Tag: Best of
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The 2010s in Music: Decade Overview

I often say that there’s nothing less cool than what was popular ten years ago, and nothing cooler than what was popular twenty years ago. And because the 2010s, peak of Millennial culture that they were, are squarely in that ten-year window now, it’s easy to make fun of them and point out their foibles…
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2019 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction After a 2018 without a lot of standout music from massive artists, 2019 was a return to form, with…
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2018 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction My best of the year lists always include a couple out-of-left-field albums and songs. And that’s what makes it…
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2017 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction Usually when I’m writing up these summaries, there’s a big theme or narrative I can latch on to. 2017…
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2016 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction While there were a lot of strong albums released in 2016, from first rate artists like Sia, Ariana Grande,…
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2015 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction 2014 was an all-time great year in pop music for me, so it’s not surprising 2015 was a bit…
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2014 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction There are some years whose music is universally acknowledged as being superlative — 1969, 1984, and 2024 come immediately…
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2013 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction If I had to pick a theme for the music I loved in 2013, it would have to be…
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2012 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction 2012 is the year that 2010s music finally feels like 2010s music. You have Taylor Swift’s shift towards pop…
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2011 in Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.] Introduction If 2010 musically felt like it had one foot in the 2000s and one in the 2010s, 2011 felt…
