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Best and Worst of Entertainment: The 2010’s Decade End Lists


Clappy

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So yeah.  How was the 2010s for music?

 


Honestly, it will be interesting to look back on this decade years and years from now.  It just went through so many phases.  From the club boom to the biggest years of pure pop music since the 90s to self-serious pop to trap music.  Lord knows what trend is coming up next.  This decade has had so many identities that I can't really define it.

But man, did Billboard get this decade end list right.  For all my problems I've had with their year end lists the last couple years, these definitely feel like the 100 biggest songs of the 2010s.  Good job Billboard.  Every dog has its day and credit where credit is due.  This is absolutely a worthy decade end list.  So worthy that in all honesty, I liked more than 50% of this decade end list.  Which made crafting the worst list that much harder because most of these songs really didn't make previous worst lists.  Which gave me a little more room to work with.

What will the 2020's bring us?  Don't have a clue, but I’ll sit back in eager anticipation of what’s to come.  Because that’s what I do.  I follow pop culture and even if I’m not on this site five to ten years from now, I’ll still be following entertainment closely.

And because this is a decade end project, just like I am with all the other formats of entertainment on this thread, this will be a Bottom 20/Top 20.  Because I’m going that extra step to make this final big project all the more significant.  So we are counting down!

CLAPPY'S TOP 20 WORST SONGS OF THE BILLBOARD 2010'S DECADE END LIST

(that's a mouthful of a title)

Spoiler

 

As far as 2000’s female popstars go, I can’t think of a single act who has stopped trying more so than Pink.  She keeps making the same songs over and over again to the point that any sort of meaning has been hammered out of it.  Yet here she is.  Still racking up hits even in 2019.  That must be some nice payola she is getting.  Do you know who would be a close second in terms of this category?

 

20. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” – Kelly Clarkson

 

And this is a damn shame to me.  Because I was a bigger Kelly Clarkson fan than I ever was of Pink.  When Kelly Clarkson was at her peak quality, good lord she was just untouchably great.  She had some of the best hits of the 2000s and I’ve come to accept the fact that she went artistically bankrupt this decade trying to replicate her past success. 

But none of her singles of the last ten years are more artistically bankrupt than “Stronger”, otherwise known as “Since U Been Gone” clone number 234556.  Not only because Kelly Clarkson has done this song obviously better, but it’s that chorus that absolutely kills my interest in this song.  I can think of at least thirty songs off the top of my head that have used each and every line from that chorus.  It’s such an overused and overdone cliché.  And normally I would be more forgiving of clichés from one of my favorite female popstars if she showed some of her fiery passion.  But this is the most disinterested Kelly Clarkson has ever sounded from one of her own songs.

Kelly has had a couple more hits after this that have ranged from mediocre to boring, but I’ll give them all this.  At least it wasn’t “Stronger”.  Next.

 

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And speaking of half-assed songs.

 

19. “Sucker” – Jonas Brothers

 

"Sucker" still sucks.

 

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And this still sucks too.  But this wasn’t the first time Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber collaborated together.

 

18. “Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber

 

It took me three years to really develop a thought.  Or an opinion of some sort on Justin Bieber’s biggest song of all time.  But after the radio refused to let this song go away after all these years, I can finally say with full thought that I cannot sympathize for Justin Bieber.  He’s such an empty vessel when it comes to emotional weight.  Hell, venom and spite are hard emotions to pull off.  If Ed Sheeran performed this song, than maybe I would have bought it.  But instead he wrote it for one of the most unlikeable shits of this decade.  And I could not care less that Bieber is so pissy about a girl who broke his heart.

Honestly, the more I hear this song, the more I hate it.  I was able to write about 30-35 dishonorable mentions for 2016 and couldn’t find a spot to talk about this?  2016 sure was a weird year man.

 

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And to think, I used to like this song.  But the more I hear it, the more apparent this song conveys absolutely nothing.

 

17. “Airplanes” – B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams)

 

Wow that is one hell of a chorus by one of my favorite female vocalists of the last fifteen years. Is it really?  I use to think that, but this chorus is just total nonsense after ten years of overplay.  That metaphor is some weak shit.  I hate to say it since I love Hayley Williams so much, but this is the most phoned in chorus she has ever done.

But most of my problems with this song all fall back to Mr. Flat Earther over here.  It must have been so hard to be Bobby Ray over here, who in his second hit single is complaining about the pressure of stardom.  No wonder he didn’t stay relevant.  He couldn’t handle the pressure of fame so early in his career and is now spewing some bullshit about the Earth being flat like he’s Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

I don’t know if there was any other meaning behind B.o.B.’s part of the song, but it’s kind of hard to tell since he let studio hacks meddle with his big single and hammer any potential meaning out so they can commercialize the hell out of it.  Which you know, good for him.  Chase that money because you sure need it so you can keep on preaching your already disproven bullshit.  Next.

 

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16. “One More Night” – Maroon 5

 

Maroon5sucks.jpg

 

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15. “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line

 

 I thought for sure this would be lower on this list when I was first drafting out my decade end list.  But little did I know that this tediously dull song actually helped mold the modern trends of pop music.  Now we are getting more and more country-pop on the charts.

That is the only thing I will give it credit for because honestly who the hell cares about this slog of a song.  Bebe Rexha only further proves that she wastes her potential on middle of the road shlock.  Florida and Georgia only further prove that they don’t want to be a country music act anymore.  They both sound bored with what they are currently doing and would rather switch genres to find success.  Well congratulations.  You did it.  And nobody cares.  Next.

 

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14. “Dark Horse” – Katy Perry (featuring Juicy J)

 

And while we are at it.

 

13. “Fancy” – Iggy Azalea (featuring Charli XCX)

 

Two white girls borrowing heavily from black culture to make in the moment bops that will age terribly. 

Meanwhile, you have two of the biggest pop stars from the year 2014 making me cringe with these two songs.  Ironically, from when they were both at the peak of their fame.  I was going to declare these two a tie, but Iggy’s song nudges out Katy’s due to the fact that it makes me cringe just a tad harder.  That doesn’t make the former any less awful.

Katy has done songs with guest rappers in the past, but every single hit from the Prism era just felt like Katy being even more tasteless than we’ve come to expect from her.  And while Snoop and Kanye didn’t bring their A-material to their songs with Katy, at least they don’t have that fucking terrible “eat your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer” line.  Thanks Juicy J.

Iggy, on the other hand.  She is really the product of this time frame, isn’t she?  I do think she is talented.  Listen to that flow.  Listen to her wordplay.  That Charli XCX chorus is still fire.  But all my problems fall back on Iggy’s rapping.  And that’s why this song made it this high.  I don’t know what an Australian girl who grew up stateside is supposed to sound like, but it’s not supposed to sound this intentionally offensive.  And that’s why Iggy’s career bottomed out after one year of being in the spotlight. 

Both songs suck.  Both need to stop borrowing from hip hop culture.  And both are on downward spirals career wise.  Gee I wonder, why?  Next.

 

Spoiler

 

Like I said on my 2019 worst list, Sheeran is allegedly taking a multi-year break from performing.  I have my skepticism over this announcement, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Ed stuck to this.  Because in our year 2019, cracks finally started to show in the Sheeran Empire.  I don’t know if that’s true in the UK, where Ed is still one of the biggest acts ever, but definitely over here stateside.  His new album bombed with the critics.  Most of the singles off that new album flopped except for two.  And I’ve read multiple publications grow tired of his constant self-depreciation.  Which you know, is one of his main tricks with his songwriting.

I still think the guy is talented, but I’m getting so sick of him.  He’s made my worst list/dishonorable mentions the last three years after I promised to stop shitting on him.  But I think most of the backlash Sheeran has faced as of late may be due to one huge reason.  His biggest song, one of the biggest of all-time, is already supremely dated and supremely lame.

 

12. “Shape of You” – Ed Sheeran

 

It’s only been two years and “Shape of You” is already starting to be declared one of the worst songs to ever make it as big as it did.  How can a song that charted nearly sixty weeks in the Top 20 nearly two years ago already to start to receive such immediate heat?  It’s not like it’s all unwarranted, but it’s just a harmless silly pop song.

Honestly, I think a lot of it has to do with that beat.  It’s so weak, so limp, so juvenile for a song about sex from a guy who looks like a grown up Chuckie Finster.  I mean of all the male superstars of the 2010s, Ed Sheeran is probably the last person I would go to for a sex jam because he just doesn’t pull the part.  He’s a singer-songwriter.  He’s folky.  He bags on himself all the time.  He can’t pull off sexual and sensual.

I think Ed will go down as one of the defining pop stars of the last ten years.  It’s just a damn shame that his biggest song ever is one of his worst.  Isn’t that quite often the case?

 

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11. “All of Me” – John Legend

 

And speaking of which, it also only made sense that John Legend’s biggest hit to date ended up being his worst.  This may not have been one of the worst songs of the decade technically, but this is easily one of the dullest songs of the decades.  Let’s move on to the next song before I fall asleep.

 

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Okay we are halfway to the finish line.  The top ten worst huge hits from this decade.  And what better way to ring this half in with one of my favorite artists of the last twenty years making an absolute ass of himself.

 

10. “OMG” – Usher (featuring will.i.am)

 

For as much shit as I’ve talked about the year 2010 in every music thread I’ve ever been associated with, how dare I not even once mention this atrocity?  What else can I say but WHAT THE FUCK IS USHER DOING?  Usher.  One of the smoothest and coolest men alive.  Being delegated to sounding like a fucking teenager.

This is the same guy who has had some of the smoothest pick-up lines of the last twenty years.  And what smooth lines does he have in this one?  Honey’s got a booty like pow, pow, pow.  Honey got some boobies like wow, oh wow.  For real, did a teenager write this?  What kind of idiot would think these sorts of lines would be any level of smoove..

will-i-am-portrait_dezeen_sq.jpg

And of course we can’t talk about the year 2010 without the man who practically ruined the first half of this decade with his lifeless robotic production choices.  At least will.i.am’s part is kept super brief, but his garbage lyrics leave a rotten stench over the rest of this song.

But you know what the worst part of this song is?  THAT CHANTING.  WAS THIS RECORDED IN FRONT OF A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE?  Hell I can barely hear anything because the chanting is that distracting from everything else.

This song gave me a migraine while writing this, so let’s move on so I can get this annoyance out of my head.

 

Spoiler

…so that’s what Meghan Trainor is up to now.  You know part of me kind of feels bad that the internet music community basically ended Meghan’s chart success by trashing her so much.  One of the worst artists of the 2010’s is something I constantly see associated with her.  Myself included since “Dear Future Husband” is hands down one of the worst hit singles of the decade.  Possibly all time.  It’s that heinous.

But it is not like the quality was there for her fortunes to be reversed.

 

9. “All About That Bass” – Megan Trainor

 

Part of me thinks placing this song this low is a tad harsh.  But as each year passes, my hatred for this keeps growing.  I never want to hear this smug song ever again for the rest of my life.

Meghan Trainor sounds like Michael Scott when it comes to talking about sex.  She knows it exists.  But she has no clue what she’s talking about.  And hearing her cringe talk her way through three minutes of faux empowerment over a doo-wop beat is definitely one of the most annoying songs of this decade.  She is annoying and she knows it.  There is no subtlety.

And that’s why the Meghan Trainor backlash happened so swiftly.  There is nothing subtle about her music.  It’s just a constant annoyance.  And while I do feel bad that this is what Meghan Trainor’s career has been delegated to, it’s not like it isn’t undeserved.  Next.

 

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….how can one of the biggest hits of the decade get so easily forgotten?  I guess you could say, it was magic!

 

8. “Rude” – MAGIC!

 

And just like that, POOF!  Any trace of MAGIC! disappeared.

 

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Hey you guys.  Remember when this was the first song review I did on my music review thread?  Oh the memories.

 

7. “Roar” – Katy Perry

 

This is another one I’m going to keep short since I’ve talked about this song so many times now.  But for all the problems I’ve had with self-empowerment anthems, “Roar” is definitely one of the worst of this decade for being so limp and lifeless.  I can’t believe the same woman who gave us “Firework” gave us this lethargic dull turd.  For a song called “Roar”, it should have been renamed “Snore” because not once did Katy Perry sound empowering.  Next.

 

Spoiler

The 2010’s “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”.

 

6. “Watch Me” – Silento

 

Watch this go down in history as being the inspiration for the music of the future the way Soulja Boy was ten years ago.  Or watch this go down as supremely dated and lame like it is now.  I’m leaning towards the latter.  Who would dare say they were influenced by Silento of all damn people?

 

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Wow does this keep getting worse and worse.  What was I ever thinking?

 

5. “Blurred Lines” – Robin Thicke (featuring Pharrell & T.I.)

 

I was probably thinking, wow what a good use of that Marvin Gaye sample.  And you know what, it still works in that regard.  But I can’t listen to this song without thinking of all the discourse that has happened the years after it was huge.  And it’s not like it isn’t for good reason.

But I said this on Discord months ago and it still rings true.  This is the “Joker” of music.  It is too stupid to being worth of all this intense debate.  But while I found “Joker” to being a mediocre movie, this song is awful for different reasons.  Robin Thicke is walking anti-charisma.  Pharrell feels underutilized as the “woo guy”.  And T.I. literally adds nothing to this song.

This was meant to be a joke track since all three guys are dads, but this is a “dad joke” gone terribly horribly wrong. 

 

Spoiler

4. “Girls Like You” – Maroon 5 (featuring Cardi B)

 

 

On the plus side, this is the last time I’ll ever have to talk about this song ever again.  I’m really getting tired of talking about this song so many times over the last two years and I’ve grown especially tired talking about this band who hasn’t had an original idea in over ten years.  Fifth biggest song of this decade.  One of the biggest songs of all time.  Please put an end to this shit.

 

Spoiler

I know one of the most relevant comments from my 2018 worst list was my placement of harmless pop songs like “Never Be the Same” and “Perfect” were really worse than rainbow haired pedophiles and domestic abusers.  And to answer that, I say this.  Of fucking course they are.

 

3. “Perfect” – Ed Sheeran

 

I talked a few entries ago about how “Shape of You” backlash.  Is it stupid?  Yes.  But at least the songwriting is very Ed Sheeran-y.  The backlash of the Sheeran Empire began for me a year later when this lingered in the Top 20 for over a year like a prolonged fart.  This is the first Ed Sheeran song ever where I felt anybody could have done this.  And that is really damning when we have had over 20 Ed Sheeran knockoffs in the past five years alone.

And I’ve had my problems with your James Arthur’s and your Lewis Capaldi’s of the world, but I’d rather hear them do a song this half-assed than listen to the original.  Yep, you heard me right.  I would rather hear Lewis Capaldi and his god awful self-impressed singing voice belt “DANCING IN THE DAWK” than hear Sheeran sound so uninspired and looking for a cheap wedding song cash-in.

So, yes.  No regrets over placing “Perfect” at number two on my worst list last year.  Hell, I’m regretting not placing it at number one.  It’s that worthless.

 

Spoiler

2. “Sexy and I Know It” – LMFAO

 

I’m not posting the music video for this song.  After eight years of watching that offensively tasteless unfunny garbage flopping around my computer screen, enough is enough.  End this.

 

A month ago, Todd declared “Someone You Loved” as arguably his worst number one hit of the 2010s.  It made me go back and look at all the number ones of this decade and figure out my own personal worst number one.  And that honor goes too…”PILLOWTALK” by Zayn.

