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, further percussion and flute sounds. 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 Wednesday at 15:191 day 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 19 hours ago19 hr 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.