Pyramid’ was the moment he really became a favourite though, an epic shifting almost symphonic opus, with its clever allegory story telling, which you described excellently. A great choice for number 1. He went on to make one more proper album after ‘channel ORANGE’, the wonderful groundbreaking ‘Blonde’ ten (!) years ago. It’s one of my all time favourites. And then, apart from a few scattered singles and features, nothing!

Heartbreaking!

Another excellent ten, with more great commentary, thank you!

My best of 2010s list would look something like this

Get Lucky – Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers

Runaway (feat. Pusha T) – Kanye West

Tilted – Christine and the Queens

Out of the Black – Royal Blood

NOBODY'S BABY – Sheer Mag

Let It Happen – Tame Impala

Stay High (feat. Hippie Sabotage) – Tove Lo

212 (feat. Lazy Jay) – Azealia Banks

HUMBLE.  – Kendrick Lamar

Seigfried – Frank Ocean

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire

This Is America – Childish Gambino

Video Games – Lana Del Rey

One Life Stand – Hot Chip

Luna – Bombay Bicycle Club

Loud Places (feat. Romy) – Jamie xx

All My Friends (feat. Tinashe) – Snakehips

Royals – Lorde

Cellophane – FKA twigs

Oblivion – Grimes

Baptism – Crystal Castles

Dance Yrself Clean – LCD Soundsystem

Step – Vampire Weekend

Assume Form – James Blake

We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris) – Rihanna

when the party's over – Billie Eilish

Feel the Love (feat. John Newman) – Rudimental

I Follow Rivers – Lykke Li

Stained – HMLTD

Hold Up – Beyoncé

Losing You – Solange

Midnight City – M83

That's right, they have an impressive streak of top 10 albums since 2010 but not a single top 40 hit - TikTok do your thing pleased to hear you rate 'Luna' so highly <3 turns out I am partial to a male/female duet as well with both that and 'Somebody That I Used To Know' in my top 3 of the decade!

Amazing that you followed Frank for so long 🤩 I saw there was some hype on here for his Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape at the time, when later reading his Channel ORANGE thread - but yeah, 'Pyramids' was my gateway and what a starting point that was. Thank you for the kind words and I'm happy to hear you love it too! I really need to revisit Blonde as I haven't heard it for years. Its streaming numbers are really impressive (especially over 2 billion plays for 'Pink + White' on Spotify) so I'm sure he'll break the internet if he does ever decide to release another album!

Oh that's such a strong list - love the crossover with 'Luna' and 'when the party's over', then some snap artists albeit with different songs like Frank, Lana and Lorde, plus 'Let It Happen', 'This Is America' and 'I Follow Rivers' were honourable mentions for me. So many other good picks as well

13 hours ago, King Rollo said:

I had a listen to Pyramids and enjoyed it a lot, I can see why you put it in first place. This is my top 10, some of them didn't appear in my all time top 1000 chart as they came out after I compiled it or I discovered them later on.

1. Secrets Of Angels - Karnataka

2. Untouchable Parts 1 and 2 - Anathema

3. And I Will Kiss - Underworld and Dame Evelyn Glennie

4. Gaza - Marillion

5. Routine - Steven Wilson

6. Carousel - East India Youth

7. There Used To Be A Darkness - Mikko Joensuu

8. I Hold You - Clann

9. Promises - Nero

10. Touch - Daft Punk

Oh I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that you enjoyed 'Pyramids' a lot! Perhaps I shouldn't be when your penchant for long songs is well documented but hooray, that's wonderful.

Thanks for sharing your own list - Daft Punk and Nero were both great this decade and I also really like the Anathema, Underworld and Steven Wilson songs. I have you to thank for introducing me to 'Untouchable' and 'Routine' in BJSC, then 'And I Will Kiss' was so epic at the Olympics and a memorable BJSC spin-off winner too.

12 hours ago, Chez Wombat said:

That top 2 is amazing - I discovered Pyramids quite a few years after it came out, though didn't fully appreciate it until I heard Channel Orange on my first album bucket list. The epic first part with gradiose synths matching the historical context gradually seguing into the more subdued but subtle parallels the change in perspective brings is really striking and as you say, a really layered and complex song, I think it will be remembered as one of the all time greatest songs from around the time in the future. The whole album was fantastic and I really need to get into Blonde at some point as that's on my second one. If he indeed never makes music again, he's certainly left a good legacy x

I love Luna as well, that would be similarly high up for me too, I have a lot of final year of uni memories associated with it and the merging of his vocals with Rae Morris' works wonderfully and adds a lot of emotional weight to the song as you say. There are few other songs I quite like from them, but that remains by a mile my favourite.

