…And we’ve reached the finish line! Here are the top 10 records of the first decade of Spinning Platters, as voted on by our editorial team. Enjoy! Looking to see where we started? Here’s 31-50 and here’s 11-30
10 Chvrches / Every Open Eye
It’s the rare sophomore release that doesn’t feel sophomoric. Chvrches 2nd album picks up where their debut left off, only a much peppier affair. Nearly every single track on this is a synthpop anthem that sticks with you long after you’ve turned off your turntable
9 Janelle Monae / Dirty Computer
Dirty Computer was a classic record almost immediately upon release. It’s a concept album, and considers many of the same themes as Radiohead’s OK Computer, but is a funkier, much more human affair.
8 David Bowie / Black Star
Even when dealing with his own mortality, David Bowie was superhuman. Forgoing many of his usual session players, Bowie assembled the greatest avant garde jazz band one could assemble, and produced a parting gift of beautiful, cathartic proportions.
7 Daft Punk / Random Access Memories
In an era where electronic music had both grown in popularity, and somehow has become more synthetic, electronic music pioneers Daft Punk did the unthinkable… They released an album of almost entirely live instruments. And it worked. It became the first record of it’s genre to win the Album Of The Year award at The Grammy’s. It spawned the first electronic music single that your grandparents like. It was a monster record for very good reason.
6 M83 / Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming feels like a record made for the screen. One epic song, “Midnight City,” is what captured the world, but there is a world of sound on one double record. It’is a mantra for a generation that left the suburbs for a life in the city.
5 Lizzo / Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil was not Lizzo’s first release. But Coconut Oil marked the moment where Lizzo decided to move away from the underground hip-hop of her first two albums and embrace something bigger and more accessible. Obviously, since you are a living, breathing soul in 2019, you know that this move paid off handsomely. So much so that even “Good As Hell,” one of the singles off this 2016 release, is starting to climb the Billboard charts THREE YEARS LATER! (Although the real banger is “Phone.”)
4 Neko Case / Middle Cyclone
Middle Cyclone marked the end of a long stretch of nearly perfect Neko Case records before taking a four year break from releasing records. It’s a possibly to most potent, most direct record in her fantastic catalog. There are also plenty of hints at the more aggressive sound she’d soon start moving towards with her later releases of the decade.
3 Robyn / Body Talk
The best development in the last decade has been the validation of pop music. After decades of pop music being appreciated only decades after it’s prime, we finally are able to appreciate the format in the here and now. Robyn’s Body Talk was one of the first records responsible for this shift. Technically this is 3 EPs that were eventually packaged as one, but these 3 EPs are perfect ear worm confections.
2 Carly Rae Jepsen / Emotion
Carly Rae Jepsen’s place in music history would’ve been secure if she never did anything after “Call Me Maybe.” Then she followed it up with a saxophone fueled masterpiece called Emotion. This record was a bit of a sleeper, but everyone that was willing to give it a try fell in love with it. Jepsen has officially crossed over from one hit wonder status to an artist that every move is anticipated for.
1 Sleater-Kinney / No Cities To Love
When a band goes away for a while, the first record back tends to be a little anticlimactic. However, Sleater-Kinney aren’t like every band. Instead of phoning in their comeback, they returned after nearly a decade with a record as ferocious as where they left off. In a short 10 tracks at just over 30 minutes, Sleater-Kinney put you through a guitar fueled emotional whirlwind that no other band could pull of. No Cities To Love is essential listening, and simply put, the best record of the first decade of Spinning Platters.
