My Favorite Artists of the 2010s
I once did a post here of my favorite artists of the 1990s based on crunching numbers for my year-end lists for the '90s. So I wanted to do something similar for the past decade, but using records I listed in my 'monthly report' over the last 10 years -- 10 albums and 10 singles every month (at least since 2012, in 2010 and 2010 I only did 5 of each a month). I figured this was a more interesting way to look at the big picture of what I was listening to from day to day than year-end lists. The number after each name is how many albums (or EPs or mixtapes) or songs I listed in my monthly reports from 2010 to 2019, but each record was weighted (i.e. my #1 album for the month counted more than my #2 album of the month and so on). I'm still going to do November and December albums and December singles lists, but at this point nothing in those posts could really impact these rankings.
My Favorite Album Artists of the 2010s:
1. Nels Cline (solo or with Nels Cline Singers, Nels Cline 4, Floored By Four, etc.) [13]
2. (tie) Future [15]
2. (tie) 2 Chainz [13]
4. Dawn Richard (solo or with Diddy-Dirty Money) [9]
5. Meek Mill [9]
6. Boosie Badazz [13]
7. Young Thug [9]
8. T.I. [9]
9. Jenn Wasner (with Wye Oak, Flock Of Dimes, or Dungeonesse) [6]
10. E-40 [7]
11. (tie) Ariana Grande [7]
11. (tie) Miguel [5]
13. Mac McCaughan (solo or with Superchunk) [6]
14. Mike Watt (solo or with Floored By Four, Jumpstarted Plowhards, etc.) [6]
15. Kevin Gates [7]
16. (tie) Shy Glizzy [6]
16. (tie) Chance The Rapper (solo or with Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment) [6]
18. (tie) Gucci Mane [8]
18. (tie) Kendrick Lamar [5]
20. SiR [5]
21. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails or How To Destroy Angels) [6]
22. YG [4]
23. (tie) Jeremih [6]
23. (tie) Beyonce [5]
25. Vince Staples [5]
As you can see, for musicians who released stuff under different names or with different bands, I kind of rolled everything together, same goes for rappers' solo projects and collaboration projects. That gave a big advantage to Nels Cline, the guitarist best known for playing in Wilco who's made dozens of albums I've loved with different ensembles since the early '90s. Obviously, an exercise this gives an advantage to more prolific artists, and there are artists who made 3 or 4 of my favorite albums of the decade who didn't get in there because they didn't have more releases -- even Beyonce only made the cut thanks to minor stopgap releases Everything Is Love and Homecoming. Still, as much as I figured mixtape rappers would dominate and knew Future would come out on top, I was surprised that he wound up in a tie with 2 Chainz. Superchunk and Nine Inch Nails have the rare distinction of being in my list of '90s album artists as well as this one.
1. Nels Cline (solo or with Nels Cline Singers, Nels Cline 4, Floored By Four, etc.) [13]
2. (tie) Future [15]
2. (tie) 2 Chainz [13]
4. Dawn Richard (solo or with Diddy-Dirty Money) [9]
5. Meek Mill [9]
6. Boosie Badazz [13]
7. Young Thug [9]
8. T.I. [9]
9. Jenn Wasner (with Wye Oak, Flock Of Dimes, or Dungeonesse) [6]
10. E-40 [7]
11. (tie) Ariana Grande [7]
11. (tie) Miguel [5]
13. Mac McCaughan (solo or with Superchunk) [6]
14. Mike Watt (solo or with Floored By Four, Jumpstarted Plowhards, etc.) [6]
15. Kevin Gates [7]
16. (tie) Shy Glizzy [6]
16. (tie) Chance The Rapper (solo or with Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment) [6]
18. (tie) Gucci Mane [8]
18. (tie) Kendrick Lamar [5]
20. SiR [5]
21. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails or How To Destroy Angels) [6]
22. YG [4]
23. (tie) Jeremih [6]
23. (tie) Beyonce [5]
25. Vince Staples [5]
As you can see, for musicians who released stuff under different names or with different bands, I kind of rolled everything together, same goes for rappers' solo projects and collaboration projects. That gave a big advantage to Nels Cline, the guitarist best known for playing in Wilco who's made dozens of albums I've loved with different ensembles since the early '90s. Obviously, an exercise this gives an advantage to more prolific artists, and there are artists who made 3 or 4 of my favorite albums of the decade who didn't get in there because they didn't have more releases -- even Beyonce only made the cut thanks to minor stopgap releases Everything Is Love and Homecoming. Still, as much as I figured mixtape rappers would dominate and knew Future would come out on top, I was surprised that he wound up in a tie with 2 Chainz. Superchunk and Nine Inch Nails have the rare distinction of being in my list of '90s album artists as well as this one.