Yeah this is not just one of the worst numbers of all time, but one of my personal least favorite songs ever.  It exemplifies how absolutely joyless pop music ended up becoming this decade and is honestly such an unsexy song.  Absolutely heinous.  But “Sexy and I Know It” is definitely the second worst number one of this decade for exemplifying the polar opposite.  I’ve mentioned in the past that I’ve missed the bad tasteless pop music of yesteryear.  Well “Sexy and I Know It” proves me 10000% wrong there.

And while this song is a bad joke taken the 10000th degree, what makes this song so infuriatingly awful is the production.  Which consistently grates on my ear drums that it drives you absolutely bonkers.

“Party Rock Anthem” has only grown on me in the same amount of time it took for “Sexy and I Know It” completely shrink on me.  It’s lame and it knows it.

 

Spoiler

So what ended up taking the top spot on this list?  Well to put it simply, I once called it one of the top five worst songs of all-time on my increasingly embarrassing and increasingly dated Top 50 Worst Songs of All-Time list.  And while I continue to regret ever making that thread, one thing still remains the same.  It may not be one of the worst songs of all-time, but this is still hands down one of the most inexplicable songs I’ve ever heard.

 

1. “Hey, Soul Sister” – Train

 

Over ten years.  I’ve been hearing this song on the regular for over ten years.  And to this day, I still don’t get exactly what Pat Monahan was going for.  It is so inexplicably awful that it infuriates me every time I hear it. 

I often try to avoid highlighting the lyrics of a song unless I really have to, but here:

https://genius.com/Train-hey-soul-sister-lyrics

Here is the link to all the lyrics of this song.  There are too many inexplicably bad lyrics that I could make a Top 10 list…hell I could make a Top 20 of all the infuriating lyrics in this song.  And it’s easy to say “I’m so gangsta, I’m so thug” would top this list, but you know what would actually top this list?

Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains

Y’all know what the left side of your brain is responsible for, right?  It controls the right side of your body and tasks that do with logic.  So when I hear that lyric at the very beginning of this song, I take it literally.  I take it that Pat Monahan’s soul sister kissed his brain which led to brain damage and a lack of logic for all the lyrics that follow.

Friends of mine compare Pat Monahan as a lyricist to Tommy Wiseau.  And to that I’ve always said, dead wrong.  Tommy Wiseau at least manages to be entertaining.  What he thinks is meaningful, I at least find to be entertaining trash.  Pat Monahan just makes me miserable.  He sounds like he constantly tries with every song Train releases.  But his music constantly comes out brain dead.

Fuck this hack.  Fuck this song….tonight.

 

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Wumbo's Top 25 Albums of the 2010s (15-11)

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15. 4:44 - Jay-Z (2017)

A peach-colored background with "4:44" in a large black typeface at the bottom and "THIS IS HIS 13TH STUDIO ALBUM" at the top much smaller

If in 2015, you'd tell me that one of the best hip hop albums this decade would come from Jay-Z, I'd have said you were crazy. And that in itself sounds crazy, right? After all, Jay-Z was one of the rightfully biggest stars of the previous decade, with hit after hit showcasing his lyrical talents and unmatchable swagger. But by 2010, I feel that star had faded out, as is natural when you get old in the rap game. We had Snoop Dogg doing a rap verse for Jason Derulo, for God's sake. Time to let the new guys play, and maybe time for Jay-Z to retire and rest on his laurels.

Well, thank god he didn't, and thank god for Lemonade, because we may have never gotten 4:44 without it. Jay-Z and his co-producer, No I.D., have characterized this album as a therapy session for Jay-Z, and boy does he just let all out. Even if the content is ugly in nature or contains some questionable material (yeah, I'm talking about the Jewish people line from "Story of O.J."), it is an album that goes beyond Jay-Z's usual braggadocious persona and really takes a deep dive into his thoughts and feelings. Again, a necessary move after the cheating scandal with Beyoncé. Some may look at these two albums and the scandal that led to them and cynically see a marketing ploy by two of the smartest businesspeople in music. But I do see a story here. A story of regret, hurt, self-doubt, and atonement. That last one is key, and it's kind of ironic that Jay-Z beat the #MeToo movement to the punch with this album, almost as if he could sense a change of tides in the air. Whatever the reason may be, this is still an incredibly emotionally effective album with a lot to consider, and I would honestly put it among Jay-Z's best work, period. It's honest, it's raw, it boasts killer sample after killer sample, and it shows that Jay-Z still has a little left in the tank. A true treasure of 2017.

Best Songs: "The Story of O.J.", "Caught Their Eyes" (ft. Frank Ocean), "4:44", "Family Feud" (ft. Beyoncé), "Marcy Me", "Legacy"

 

Spoiler

 

14. Beauty Behind the Madness - The Weeknd (2015)

The cover features face of The Weeknd in his iconic dredlocks hairstyle. It appars like the cover has been torn and those torn pieces are placed again.

If there was ever an apt title for this project, it was Beauty Behind the Madness. The Weeknd, coming off of guest features on songs like "Love Me Harder", decided to meld his dark R&B side with a more accessible pop side, and it really comes through on this album. There is so much to love about the dark, menacing nature of these songs, while still somehow being catchy as hell. It's a fine line that not everyone can walk, but The Weeknd chose to walk it and his efforts paid off. You can really hear the Michael Jackson influence come through all throughout this album, very near paying tribute to some of his darker songs like "Dirty Diana". If anything, The Weeknd is an example of music changing for the better and old trends adapting into new ones. The melding of The Weeknd's dark, moody songwriting with some genuinely catchy pop choruses is spectacular. It's accessible, but it never loses its edge. Fantastic album, wish we had more like it.

Best Songs: "Losers" (ft. Labrinth), "Can't Feel My Face", "Acquainted", "Shameless", "In the Night", "As You Are", "Angel"

 

Spoiler

 

13. ASTROWORLD - Travis Scott (2018)

Astroworld by Travis Scott.jpg

Travis Scott had been bubbling under superstardom for a couple years before ASTROWORLD before said album blew him up and turned him into a household name with a #1 hit in "SICKO MODE". I'm convinced that this album is his magnum opus not just in pushing records, but in quality as well. (Even more convinced after hearing his latest single, but that's another story.) ASTROWORLD is a fantastic marvel of an album, proving once again that Travis Scott aims higher within the trap genre and defies expectations. The guest lineup for this album is insane, and yet feels totally natural and organic. Everyone fits into the album, from The Weeknd to James Blake to Stevie Wonder to Tame Impala. I'm convinced that this is the sort of album that anyone can enjoy. It transcends trap and hip hop and crosses over into the genres. The guitar tones on some of these songs are downright beautiful and soulful, and the whole album really does feel as exciting as a theme park experience. Truly one of the best of the decade from a great artist.

Best Songs: "STARGAZING", "SICKO MODE" (ft. Drake, Swae Lee & Big Hawk), "STOP TRYING TO BE GOD" (ft. James Blake, Kid Cudi, Philip Bailey & Stevie Wonder), "5% TINT", "YOSEMITE" (ft. Gunna & NAV), "HOUSTONFORNICATION", "COFFEE BEAN"

 

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12. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish (2019)

Eilish sits on the edge of a white bed, in front of a dark background. She wears white clothing, with white eyes while smiling demonically at the camera.

Billie Eilish kind of blew my mind this year with this album. Most young stars have to wait a bit before their critically acclaimed masterpiece comes through. But Billie Eilish came in this year and took music by the throat, throttled it, and with her brother's help on production, completely annihilated the pop scene. We're in a new era now, one that has been heavily influenced by Lorde and Lana Del Rey, and Billie Eilish is basically the death knell for the pop music of the early half of this decade. Not to say that pop music can't be fun anymore. Heck, this album is a ton of fun to listen to in my books. But there is now a sense of macabre and harshness to that fun, and most importantly, SUBSTANCE. Each and every one of these songs sounds like it comes from a real place, whether tongue-in-cheek, messy, or stripped-down and bleeding with soul. If Billie Eilish is accomplishing these sorts of projects before 18, well, the world is looking bright for her. I cannot wait for the next project to come.

Best Songs: "xanny", "you should see me in a crown", "all the good girls go to hell", "when the party's over", "bury a friend", "listen before i go", "i love you"

 

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11. 1989 - Taylor Swift (2015)

The cover is a polaroid of Swift with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing red lipstick and a long-sleeved sweater with a picture of birds in the sky. Her face is cut off by the frame above the nose and "T. S." and "1989" are written on the white polaroid frame with black marker.

In the least shocking news of the decade, Taylor Swift has gone full pop. And 1989 is still her best example of doing so, by a mile. It may not be the riskiest record on here, not by a long shot. But it is an incredibly good pop album with sharp writing and killer production. I think that this was the right move for Taylor. She'd clearly been wanting to move in this direction for years prior, and this album proved that she could pull it off. Some people might like the country side of Taylor better, but to me, this will always be her strongest effort as an artist. It certainly feels the biggest, spawning multiple #1 singles and boasting big-budget music videos. I think Taylor Swift's personality lends itself well to big pop stardom, and she shows it with this album. Every song on here, regardless of its lyrical quality, just sounds fantastic, and has a huge scope. (Well, except maybe "Shake It Off", that song soured on me.) Taylor Swift had built herself up over the years to be a huge musician as well as a huge media presence, and this album is what finally brings the two together, where she delves into what people say about her and her public image without getting too over-the-top about it and focusing her energy solely into the content, forgetting about the music (looking at you, Reputation). Sadly, 1989 I think is a feat that will never be replicated by Taylor Swift, but I'm happy knowing we got at least one genuinely great pop album out of her. Fantastic effort that more than pays off even all these years later.

Best Songs: "Blank Space", "Style", "Out of the Woods", "I Wish You Would", "Wildest Dreams", "I Know Places", "Clean"

 

 

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Wumbo's Top 25 Albums of the 2010s (10-6)

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10. Trench - twenty one pilots (2018)

Trench Twenty One Pilots.png

Trench is an album that happens when you polish a product that already stands pretty good on its own. twenty one pilots released their album Blurryface in 2015, and while that album was great, I feel it is this one where their sound and blending of genres really comes together to sell the themes of their music. It is significantly darker and rawer than their last effort, relying on sharp songwriting and cohesive production to sell the moods that they bring to us. It's an album that really tugs at the heartstrings, as you hear such topics of loneliness and isolation that were explored in Blurryface, but were fleshed out to their full form here. It is so great to hear a band progress in this way, to have them grow and continue to refine their sound. This may be controversial, but twenty one pilots were definitely one of my favourite breakthrough artists of this year. It always feels like they're making music that matters to them, and always getting better while doing it. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us the next decade.

Best Songs: "Jumpsuit", "My Blood", "Chlorine", "The Hype", "Bandito", "Legend", "Leave the City"

 

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9. Paramore - Paramore (2013)

ParamoreParamore.png

This is the greatest rock album of the decade. Yep, this one. Maybe I don't step too far outside my already ingrained musical tastes, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a rock album this year that made me more emotional and yet filled me with more pure, unbridled joy than this one. That's exactly what Paramore does best. They're a melancholic band wrapped in a beautiful pop punk package, and this is the best example of their two sides finding that rhythm, in my opinion. The writing on these songs is rock solid. All of these songs were made to be hits, yet contain some of the most emotional and intelligent writing of the decade. No, I'm not exaggerating. Paramore totally won me over by the end of the decade, and I'd count these songs here as among the best of the 2010s. There's so much to love about every song and every choice made on this album. After Laughter was a fantastic album, but I have to say I prefer this one for staying true to Paramore's musical roots and yet feeling fresh and new compared to their earlier work. Truly a marvelous album, and one I will treasure for years to come.

Best Songs: "Fast in My Car", "Daydreaming", "Ain't It Fun", 'Part II", "Still Into You", "Proof", "Be Alone"

 

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8. Starboy - The Weeknd (2016)

The cover image description is given in artwork section.

If Beauty Behind the Madness was the mainstream pop-listening public's introduction to The Weeknd, then Starboy is the logical progression of his sound, and I'd argue as a mainstream pop-listener myself that it's his best work to date. Starboy is a record that dives full-on into The Weeknd's pop progression, and I am here for it, man. Because despite being noticeably more pop than even his breakthrough album, it still works because The Weeknd maintains his dark persona through the album with help of some guest artists that help to maintain that balance. This album's production is perfection. That's what you can expect when you have experts like Daft Punk, Cashmere Cat, and The Weeknd himself, who serves as executive producer. Some diehard fans of The Weeknd might see this album and everything that follows as a sellout move, but honestly, I see it as an evolution. There's nothing wrong with marketing yourself to a wider audience, so long as the songs maintain their level of quality. And I'd argue that these are the best songs The Weeknd has ever written. Sharply produced, lyrically rich. Even though it's a whopping 18 songs long, you don't want to skip out on any of them. One of the true dark horses of this decade.

Best Songs: "Starboy" (ft. Daft Punk), "Party Monster", "False Alarm", "Sidewalks" (ft. Kendrick Lamar), "A Lonely Night", "All I Know" (ft. Future), "I Feel It Coming" (ft. Daft Punk)

 

Spoiler

 

7. DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar (2017)

Kendrick Lamar - Damn.png

Speaking of mainstream pivots, here we have Kendrick's most heavily trap-inspired album, containing some of his simplest-structured songs. Not surprisingly, this was the album that launched him fully into the mainstream, giving him his first #1 hit and three more year-end qualifying songs. And again, I'd count this as one of my favourite albums of the decade. As I said with The Weeknd's effort, there's nothing wrong with a more mainstream pivot as long as the music retains its quality. And you know Kendrick wouldn't let us down on this front. Despite the songs appearing more simple lyrically, they still manage to wring a lot of storytelling and emotion out of them. I also love the flow of this album; every song is placed perfectly, right down to the reversing at the end to the very beginning of the track. Like this album needed any help to encourage relistens. Kendrick is a master of his craft, and his work with producers and guest artists helps elevate the album even further. U2 is certainly something I would never expect to see on a Kendrick album, but in retrospect it makes sense since both of them have strong senses of Christianity and faith in their music. It's nice to see Kendrick making callbacks to previous eras of music in this way. What more can I say? Damn, this is good.

Best Songs: "DNA.", "YAH.", "FEEL.", "PRIDE.", "XXX." (ft. U2), "GOD.", "DUCKWORTH."

 

Spoiler

 

6. Cuz I Love You - Lizzo (2019)

Lizzo - Cuz I Love You.png

This record oozes confidence. No surprise coming from Lizzo, who has never presented herself any other way than being in-your-face and proud of it, and herself. And we wouldn't want her any other way. Lizzo is fantastic throughout this album, bringing the sort of swagger you'd expect from rappers, and yet presenting in such a pop-friendly, accessible way. I totally get the appeal for Lizzo; it's obvious. Her attitude and confidence is directly inspiring to everyone, everywhere, not least because her music focuses on empowering others as well as herself. And it's just fun to listen to. Every song here is a joy sonically and lyrically. So much so that it was hard to limit myself to seven choices for the "best" songs, which is still more than half the album. But here they are anyway. Listen to Lizzo. You won't regret it.

Best Songs: "Like a Girl", "Juice", "Jerome", "Tempo" (ft. Missy Elliott), "Exactly How I Feel" (ft. Gucci Mane), "Better in Color", "Lingerie"

 

 

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Before we get to the Top 5 of my list, some honourable mentions:

Spoiler

 

Take Care - Drake

21 - Adele

Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts

Blurryface - twenty one pilots

Concrete and Gold - Foo Fighters

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West

The Sticks - Mother Mother

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 - Eminem

Sucker - Charli XCX

Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 - Calvin Harris

 

Okay! On to the finale.

