We are now a quarter through the 21st century so it seems about time to reflect back on the past 50 years in music. There has been such significant change in popular music over the past century with modern technological developments from vinyl records to music streaming. I have chosen a few albums from 2015, 2005, 1995 and onward that have been so influential and still remain stapled within the music industry. My picks include records that I, personally, am connected to as well as those that I believe have a place in music history.
10 Years
The internet has had a significant influence on what became popular within the 2010s, making this list very much of its time with a few albums that have managed to avoid the 2010s label. The album I remember most from this year is the radio hit I Cry When I Laugh by Jess Glynn, which was the first ever album I played when I got my first phone.
I think some of the best albums that came out of 2015 include To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar, White Men Are Black Too by Young Fathers, Currents by Tame Impala and Sufjan Stevens' Carrie & Lowell– his first feature on this list. I feel like all these albums are constantly brought up as some of the best new music, with some climbing up music lovers’ lists of their favourite albums of all time.
Albums that got their fame because of the internet after their release include Depression Cherry by Beach House and Glitterbug by The Wombats. Their hits of ‘Space Song’ and ‘Greek Tragedy’ climbed their way up the TikTok most-used audios as they became the focus of major viral trends.
A genre that was so quintessentially 2015 was boy band, heart-throb pop. One Direction, The Vamps and 5 Seconds of Summer all released an album with Made In the A.M., Wake Up and Sounds Good Feels Good being released in the latter half of the year. All three of which are celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2025.
20 Years
2005 sees some of my most-varied picks as this year was a peak for pre-recession dance music as well as the growth of ‘emo’ culture as the internet became more widespread. New technology helped this with the growth of music streaming and the use of MP3 players making music more widely available to different groups of people, as a consequence, much more diverse genres of music became popular.
2005 started with a bang with LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled, debut album with James Murphy’s dance-punk hits followed shortly by Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm. This carried on throughout the year with First Impressions of Earth by The Strokes being released in December, as well as one album that was so ahead of its time: Demon Days by Gorillaz, which I refuse to believe was released in 2005. All of these albums have become incredible staples within the rock and indie genres and really paved the way for more experimental music using the wider range of technology available in the 2000s.
History was also being made within the new pop-punk genre as Panic! At The Disco released their first ever album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out shortly after Fall Out Boy’s From Under The Cork Tree. Even with Pitchfork’s rating of 1.5/10 for A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, it remains one of the most iconic and well-loved albums within the emo scene.
Some other albums that deserve to be celebrated are Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens, which has now become the soundtrack for a brilliant Broadway musical, and Monkey Business by The Black Eyed Peas. I do not understand where my love for Monkey Business comes from, but I think it has something to do with listening to ‘My Humps’ on repeat before every A-Level exam a few years back. Although these two albums look strange named side by side, both were also hugely successful within their own genres.
30 Years
Some of the most famous and influential brit-pop albums were released in 1995 with the ultimate face off between Different Class by Pulp, The Great Escape by Blur and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis all coming out in the same year. Elastica’s self-titled album was also released in 1995 and is legendary within the brit-pop genre. My favourite of these three is, controversially, Different Class, with Jarvis Cocker’s lewd lyrics being whispered over punchy bass lines and tinny guitar riffs; all while providing bleak social commentary.
However, this is not my favourite album of 1995 with The Bends by Radiohead skyrocketing in the charts. Itstill remains one of my favourite albums of all time. Alongside Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins, Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette and Elliott Smith’s self-titled album, this year saw some of the most influential rock music that lives on today.
40 Years
1985 saw the expansion of popular music with the commercial release of CDs in 1982. This allowed for wider accessibility and for people to listen to more diverse genres of music. Two of my favourite albums that came out of 1985 include Meat is Murder by The Smiths, Little Creatures by Talking Heads as well as the iconic Hounds of Love by Kate Bush and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M.
The 1980s were the emergence of electronic dance-pop music as well as hip-hop and rap. This was the beginning of politics being seen used within lyrics and in music within the UK - seen best at the time with Morrisey (although this has not aged well) - and all over the world, my favourite of which is Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Even though the latter was not released in 1985, this album was so groundbreaking, it had to be mentioned.
50 Years
The 1970s were an insane decade for music, especially in the UK and US, with the expansion of classic rock. I could endlessly list albums from the 70s that are still considered staples today, but some records from 1975 that stand out most of all include Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan, Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen and, of course, A Night at the Opera by Queen. My favourite of all, however, is Bowie’s Young Americans. The experimentation and genre-crossing that appears in this album is so unbelievably iconic and, although it is definitely not Bowie’s best album, it still makes him one of my all-time favourite artists.
There is a certain magic about pre-austerity music that is irreplicable today. The gritty guitar music and driving bass lines paired with a lead singer that lacked binary gender expression really captured the hearts of 1970s music listeners.
What we can expect from 2025
There are so many great albums that have already been confirmed for 2025. FKA Twigs’ 3rd Album Eusexua has only just been released as well as a new album from DJO has just been announced, titled The Crux which is set to be released in early April. Other highly anticipated albums include Rizzle Kicks’ come-back album Competition Is For Losers and Sam Fender’s People Watching.
In 2025, we will also be getting music from The Wombats, Tate McRae, Japanese Breakfast, Lucy Dacus, Samia, Blondshell, Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga as well as many many others. The 1975 have also teased a new album, the only suggestion of this is a few instagram posts with the acronym ‘GHEMB’.
There is so much to look forward to in this coming year as well as a lot to celebrate as so many iconic albums celebrate anniversary releases. All this new music has got me excited for festival season and summer concerts after the cold winter drought.