Some good BJSC picks - I gave Drab Majesty ten points and it has stuck with me a bit, I had to remind myself of the Vitalic song, it was a commiseration for me at the time but definitely points-worthy listening to it now, maybe it was a strong contest x I do have quite clear memories of around that period in BJSC and my taste was very influenced by it.

I do find Lana Del Rey a bit too samey sometimes (though I have been meaning to look into her other albums as they have had a lot of acclaim), but I loved her first era and it also holds a lot of uni memories. Ride wasn't quite as good as Video Games and Born to Die (or West Coast from the next era for that matter) for me but do appreciate the extremely cinematic atmosphere and strong chorus.

When We All Fall Asleep... was a hell of a first era for Billie Eilish, and quite influential in bringing that kind of quirky/alt-pop style back to the mainstream at the time, I do think her albums have gotten better each time and her sound has really evolved, like you, but a lot of the singles from there still sound great. My favourite would be Everything I Wanted, but When the Party's Over is similarly beautiful and shows how good she was at doing that haunting ballad sound. A good one from Ariana too, I think I'd have Breathing or Into You as my favourite from the decade (We Can't Be Friends from the next decade though is rapidly approaching that), but it was a special moment after that awful tragedy and showed real artistic diversity and personal growth.

I've been documenting my favourite songs of the year since 2011 on this forum so I actually have a reference point for my own personal list which I compiled in 2019 (granted it's still not particularly final as I'm rediscovering and checking out things I missed from this decade all the time)

1. Two Steps from Hell - Miracles

2. CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share

3. Alan Walker - Faded

4. Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

5. Lights & Motion - Fireflies

6. Wintergatan – Sommarfagel

7. Thomas Bergersen – One Million Voices

8. Bombay Bicycle Club – Luna

9. Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin – Don’t You Worry Child

10. M83 – Un Nouveau Soleil

11. Of Monsters & Men – Dirty Paws

12. Films - clone

13. Chase & Status feat. Liam Bailey – Blind Faith

14. Coldplay - Hypnotised

15. Fractal Dreamers – Clarum Somnium

16. Fractal Dreamers – Fortuna Redux

17. Marcus Warner – If Elephants Could Fly

18. Steven Wilson feat. Ninet Tayab - Pariah

19. David Guetta feat. Sia – Titanium

20. Lindsey Stirling – Crystallize

A fairly similar mix of some chart songs, BJSC/song contest stuff and very under-the-radar stuff, mainly of the epic classical/art-post rock kind of genres. I was certainly in my own bubble for a lot of the latter part of this decade, but it did really formulate my taste into what it is today.

I remember being pleased about your glowing review of 'Pyramids' in the bucket list thread at the time. I see it's the #1 rated song of 2012 on RateYourMusic right now and agree it'll continue to go down as an all-time great in the future. I associate 'Luna' with both you and Bré (perhaps due to ROTD voting over the years) and also think it's way out in front as their best song, despite plenty of their others making my personal chart over the years too, just magical.

Good to hear the Drab Majesty song has somewhat stuck with you! As mentioned to Jaz, I'd definitely recommend their 'Vanity' collab with Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, as a fellow appreciator of gazing at shoes well I'd say this specific song is more darkwave but still dreamy and psychedelic. Yeah I do seem to remember BJSC 94 being a strong edition, with Trifoski's fab winner from Drones Club, Steven Wilson's 'Routine' really standing out, of course 'Waiting For The Stars' appearing, plus Persephonia sending a Prodigy soundalike with KNARS' 'Bad Trip' amongst others. I was having a less impressive year for success myself, after a banner year in 2016, but that contest was also home to my one top 10 that year - 'Waqqaberry' by BÖ!

I can understand the Lana samey criticism (I checked out a little bit around the time of Blue Banisters, still not bad at all though) but she truly has some amazing bodies of work, I'd especially recommend Ultraviolence which has aged like a fine wine, plus Norman F****g! Rockwell <3 I love that she can still really surprise with moments like 'A&W' and 'White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter' in more recent times too. Those songs are all great, I did love 'West Coast' at the time but it's got even better for me over the years.