Wumbo's Top 25 Albums of the 2010s (5-1)

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5. Sweetener - Ariana Grande (2018)

Sweetener album cover.png

Really? Top 5? Yes. It's messy as all hell. It's uneven. It sounds rushed. But if this is what it takes to get an honest album from Ariana Grande, I'll take it. From beginning to end, Sweetener sounds like a passion project, not just a way for Ariana to get easily-marketable singles. Oh, they're still there. mind you, but they're integrated into the work so well. This makes it the most successful Ariana album for me, and because Ariana Grande is always a great artist with her powerful, beautiful voice, it also stands up as one of the greatest albums of the decade. thank u, next would prove to be an even messier and more rushed album, anyway. This one strikes that balance between its honesty and its technical superiority over tyn. This stands out to me as Ariana's most important record. Despite its flaws, I absolutely love it.

Best Songs: "the light is coming" (ft. Nicki Minaj), "R.E.M", "sweetener", "everytime", "breathin", "no tears left to cry", "goodnight n go"

 

Spoiler

 

4. Dirty Computer - Janelle Monae (2018)

DirtyComputer.png

Janelle Monae is the pop superstar who never got famous, and it's a damn shame. Maybe in the future she'll be remembered more thoroughly and get the universal acclaim she deserves from the public, but for now we'll have to focus on the critic's reviews to provide solace. This album was a critical darling in 2018, and rightly so. It's a fun, fresh slice of pop joy that you just weren't hearing in 2018, and I guess we were all too sad to really give this a chance. But damn, I wish we had. One of the best albums of the decade, bar none. And Janelle deserves so much better. Prince never died. His influence lives on. Damn, this is going to be another one that's hard to limit to 7 "best" songs, but I guess it'll be hard for the rest of them as well.

Best Songs: "Crazy, Classic, Life", "Django Jane", "Pynk" (ft. Grimes), "Make Me Feel", "I Like That", "So Afraid", "Americans"

 

Spoiler

 

3. Lemonade - Beyoncé (2016)

Beyonce - Lemonade (Official Album Cover).png

I earlier sang the praises of Jay-Z's 4:44, but let's be real, this album was always going to blow it out of the water. Beyoncé is near-godlike on this album, and her choices to traverse genres as she jumps to different topics surrounding her life and her feelings is mesmerizing. It is all unmistakably Beyoncé, but it is also an album that keeps you guessing from beginning to end. Each song has a unique flair that could grant it entry into a music museum. For anyone who wasn't already down with Beyoncé before this album, I don't know how this album couldn't make them think differently. It is a true masterpiece, and the best possible response to the personal cheating scandals and the ongoing racism in America. Beyoncé's voice stands tall and she has that superstar glamour that makes this entire album pop, with the fire and intensity to make her statements stick. It's Beyoncé's best album by a mile, and I hope we hear more from her in the next decade, because I'm curious to see if she can take it even farther.

Best Songs: "Don't Hurt Yourself" (ft. Jack White), "6 Inch" (ft. The Weeknd), "Daddy Lessons", "Sandcastles", "Freedom" (ft. Kendrick Lamar), "All Night", "Formation"

 

Spoiler

 

2. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar (2015)

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly.png

I had to sit at my desk for a few minutes after listening to this one, just to soak it all in, before writing this blurb. This album is a goddamn miracle. It came at a time when racial tensions were especially high due to the killing of young black males by police, and it came at a time in Kendrick's career where he had to build from Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. It is amazing just how well this album is put together. Kendrick is a storyteller at heart, and this album's use of repeated themes, samples, and cohesion all help to tie the album together. Every moment I felt like my mind was being blown again and again. My jaw dropped when he talked about screaming in a hotel room to immediaitely pivot to one of my favourite songs on the album, "u". This is the type of art that you encounter when passion, anger, melancholy, justice, and talent come together from many people. This may be the single best album of the decade. Were it not for one more that hit me more personally, it would easily win. But there is no shame in taking #2. Kendrick is a musical genius, and I can't see anything matching his clear magnum opus in To Pimp a Butterfly. I'm certainly open to him accepting the challenge, though.

Best Songs: Far, FAR too many to list. Impossible to narrow down to 7. I'll specifically highlight "u" and "The Blacker the Berry" as the songs that hit me the hardest, as well as "i" for putting me in a great mood every time. Also "King Kunta", "How Much a Dollar Cost", "Momma", "Complexion", "For Sale?", "These Walls", "Wesley's Theory"... I told ya, I can't do it. What a fantastic album.

 

Spoiler

 

1. Melodrama - Lorde (2017)

A painting of Lorde resting on a pillow. In the painting, the subject wears a negligée as the bed sheets wrap below the shoulder's surface. It is mainly painted in cool hues while the subject appears in warm hues.

But what will we do when we're sober

This album is so insanely perfect that I feel like saying anything about it would taint it somehow. It's like, how am I supposed to touch such a masterpiece? It'd be like putting my grubby hands all over the Mona Lisa. I can't think of an album this decade that so intensely got to me. "Liability" is one of the few songs that makes me cry with every listen. "Green Light" is such a euphoric burst of energy to start off the album. "The Louvre"'s production is effortlessly cool and immaculate. "Hard Feelings/Loveless" is the perfect midpoint of this album, teetering the line between ironic detachment and genuine heartbreak. "Perfect Places", ""Supercut", "Sober", "Writer in the Dark", "Homemade Dynamite" AAAAAAAHHHHHH

Broadcast the boom boom boom, and make 'em all dance to it

I love each and every one of these songs. Even the reprises and interludes hold up just as well with the rest of them. Lorde proves an expert storyteller and emotional singer with this one. Her performances on these songs blow my mind; they are pitch-perfect down to every intended mood of each song. The writing is so clever and nuanced; each line feels like it was hand-crafted by a master poet. There is not a single moment where this album loses me, or I feel that something could have been subtracted, or added.

I'm a little much for everyone

It is a very, very rare occurrence where an album exhausts me from being so good, but the Top 2 of this list manage it. This one just hits a bit closer to me personally because of a recent-ish breakup I went through. As though these songs needed leverage to hit any harder.

Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark

Of all the albums on this list, this one is going to stick with me everywhere I go. It is a truly masterful work of art from an immensely talented young woman, and I feel blessed just to have experienced it. If you haven't heard this album yet, front to back, the fuck are ya doin go listen to it now now now stop reading this for gods sake

Best Songs: ALL OF THEM seriously what are you doing go listen to this album go go go

What the fuck are perfect places anyway

 

Thanks for reading everyone!

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Hal's Top 100 of the 2010's: 40-31

 

Spoiler

40. SpaceGhostPurrp – For the Love of Money (Wavy) (2010)

The world of underground rap in the turn of the decade was such a bizarre world that I don’t think I could ever wrap my head around it all; that said, I have listened to some of the more well known ones making great stuff at the time, and SpaceGhostPurrp is probably my favorite. This is off of his first mixtape, NASA Gang, and while the whole thing is very special, this one is the best of the bunch to me. When I first heard this song, the production blew my mind, even relative to the rest of the mixtape, and over and over again it works like a charm for nighttime listening. It’s a super hazy, THICK song among many of such from SpaceGhostPurrp (also the 2014 remastered version blows the original 2010 version out of the water)

Spoiler

39. The Voidz – Leave It in My Dreams (2018)

This song was a good time on first listen, but it grew into one I just cannot get enough of. Julian Casablancas, while I’m not a fan of all his work (I just don’t like the strokes sorry), is clearly a really talented guy and can knock it out of the park when it comes to songwriting, and this song is my favorite example of such. On brand for this project of his, The Voidz, the song’s production gives off a very mid-80’s cheesy aesthetic, which greatly enhances what is already the foundation of a tightly written, ridiculously catchy indie garage number. This is not a song to think extensively about, it’s just meant to be listened to to make your brain all fuzzy, as per all great pop rock

Spoiler

38. Poppy – X (2018)

I named this my favorite song of 2018 at the time, so I was a little surprised at just how low it is on the list, although low is pretty relative on a list of the best songs of a decade so it really doesn’t matter because I still LOVE this song. Drastic stylistic shifts in songs can be unnecessarily jarring, and while the sunny pop/alt metal combo on here is absurd in its own right, it’s absurd in all the good ways. The shift between the two genres makes the song super exciting, and not only because of the novelty of it, but because it’s a super well written song otherwise. It’s not just pop and metal, it’s super well-written pop and great metal (though idk much abt the genre so take that at face value), and all within the confined of a super intriguing and bizarre musician in Poppy. Still a fantastic song.

Spoiler

37. The Neighborhood – Sweater Weather (2013)

One of the most important things I learned when I did a r/popheads rate of 4 mid-2010’s indie records w/ some of yall is that The Neighborhood are a near-worthless, awful band. Most of their shit is mainstream indie at its very worst and most pretentious, BUT… Sweater Weather holds up as a delightful song, one super fitting as I write this in the middle of winter. The production on this song matches the winter haze perfectly. Todd, when singing his praises for this song, mentioned how its main drawback is the sudden tempo shift. Me? I think that’s the best part of the song, as I think the two-part quality of it makes me enjoy it even more. That tempo shift, to me, takes a slick, super cool indie song and suddenly make it even cooler.

Spoiler

36. Miranda Cosgrove – Kissin U (2010)

I don’t know what it is about Nickelodeon, but between this song, the Drake and Josh theme song, and even the hindsight jangle darlings behind the Pete and Pere soundtrack, Polaris, Nick have a lot of relation to some goddamn amazing sunny pop rock. This song smothers me in pure nostalgic feelings, and not necessarily for the song itself (as a kid I just thought it was whatever), but because to me, Miranda as well as whoever else wrote the song channels an artist I like an embarrassing amount, Sheryl Crow. This has the exact same energy as Crow’s best music; it’s summery, ridiculously catchy, and a little bittersweet. Of course, this song probably doesn’t have the same subtlety, but I love it to pieces anyway. If this song were bigger, it would be playing over the intercoms of the world’s greatest JC Penney.

Spoiler

35. The Weeknd – In the Night (2015)

The Weeknd have made some songs I really really do not like, but in general, there’s no denying that he’s probably a net positive in the realm of pop music. He’s made a lot of songs I love, but from the very first time I heard In the Night, I heard smth special in it, and it remains my favorite song from the guy. He has a lot of songs that sound humungous, but this is one is his humungous-est. It sounds like it should be to the theme of a movie, it sounds that cinematic. Or at the very least, it sounds like an already-great 80s R&B song taken up to its peak thanks to some fantastic production as well as The Weeknd’s huge voice, one I’ll never understand why some people find irritating

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34. Death Grips – Beware (2011)

For as much as Death Grips has been overexposed for nearly the entire decade, their first two projects are still two of my favorites of the past 10 years, and the song that really introduced them to the world is the one I’d call their best. This song is legendary in more ways than one, in part because it’s insanely quotable (even the infamous Charles Manson intro), but also because that’s just how it sounds. The sample work on this (and Ex-Military as a whole) is goddamn unbelievable, and the Jane’s Addiction sample here sounds DEMONIC in the hands of the trio. One of the most menacing songs of the decade, but also one of the best.

Spoiler

33. Demi Lovato – Cool for the Summer (2015)

I doubt many would disagree that Demi Lovato had the best post-Disney career of the decade; there are several songs of hers that I could’ve put on this list, but of course, I had to put the obvious one. Is it my fault? I’ve already professed my sheer love for all booming maximalist club pop plenty of times on the list so far, what’s another one? Or several? Yeah this song is as much of a blazing fury as people make it out to be, all thanks to the man himself, Max Martin. It’s no fucking wonder he’s behind this song, he’s one of the select few who can make a song like this the way it is. It’s nuts how propulsive this song is and how much energy is packed into every single second, even when the song decides to dip in energy only to make the chorus explode that much more.

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32. Trippie Redd / Travis Scott – Dark Knight Dummo (2017)

Trippie Redd is a tad frustrating because I’ve heard a good amount of his songs and have deduced that he’s merely decent with the only shining thing in discog likely being this, and it’s not just because of Travis. Sure this is the 2nd time Travis is technically on this list but he is undoubtedly the relative lowlight here, this song’s power is all thanks to the beat and Trippie himself. The loud, dramatic beat here does not warrant anything lowkey, so Trippie WAILS the chorus and it makes for one of my personal favorite hip hop moments of the decade. In an era where a lot of trap is decidedly minimalist and lowkey, it makes me so happy when Trippie decides to go for smth like this where that initial drop paired with Trippie’s yelling makes you feel like you’re in the first big drop of a roller coaster.

Spoiler

31. C418 – Minecraft (2011)

I’m not a super big Minecraft guy, but I feel that even the most jaded in regards to the game’s several waves of popularity and backlash have to admit the sheer power of it. The game is beautiful, and the accompanying music is even more so. I was torn between this and Sweden, but at the end of the day, while Sweden is gorgeous, I don’t get much nostalgia from it. Meanwhile, this song was my soundtrack to the days of SpongeCraft (R.I.P.), and it absolutely holds up on its own. I’m not ambient expert, but I feel like this song encapsulates why the genre has its appeal, and you get a very specific setting as you listen to this. Despite belonging to a video game, it’s a perfect song from outdoor walks in nature. Plus, again, nostalgia.

 

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NOTE: Most of this was written last decade.

Hello everyone. This is the time where we all share our favorite and least favorite entertainment of this wonderful/awful decade. I'm so happy we are about to do this. Especially for TV. There is no doubt that TV was at its highest this decade. It's literally having a golden age right now and there are a lot of amazing shows to prove this case. Today, I'm going to show you my favorite TV shows of 2010s. And yes, it's top 20 because there are this many good shows that shouldn't be missed. First things first. Let's start with...

Honorable Mentions:

Spoiler

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (The CW): I honestly had to lower this show to honorable mentions due to the fact that it started off kind of poorly and I wasn't a big fan of season 4. Regardless, this is one Arrowverse show that isn't afraid to leave its comfort zone and do experimental and crazy comic book shit while it give us actual emotional character moments and stakes, instead of fillers and unnecessary dramas. I'm so glad that after s1, the show decided to took a more lighthearted and comedic approach, while it didn't lose its sense of character development and good storytelling.

The Venture Bros (Adult Swim): I'm not the biggest fan of this show honestly. The humor just doesn't click with me sometimes but I gotta give praise to the show for being a mature and intriguing show with flawed characters while keeping a good parody of geek culture that we are having it right now.

Futurama (Comedy Central): I was hesitant to put this show even on honorable mentions because it only had 2 seasons on Comedy Central as opposed to 4 seasons on FOX and 4 movies previous decade but I honestly think Comedy Central revival is almost as good as FOX era. While there are some misses, the hits are just as impressive and gut punching. And even within its cancelation, the show ended so strong while keeping it open for another future revival which I hope that doesn't happen because the show had a good run and might as well end it here without any suffer of decline like The Simpsons.

Castlevania (Netflix): Two seasons in and it's already the show that is about to change adult animation to be more than just comedy. The show is very action packed with good amount of gore and violence behind it and it has a pretty good storytelling if not kind of flawed. My only issue with this show is that it sometimes has a hard time spending time on its main characters that I find them forgettable at times, so I hope that is changed in s3.

Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon Network): I'm not such a big fan of this miniseries like rest of people but I totally get its praise and it deserves recognition here. The show is such a good feel series about two brothers who are lost in a strange world that want to go back home. It's a simple premise but it knows how to be sweet and terrifying at the same time. While I think there are better shows this decade, I'm gonna put this on honorable mentions because it's still good.

