2010 in Review

One of the most important developments of 2010 was that Drake, a bubbling hip-hop superstar without an official studio release, delivered on the prerelease hype with Thank Me Now, which spawned 6 singles and proved that he was the real deal. In the years since, seeing how far Drake and the genre have advanced, I think Thank Me Later gets kind of a bad rep. Folks say they don’t like it, and it definitely feels a bit dated and basic, but you can’t deny how HUGE the album was at the time and how inescapable Drake was in this period. 

Thank Me Now may have been one of the biggest albums of 2010, but it wasn’t the best. The year was extremely top heavy across all genres. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy essentially redraws the boundaries of what an artist could do on a hip-hop record, while Rick Ross’ Teflon Don exemplified the peak of luxury rap. Arcade Fire continued its incredible run of indie rock records, while Beach House released one of the best indie pop albums. But, despite other notable releases from acts like Robyn, Foals, Tame Impala, Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, The Black Keys and The National, most weren’t the absolute best the bands have to offer, and there were a lot of lackluster, unmemorable projects, too, that flamed out pretty quickly. 

Speaking of flaming out, Dubstep! Remember that? A subsection of college kids in the 2009-2010 time frame thought they were cool and became bass-drop junkees, and Skrillex, Deadmau5, Diplo and Bassnectar were the best musicians they had ever discovered. Blast it in the car. Blast it in the pool. Blast it in the club. Blast it in your mom’s basement. 

Most dubstep artists, with the exception of Skrillex perhaps, never really broke through to the mainstream, and even the best songs started to sound dated within a four-year period. But for a time – and seeing how some pop artists were clearly drawn to it –  it felt like the genre could take over. 

I also feel like I should mention Eminem here briefly. Recovery was seen as a comeback album for him, and produced two of the biggest tracks of the year – “Not Afraid” and “Love The Way You Lie.” While the album racked up sales and singles were constantly on the radio, it was a watered-down rap album and much closer to the sound of a pop product like Katy Perry, Bruno Mars or Rihanna. 

Songs of the year

Rock

Hip-Hop

Pop