I agree that Billie's first album was really influential at the time even if she'd go on to put out more accomplished albums. 'everything i wanted' is an absolute stunner as well <3 I remember that spending quite a lot of weeks at #1 in my personal chart so was my last #1 of the 2010s and first of the 2020s *.* some good Ari shouts there, 'Into You' always sounds massive and I love the very real portrayal of anxiety in both the lyrics and music video for 'breathin'. I agree 'we can't be friends (wait for your love)' is already up there as one of her very best songs too.

Thank you for sharing your list, 'Miracles' is an amazing #1 pick, I remember giving it a silver medal in BJSC at the time and being blown away by its beauty <3 I feel similar about the contest really helping to shape my music taste. 'The Mother We Share' is a fantastic runner-up (of course made my honourable mentions list as well as 'Blind Faith') and still my favourite from CHVRCHES to this day. Great to see 'Luna' in a few of our lists now of course <3

Your commentaries are a brilliant read as always. I don't think I could have predicted that top 2, though I was aware that you liked both songs - I mainly got to know 'Luna' through RotD and have given it a few points there while it was eligible, and though I don't know 'Pyramids' so well I can see why it's so well regarded as a unique and ambitious piece for its genre.

'Somebody That I Used To Know' and 'Take Me To Church' are big favourites for me too, huge long-running hits at the time, but if anything they have grown in stature since and stand out even more from the other hits in their respective years. Great to see Lana represented too - I was transfixed when I first heard 'Video Games' and that was my favourite of hers for a long time, but 'Ride' was a welcome surprise addition to that era, and a little different to her usual style with all the elongated notes. She would have her best era for me with NFR! which is a wonderful listening experience as a whole, but I would perhaps pick 'The Greatest' as the highlight, and that may well make it into my own top 10 for the decade now.

I had a fairly clear idea of what that top 10 would be at the end of 2019, and they were all UK Top 10 hits during the decade - I may still have a top 2 of 'Someone Like You' and 'Someone You Loved', while Katy B's 'Katy On A Mission' would still be somewhere as one of the dubstep highpoints, with 'Blind Faith' not far away either. A little song called 'Blinding Lights' was only just taking off then, and might sneak in now. However there are several songs I've come to know since joining Buzzjack which move a little higher in my affections each year and would challenge for places too: 'Sweater Weather', 'Flesh Without Blood' and 'Let It Happen' as aforementioned, and also LP's 'Lost On You' and London Grammar's 'Rooting For You' - also The Chemical Brothers' 'Go' which would already have been in my top 40 for the decade at its end, but it has only improved with age and following its resurgence may well have become my favourite of their songs now.

Look forward to seeing what the 2020s deacde (so far) brings!

21 minutes ago, jimwatts said:

Your commentaries are a brilliant read as always. I don't think I could have predicted that top 2, though I was aware that you liked both songs - I mainly got to know 'Luna' through RotD and have given it a few points there while it was eligible, and though I don't know 'Pyramids' so well I can see why it's so well regarded as a unique and ambitious piece for its genre.

'Somebody That I Used To Know' and 'Take Me To Church' are big favourites for me too, huge long-running hits at the time, but if anything they have grown in stature since and stand out even more from the other hits in their respective years. Great to see Lana represented too - I was transfixed when I first heard 'Video Games' and that was my favourite of hers for a long time, but 'Ride' was a welcome surprise addition to that era, and a little different to her usual style with all the elongated notes. She would have her best era for me with NFR! which is a wonderful listening experience as a whole, but I would perhaps pick 'The Greatest' as the highlight, and that may well make it into my own top 10 for the decade now.

I had a fairly clear idea of what that top 10 would be at the end of 2019, and they were all UK Top 10 hits during the decade - I may still have a top 2 of 'Someone Like You' and 'Someone You Loved', while Katy B's 'Katy On A Mission' would still be somewhere as one of the dubstep highpoints, with 'Blind Faith' not far away either. A little song called 'Blinding Lights' was only just taking off then, and might sneak in now. However there are several songs I've come to know since joining Buzzjack which move a little higher in my affections each year and would challenge for places too: 'Sweater Weather', 'Flesh Without Blood' and 'Let It Happen' as aforementioned, and also LP's 'Lost On You' and London Grammar's 'Rooting For You' - also The Chemical Brothers' 'Go' which would already have been in my top 40 for the decade at its end, but it has only improved with age and following its resurgence may well have become my favourite of their songs now.