Regular Show (Cartoon Network): The show kind of tanked when it hit its fifth season but it was a temporary decline on an otherwise very strange, humorous and complex show that manages to be just as creative and insane for my taste. I love the characters, I love the world surrounding them and I love how it can be a good animation for both kids and adults alike, especially adults. Regardless of small step backs, the show is still one of my favorite shows of all-time.

Penguins of Madagascar (Nickelodeon): Wait a minute, a Nickelodeon show making it to my list? How is this even possible? Let me tell you why. Because Penguins of Madagascar is one good example of how to make a good spin-off show. It is very batshit hilarious and exciting when it needs to be. It focuses on obviously penguins and we all love them in Madagascar movies and I think they are just as good in the show but the show's own cast is just as funny and interesting to watch. While I don't always love this show and it's been a while since I have seen it, it is still such a great show to watch if you like Madagascar movies and don't mind this is in an alternative universe. 

Stranger Things (Netflix): I haven't seen season 3 when I wrote this list and based on its reception idk if I want to see it but first two seasons are such a joy to watch, especially first season on how it's a pretty good nostalgic show that feels refreshing for this decade. It's got plenty of action, good character study and enough emotion behind it that it's a must see show even if you aren't as into 80s as I am.

Wander Over Yonder (Disney Channel/X D): This show deserved so much more. SO MUCH MORE. All that potential is lost for good. Wanna see a really outstanding cosmic cartoon? Then Wander Over Yonder is a perfect show for you. It's very silly and entertaining enough and I just dug the character and overall worldbuilding the show makes. I love cosmic stories so much because I love visiting different galaxies and different alien species and the show delivers on that, while it's one of the most experimental cartoons I have ever seen. If only Disney would give this show another chance.

Avatar: The Legend of Korra (Nickelodeon): I honestly get all the criticism the show has ever gotten and I agree with some of them but there is no denying that the show is almost as spiritual successor of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In fact it can be even darker and more mature than the previous show and I just enjoy that aspect in it. Especially s3 where it's just as awesome and impactful as original cartoon. Please give this show a chance even if it's not as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Young Justice (Cartoon Network/DC Universe): I don't think there is a DC universe show that embraces the legacy of DC Comics as perfectly as this one. Not even DCAU. While that can be a problem sometimes because it juggles too many characters on the show, I think it's an amazing show about youth, legacy and will of people. I'm so glad DC Universe stream service decided to save this show. It deserved to be saved because there is so much potential the show can reach out to that no other DC shows can't imo.

 

Now that honorable mentions are over, lets dive into my actual list!!!

WhoBob's Top 20 Best TV Shows of 2010's

#20-11

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20. The Good Place (NBC):

I have a problem with the humor of the show like I expect what kind of joke I'm getting from these characters that they don't feel as surprising and at times it feels repetitive for my taste. Other than that, this show is a must see for exploring life and humanity itself with the most batshit insane way possible. I love that while this is a comedy show, it has overarching plots and well developed characters that don't stay the same back when they were introduced and it keeps its optimistic and lighthearted tone. And when humor is good, it's really damn good. While I'm not so crazy about this show compared to most others, I totally love it and I hope its conclusion is just as strong. If not, the show is still an amazing experience.

19. Daredevil (Netflix):

This show deserved much more. Luckily there are enough three seasons that managed to wrap up all of its plotlines, save for one tease at the end of s3. Still this show is magnificent enough that it deserved another chance. It's the best Marvel Netflix show ever with incredible character study from Matt Murdock aka Daredevil and his quest to be a better person than he once was. I love his conflict with characters like Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, Frank Castle/Punisher and Elektra while his supporting cast get a ton of development along the way. It's not perfect because there are some pacing problems especially in s2 and it can shy away from getting comicy but I personally think this is one of the strongest comic book shows ever.

18. Atlanta (The FX):

Two seasons and it has already climbed way up to being one of the best TV shows of the decade. It's such an absurd, yet a cool slice of life show that has a good sense of humor, outstanding standalone character study episodes and it is great at switching genres to stuff like thriller horror or a parody of TV in general. I still wanna see more from the show to call it the absolute one of the strongest TV shows we are getting right now but I think it's getting there.

17. Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Disney X D):

Speaking of comic book shows that deserve more chance. Here is Avengers: EIM. It lasted two seasons and it's so important but overlooked thanks to Disney cancelling the show. This show gets Marvel universe like no other, even MCU. When I say that, I mean it does amazing job at adapting some of the most critically acclaimed Marvel stories ever made. It has the best version of Hawkeye, Black Widow, Ultron, Dr. Doom, Henry Hank Pym and plenty more. And it'll make you fall in love with villains you have never seen like Kang the Conqueror or Korvac. Only reason why this show is on the list and not something like Young Justice is that I think this show is absolutely amazing at juggling so many characters and I personally love Marvel more than DC. If you are a big Marvel fan or not, this cartoon is a must see. It's two seasons and it's worth a binge.

16. My Hero Academia (Funmation):

I'm not really into anime but thanks to one of my closest friends, I decided to give this show a shot and boy, I loved it. This show GETS what it means to be a hero. When you can do a lot with superheroes, the show's overall theme is heroism which sounds pretty basic but the show gets a deep dive into it and never lets it go. I think this is the most optimistic superhero show we are getting right now and even if you aren't as big anime fan like me but if you love superheroes, this is a must see.

15. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC):  

Superhero time is never over huh. Enter Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., quite possibly my favorite superhero show ever besides the one that I'll talk about soon. This had no right to be as good as it should have been. Once this was a show that started off average that people didn't pay attention to got better and better and better in each season it was in. Even if s5-6 didn't reach the heights of s2-4, it's still better than it used to be and it's a shame MCU chooses to ignore the show now considering it used to tie into MCU movies, especially Winter Soldier which made the show actually amazing and more than just your average spy/superhero show. The show's inclusion of many comic elements and its own thing, it became such a masterpiece to me. If only more people gave this show a chance but luckily it has seven seasons of content with 7th season being the last season next year which I hope it delivers. This show means a lot to me and I'm glad it managed to survive all those potential cancelations.

14. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW):

What did you expect from a literal shitty premise? A damn bad show? Too bad because Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is actually a smart and quite complex show to watch. It's literally the only CW show I'll put it on the list because it's that good. The musical numbers, the comedy, the drama, the themes of depression, obsession and mental illness etc. The show knows what it is doing. Rachel Bloom is such an impressive storyteller that it turned what an absolutely garbage concept into a gem and she's also a really damn good actress to play the main character Rebecca who is extremely relatable and fun to watch. I still listen its musical numbers to this day because the show is an absolutely silly, yet such a heartbreaking experience that I highly recommend it.

13. Black Mirror (Channel 4/Netflix):

I have not seen season 4 and 5 yet and I know they are being called the worst seasons but I really think this show still deserves a spot at the list for being one of the most ambitious takes on technology and modern society. It's a smart show that really changes the perspective on how we view the world and how technology affects our daily lives. It's an anthology show that you can pick up in any episode and jump right into it because the entire show is bonkers and I love it.

12. Rick and Morty (Adult Swim):

Despite having one of the most crowded and annoying fandoms out there, I still see Rick and Morty as a fairly creative and hilarious sci-fi show that anything can happen. The show is not for everyone and it tends to get into clichés as much as it tries to subvert them but I truly admire the show for having some of the most complex characters, entertaining raunchy humor and a spectacular animation that is worth to wait. Would I recommend this show to everyone? No but If you are into surreal sci-fi comedies, the show is for you.

11. You're the Worst (The FX/FXX):

Anti-romcom would be the perfect description of the show because it's rather a comedic and depressing tale of fucked up people having fucked up relationships. It's hilarious, it's tragic, it's compelling, it's edgy in a good dose for the most part. It's a show that does its best job at making us feel bad for these shitty people doing shitty mistakes in their lives and at the same time make us laugh at their antics. It's one of the most realistic shows, I have seen and it's still a very entertaining comedy. It's worth checking out.

 

#10-1

Spoiler

10. Watchmen (HBO):

This show has no right to be good AT ALL. A sequel to one of the most praised graphic novels of all-time being a TV show is absolutely a terrible way to get people invested in a show because lets be real, not everyone buys and reads comics and people who only saw Watchmen movie would be confused by this. That said, I'm glad for existence of the show because it gets shit right. While it's a sequel to a comic and the show references a lot of it, the show does a very good job of making an identity of itself with tackling even deeper issues like racism of the past and the present. It looks at the history of black people and it builds on it. It's not a perfect show because not everything it does lands to me but it's such a big surprise to see this show being this hit after having low expectations on it. It's a must see the show and the comic Watchmen is worth reading as well if you know enough of superhero tropes.

9. Fringe (FOX):

Once again, being a geek of sci-fi, I must praise the show as well. This is such an impressive cult sow that at first it was like sci-fi version of The X-Files but then it became so much more than that and it built its own mythology and worldbuilding and when it was doing all that, it gave us loveable but flawed characters that you would root for them. I was hesitant to put this show on the list since it started in 2008 and it ended in 2013 but I'd say the show deserves to be on this decade's list because this decade is when things got really good on the show imo and it's one of my favorite shows ever.

8. Person of Interest (CBS):

Want a crime fiction show created by Jonathan freaking Nolan? Enter Person of Interest. This show is just too good to be true. I'm not a big crime fiction fanatic If I say so and I often find them repetitive but the show gives us such a cool new concept. What If we can stop the crimes before they happen? And the show goes into themes like security, privacy and even stuff like AI despite the show being mostly grounded in nature. And that's not enough to cover how much the characters are complex human beings with emotions and flaws, the tone is both fun and serious, overarching narrative is strong and the show finishes strong. Even If you aren't into crime fiction, I would say give this show a shot. It's such an underrated gem of this year.

7. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network/Netflix):

I love Star Wars so much. It's one of my favorite franchises of all-time and this show...this show is my favorite Star Wars material that isn't Empire Strikes Back. That's right, I love this show that much. It may have flaws and some mediocre episodes along the way but my god, the strongest episodes of the show are just some of the best I have found in any media. The show basically fixes prequel trilogy by adding depth into characters, introduces new characters to make the show even more fresh, humor is consistently good, action sequences are entertaining, stories are gripping and animation in very impressive not only for a CGI show, entire of animation. Any Star Wars fan must see this show, it's genuinely magnificent piece of art.

6. The Expanse (Syfy/Amazon Prime):

Speaking of worldbuilding, here is another underrated sci-fi show I must recommend to anyone. What If years later, humanity were separated into three groups? Earth, Mars and Belters. And each group are in intense position amongst each other while they discover something from beyond that they cannot understand? Sci-fi shows, especially space operas, should not only look good in visuals, it also has to be smart to the audience. The show does that with writing realistic space rules while providing impressive movie quality budget that is rare to find on TV. The show makes you give a shit about each side of human groups with making things complicated and nuanced and it doesn't look down upon its audience. It's basically science fiction's Game of Thrones with strong worldbuilding and intriguing politics. I have been praising the show for a while and this is my explanation for why it's such an awesome sci-fi space opera show that deserves every single recognition it deserves.

5. Mr. Robot (USA):

The recently finished show Mr. Robot means a lot to me. This is a show that tackles on the nature of humanity and how one person can change the world for good. Enter Elliot Alderson, a hacker vigilante, who has hatred of humanity and people who run the world for breaking the society decides to take on the highest group of people and bring justice on himself. If you think seeing a person hack is born, no worries the show makes the hacking look exciting and thrilling to watch. Not only that, the show isn't afraid to tackle mature issues that would be a spoiler If I said more about them and it goes bonkers and experimental when it wants to be. That being said, the show is very depressing to watch and I highly recommend watching the show at the risk of that but in the end, it's an emotional and thriller show that I deeply adore so much.

4. Doctor Who (BBC):

My favorite live-action show of all-time is at #4? Well you can sort of blame Chibnall and worst of Moffat on that. That said, I cannot express how much the show is something so special. I'm a sucker for time travel adventures, I really am. And this show hooked me on that very intriguing and mysterious concept of a guy named Doctor as a kid and ever since I cannot let go of that show. The show's just marvelous at accomplishing many things. It's a sci-fi, it's a fantasy, it's a space opera, it's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a horror and so much more. It's a show that is filled with optimism and hope that makes my day bright, especially this is present in Moffat era. Say what complaint you wanna say about his era being too convoluted or trying so hard to be smart. Those are good complaints but dear god, he gets Doctor Who so well. His era started and ended this year and thus he has a very special place in my heart. Only reason why this show isn't like on #1 is that Moffat's flaws can be so huge that It sometimes scratches my head and Chibnall's era hasn't been off to a really good start, although that era's first season did have some solid episodes imo. The show is able to bring so much joy and sadness in me that I cannot stop loving it. It's such a groundbreaking show that will always be loved and appreciated, even after 50 years.

3. Breaking Bad (AMC):

This is it. This is the show everyone loves to talk about. And all the hype surrounding it is justified as hell. This show is amazing. There is no other way to say it. The fact that this gave me a lot confidence in other drama shows is truly something astonishing. The show just excels at drama and thrill, as well dark humor in it. Characters feel complex and three dimensional. The suspense is at its maximum level. And cinematography is always gorgeous to look at. I cannot praise it enough. I could put it #1 and call it a day but there are two more shows that speak to me that I must mention them.

2. BoJack Horseman (Netflix):

BoJack is a type of show that understands humanity perhaps the best imo. It understand the flawed nature of us and it tells a well crafted story about it while keeping it funny. It's a show that wants us to become better people than we once were. This show has tackles a lot of topics like from depression to Hollywood scandals to purpose of living. And it gives you pretty strong emotions, while give some of the best laughs I've ever found on adult animation. I love it. I love BoJack Horseman show so much. Only reason why this isn't #1 is that there is one more show I need to talk about and that is...

Spoiler

1. Gravity Falls (Disney Channel/X D):

Perhaps some would be surprised by my choice, others not so much but here it is. Here is my #1. I do admit that looking back, the show is pretty flawed but that doesn't and will never stop it from being my favorite show ever (that is until BoJack's sixth season ends on a high note but you never know). This is perhaps the only show I followed from beginning to end. I never delayed watching an episode nor I binged it throughout. I always found myself watching this show so soon after it had been aired even with all the dreaded hiatuses. It may be about a mysterious town but the core of the show and the one that speaks to me is the story about twin siblings growing up with each other and that always felt so special to me considering I also have a twin. Humor is strong, action and horror of the show are engaging, stories are complex and emotional and how it ended, no matter with flaws I can think of, was something so mind blowing to me. If you never ever watched this show, see it now! It's near-perfection and it'll always have a special place in my heart.

 

 

That's it for best shows of 2010s. I hope you all enjoyed reading this list as much as I loved writing it.