My Favorite Singles Artists of the 2010s:
1. Max Martin [28]
2. Jay Joyce [21]
3. Beyonce [19]
4. Future [18]
5. Mike Will Made It [19]
6. Lil Wayne [19]
7. Jeremih [17]
8. DJ Mustard [13]
9. Miguel [14]
10. 2 Chainz [16]
11. Jeezy [16]
12. Dr. Luke [15]
13. Ariana Grande [12]
14. Shellback [13]
15. Trey Songz [13]
16. Drake [13]
17. (tie) Rihanna [11]
17. (tie) Bruno Mars [10]
19. Shane McAnally [13]
20. (tie) Nicki Minaj [16]
20. (tie) Rick Ross [13]
22. Young Thug [12]
23. (tie) Greg Kurstin [13]
23. (tie) Kendrick Lamar [11]
25. (tie) Pharrell Williams [12]
25. (tie) Pop Wansel [9]
27. Quavo (solo or with Migos) [10]
28. Meek Mill [12]
29. Dann Huff [10]
30. (tie) T.I. [11]
30. (tie) Sevyn Streeter [9]
31. Yo Gotti [9]
32. (tie) Offset (solo or with Migos) [9]
32. (tie) YG [7]
34. Swae Lee (solo or with Rae Sremmurd) [8]
35. Niall Horan (solo or with One Direction) [9]
36. Eric Church [10]
37. Thomas Rhett [7]
38. Maren Morris [7]
39. (tie) Pitbull [8]
39. (tie) Cardi B [7]
39. (tie) Harmony Samuels [7]
39. (tie) Stargate [6]
43. Jeff Bhasker [7]
45. Pink [9]
46. (tie) Harry Styles (solo or with One Direction) [8]
46. (tie) Lady Gaga [6]
46. (tie) Jay-Z [6]
49. (tie) Chris Brown [8]
49. (tie) Gucci Mane [7]
49. (tie) The-Dream [5]
I counted producers, songwriters, and featured artists along with primary artists, and those are the people that won out here: Swedish pop producer Max Martin beat out everybody, and country hitmaker Jay Joyce placed well ahead of Eric Church or any of the other artists he works with.
Jay-Z has the distinction of being the only person in my list of '90s singles artists as well as this one.
2. Jay Joyce [21]
3. Beyonce [19]
4. Future [18]
5. Mike Will Made It [19]
6. Lil Wayne [19]
7. Jeremih [17]
8. DJ Mustard [13]
9. Miguel [14]
10. 2 Chainz [16]
11. Jeezy [16]
12. Dr. Luke [15]
13. Ariana Grande [12]
14. Shellback [13]
15. Trey Songz [13]
16. Drake [13]
17. (tie) Rihanna [11]
17. (tie) Bruno Mars [10]
19. Shane McAnally [13]
20. (tie) Nicki Minaj [16]
20. (tie) Rick Ross [13]
22. Young Thug [12]
23. (tie) Greg Kurstin [13]
23. (tie) Kendrick Lamar [11]
25. (tie) Pharrell Williams [12]
25. (tie) Pop Wansel [9]
27. Quavo (solo or with Migos) [10]
28. Meek Mill [12]
29. Dann Huff [10]
30. (tie) T.I. [11]
30. (tie) Sevyn Streeter [9]
31. Yo Gotti [9]
32. (tie) Offset (solo or with Migos) [9]
32. (tie) YG [7]
34. Swae Lee (solo or with Rae Sremmurd) [8]
35. Niall Horan (solo or with One Direction) [9]
36. Eric Church [10]
37. Thomas Rhett [7]
38. Maren Morris [7]
39. (tie) Pitbull [8]
39. (tie) Cardi B [7]
39. (tie) Harmony Samuels [7]
39. (tie) Stargate [6]
43. Jeff Bhasker [7]
45. Pink [9]
46. (tie) Harry Styles (solo or with One Direction) [8]
46. (tie) Lady Gaga [6]
46. (tie) Jay-Z [6]
49. (tie) Chris Brown [8]
49. (tie) Gucci Mane [7]
49. (tie) The-Dream [5]
I counted producers, songwriters, and featured artists along with primary artists, and those are the people that won out here: Swedish pop producer Max Martin beat out everybody, and country hitmaker Jay Joyce placed well ahead of Eric Church or any of the other artists he works with.
Jay-Z has the distinction of being the only person in my list of '90s singles artists as well as this one.
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