As hard as it is to believe, we’re mere weeks away from reaching the end of the decade. Existential crisis aside, this means that media are compiling huge ‘best of 2010s’ lists and Pitchfork just released their gargantuan 200 song list of their picks for the past decade, and Kendrick Lamar‘s 2015 hit ‘Alright’ came out numero uno.
‘Alright’ served as the second single from Lamar’s widely acclaimed third album To Pimp A Butterfly, following lead track ‘King Kunta’. Both songs charted in that year’s Hottest 100, coming in at #37 and #2 respectively.
Other artists who feature prominently in Pitchfork’s list include Beyoncé, Kanye West, Robyn, Lana Del Rey, Charli XCX, The 1975 and more.
Notably, though, three Aussie acts make the list. Tame Impala unsurprisingly feature multiple times with ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ at #192 and ‘Let It Happen’ at #47. Courtney Barnett features at #41 with her 2013 summery ‘Avant Gardener’ and Camp Cope hit #52 with their powerful 2017 track ‘The Opener’.
Lamar was last in the country in 2018 to headline Splendour In The Grass, in support of his 2017 album DAMN.
Check out the full list here, and the divisive top 20 below.
20. M83 – “Midnight City”
19. Vampire Weekend – “Hannah Hunt”
18. Kanye West – “Runaway” (ft. Pusha T)
17. Jamie xx – “Gosh”
16. The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It”
15. Rihanna – “Work” (ft. Drake)
14. Angel Olsen – “Shut Up Kiss Me”
13. Chief Keef – “I Don’t Like” (ft. Lil Reese)
12. Sky Ferreira – “Everything Is Embarrassing”
11. Bill Callahan – “Riding for the Feeling”
10. Lil Uzi Vert – “XO TOUR Llif3″
9. Lana Del Rey – “Video Games”
8. Solange – “Cranes in the Sky”
7. Mitski – “Your Best American Girl”
6. Azealia Banks – “212”
5. Frank Ocean – “Thinkin Bout You”
4. Beyoncé – “Formation”
3. Robyn – “Dancing on My Own”
2. Grimes – “Oblivion”
1. Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”