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Hal's Top 100 of the 2010's: 30-21

Spoiler

 

30. Sia – Cheap Thrills (2016)
probably the most notable between eccentric indie pop talent and mainstream pop superstar since the heyday of lady gaga, ive never been a HUGE fan or anything but this song was a grower if ive ever heard one. Started off as just another nice lil Caribbean influenced pop tune and turned into this glowing moody bittersweet pop masterpiece over time as I kept listening to it. often mainstream pop doesnt feel like it’s for everyone, certainly not for ppl like me, but its no surprise that sia was one of the ones to make a classic “everyone’s gotta party” jam

Spoiler

 

29. Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (2012)
it doesn’t take much for a band as hyped to death the entire goddamn decade as tame impala to meet a lot of backlash at some point and unfortunately kevin parker is pretty easy to criticize. The running joke that he sounds like john lennon is indicative in the way that he doesn’t rly bring brand new ideas to the table, and ppl who have been yearning for innovation in rock music the whole decade aren’t impressed. the thing though is that when his songwriting is especially sharp he can put out some fantastic songs and this was the one I particularly liked ever since I first heard it in 2014 (???) and my love for it has only grown. Tame impala are a band meant for headphone listening, and this song in particular is proof of such. It drowns u in a pool of love and colors in a way that most modern psychedelic bands struggle to do, and it’s no wonder that they gained the following that they did

Spoiler

 

28. Danny Brown – When it Rain (2016)
atrocity exhibition is one of the most delightfully sinister albums of the goddamn decade and god bless danny brown everyday for making it. I had real trouble picking between this or ain’t it funny as my fav song of his this decade but while aint it funny had better lyrics and makes for better listening when you feel like complete shit and are in danger of hurting yrself, when it rain is somewhat more all-purpose as well as imo it just sounds a lot better. ain’t it funny is an extremely fucked up song sonically in its own right, but the thing about it is that it chucks you into its bizarro world of drug abuse and nihilism. When it rain is a bit more subtle, the synth intro feels a lot more like an INTRO and helps in the song feeling a lot more whole and most importantly assuring that it dips and rises, making the crazier bits all the more euphoric. That said I 100% recommend both songs and the album this came off of as a whole cuz it’s nuts how talented danny brown is.

Spoiler

 

27. John Maus – Hey Moon (2011)
john maus is a crazy crazy fucking guy (from Minnesota!!) whose music can be a lil suffocating for me cuz there’s only so much wacko psychedelic hypnagogic fuzzpop that u can take til u want something that doesn’t quite feel as transgressive but easily his shining moment is this humble lil cover of an indie pop song from a couple years prior. The original song is fine but it’s pretty sparse, perhaps a bit too long and only has one vocalist, but john maus turns into this suuuper deep-in-space foggy and unfathomably gorgeous M/F duet that sounds like it came straight from the mid-80s. it’s not rly a song that warrants a lot of deep analysis or anything despite coming from a guy as strange as john maus cuz it’s very much a great pop song being effectively turned into a PERFECT pop song and it’s smth u just gotta feel

Spoiler

 

26. Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell (2019)
there’s something to be said about a good intro to a song, let alone an album. A bad first 30 seconds can make a song tedious but a fantastic first little bit can ascend a song into something particularly special. NFR made waves across music circles online for being a v fully realized vision of lana’s and her hard work pays off super well on the album. Me, personally, I don’t think I would’ve been as intrigued if it weren’t for the fact that the record starts with its title track and more importantly that unspeakably gorgeous little string intro. The song in general is a very cinematic and tense song in an album where a lot of the tracks are a bit more relaxed, and goddamn does the intro to it feel cinematic. It basically screams “here’s my new album!” and then u get some of the loveliest orc pop of the decade. I don’t think ill ever buy into lana in full but man if nothing else this song makes me get it

Spoiler

 

25. Kendrick Lamar – King Kunta (2015)
just imagine if I didn’t have any Kendrick lamar songs on the list. Kendrick, just like any musician as big as him, will get some backlash but yknow what even ppl who subjectively are not a fan HAVE to cave into the fact that the guy is the rapper of the decade if not the artist of the decade. It would be near criminal for me to not include him on my 100 of the decade but thankfully I love the guy, and while he has a lot of songs that totally crush, King Kunta is my #1. He has plenty more serious songs, ones that demand respect more than this one (tho this one VERY MUCH demands respect), but this is the one for me that blends dead-serious and pure fun in the best way possible. I cant think of a single Kendrick song that forces me out of my seat and gets me moving like this one does, and that is extremely high praise given the man also has songs like DNA, Wesley’s Theory, etc. extremely quotable artist and very much the same for this beast of a fucking song.

Spoiler

 

24. Denzel Curry – ULT (2016)
I love Kendrick and I fully welcome his role as king of hip hop this decade but if I had to pick a PERSONAL favorite, it’s Denzel. Easily. Already was a massive fan of the guy, went to a concert of his, and it just cemented him as almost a god to me. He is consistently one of the most entertaining musicians of the 2010s, even at alleged low points such as his most recent record which is my favorite record of his. ZUU had some issues, but I think the #1 flaw is that it never had a hook as monstrous as on ULT, the song that I feel defines him more than his meme-assisted crossover Ultimate ever could. The production on this song is so ethereal and gooey and gorgeous than in a way it doesn’t make that much sense that the other elements of the song are as exhilarating as they are. this is a journey of a rap song in a way a lot of the previous artist’s output is, and im grateful that we even have denzel around to make music like it.

Spoiler

 

23. Kevin Abstract – Peach (2019)
yall ever have a period in yr life that’s just so good and life affirming that every new discovery u find music-wise sounds great? And then the particularly great stuff just sounds goddamn amazing? Yeah, that’s a lot of the very top tier of the list, and this song is one of those defines a period of just confidence and love for life and conclusions that would serve as windows for new things. Frankly, kevin abstract deserves that kind of treatment of his music. Kevin and brockhampton in general is peak alt-pop that’s best listened to as u breathe ur very last breath of teenagedom, which is explicitly the time that I started getting into brockhampton. That said, while the group as a whole is so good, Abstract is something else. He’s a beautiful soul and it rly comes off in his music, and Peach is the highlight. It’s so apt that it’s called peach because of just how sunny and sweaty and sweet it is. It’s an alternative love song that can be hard to find, but he pulls it off so well. It’s a song to cry tears of joy to, it really is.

Spoiler

 

22. Mount Eerie – Real Death (2017)
and now probably the biggest swerve of the whole damn list. From #23’s romantic contentment for the time being to THE most devastating and cripplingly sad song on my entire top 100. I have bawled to this song, several times. The song is just as frighteningly blunt and dour as the title. It’s about the VERY real death of the wife of the frontman, also frontman of the microphones and one of the best folksters of the millennium, phil elvrum. He goes into excruciating, sometimes physically painful detail of the way that the death of a very close loved on can completely devastate you and make you realize that the romanticizing of death often is a goddamn lie. I know this. Anyone on this damn site who knows me knows this. Some folks feel voyeuristic as they listen to this song but I feel painful amounts of empathy as I listen and it really just ties me back to when I had to experience real death myself. It’s extremely painful. No matter how much u beg nothing becomes normal again. It’s not pretty. All the lessons you learn are ugly lessons. No amount of sad music can really heal you for good, and this song knows it. it’s as devastating as death really is, and captures that initial self pity in a way that no other song I have ever heard can do. Many death songs kinda twist it to make it more palatable. Not this one. No “passed away.” No “moved on.” Died. This would be higher if I were able to listen to it more often than I can stomach.

Spoiler

 

21. Ashley Eriksson – Island Song (2010)
now for a turn to the hopeful to end off the first 80 songs before we get to the home stretch that is the top 20. Although I can feel detached at times cuz the show at some point suffered some rot, I take for granted at times just how much Adventure Time means to me. It’s certainly the very first time I ever became emotionally invested in a cartoon in a way where the cartoon’s purpose was such. Sure, I was invested in spongebob but that was different. Ward and crew wanted to make you feel shit in a slightly different way, and I think that really shows in the closing credits theme, one that as a kid that shit made me saaaaaaad. Not many cartoon closing themes matter as much but man this song takes the turn-of-the-decade indie folk recipe and makes something especially meaningful, in (HUGE) part thanks to childhood nostalgia and in (smaller but still for sure notable) part the fact that it’s just a simple but extremely cute lil song with some very cute vocals to accompany it. if the actual visuals of the end credits could somehow be embedded into this song, I’d probably have it higher.

 

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Steel's Top 50 Songs of the 2010s (#40-#31)
 

List recap:

Spoiler

50. "To Binge" - Gorillaz featuring Yukimi Nagano
49. "Sea of Love" - The National
48. "Rats" - Ghost
47. "Both of You" - Rebecca Sugar, Aivi & Surasshu, and Zach Callison
46. "Follow Your Arrow" - Kacey Musgraves
45. "Don't Go Changing" - Aly & AJ
44. "Style" - Taylor Swift
43. "Shut Up and Dance" - Walk the Moon
42. "I Could Use a Love Song" - Maren Morris
41. "Feel Right" - Mark Ronson featuring Mystikal

#40-#31:

Spoiler

 

I’m going to be embarrassing myself with this one. …I don’t care though.

 

40. “Smile Song” / Daniel Ingram, Steffan Andrews, and Shannon Chan-Kent

Year of release: 2012
Album: Songs of Friendship and Magic (2013)
Country: Canada

Back when I did my soon to be completely outdated top 60 animated songs list, I had this song as high as being in the top five. As of now, this song would be a few spots down from that top ten, but it’s still solid enough to even make this list. Being one of the only few bronies left on SBC, I expect this to baffle some. Just about every song made for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is as simple as it can get to appeal to its target audience while it’s also trying not to be too overbearing for the older crowd. Because of the latter, any of the songs from FiM will give the show’s older fans some things to talk about by finding the perisistent charm in them. While I’m not the biggest fan of FiM’s music, I continue to stand by my feelings towards “Smile Song.”

“Smile Song” is 2010s animation’s perfect pop song. Most of all, it gets its job done right. In this song, one of the series’ characters, Pinkie Pie, encourages people to just smile. This is not just because it makes her happy as Pinkie Pie also loves to see others feeling happy, whether it’s directed towards the other characters or directed towards the audience. Taking this song into my own account, “Smile Song” works a lot as a simple anti-depression tune. Even while Pinkie Pie’s name is still attached there in places, the fact that this song resonates with me and that I could see this resonating with others prevents it from coming off as self-serving. Take note that “Smile Song” isn’t called “Pinkie Pie’s Smile Song.”

A lot of my respect is due to the show’s composer, Daniel Ingram. He knows his craft and he knows how to make most of his songs turn out memorable and even iconic. “Smile Song,” like most other songs from FiM, may be simple child faire but it’s rewarding of a spot on this list when it manages to even impress an adult fan. Many other dedicated bronies who have enjoyed this as much as I have can’t be wrong.

 

Spoiler

 

Nothing says shifting my focus away from a song from a cartoon about colorful ponies like transitioning to a song from a politically provocative hip hop musician, am I right?

 

39. “Bad Girls” / M.I.A.

Year of release: 2012
Album: Matangi (2013)
Country: United Kingdom

M.I.A. is so much more than “Paper Planes,” and “Bad Girls” is a shining example of that. M.I.A. is an indistinguishable and extraordinary musical artist, there’s no one else like her and she tends to have the right attitude, charisma, and messages to help her succeed as a visionary. I know I’m sugar-coating things a bit here. It's the least I can do to express why I like M.I.A.'s music a lot. Contrary to M.I.A.’s usual style of songwriting and the accompanying controversial music video (I mean, of course it would be considered as such, knowing M.I.A.), however, “Bad Girls” is a boast anthem whereas M.I.A. establishes how amazing she is. Given that I am a sizeable fan of M.I.A.’s music, I can buy it easy.

While I’ve already said that M.I.A. has the personality and charisma to back her up, theres still the one thing that she does best, which is her knack for blending global sounds into her music. The production on “Bad Girls” is amazing and it helps make it turn out as much of a banger that it is. As a result, M.I.A. also delivers some memorable lines and some very catchy hooks throughout the song. So, to those who haven’t paid enough attention to M.I.A., I very much recommend listening to this.

 

Spoiler

 

Now here’s the real best country song of the 2010s, at least in my opinion:

 

38. “All Too Well” / Taylor Swift

Year of release: 2012
Album: Red (2012)
Country: United States

I know, I am going into a cliché route by putting this song on my list, but sometimes, when the critics are right, they are right. “All Too Well” is the very pinnacle of Swift’s talent as a singer-songwriter. “All Too Well” is a raw, emotional country/pop rock power ballad that shows one of those moments where Swift is at her most vulnerable. While Taylor Swift may be well-known for her dozens upon dozens of breakup songs, “All Too Well” sets itself apart from being a “typical Taylor Swift song, because it’s  where she’s REALLY able to sell her story. This song is a perfect entailment of Swift’s struggles to forget about the particular guy and consider the relationship done on her part.

The best part of the song, like most others have said, is during the bombastic buildup, where Swift lets it all out with the line “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest” to make it feel so real. This is considered Taylor Swift’s best song, and given what I’ve said about it, it’s not hard to see why.

 

Spoiler

 

37. “Your Best American Girl” / Mitski

Year of release: 2016
Album: Puberty 2 (2016)
Country: United States

“Your Best American Girl” is a kind of song that caught me by surprise. This is a beautifully written and sung track from Japanese-American singer Mitski, who expresses her feelings about her own racial identity. The song also contains heavy rock tones and yet it meshes so well with Mitski’s haunting delivery. On top of that, the song’s rock edge adds to its sheer intensity, as it is accompanied by Mitski’s distinct, perishing vocals and as well as her great deal of vulnerability. In a nutshell, those are my feelings towards “Your Best American Girl.” I may not have had a lot to say about it, but it still wowed me by a massive degree.

 

Spoiler

 

36. “Green Light” / Lorde

Year of release: 2017
Album: Melodrama (2017)
Country: New Zealand

Choosing this as my favorite song off of Lorde’s Melodrama album was perhaps a risky choice on my part. There are a lot of underrated gems on there too like “Supercut,” “Sober,” and “Liability.” In the end, though, I stuck with “Green Light” because of how it continues to pique my level of interest in it. “Green Light” is such an interesting step into a different direction for Lorde. Being a lead single to her second album, “Green Light” showed how much Lorde was challenging herself as an artist. “Green Light” starts off on a familiar melancholic tone, coming off as a simple breakup song before Lorde then brings some more energy and personality into the track. From there, it goes from being a standard breakup ballad into a raw, anthemic, club-ready ballad about the desire to move past the relationship. It’s such a weird blend of sounds and tones. All in all, Lorde manages to make it all work through her emotional depth and vocal delivery 

The more that I’ve listened to “Green Light,” the more I got out of it. I found more emotions being conveyed by Lorde herself the more that I looked into it. She feels betrayed by the breakup. However, because she’s also trying to move past it, she then appears hopeful and joyous about leaving the past behind. Lorde herself expressed that the song’s main intent is be uptempo for she wanted to see more songs of that type being played on the radio. That’s where you can tell that’s she trying to be so much more than what most people have known her for from her debut, in which it consisted mostly of dark downtempo songs. Therefore, “Green Light” is the type of song that can be interpreted as being about turning away from the darkness (and with grace). In addition, “Green Light” is a deceptive kind of song, but it’s so in a positive fashion.

Besides my appreciation towards the song, my enjoyment of it also increased when I kept going back to it. I love the weird yet satisfying blend between the downtempo, electronic pop instrumentation and the upbeat disco-flavored instrumentation before the outro hits, where producer Jack Antonoff unleashes a sonic guitar sound. Even the repetition with the line “I’m waiting for it. That green light, I want it” becomes a lot more tolerable for me, and its purpose makes a lot more sense too as it establishes its intensity. There’s so much I could say and get out of “Green Light,” which is why it’s one of my favorite songs from Lorde.

 

Spoiler

 

Here’s your daily reminder that Ronald Reagan was a POS president…

 

35. “Reagan” / Killer Mike

Year of release; 2012
Album: R.A.P. Music (2012)
Country: United States

Ronald Wilson Reagan is a very divisive political figure. You either respect what he has done during his presidency by a great amount, or you absolutely loathe his actions during that same period in retrospect. I’m not very outspoken on political opinions, so I’m letting Killer Mike speak for why Reagan is such a controversial leader. Killer Mike holds no punches whatsoever on this deep cut, where he gives Reagan and his administration nothing more than a serious lashing. He even strengthens his criticisms by sampling some of Reagan’s public statements, specifically where he talks about the arms/hostages trade during the Iran-Contra affair.