Look forward to seeing what the 2020s deacde (so far) brings!

Thank you so much for the very kind words, Jim 🥰 I'm delighted you're enjoying the commentaries. I used to give 'Pyramids' +30 in ROTD but that was obviously a while ago at this point! Pleased that competition allowed you to become more familiar with the beautiful 'Luna'. I couldn't agree more on your thoughts about 'Somebody That I Used To Know' and 'Take Me To Church', both truly ageing like a fine wine so far. 'Video Games' is getting a lot of love in this thread so far but it's totally deserved, what a debut. 'The Greatest' is an apt title for a favourite Lana song *.* that was always a highlight of the ridiculously strong NFR! album for me too, so nice pick there as well.

Thanks for sharing some of your own highlights! You've made me realise I haven't mentioned London Grammar at all so far but they're also a wonderful group from the decade indeed. I still can't get over the revival for 'Go', one of my favourite chart moments of the year. I feel similar to you, in that I already loved it (and had a blast hearing it in a live setting in 2019!) but appreciate it even more now. I understand why the resurgence for older music is getting groan worthy for many at this point but definitely can't begrudge that belatedly turning into such a hit <3

2020s

We've finally reached the last decade of the countdown! Well, most of it anyway, which isn't too satisfying but there was no way I could wait another three years to kick off this thread when I was raring to go. Therefore, I present to you my ten favourite songs of the 2020s... so far!

2020 was quite the memorable start to a decade. I was 22, still so young and at an age where the world feels like your oyster, but a certain pandemic put all of our plans on hold. I had previously attended an office job five days a week but was now working from home full time. I'd say this aspect of Covid has affected me most long term as I still hybrid work to this day. I personally love this flexibility, as I enjoy being in control of my environmental factors, concentrate well and can eliminate the commute, but at the same time it's nice to have the option to go in and socialise for my mental health, even if it's not my greatest skill.

Being stuck at home even more than usual was an interesting time. I generally enjoy my own company, as I have so many interests so rarely get bored, but I did struggle with being in my own head a lot at times. On the plus side, having this extra free time at home lead me to explore so many artists I hadn't before. I got into the weekly TOTP repeats and delved into the discographies of artists like The Cure, Fiona Apple and Nirvana, amongst others.

However, the pandemic really put live music on hold. So many concerts I had planned were either rescheduled or flat out cancelled, RIP seeing BROCKHAMPTON. But gigs slowly came back in time and my 2022 was suddenly flooded with them. My favourite concert I've attended this decade so far has to be ROSALÍA's MOTOMAMI tour in London, what an absolute super star.

The decade kicked off pretty positively for me in terms of the charts as the '80s synth revival was in full swing, with acts like Dua Lipa and The Weeknd leading the way. Nostalgia really has been a hot topic in the 2020s. But other artists have thrown the rulebook out the window and created some of their finest work in the process, like Taylor Swift surprising us all with the pivot to folklore, or Charli xcx creating a whole movement out of BRAT summer, sounding like the future. There's still been plenty to get enthusiastic about even if the charts aren't at their most exciting at this current moment in time. I've also been hunting out lots of non-mainstream music throughout the 2020s, so there will be lesser known picks in this top 10 again.

I've just realised I forgot to mention film in the 2010s so here's a belated shoutout to Parasite, my favourite movie of that decade. As for the 2020s, it has to be Everything Everywhere All At Once, which 'altered my brain chemistry' as they say. That movie made me want to get into film more and that is exactly what has happened since.

I feel like I've been winging my 20s for the most part, but that's okay, perhaps my 30s will be my prime from next year onwards. 💃

This top 10 was genuinely torturous to whittle down, as I've been on top of new music releases every single week this decade so far, so the notable omissions list will be endless. But I've given it a good go. So, let's get into the 2020s, with not a drop of AI in sight...

#10 Metric - 'Doomscroller' (2022)

#09 Heartworms - 'Retributions Of An Awful Life' (2023)

I concluded the 2010s with a long song and seamlessly begin the 2020s with a lengthy pick too, as Metric's 'Doomscroller' clocks in at 10:28.

