The second decade of the 20th century is almost over. What are your top ten picks? I'm very much a child of the 90's, so my list reflects that.
10. Tori Amos- Native Invader (2017) I've enjoyed most of Tori's later-day albums, some more than others, but her latest was my favorite.
9. Mark Lanegan- Blues Funeral (2012) Love pretty much everything Mark Lanegan has released, but damn, this was my favorite, with Gargoyle being a close second.
8. Smashing Pumpkins- Oceania (2012) A lot of fans write-off anything Billy did after the 90's, but Oceania is up there as one of the Pumpkin's best albums. The tour was incredible, and the live album for Oceania (its played in its entirety) is also outstanding. A surprisingly strong album after the weak Teargarden project.
7. Chris Cornell- Higher Truth (2015) Stylistically, this album reminds me a little bit of Led Zeppelin III. Some of the songs, like "Dead Wishes" are kind of hard to listen to in hindsight, but this reflective, somber album was one of Chris's best solo releases.
6. Singles Soundtrack Deluxe (2017) This soundtrack is not from the 10's, but it was released in 2017, so I'll include it. The original soundtrack is one of my favorite albums ever, and the bonus disc here, with a ton of Cornell material (four unreleased songs, instrumentals), and lots of other gems (Truly, live material, parts of the score), make this one of my favorite releases of the last decade.
5. Slash/Slash (2010) I haven't been super into Slash's solo work with Myles Kennedy, but his first solo album, with Ozzy, Lemmy, Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, etc. is an awesome album. The deluxe edition, with Alice Cooper and others is definitely worth getting--the two discs together are an amazing body-of-work. Easily tied with the first Velvet Revolver album as the best thing Slash did outside of Guns N' Roses.
4. Soundgarden- King Animal (2012) Way better than most reunion albums, SG picked up right where they left off. Some great later-day gems like "By Crooked Steps" and Halfway There."
3. Nine Inch Nails- NTAE/AV/BW (2016-2018) This trilogy is an amazing body-of-work and the roll-out, getting them in installments, was very satisfying.
2. Van Halen- A Different Kind of Truth (2012) Long, long, long suffering Van Halen fans finally got the album we were waiting for since 1984. Dave and Eddie still have an amazing chemistry. ADKOT sounds retro, but with a modern sheen--striking a good balance, with one foot in 1976 (most of the songs date back to then) and the other in 2012.
1. Nine Inch Nails- Hesitation Mark (2013) A very satisfying album after a brief drought. Just a great collection of songs, still listen to it all the time.
Honorable mentions--QOTSA, The Foo Fighters.