“Reagan” also serves as commentary against the U.S. government as the song details on the repercussions of their control during his presidency, touching on topics like slavery during America’s early years, the war on drugs, the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and the Middle East, and more prominently, incarceration and prejudice towards blacks. “Reagan” is a stream-of-consciousness perspective on the U.S. government’s infamous political history since Reagan’s presidency and how most of the current, prevalent issues addressed link back to that period of time. While I still say that I have little political knowledge, I find Killer Mike’s commentary very on-point. He speaks his mind, yet he also spits out the facts. Based on the research I’ve done on Reagan’s history as president, I can guarantee that.

If the song alone doesn’t speak enough for you, then I recommend watching its accompanied music video. Being one of the biggest animation nerds here, it’s no surprise that it speaks to me on such a significant level that it makes me appreciate “Reagan” a lot more.

 

Spoiler

 

34. “Come a Little Closer” / Cage the Elephant

Year of release: 2013
Album: Melophobia (2013)
Country: United States

This is going to be an interesting entry to my list, since even I would admit that Cage the Elephant these days have evolved into what people would consider as entry-level alternative rock. That’s beside the point for this song because it came out in a time before it became very evident to us that CtE was alternative radio’s favorite band these days and before their magic was beginning to wear thin. Also, trust me when I say that CtE’s Melophobia album is far from entry-level alternative rock and that you should go and listen to it.

Anyways, “Come a Little Closer” strikes a big chord on me for a few reasons. For one thing, it’s just a perfect-sounding indie rock song, with the main reason for that being that I admire the song’s general uniqueness. The song has an odd flamenco-flavored guitar riff in the chorus section that works well with the band’s psychedelic tone. The song does give me a strong Beatles vibes, since I’ve mentioned CtE’s psychedelic side, but hey, it’s still nice to see that kind of influence well into the 2010s and in the long run, the band’s own creative approach has allowed me to associate it with them. Take for example Matt Shultz’s vocal delivery. His work on the song is stunning as he expresses a great range of emotions along with the song’s writing. At the first, the lyrics give you so little to write home about, but the more I’ve listened to it, the more I felt like it was complementary of the song’s psychedelic elements, since it can be interpreted about confusion towards certain things before they turn out different once you look at them closer, which is interesting to think of it as.

Whatever message that’s being conveyed by the song, “Come a Little Closer” is still a thought-provoking and unique indie rock tune with a good amount of replay value, therefore it’s one of my favorites of the 2010s and as well as one of my favorites from Cage the Elephant themselves.

 

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Continuing on with the indie rock on my list, let’s delve into a subgenre that I’ve seen getting a generous amount of flak: modern folk music. Indie folk, folk pop, folk rock, you name it. I am by no means a big fan of the modern folk scene, but I tend to be patient towards acts like Mumford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, and The Lumineers that I see get their fair share of scorn while I do have my least favorites in names like Passenger, Vance Joy, and Judah & The Lion, the last one in which I point blame towards in increasing the stigma against indie/alternative/etc. folk. In other words, a lot of the biggest folk acts out there right now are some of the least interesting and because most people tend to believe that’s all there is to modern folk music on the surface, the better artists of that type are often ignored.

I can understand that 2010s folk music is not for everyone. I can see reasons to not like it. Still, there are a lot of underrated modern folk artists out there that I’ve known. Try and listen to acts like Of Monsters and Men (their recent, larger shift towards indie rock is also worth a listen), Lisa Hannigan (the same Lisa Hannigan who voices Blue Diamond from Steven Universe), Father John Misty, First Aid Kit, Frightened Rabbit, Fleet Foxes, and Angel Olsen if you want to be proven that 2010s folk music isn’t all bad. …Oh yeah, and this guy too:

 

33. “Recovery” / Frank Turner

Year of release: 2013
Album: Tape Deck Heart (2013)
Country: United Kingdom

I thought I’d start by talking about what makes a good folk song and artist in my eyes. My curriculum is having a good ear for melody while retaining those musical elements that represent a respective country’s roots, having good amount of force in your voice to keep listeners invested, and most importantly, having a story that sells, whether or not it’s a political statement. As a folk singer-songwriter, I think it’s important to have a strong emphasis on the ‘songwriter’ part. As it should be said, these three key factors are in play with Frank Turner and his music. He’s not just an ordinary folk singer-songwriter, as his music has been billed as folk punk. Having listened to a lot of this guy’s solo work, I should also add that he has a strong pop sensibility. No matter what his style of folk music is, “Recovery” is a solid song.

There is the song’s narrative to acknowledge first, and like I said, story tends to be the most important aspect for folk acts. “Recovery,” like the majority of songs on the Tape Deck Heart album, is a breakup song. Frank Turner polishes things up with the ordinary narrative with an optimistic, stomping, piano melody to further establish the song’s meaning about the long, desperate, yet substantial road to recovering from the torn relationship. Turner further backs up the song by expressing his lyrics with a unique vocal style. While I’m still on topic of the song’s upbeat instrumentation, which to me is the main highlight of the song and it’s the reason why I see myself coming back to it a lot.

Overall, “Recovery” is an exciting and memorable effort from Frank Turner, making it one of the first few songs of its type that got me interested in 2010s folk music.

 

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32. “King” / Years & Years

Year of release: 2015
Album: Communion (2015)
Country: United Kingdom

“King” is hands down one of the best songs to ever hit number one in the UK, from an act that hails from that home country. Of course, it is a strong pop offering. I’m also surprised by its success because I believe it’s usually rare for an LGBT-representing song from an otherwise LGBT-representing act to get as big outside from those who go for universal appeal like Sam Smith. And once you realize that the group’s singer is openly gay, the subtext on this song is a lot clearer. Take note how the song is called “King” when I say that it talks about the singer feeling controlled by his significant other and wanting to be let go from it.

While the subtlety here is interesting, the main highlight of the song is its melody and production. “King” is catchy as heck and the vocalist has an amazing voice to back it up. I tend to be quite a sucker for synthpop so it’s no surprise that I would be in love with the spacey production. To cap off my commentary, the bridge to this song is gorgeous. It’s a fantastic way to build up to that final stretch.

 

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To finish off this set for my top 50, here’s yet another synth-flavored song from an act that I would say…you wouldn’t recognize at first…

 

31. “Ghost” / Mystery Skulls

Year of release: 2013 (Streaming), 2014 (Digital download)
Album: Forever (2014)
Country: United States

What you’re looking at right now is the official music video for the single “Ghost,” with a grand whopping total of a little over one million views. For those who haven’t actually heard this song before, that’s okay. For those who have heard it and also thinking “Oh yeah, I can see why anyone would love this song, but why are the views so low? Wasn’t there another video that was more popular?,” that’s where I prove that Mystery Skulls isn’t quite niche:

What you’re looking at now is the fan-made music video that made Mystery Skulls recognizable. It boasts a total of around 37 million views. What makes this music video so interesting is the story behind it. The man behind the Mystery Skulls music project, Luis Dubus, requested the animator, MysteryBen, to make another video of one of his songs after having seen the equally popular The Turntable Turnabout video, a fan-made video accompanied by one of MS’s other songs “Money,” utilizing characters from the Phoenix Wright video games. I would dedicate a lot of my commentary talking about the popular fan-made music video to “Ghost,” but I’m here to talk about the song itself, which is just as remarkable.

Again, I’m a sucker for a good synthpop groove. The majority of this song vibes like a classic 80s new wave tune while Luis Dubus twists it up into something more special by adding to it with his own modern touch. Other than that, Dubus brings a lot of personality into “Ghost,” providing the song with his interesting vocal range, including some falsettos that just work perfectly with it. Without a doubt, “Ghost” is an infectious synthpop song that will make your head bop like the characters that you see in MysteryBen’s video.

 

As I would tend to say, sorry for the delay. I can't say when I'll get the next part out now, but I'm going to keep writing this whenever I can.

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Let me keep this short and sweet.  WE ARE LIVING IN A TELEVISION RENAISSANCE!

What a time it is to be alive for new and exciting ways to reinvent how we view television.  From streaming our shows to binge-watching a series in a matter of hours thanks to streaming, we are definitely living in the best timeline to watch television in ways we couldn’t have imagined twenty years ago.

And honestly, that’s why it was that much harder to write this best list.  Because I had to make so many painful cuts and I had to keep watching more 2010s shows so I didn’t miss anything else.  And I’ll be honest, I probably missed a lot of stuff that you guys are going to point out in the comments and replies.  So I’ll save you all the trouble and put it on my constantly growing watch list when I have the time to keep watching more and more shows.

So with that being said, here is what this tasteless idiot thinks are:

 

CLAPPY’S TOP TWENTY BEST SHOWS OF THE 2010'S

 

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On a personal level, this should probably be a lot higher than it actually is due to it being one of my all-time favorite shows.  But in terms of how it was in the 2010s, quality was absolutely a mixed bag.  But I can’t not place this on my best of the decade list for one reason.  It was always a major priority to watch each week.  And it still has that to this day.  It’s still doing something right.

20. South Park (Comedy Central)

No show lovingly frustrates me as much as this one does.  When it’s great, it’s amazing.  When it’s good, it’s great.  When it’s okay, it’s still good.  Hell, even at its most grating, it’s still bad enough to intrigue me what the hell they were possibly thinking more so than outright infuriate me.

Most of this past decade revolved around continuity.  Which is something South Park has never fully committed to before outside of rare occasions like anniversary specials or the random callback here or there.  And while I had a problem with how they wrapped everything up quite often most seasons, it goes to show that Matt and Trey were willing to try something new with an over twenty year old property.  Even with how mostly boring this new season was, it still intrigued the hell out of me with all the new intro titles, plots, and focusing on different characters (the best episode of the season was about Scott Freaking Malkinson of all people).

I once named South Park my all-time favorite show.  And it still is one of them with how lackluster it’s been as of late.  Because even with all the things I wish would change, at least it still manages to hold my attention.  It’s still doing something right.

 

Spoiler

Look there was another reason that I waited until the year was officially over before I got this list out.  Because there was one show in particular that got released two months before the year ended that made me eat tons of crow.  And it is low on this list just because it’s only eight episodes.  But good lord does it have all the potential in the world to be something special.

19. The Mandalorian (Disney+)

After one season, I’m 1000000% on board with what they are going for here.  It reminds me a lot of what I fell in love with the Star Wars property in the first place.  Not a lot of talking and great action sequences.  This is the sort of space western that makes the core Star Wars movies look like they’ve forgotten their roots a bit.  Well maybe The Mandalorian can help on that front because I haven’t seen a Star Wars property this universally beloved since the animated Clone Wars series.

But yeah, this is the sort of show that is clouded in mystery for all the right reasons.  Even after eight episodes, there are still so many questions that thankfully have not been answered yet.  Because Mando is a man of mystery.  He speaks so little.  His backstory isn’t fully established yet.  All we know is that he follows his code and always wants to do the right thing.  I love that they are taking the slow burn approach with this character because everything about him is cool.  His personality.  His gear.  His weapons.  Don’t rush giving him a full character yet.  We are at the exact right point of what we should know about this character with much more room to grow in Season 2.

And of course, we can’t talk about this show without the other main character.  The Child that has spawned so many memes:

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He’s adorable, yes.  But just like his now appointed guardian, he is also mysterious.  Is he a descendant of Yoda or just another of the same species?  How did he get to where he is?  Is there more of him?  And just like with Mando, we are at the exact right point of what we should know about this character with much more room to grow in Season 2.

This show has all the potential to be something truly special.  And I’m ecstatic to see where this show goes from here.  I placed it over a shit ton of other series that have so many more episodes.  But I’m ranking it this high because of two reasons.  One, I’m that large of a Star Wars nerd and the best Star Wars property in years gets you really far on my list.  Two, because I believe that much in what this show is capable of becoming.

 

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I’m just going to put this out there early, but if there is going to be a television genre that will be underrepresented from this list, it will be dramas.

Sorry guys, it’s absolutely a “me” thing.  I just can’t sit through dramas as well as others.  They mostly bore me.  I can sit through movie dramas perfectly fine.  Television shows, I mostly can’t.  What is usually thirty minutes to one hour television dramas, feel like they last forever.  I don’t know why.  Probably because I mostly watch television to laugh.  So for a drama to really rope me in, you’ve got to go the extra mile and just fully invest me.  And this show absolutely did that to me in record time:

18. American Crime Story (FX)

Not going to lie.  This show is only this high for one season and one season only.  The OJ Simpson season.  This is the best adaptation of this news story that I’ve ever seen.  And we lived in a decade where this infamous story got revisited.  A lot.  A LOT.

For starters, they got the casting down perfectly.  Cuba Gooding Jr. was damn near perfect as OJ.  They also had John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, Selma Blair as Kris Jenner…and I could go on about the absurd casting group they had for this movie.  But the most absurd part is that I can’t picture anyone else playing these parts because they fit in so seamlessly.

There was another season about the murder of Gianni Versace with another absurd cast list with Darren Criss, Penelope Cruz, and Ricky Martin of all people.  Honestly, it is good.  Not as great as the first season, but that’s mostly due to the OJ Simpson story being one of the biggest crime stories of my life time.  Still super fascinating how he got away with it twenty five years later.

 

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17. The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

This is another show that is only so low on this list because it only has one season to its name.  Granted that season was almost two years ago and I have no idea why it is taking so long to get to season two.  But The Haunting of Hill House is so phenomenal that it deserves to be on here.  Hell, I’ve rewatched it multiple times since then and I only keep on catching things I missed the first time around that impress me.

This comes from Mike Flanagan, who has made some of the best horror movies of the 2010s.  Flanagan is quickly becoming a name of quality to me because he is clearly a fan of the horror genre and wants to keep making quality horror movies, shows, etc.  And I’m all for that because horror as a genre is underappreciated since most of the time, it can come off as quite gimmicky.  But if there is one thing that makes Flanagan’s brand of horror stand out is fully developed characters.  You get quite attached to these characters that you start to feel like you are in their shoes.  The line between television and reality gets fairly blurred.

One thing that I’m going to give this series a ton of credit for is unforgettable imagery.  I’m not going to spoil too many of the scares here, but Jesus.  They stuck with me.  Even when I was trying to sleep after each binge.  Also, another thing that I love?  How each family member represents the five stages of grief.  Not going to spoil why, WATCH IT.                                                                                                                                                                                          

Apparently Season 2 is going to be about Bly House.  And I’m hyped for that.  But for now?  This is the best adaptation of The Haunting ever.  Yes, better than the 60s classic and the terrible 90s remake.

 

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Every decade needs its group hangout sitcom.  The 90s had Friends.  The 2000s had How I Met Your Mother.  And the 2010s had, for better or worse, New Girl.

16. New Girl (Fox)

New Girl is such an absolutely frustrating show that I absolutely loved to pieces.  Just like I mentioned with South Park, this show had its highs and its lows in the 2010s.  When it was low, good lord was it insufferable.  It played out like a bad romantic comedy levels of cringe.  And this show should have not had a shortened seventh season.  It didn’t deserve one.  Not even with the time hop.  Because more often than not, it just dragged through everything we knew was going to happen.

But even at this show’s absolute low points, there was one thing this show had going for it that I absolutely loved more so than anything else.  Great chemistry from the main cast.  Everybody played off each other so well.  I can’t think of a single pairing that did not work.  And the one that did not work in the shows early stages (Winston and Cece), ended up being my favorite comedic pairing by the time the series ended.  Seriously, Season 6 onward.  It made me want to see these two get a spin-off, even though they were happily married to other people.

