Defining how I feel about 2010s and 2020s mainstream music scene year by year

2010 - 2010 I think was the end or the beginning of the end of indie rock as there were many great bands like Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire's mainstream relevance, big stadium pop acts like Rihanna and Katy Perry and pop rap like Drake and Nicki Minaj all became household names. The forward looking music though from the indie rock scene was getting phased out however, by many new a new wave of r&b/rap artists that were bubbling below of the surface

2011 - This year was the first year many artists we know and love truly made their mark with classic albums. The Weeknd, Adele, Kendrick, Tyler the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Frank Ocean all sprang to the surface and cemented their place in mainstream attention even though it was just the beginning for many. It became a very refreshing, youthful area in music where some of the biggest stars were so young and just beginning their runs.

2012 - If 2011 was the beginning of a new era, 2012 followed through with classics but it still seemed like the era hadn’t reached their cultural peak yet. For example Frank Ocean, Tame Impala, Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey all had fan favorite albums but none experienced the highs just yet of when their cultural relevance peaked.

2013 - I felt 2013 was a year of slight step back into pop music comfort . The biggest albums were by already established stars like Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Arctic Monkeys, Eminem and they all went in a very big radio friendly direction. Lorde as we will see changed everything and was a complete 180 of the over the top pop music of the early 2010s

2014 - A yet another very safe and pop friendly year but with new stars and slightly more mellow feel. It was almost like it was the calm before the storm of a boom of creativity Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran were all now superstars and yet still offered safe sounding pop music. 

2015 - I think this is where the decade gets real interesting. It’s when pop music got significantly more experimental with The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Tame Impala, Scott. Rap had so many of its hottest names hitting their creative peaks with Drake, Future, Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky etc. 

2016 - I think 2016 was such a bright time for music and continuation for a golden age in hip hop. The culture was so connected at this point, every artist was working with each other and even the pop music felt authentic and vibrant, Kanye, Drake, Frank, Beyonce, Rihanna, The Weeknd all felt like a celebration of r&b/rap’s new cultural relevance. 

2017 - 2017 was the same as 2016 but now throw in some established pop titans. Still an incredible year and it’s a continuation of r&b/rap’s creative commercial peak. From Kendrick to Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Lorde, SZA, Tyler the Creator, Migos everyone had a moment to shine regardless of genre.

2018 - I’ve now I’ve talked a lot about rap, but 2018 was the year that it truly went pop. It was truly a renaissance of mainstream that dropped this year. Felt like not a single big name missed as pop music was changing towards trap beats through Drake, Post Malone, Cardi B, Travis Scott. From 2016-2018 this when the era of the 2010s peaked before a steep downfall in 2019 in my opinion

2019 - TikTok became a thing and opened the floodgates and changed everything. Many of the biggest artists from the 2016-2018 run took a break and it was almost like a reset year. If there was anyone that represented where music was heading it was Billie Eilish with her Lorde influences and bedroom pop style

2020 - TikTok completely changed music this year due to COVID which made it the perfect storm to shake the industry up. Music quickly learned if it wanted to be a hit and capture attention, it had to have a trendy audio now. Lil Nas X, DaBaby, Jack Harlow continued raps dominance, but the sounds became too saturated and way less creative than 16-18

2021 - After rap was slowly falling off, I think Covid really helped boost the angsty girl pop sound of the early 2020s. Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo were all the biggest stars and TikTok allowed female voices to shine more than ever and I think that’s what decided to stick in a music world that had more isolated listeners who stayed at home for a year or even more.

2022 - After Covid settled, I think this is where we also lose the monoculture that we once had in the 2010s. The online bubble really fragmented us and there were many big albums from Kendrick, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Drake but they were all well over a decade into their careers, the new names that emerged filled a niche and that's a trend that would only get more evident

2023 - This year I think was a very big transitional year. Raps/hip hop biggest names either weren’t dropping or completely lost relevance and the cultural zeitgeist switched to country with Zach Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and it may be the biggest year for country in mainstream music ever. Female pop/indie/alt voices dominated still from Mitski, Boygenius, Paramore, Olivia Rodrigo, Lana del Rey.

2024 - Maybe this is the closest to 2016’s monoculture. 2024 had some of the biggest releases of the decade yet with Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler the Creator Beyonce, all dropping massive albums and Kendrick/Drake beef which in my opinion was raps farewell. For some reason this year felt very connected and memorable which was cool, but it didn't really feel fresh. Many of the biggest artists were 10+ years into their careers and the fresh faces need a viral tiktok to become relevant, but the new way of consuming music, doesn't create careers for longevity.

2025 - It’s hard to what to make of this year. It felt especially quiet and I think we are becoming more divided by what we like and there’s less and less artists that unite us seen with Bad Bunny and Morgan Wallen being the two biggest artists and yet barely anyone listens to both. A very silent year as I think the industry doesn’t know how to yet capture a mainstream attention yet in the new digital landscape. Great year for underground music however.