Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 110 Best Albums of the 2010s, representing a varied cross-section of artists, genres, and styles. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & album index here.
ADELE | 21
XL/Columbia (2011)
Selected by Grant Walters
Ms. Adkins' sophomore effort extinguished any doubt that she could replicate the broad, enthusiastic appeal generated by her 2008 debut 19. While 21 lacks some of the barer intimacy of its predecessor, it's an important point of transition in making Adele's voice the instrument of note. The R&B/soul flavors she previously explored on 19 are still tangible here, but they've been robustly magnified and hued with cinematic brushstrokes. Standout singles "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" are dazzling, unqualified successes, and have turned into veritable pop standards that are as instantly recognizable as any of their contemporaries of the last ten years. While Adele and her collaborators may have initially been aiming for her artistic evolution with 21, they instead minted a viral phenomenon with enough momentum to propel the once-unassuming singer-songwriter into the modern musical stratosphere.
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