As for those high points, Season 1 was phenomenal.  The back half of Season 3 wiped off the stench of Season 2 and the first half of Season 3.  Season 4 recaptured what made me fell in love with Season 1.  Season 5 continued that by bringing back a lot of what I didn’t like with Season 2 and basically redoing it right this time.  And Season 6 was what should have been the final season.

New Girl was a very frustrating show to follow, but I have no regrets doing so.  If there is any show that is going to get some sort of nostalgic following the way a lot of these group hangout sitcoms did in hindsight, it would not surprise me the slightest if it was New Girl.  And I’m all for it.

 

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I think you all know where this next one is going based off this preamble, but I will always and I mean always, watch anything based off one of my favorite sports.  WRASSLIN’

15. GLOW (Netflix)

Hell yeah.  A show about the famous 1980s promotion the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.  Count me in….was my first thoughts before binge watching the first season.  But little did I know I was going to be super invested in the true backstory of these characters.  This show is incredibly smart about the reasons why these women inflict pain onto each other.  And that’s what kept me invested in this series with each passing season.  The complexity of its characters. 

The core of its series is the power of friendship.  I say that because the main relationship of this series is the friendship of Ruth and Debbie, which has been fractured by betrayal and diverging ambitions.  It’s an incredibly complex friendship because these women always tease if they will ever become normal again or not and I like that because it does a great job at displaying both sides reasons for why they should and shouldn’t.

GLOW ends next year and I’ll badly miss it.  It’s a sharp series that not only delivers wrestling in its cheesy gloriousness, but smart characters that constantly grow with each passing season.

 

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And you know what else I’ll watch anything off of?  A show with an opening theme by The Cranberries.

 

14. Derry Girls (Netflix)

That was literally what suckered me into watching this show.  I heard “Dreams” playing and I ran into the room to watch this with my wife.  Little did I know I would be completely invested in this show about a group of female friends (with one guy tied into this group without any real say).  I will say, watch this show with the captions on.  These actors/actresses have thick Irish accents and they talk so fast that it’s tough to keep up with at times.

Not a complaint though.  Because the humor comes at you and at you fast.  Same goes with the plot points.  The situations the Derry Girls get themselves into are absolutely ridiculous that you just have to roll with it all and laugh hysterically.  I’m not going to spoil all of them here because you all really should watch this show, but let me just say that the pilot starts with them being accused of killing one of their teachers in such an over the top fashion that I laughed so hard.

Leave it to Ireland to knock the piss out of everything.  Because back in the 90s, where this takes place. Northern Ireland in particular was going through heavy political turmoil.  Well that honestly plays like background fodder here as it’s the least of the shows worries.  They want you to remember the gloriousness that is 90s nostalgia.  And I’ve been waiting for a show to truly capitalize on the 90s nostalgia boom and not suck.  Well Derry Girls is that show.

 

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Nearly halfway through this list and you guys notice what has been underrepresented so far?  Cartoons.

You guys do now I’m Old Man Clappy for a reason.  I don’t keep up with a lot of the cartoons you all are watching now.  Well I’m giving you a heads up now.  There are only three non TV/MA cartoons that made my list.  And I did have to make a few painful cuts on my end.  But let me point out the obvious and say that just because it’s a cartoon, doesn’t mean it’s a show specifically for kids.  Exhibit A.

13. Regular Show (Cartoon Network)

I miss this show already.  It feels like just yesterday this debuted around the same time as Adventure Time.  Who would have thought that both shows would end up leading CN back to an animated revival of sorts.  And while I do like Adventure Time, I was just not able to get fully invested into keeping up with it.  Definitely understand why it caught on the way it did.

But Regular Show, I did not initially expect to be so universally loved.  It had such an absurd sense of humor.  It had the most out of left field pop culture references.  It’s animation style was a tad dated initially.

What brought it in for me, alongside a lot of you, is that was completely unique and anything but regular.  The main cast is not what one would consider a regular cast.  Our two leads are total slackers.  Which as someone who use to be such a huge slacker, yeah I can vibe with Mordecai and Rigby.  And then the show became more and more openly irregular.  To the point that there were continuous storylines instead of ridiculously obscure one offs.  Hell the last season took completely in space.

Regular Show was such a fascinating show to keep track of.  Hell I cried during the series finale.  Something I can only say for less than a handful of finales on this list.  It caught me offguard.  And that’s honestly something I can say for the show in general.  It catches you offguard when you least expect it to.

 

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Exhibit B.  Taking something old and making it feel vintage and new.

12. DuckTales (2017) (Disney)

Yeah I know we are only two seasons in, but this is how much Disney has appeased me with the handling of one of my favorite 90s properties of theirs.  They somehow took something great and made it even better.

And how did they do that?  First of all, clever writing.  There are so many Disney in-jokes that it constantly keeps cracking me up.  Second, they gave Huey, Dewey, and Louie separate distinct personalities.  Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for Disney to make these three distinct instead of just grouping them all into one entity?  For far too long.  Third, by stacking this cast with incredibly talented voice actors.  This is a who’s who of underrated voice actors starting with Doctor Who himself, David Tennant.  Alongside Ben Schwartz, Danny Pudi, Bobby Moynihan, and Kate Micucci to name a few.

I love how much effort Disney put forth into making this show stand out.  It’s super ambitious.  Hell, Della Duck, Donald’s sister, finally appeared on the show this past season.  That’s another first that I absolutely did not expect before tuning in.  I can’t wait to see where this series goes from here forward.  DuckTales.  WOO FUCKING HOO!

 

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11. Key and Peele (Comedy Central)

It’s so funny to see people talking about these guys like “I knew them before they were famous.”  And to that I say, please.  I doubt half of the people who talk about these guys being superstars now actually watched their sketch show from back at the start of the decade.  Key and Peele to the 2010s was what Chappelle’s Show was to the 2000s.  Except Key and Peele’s careers continued to take off afterwards while Dave Chappelle was perfectly fine sitting back from the limelight.

Since there really isn’t much to talk about with it being a sketch show, I’ll just name my top ten favorite sketches before moving onto the next show.

10. Gremlins 2 Brainstorm

9. I Said Bitch

8. East/West College Bowl

7. Ray Parker Jr.’s Other Hits

6. Video Game Sensors

5. Insult Comic

4. Pizza Order

3. Flicker

2. Obama Meet & Greet

1. Substitute Teacher

 

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As most of you can tell by now officially halfway through this list, I have a thing for comedies.  What can I say?  I’m an absolute fan of this genre.  Especially in the back half of the decade when movie comedies are basically on the decline.  So I started tuning in to television comedies more and more.  And I found this show on the most obscure of channels, only to eventually find it on streaming too.  Thanks Canada!

10. Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV/Netflix)

What a great find this turned out to be.  I originally found out about this show on Netflix in 2015 during my period of unemployment.  One of the lowest points of my life where I needed good laughs.  And this show provided plethora of laughter.  I fell out of this show for a few years afterwards, but found it again about two years ago and this show is A LOT better rewatching it the second time.  Where the characters kept feeling more and more developed while finding the same amount of high laughter.

And while I like practically all the main cast of characters, you know who the two stand outs are?  Eugene Levy’s son, Dan Levy is fucking priceless.  I always had such a high appreciation for his character David.  But his comedic timing kept getting more and more perfect each passing season and more and more depth was added to his character.  He has a supremely bright future when Schitt’s Creek ends this year.

The real MVP of this show is Catherine O’Hara.  Her character Moira is insanely enjoyable.  This woman is supremely quotable and an absolute delight in every sense of the fashion.  Her evolution from the very beginning to where we are now has been such a pleasure to watch.  She is still the same person she was at the beginning but with so many more layers of humble and greatness.  I love this woman and I’ll miss her more than any other.

And I’ll miss everyone from the Rose clan when it ends in 2020.

 

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And last but not least, Exhibit C.  The one you were all expecting to make it really high on here.

9. Gravity Falls (Disney)

What is there left to say about how amazing this show is?  I mean practically everyone knows this show is great.  It ended great.  We knew how Disney ended this show at the peak of its greatness.  And you know what?  I’m glad it did.  Because in my honest opinion, Disney did this show dirty.  Sending it from Disney to Disney XD.  But at the same time, I had no problem with how they handled this show’s air times.  Disney XD was the right network this entire time.

So yeah, I literally have nothing else to say about a show that has made my best television list for so many years.  Sorry to keep this one short.  But I’ve got so much writing to do that I’m trying not to burn out.  Next.

 

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8. Community (NBC/Yahoo)

Now this is one of the more recent shows that I caught after I announced this project in order to knock out the best of the best programs of this decade.  And this was hands down the best of the binges.  Everything else on this list is stuff I knew was going to make it as high as it was, so this might be where the surprises stop if you know me by now.

Community was a show that even at its two worst seasons was still a damn great show that basked in being different.  Season 1 was just a normal group hangout show about a bunch of random people going to community college and it was still entertaining cast chemistry.  Season 4 was probably the worst season due to Dan Harmon leaving the show for a year and even then, it was still fine. 

The other four seasons though were an absolute joy ride as Harmon basked in intentionally making this series absolutely different from every other sitcom of its time.  I mean what other shows out there could say they had episodes in 8-bit graphics, a GI Joe parody, mockumentaries, pseudo documentaries, film parodies, Rankin/Bass style animation, musicals, Dungeons and Dragons based, fourth wall breaking, alternate timeline dimension hopping, and just so many more odd and end based episodes.  All of these while still tying in the theme of each episode incredibly well?  Only Community.

Community really was a show ahead of its time with a great cast, great writing, and incredibly quotable.  It’s the show that launched Donald Glover into a household name and also making fun of the fact that Chevy Chase is an unlikeable ass.  It really is worthy of its running gag of being six seasons.  Now all we wait for is the movie.

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Earlier in this post, I stated that New Girl was THE group hangout show of the 2010s.  But do you know what I wish would actually be THAT show?

7. Happy Endings (ABC)

Now here’s a show that deserved a much better fate than it got.  Take everything I said about New Girl and multiply that cast chemistry nearly double the amount.  Hell it even has Damon Wayans Jr. who was on New Girl.  He was originally on this show as Brad before taking the gig of Coach on New Girl, only to double back when he realized this show was surviving cancellation.  Smart man.  Wish he was a bigger star than he is now.

But yeah, this show was ahead of its time.  I really wish it lasted longer than it did because it perfectly encapsulates what I want from my television sitcoms.  A reality I wish I could live in.  I wish I had friendships as strong as the core six here.  Where they all play off each other so well to the point that I fully believe that they are all friends outside of this show.  I want to go out with them and drink.  They have that strong of a bond.

Sorry to be super vague, but I only hope that this show gets a cult following so it can be renewed on a streaming service like so many other short lived network shows.  If it could happen to The Mindy Project, then I only wish it would happen for Happy Endings.  I’m probably super late to the party on that thought, but a guy can dream, right?

 

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You know what sitcom based subgenre I wish wasn’t as played out?  Family sitcoms.

 

We have too many of them.  And there are only maybe a handful I can say I truly love.  You already saw one on this list, but Schitt’s Creek doesn’t really count.  Because the children are full grown adults.  I’m talking about actual shows about actual families with actual children.  Well one stood out above the rest this decade to me.  And it is about a pseudo famous comedy writer and his semi dysfunctional childhood and…you all should know by now what it is.

6. The Goldbergs (ABC)

And this came from Happy Madison of all companies.  Further proving that maybe Happy Madison isn’t so bad after all.  But they don’t deserve the praise.  It all goes to Adam Goldberg himself.  By making his full length episodic versions of his home movies.  Okay they aren’t completely 100% factual.  After all, Erica Goldberg was really an Eric.  But they feel semi-real and not all completely glamorized afternoon daytime specials.  I think part of that is due to the strong acting.  Especially from Wendi McLendon-Covey as Beverly Goldberg; who is amazing as the over the top in every way imaginable Beverly Goldberg.  But the child actors are really good here too and that’s saying something from me who doesn’t often highlight child acting.  More often than not, I get fully invested with each Goldberg child’s storyline because they are super relatable.  Whether it be dating issues to being embarrassed of their parents to wanting independence from them to not being good with money…they are all super relatable problems not stretched out and overdone.

And of course, the other big plus, the setting.  I know I know.  80s nostalgia is getting rehashed and overplayed.  You’re not wrong.  I’ve noticed it to.  It’s been done to death in the 2010s going into the 2020s too with everything that is coming out this year.  And The Goldbergs fully bask in 80s nostalgia to the point that some piece of pop culture from the 80s plays some sort of role in each episode.  It is incorporated fairly well and isn’t used like a poster saying REMEMBER THIS. 

By the time the 2030s start, I doubt anyone will want to do anything with the 80s ever again because people will be sick of it.  But you know who won’t be?  Me.  I love this admittedly overrated decade.  I love every bit of nostalgia from this decade I did not grow up in and I’m still not sick of it now.

 

Spoiler

And we can’t talk about 80s nostalgia without the best show about it.

5. Stranger Things (Netflix)

The Stranger Things phenomenon still ceases to amaze me.  I still remember four years ago where it was this small little show that garnered a cult following due to word of mouth.  Then Netflix sustained that momentum and really turned this series into something special.  I mentioned how The Goldbergs made me feel like I was living in the 80s.  Stranger Things not only does that, but it also makes me feel like I’m watching one of those epic 80s movies.  It has a real sense of vintage Steven Spielberg about it.  And not just due to the E.T. parallels, which admittedly do exist.  Quite blatantly. But The Duffer Brothers are clearly inspired by the hugeness of Spielberg’s biggest hits and you feel like you’re involved in this world they have built.

I constantly praise the kid actors of this show all the time.  And here I go doing it again because all these kids are clearly talented as hell.  Some of them are already involved or being set up to become bigger names outside of this show like Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown.  The others I wouldn’t be surprised to still seeing them down the road in the entertainment industry because I haven’t come across a single untalented child actor on this show.  And even after a kind of disappointing, but still great second season, the third season really gave me huge vibes and made me excited to see where this show goes from here.

I don’t know how many more seasons this show has left, but Netflix really has something special going here.  This is lightning in a bottle that I doubt they will ever capture again, but Stranger Things is one of the few cultural phenomenons whose quality is justified.

 

Spoiler

4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX/NBC)

Going to keep this one short.  Why?  It’s made my best list practically every year since its inception.  If that isn’t a sign of continuous quality, I don’t know what is.  I’m glad NBC saved this show from the brink of cancellation and it is continuing as strong as ever.  FOX never felt like the proper network for this show to begin with since it is one of the most diverse shows on network television with its inclusion of strong female characters and pro LGBT inclusion in the main cast.

Also, I’m a huge Andy Samberg fan and will follow this man’s career until the end of time.  You want to know what one of my highlights of 2019 was that wasn’t my wedding?  Seeing The Lonely Island live.  That’s how big an Andy Samberg fan I am.  Stream The Bash Brothers Experience.

source.gif

There I wrapped it up with a Gina GIF.  It all came full circle to the main point after all.  Next.

 

Spoiler

Man 2020 is going to be the end of a lot of high quality shows.  And the highest praised one ends in a week.  So let’s talk about a show that at least 50% of this site watches and the other 50%, what’s taking you so long?

3. BoJack Horseman (Netflix)

I have always struggled to articulate my feelings towards BoJack Horseman as a whole.   I don’t know why.  It’s excellent.  The animation is great.  The writing is great.  The characters are great.  The direction of this show always misleads me when I think I have everything figured out.