This song has become a bit of a cult favourite on the forum, particularly performing well in Record of the Decade a couple of years ago when the pool of alt voters was at its peak. 'Doomscroller' has also been vetoed from the BuzzJack Song Contest on several occasions due to Beaverdonia's repeated attempts to send it, so has infamous status there.

Emily Haines fronted band Metric were a bit of a blind spot for me until they were entered to BJSC with the likes of 'Dressed To Suppress' and 'Now Or Never Now' almost a decade ago. They have now featured in the contest a whopping six times with varying degrees of success, from a DNQ to a 7th placer!

I soon discovered the band had a rich history that dated back to 1998. Formentera, home to 'Doomscroller', was already album number eight. So I was impressed they were still delivering career bests as late as 25 years into their discography. This song was chosen as single #2 from the album and instantly blew me away. I created an EOY top 100 countdown for 2022, which I have kept up annually since and 'Doomscroller' was my #3 song of the year at the time. I'd say it has since moved up to #2, becoming enough of a favourite to sneak a place into my top 10 of the decade so far.

It's no mean feat to create a compelling 10-minute epic and they mastered that here. 'Doomscroller' boldly presents cutting lyrics such as: "scum of the Earth overpaid to rob anonymously ruling classes, trickle piss from champagne glasses". As per the title, this commentary focuses on the anxiety-inducing hellscape that today's news cycle feels like and how it's so accessible, leading to doom-scrolling. But the later part of the song, with resilient lyrics such as "whatever you do, either way we're gonna love you" is a more hopeful, grounding way to round off.

In addition to the sharp commentary, the production is a wild ride, as it opens with a dark bassline that morphs into rave-like beats, then slows down to an emotive piano section, only for guitars to kick back in with full force. Phew! 'Doomscroller' also adopts intricate percussion throughout.

Haines keeps up with the structural changes of the song like a pro and delivers a multi-dimensional performance - at times cool and detached, but later empathetic and vulnerable as the more comforting section of the song begins.

I enjoyed the accompanying album in full, which generally focuses on the pressures of pandemic life, but this song is the clear ultimate standout from it for me.

...

Heartworms first entered my life in 2022 when I discovered gothic post-punk song 'Consistent Dedication' on 6Music. The production was right up my street and vocalist Jojo Orme had such a captivating intensity to her voice, especially with the screaming finale. I unleashed this in Nuggets and managed to finish 5th! This was a great start to Heartworms' career but I'd enjoy follow-up single 'Retributions Of An Awful Life' even more. I considered this song my favourite of 2023 at the time and that is still the case now.

This single, taken from the bulletproof 4-track EP A Comforting Notion, is so unique and stopped me dead in my tracks when I first heard it.

'Retributions Of An Awful Life' adopts an unorthodox structure, beginning with a very long instrumental section that has a metallic goth synth sound, mixed with sharp guitars and rattling percussion in amongst very textured production.

The unmistakable vocals of Jojo Orme, that I'd already fallen in love with on the previous single, once again impress as she tensely tackles words as dark and vivid as: "these aren't even men, just losses, hands of evil touch colossus, so much blood, the grass just glosses, ready flags with crooked crosses". She deals with heavy themes like trauma and fights through the pain with military style defiance, a topic close to her heart, as she even once volunteered at the Royal Air Force Museum. The accompanying black and white visuals are simple but effective, as Orme pushes herself out of her comfort zone with harsh physical training.

The "look at me, I can fly..." chorus is particularly addictive with the closest thing to a melody here.

'Retributions Of An Awful Life' promises unpredictability right up until the end, as the bridge packed with youthful anxiety ("when you're young, decisions aren't that fun...") shifts Jojo's style into less of a spoken delivery and more of a sung one, which then morphs into a towering instrumental break and finally one more chorus.

Unfortunately I didn't get into Heartworms' full debut album Glutton For Punishment as much as I hoped to ('Jacked' is brilliant though) but A Comforting Notion remains an excellent EP and I'm still interested to see what her future releases look like.

Super behind with commenting on this thread oops but belated thoughts on the 90s picks:

I know I always meme about the Susan Boyle version of 'Enjoy The Silence' but genuinely don't think I'd ever heard the song prior to hearing her singing it on Children In Need in 2011 haha - I remember being a bit slow to get into the song when it was first properly introduced to me via this site but I have grown to really like it now so a fine choice of #1 (even though it does still feel more like an 80s song than a 90s one). I think my favourite from Depeche Mode would probably be 'Personal Jesus' but they are very consistently quality, another act I've been enjoying hearing more songs from through the 80s SyncTube sessions.

