Yes, I, like most my age or older, feel sorry for what the younger generation has to listen to. Without wanting to sound patronizing in any kind of way or form, but back when we were teens— or young adults, for the eldest of us out there— artists would drop classics on such a casual basis that it’s left many, ourselves included, feeling underwhelmed by what’s been going around party-speakers ever since. And it’s not that today’s music is bad, it’s just that it’s hard competing with an era packed with so much good music.
At the end of the day, an opinion is an opinion, and you don’t have to take ours as the ultimate truth. That said, a quick scroll through some of the releases that dropped during our heyday should, at the very least, help you understand where we’re coming from, if not convince you to agree. If we rewind back to 10-years-ago for example, we find ourselves in a year where every album felt like it was trying to define something— and most of them ended up doing just that. And while each generation has its own slew of A-grade projects it is proud of and champions, even the most skeptical have to acknowledge the cultural resonance 2015 had and continues to have today.
Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly offered a poetic exploration of race and identity, quickly becoming an anthem for social justice amongst minorities in the United States. Adele’s 25 was an emotional reflection of love and loss, Young Thug’s Barter 6 allowed a more unconventional form of hip-hop to emerge, while Future’s DS2 injected a gritty, almost toxic, energy to the trap scene that would go on to shape a large part of the genre’s sound— and these are just a few case studies out of many more. Now sure, some nostalgia might be at play here, but when you look at how a lot of these albums reshaped popular culture— both as we experienced it back then and how we consume it today— it’s hard not to not give credit where credit is due.
As these albums will be turning 10 this year, below, we compiled a list of 30 iconic projects celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2025 for you to check out whether you’re looking to see what all the fuss was about back in the day or simply want to revisit them after all this time. Enjoy!