But I think the thing that really stands out to me the most about this show is just how real the content feels.  Depression, anxiety, substance abuse.  These are all really complex matters that this show tackles effectively even more so than its live action counterparts.  And here’s the thing about it all.  Any time something happens on this show.  Even the smallest of side plots.  It comes back eventually at some point.  The actions these characters take have long standing points in the continuity of the show.  Because they want to make these characters feel as relatable as possible.

I’m not even beginning to speculate how the back half of the final season is going to go.  Because I’ve learned my lesson about trying to predict how this is going to end.  I’m just going to watch in awe as to where this show is going to go because I know it’s going to end with me in my feelings again.  Like this show always has.

 

Spoiler

Have I mentioned how many great shows are ending in 2020?  This one is going to hurt the most.

2. The Good Place (NBC)

I know a lot of you are going to question this show’s placement.  This over BoJack?  I have my reasons.

Honestly, this show and BoJack have a lot in common when you really think about it.  Both shows are about flawed people who want to learn to be better.  Both shows have taken unpredictable roads to get where these characters are.  Both shows have fully fleshed out characters that we have watched develop along the way.

But to me?  Why is this number two?  Because at the end of the day, I can watch a new episode of BoJack at any time I want and not rush through it all.  Ever since I’ve discovered The Good Place, I have watched every episode as soon as I was able to with a sense of urgency.  We may live in a binge watching era where we can watch shows at any pace we want to, but nothing beats watching a whole new episode the day it comes out.  And I’ve watched practically every episode of The Good Place either the day of or the day after only due to work.  That’s how dedicated of a fan The Good Place has made me.

It ends next week as well.  And I’ve requested off work to watch the finale.  I’ll miss these characters.  I’ll miss the unpredictable nature.

giphy.gif

 

Spoiler

Number one is not a surprise to any of you if you really know me.

1. Parks and Recreation (NBC)

I binge watched the entire series in a course of month of unemployment in 2015 and my life was never the same afterwards.  I fucking love this show.  I fucking love these characters.  Parks and Reccing it has become an expression in my life when it comes to dropping what I’m doing and just watching an episode or going through an umpteenth binge watch of this series.

Only a few shows rival this one when it comes to being my all-time favorite.  You already saw me mention South Park, but unlike South Park, this show ended at the most opportune time.  I already said I’ll follow Andy Samberg’s career wherever it will take him.  And I’m sure as hell going to follow Greg Daniels and Michael Schur’s careers due to how much I love this show.  Hell, I also just talked about another Michael Schur show seconds ago with The Good Place.  And Greg Daniels and Steve Carrell have Space Force coming to Netflix at some point in 2020.  It might end up being The Office 2.0 but I wouldn’t even fucking care the slightest bit.  I love Greg Daniels that much.

Parks and Rec is one of those shows you can just tell that practically everyone involved loved being in it.  Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman constantly collaborate because of their association with Parks and Rec.  No matter how huge of a movie star he is now, Chris Pratt has appeared at two Parks and Rec reunion –Cons because he constantly talks about how much he loved being a part of the show.  This show is simply amazing and I too will forever be grateful that it exists.  Parks and Rec.  My best show of the 2010s.

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For waiting and reading this list.  I know it took awhile to get out, but I hope it was worth the wait.  My best hit songs list is up next.  

 

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Hey so this topic is as good as any to make this announcement in.  Some of you already know what this is about from a conversation on Discord last week.  But to those of you who missed it, well here ya go.

I've got two more lists I plan to do.  The Best Films of 2019 and The Best Hit Songs of the 2010's.  I was originally planning to do a Best/Worst Films of the 2010's list, but honestly, there is no real surprises.  I don't have a definitive best film of this decade.  I have multiple.  And if you guys want to know what the five best films of this decade are....well here ya go:

Spoiler

The Social Network, Whiplash, Silver Linings Playbook, Roma, and my Best Film of 2019 (to be continued lol) are all amazing films in their own right to the point that I can't really rank them.  Honorable mentions in no particular order include my second Best Film of 2019, The Avengers, Ex Machina, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Blade Runner 2049.  There you go.  An unofficially official top ten list.

And my worst film of the decade isn't even a contest.  It's my worst film of 2019, The Haunting of Sharon Tate.  I did a damn good job explaining why its terrible there and I really don't feel like repeating myself again.  Probably one of the top three worst movies I've ever seen.  The Devil Inside (2012) is second in case anyone wanted something else to hold them over.

But I wanted to take the time to mention that what I posted on the first page is really self-fulfilling.  You'll be seeing a lot less of me around these parts after I'm done with those last two pieces.  I mean obviously, real life priorities already make me come on a lot less these last six years or so.  But honestly the main reason I still come around here is due to the friends I still keep up with from here and my writing.  And my writing is now moving back to blog form (again):

http://mediamanbobeh.blogspot.com/

It's back!  I plan to update this blog again in an effort to get recognized once more from one of the publications I plan to apply to.  I mentioned to y'all once I got an interview with /Film awhile back.  And it was thanks to that blog.  I really want to follow through with my ambitions to write for a major publication so I'm going to give this a second chance with my music and movie reviews.  Already got multiple projects in the works to keep me around that blog for quite some time.  I already shared a couple updates like the obligatory welcome back post and I shared a music year end retrospective (The Worst Hit Songs of 1974).  Hell, I'm planning a few crossovers with other content creators (the obligatory Wumbo crossover is obligatory) as well kind of like I do around here.

So don't consider this a goodbye.  Consider this as me moving on.  I've already stated that I don't believe in people "leaving forums" because you can always login.  Either way, I'm moving on from these types of year end threads since I've got a blog for that now and if you want to read those, I'll gladly appreciate it.  But I promise I'll fulfill my final two lists.  It really helped inspire me to pursue this venue again after years of wondering what ifs.  And to that, I say thank you all for reading.

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So, how about the 2010s in pop music? Long rambling short, it has its ups and downs. A good chunk of songs I’ve found to be notoriously bad, and there were also a good chunk of songs that were spectacular, let alone deserving of more attention. At the end of the day, I could say that the 2010s was not a bad decade for pop music at all. Now, for this list, I could challenge myself and narrow things down to ranking the official decade-end top 100, but I’m going to extend the variety to just about every song that made the year-end list from 2010-2019, because I think it’s more interesting that way and it makes for a great scale on what songs I found to be the absolute worst throughout the decade.

This is the kind of topic that would be fitting for a grandiose type of review, but for a variety of reasons, that won’t be the case. First of all, I’ve made this announcement a while back on my own review thread whereas I’ve expressed that I was losing interest in writing reviews and intended to take a break from them. Second of all, two fellow reviewers on the site have moved on from SBC, which doesn’t give me much of the motivation to churn out more of a full-length review. Lastly, my commentary for these choices is going to feel repetitive anyways, and I don’t want to have to repeat myself.

I’ve been feeling like I should just reveal my top and bottom 10 hit songs of the decade in just list form, but then I decided that a better way for me to do this is by giving them each a solid send-off. My commentary is still going to be brief. Regardless, I assure you’ll have a good idea of how I feel about these songs, starting with…

 

Steel’s Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of the 2010s

Spoiler

 

10. “Drive By” / Train
Year-end list appearance(s): 2012
Steel’s YE ranking: #2

Here’s your daily reminder that Train sucks. Wrap this all up in a two ply Hefty bag and throw it in the garbage where it belongs.

 

Spoiler

 

9. “Be Alright” / Dean Lewis
Year-end list appearance(s): 2019
Steel’s YE ranking: #1

You could call this guy a discount Ed Sheeran, or a lower-rate version of any other artist similar to him, but I feel there’s no need for a reductive comparison. Little to nothing about this singer and this song are original. Besides being an incredibly standard breakup ballad that features a white guy with an acoustic guitar, it is a poorly-written one to boot. Dean Lewis wallows away his problems for about 3 ½ minutes without trying to accept that his ex-lover shouldn’t have to care about HIS feelings because she’s moved on and he should do the same, and without even trying to address how exactly the relationship fell apart.

 

Spoiler

 

8. “i hate u i love u” / gnash featuring Olivia O’Brien
Year-end list appearance(s): 2016
Steel’s YE ranking: #2

This song, however, holds the distinction for having two of the very least acts that I have ever shown any care towards, in terms of any act that appeared on the 2010s year-end lists. Unfortunately, gnash does snag another hit with a feature on “Lights Down Low.” Despite that, “i hate u i love u,” proves to me nothing more than that he and O’Brien are a couple of small flashes in the pan. gnash doesn’t try at all to deliver his emotions on the track and while Olivia does put a little more effort in it, her verses don’t amount to much as it shows how thinly veiled the whole narrative is, where it’s trying to be deep and meaningful, yet it comes off like this is from a couple of young teenagers experiencing heartbreak for the first time – in the bodies of late teens to 20-something year olds.

 

Spoiler

 

7. “NONO” / 1\|0NO1\|0NO no NO NO no NO NO
NO-NO NO NO(s): 2018
NO’s NO NO: #2

 

NO

 

Spoiler

 

6. “Cold” / Maroon 5 featuring Future
Year-end list appearance(s): 2017
Steel’s YE ranking: #1

Through the critical backlash that the band’s Red Pill Blues album and its singles have each received to no end, why is it that most people only let this one sit on a fence? I mean, “Don’t Wanna Know,” “Wait,” and “Girls Like You,” are all pretty bad, and while I don’t hate “What Lovers Do,” I can see reasons to hate it. “Cold” isn’t just your basic, average bad Maroon 5 song, it is peak terrible for the band, and I wish I’m not the only one here who feels that way. “Cold” is the most distant a song has ever felt from the band’s name and the most presenting as “Adam Levine.” “Cold” is the first M5 song that has convinced me that the band is trying desperately to stay relevant on pop radio, it is the first to convince me that the band is taking their music toward no discernable direction, it is the first to convince me that Adam has been caring less and less about giving his songs any ounce of soul to save it, and it is the first to convince me that they are moving further away from redemption. Tell me if you will that “Cold” isn’t at least overplayed or that it is interesting bad, that doesn’t excuse Adam and guest star Future from being reprehensible on the song, and I’d go as far as to say that I’d rather suffer from the blatant nothingness of the other RPB singles than continue suffering through this.

 

Spoiler

 

5. “Birthday Cake (remix)” / Rihanna featuring Chris Brown
Year-end list appearance(s): 2012
Steel’s YE ranking: #1

Anyone who’s anyone that hates this song to death had said everything that needs to be said about how bad this is. Putting Chris Brown back in the spotlight may be one of the worst things that happened in 2010s pop, but Rihanna doing another collaboration with her abuser that is this massive of an audio trainwreck is worse. Although the song still sucks a fat one today, I can’t see myself staying mad about this compared to the next few…

 

Spoiler

 

hello boys, let’s talk about bone structure.

 

4. “Treat You Better” / Shawn Mendes
Year-end list appearance(s): 2016, 2017
Steel’s YE rankings: #1, #12

Ngl, if it weren’t for my repeats rule for these year-end list reviews, “Treat You Better” would also be my #1 worst hit of 2017. By that standard, this song should be higher. Thinking more about this song, however, I can’t fault Shawn Mendes too much. He was 17 at the time he wrote this, so he was a little too young to realize that this would end up being a prime example of nice guy syndrome. He was also not old enough to realize that this would end up being the kind of music that would appeal to even involuntary celibates. Also, to all the fangirls out there who still adore this song, here’s a word of advice: if some rando guy tells you to dump your boyfriend/girlfriend and date HIM instead, because HE thinks HE’s better for you than someone HE doesn’t know very well, including you, tell that guy to eff off and give yourself some agency because there’s a good chance that the guy is indeed a “nice guy,” and he will eventually decide that you’re, in his words, ‘a whore like every other girl on the planet’ if you stall on his offer. Take this to heart since “Treat You Better” doesn’t give very good advice.

Oh, and because I can’t talk about the song without acknowledging this….BED HER DANNY KEN.

 

Spoiler

 

3. “Marvin Gaye” / Charlie Puth featuring Meghan Trainor
Year-end list appearance(s): 2015
Steel’s YE ranking: #1

“Marvin Gaye,” the 2015 song, can be best described as a crime in cultural appropriation. “Marvin Gaye” is a love song that takes elements from a genre of music rooted from African Americans, and then whitewashes it by making Marvin Gaye’s name into an Urban Dictionary term for a sex position, or if I’m not being too harsh, an unappealing verb, before Puth then layers it with some of the most painful and unsubtle innuendos, again with Gaye’s legacy attached to it somehow, that adds to the song’s sexually unappealing results. Courtesy of Puth’s production choices, there are occasional gang vocal samples from DJ Mustard’s sound library attached to this as well to make it more tasteless. Meghan Trainor, who has also been guilty for her own less-than-stellar incorporations of soul and doo-wop in her brand of pop music, only manages to rub some salt on the wound for her equally poor vocal delivery.

Nine Track Mind, the album that the song is from, ended up being so bad of a first impression that it convinced Puth to improve his music by a lot, which I’m thankful for. On the other hand, Trainor still seems to be on her losing streak.

 

Spoiler

 

2. “Te Bote (remix)” / Nio Garcia, Darrell, and Casper Magico featuring Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, and Ozuna
Year-end list appearance(s): 2018
Steel’s YE ranking: #1

This song is so discomforting to listen to. Without knowing the lyrical context because of the language barrier, it’s not so bad, but once you know what this slog of a remix is going on about for seven minutes straight, it sets so many examples on how not to write a kiss-off anthem. The piano melody is repetitive af, the lyrics are just as repetitive on top of being sleazy, and the featured artists themselves don’t come off as likeable. I hate having to see that this was what partly represented Latin pop music in 2018, and to make matters worse, this remix got a sequel before “Despacito” ever could, and it has one female Latin pop artist in the mix, further establishing that the scale in writing bad diss anthems to your ex is universal.

 

Spoiler

 

1. “Sexy Bitch” / David Guetta featuring Akon
Year-end list appearance(s): 2010
Steel’s YE ranking: #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9hazmsUxrM

[not embedded because YT didn't allow for it to be]

Making a choice between this and the remix to “Te Bote” was tough. In the end, I decided that my worst hit song of the decade would be one that I felt sparked more of a negative influence and stigmata on the pop scene, whereas David Guetta’s cheap production work would inspire others to follow his example (Zedd and Marshmello being the worst offenders), all while this would end up killing Akon’s career due to his “non-disrespectful” way of trying to pick up women. The production isn’t god-awful, but the drop in the chorus only makes the song feel uglier and less comfortable to listen to. The songwriting is the worst though, which is what really kills the song for me.

To send this off, “Sexy Bitch” is a prime example of what a pop song sounds like to people who claim they hate it, while also serving as a prime example of a pop song with no redeeming qualities, based on my perspective. Yes, this song did first come out in 2009. It entered the year-end list in 2010, so it counts and makes the cut as my absolute worst hit song of 2010.

 

Dishonorable mentions:

“Trumpets” – Jason Derulo (2014, #1 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Watch Me” – Silento (2015, #2 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Dear Future Husband” – Meghan Trainor (2015, #3 on my year-end bottom 10)
“The Middle” – Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey (2018, #3 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Tonight Tonight” – Hot Chelle Rae (2011, #1 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Body Like a Backroad” – Sam Hunt (2017, #2 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Sexy and I Know It” – LMFAO (2011, #2 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Amnesia” – 5 Seconds of Summer (2014, #2 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Scream and Shout” – will.i.am featuring Britney Spears (2013, #1 on my year-end bottom 10)
“Imma Be” – The Black Eyed Peas (2010, #2 on my year-end bottom 10)

 

Will get to my top 10 sometime around next week. 

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