I knew 'Frozen' first through my mum's playlists and I remember being quite shocked when I discovered that A) it was Madonna (as it is so stylistically different from everything I knew from her at the time) and B) it was such a massive hit, but for the better ofc as it is wonderful and definitely would be up there with my favourite 90s songs as well <3 'Right Here, Right Now', 'Unfinished Sympathy' and especially 'Born Slippy .NUXX' are also ones that'd definitely be in the mix for a list of my own as well as I've loved them for as long as I can remember, I also don't drink or do drugs etc. but I can't imagine how insane the latter sounds under the influence when it slaps so hard while entirely sober x

For a long time I only knew Radiohead for 'Creep' and it was kind of a revelation when I discovered they had such a large and beloved discography - honestly I still think 'Creep' is my favourite song by them although I know that's a very unpopular opinion among their actual fanbase, 'No Surprises' is gorgeous though. I joined a listenthrough on here for 'OK Computer' and it is a very good album, from what I know of 'Kid A' I feel that might appeal to me even more but as ever I'm terrible at getting around to listening to old albums x Also joined the listenthrough on here for 'Moon Safari', 'Sexy Boy' was quite a surprising inclusion on this list, I didn't remember being massively keen on it but was a bit better than I remembered when I relistened (I looked up my post on here about the album and I didn't really highly rate most of the singles but I said 'Sexy Boy' was good but would be better as an instrumental which I still agree with now).

'Live Forever' and 'Viva Forever' being next to each other on the list is iconic x Both also classics and great picks, I might have to be even more basic and say my fave from Oasis would be either 'Wonderwall' or 'Don't Look Back In Anger' - they are overplayed but for a good reason! While 'Viva Forever' is very easily also my favourite from Spice Girls, their music is mostly not really my thing but this song is a standout in kind of a similar way that 'Frozen' is for Madonna (although I know Madonna does have more songs in that style). The video is nightmare fuel though x

Never really been much of a fan of 'Your Woman', the best part of it is the instrumental which is a sample anyway oops - I do think it's an interesting song and it's cool that something so lo-fi was a #1 hit but I still don't particularly enjoy listening to it unfortunately! I do actually prefer the Naughty Boy/Wiley/Emeli Sandé version

Could go on for a long time again about the songs that didn't make the list but obviously the biggest omission for me would be The Prodigy who would definitely have more than one of my top 10 90s songs - I'm not actually sure I know what your favourite song by them is, I wanna say it might be 'No Good (Start The Dance)' but may be making that up. Crazy to see so many other big electronic acts in your commiseration list not making it in too (as well as Nirvana and The Cure)! Much love for 'A Design For Life' too <3

Will catch up with and post separately about the 00s and 10s picks, I will try my best to be caught up before you finish the 20s x

As you’ve covered each decade, I think I’ve noticed everyone’s favourites diverging more with time. And I suppose that will especially increase more for the 20s with the use of streaming and vastly expanded choice. You’re much more organised than me, I’m nowhere near having a decade best list so far, though I do have yearly lists.

Now time for a confession. I may have been holding back some of my more obscure favourites from the last couple of decades, perhaps for use in a contest at some stage. So maybe you’ll see those in the near future, if the criteria ever allow! The 2020s would probably have the more of these songs, than any other decade.

I’ve dabbled a bit in both of these first two artists and liked what I’ve heard. I obviously had to listen to Doomscroller after seeing it mentioned so much across the forum, and I really enjoy it. It’s certainly an epic ride as you described so well and the lyrics are great. The favourite I’ve heard from them would be the wonderful Human League-like synth banger ‘Cascades’, but that’s from a bit earlier in their career, in 2015.

I really love what I’ve heard from Heartworms so far. Retributions Of An Awful Life sounds great, I love that goth vibe, there’s not enough of that around at the moment imo. That’s definitely another epic that you’ve chosen here. ‘Smugglers Adventure’, from the debut album of last year that you mentioned, made it into my top twenty of last year. Again it’s dramatic and has an unusual structure, a really great song. They’re showing great promise so far!

Edited Saturday at 13:344 days by Jaz13music