What is the best rock album of the 2010s?

The decade stretched rock to its limits: bedroom indie, psychedelic synth-pop, post-punk revivalism, and folk crossovers all claimed the spotlight. Which one defined the era?

The Suburbs

Arcade Fire's 2010 Grammy-winning third album, a sprawling meditation on suburban life, nostalgia, and growing up.

1/15

Currents

Tame Impala's 2015 psychedelic pop album that redefined what rock could sound like, blending synths with introspective songwriting.

2/15

Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekend's 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning-adjacent album blending baroque pop, indie rock, and sophisticated lyricism.

3/15

AM

Arctic Monkeys' 2013 album fusing desert rock riffs, R&B rhythms, and Alex Turner's swaggering rock star persona.

4/15

Lost in the Dream

The War on Drugs' 2014 Dylanesque heartland rock album drenched in synths and elongated grooves, a critical breakthrough.

5/15

Blackstar

David Bowie's final album, released two days before his death in 2016, a fearless jazz-influenced art rock farewell statement.

6/15

A Moon Shaped Pool

Radiohead's 2016 orchestral, glacial album featuring tracks Thom Yorke had held for decades, culminating in True Love Waits.

7/15

Let England Shake

PJ Harvey's 2011 Mercury Prize-winning album examining British imperial history and war through autoharp and folk-rock arrangements.

8/15

Celebration Rock

Japandroids' 2012 album distilling the euphoria and catharsis of rock into eight fist-pumping, love-charged anthems.

9/15

Teens of Denial

Car Seat Headrest's 2016 lo-fi indie rock epic about college alienation, featuring brilliant guitar work and confessional lyrics.

10/15

Brutalism

IDLES' 2017 debut post-punk album about grief and masculinity, establishing the Bristol band as one of rock's most vital new voices.

11/15

Puberty 2

Mitski's 2016 indie rock album exploring loneliness, identity, and desire with razor-sharp lyricism and cathartic guitar bursts.

12/15

Blunderbuss

Jack White's 2012 solo debut that proved his songwriting talent extended far beyond The White Stripes, ranging across multiple genres.

13/15

Wakin on a Pretty Daze

Kurt Vile's 2013 sprawling, hazy indie rock album full of elongated guitar jams and laid-back, reflective songwriting.

14/15

Skinty Fia

Fontaines D.C.'s 2022 album exploring Irish identity and diaspora with brooding post-punk intensity and sophisticated arrangements.

15/15