Best Vinyl Albums of the 2010s: Top Picks

The 2010s were a strange decade for vinyl. New releases competed for shelf space with reissues of records that had already been pressed two or three times before, and the sales numbers proved the point: in Nielsen Music's decade-end report, only two albums actually released in the 2010s broke into the top ten best-selling vinyl LPs of the entire decade. Everything else was a back catalog title riding the vinyl revival. That makes picking the best vinyl albums of the 2010s less about chasing sales charts and more about asking which records from the era actually sound great on the format they were pressed for.

Below is a focused list of original 2010s releases worth chasing on vinyl, plus notes on pressing variants, sound quality, and what to look for when you buy. Skip the streaming conversation for a minute. These albums are at home on a turntable.

What made a 2010s album worth owning on vinyl

Three things separated the standouts from the pack. First, the recording itself had to be analog-friendly: real drums, real strings, room sound, tape saturation, or at minimum a producer who was not allergic to dynamic range. Second, the label cared enough about the format to commission a proper cut, sometimes a half-speed master, sometimes a 45rpm two-LP set. Third, the music rewarded sitting down and listening, which is the only way most people actually play records.

The 2010s vinyl market was not short on quantity. RIAA mid-decade reports showed vinyl dollar sales growing every year from 2006 onward, and by 2019 vinyl had outsold CDs in the US for the first time since the 1980s. With that kind of growth, pressing plants ran at capacity and every indie band of any size got a vinyl release, whether or not the source material deserved it. The albums below earned their place.

The eight essential 2010s originals on vinyl

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (2012, Polydor/Interscope)

The only studio album released in the 2010s to crack Nielsen's top ten best-selling vinyl LPs of the decade, with 283,000 copies on wax. The strings on "Born to Die" and "Video Games" were arranged and conducted by Larry Gold at a level that benefits enormously from a clean analog pressing, and the original 2012 gatefolds on Interscope/Polydor are warmer and more dynamic than most of the digital-era pop vinyl of the period. The Paradise Edition mini-LP followed later in 2012 as a companion piece. A 2017 German reissue cut at Optimal Media (limited to 1,500 copies on blue vinyl) is the cleanest variant still in print, and Discogs median prices around $40 reflect steady demand rather than collector hype.

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (2013, Columbia)

The Discogs most-purchased album of the entire 2010s across all formats, and the one 2010s record that pushed back hardest against the loudness-war aesthetic of its era. Recorded largely live at Henson Recording Studios with session musicians including Nile Rodgers, Paul Jackson Jr., and Omar Hakim, the album was mixed through analog consoles and cut to lacquer in a way that rewards a good cartridge. The 2013 US two-LP pressing on Columbia is widely considered the strongest cut, and used copies in clean condition still trade below $30. The 10th-anniversary edition arrived in 2023 if you want the remastered route.

Tame Impala - Currents (2015, Fiction/Interscope)

Kevin Parker's pivot from fuzz-pedal psychedelic rock to disco-leaning synth pop sounded thin on streaming and almost cinematic on a good pressing. The 2015 US two-LP gatefold is the version to find; later reissues exist but the early Fiction pressings have the warmest low end on "Let It Happen" and "The Less I Know the Better". Discogs median is around $30 and copies turn over regularly.

Arctic Monkeys - AM (2013, Domino)

The British rock album of the decade, pressed as a single-LP 180g gatefold on Domino in 2013 and reissued several times since. The single-LP cut keeps the side lengths manageable, the mastering is hot but not crushed, and the songs are short enough that you do not run into the inner-groove distortion that plagues longer 2010s pressings. The 2013 Domino UK first press is the safest buy.

David Bowie - Blackstar (2016, ISO/Columbia)

Bowie's final studio album, released two days before his death, and the second-most-purchased album of the 2010s on Discogs across all formats. Maria Schneider orchestrated the title track, and the dynamic range across the album is unusually wide for a 2016 release, which makes a clean pressing essential. The 2016 Columbia two-LP US gatefold has held up well; later European reissues vary in quality.

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (2016, XL)

Pressed as a double-LP on XL in 2016 with the original artwork and a mastering by Bob Ludwig. "Daydreaming" and "True Love Waits" (the solo piano closer, recorded years earlier and held back for this release) are the quietest tracks on the album and benefit from the surface noise floor a clean pressing provides. A 2017 3LP edition (OKNOTOK 1997-2017) reissued OK Computer with bonus material and is also worth owning if you do not already have the original.

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012, Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope)

The most acclaimed hip-hop album of the decade, pressed on a single-LP 180g gatefold in 2012 and reissued in 2017 with cleaned-up mastering. The early US Interscope pressings have a warmer low end; the 2017 repress is more consistent across copies. Either version is fine if the condition is clean.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010, Merge)

The decade opener and Arcade Fire's commercial peak, won the Album of the Year Grammy in 2011. The 2010 Merge two-LP US pressing is the cleanest cut and the one most collectors look for. The album mixes synth-driven pop with full-band arrangements in a way that holds up better on vinyl than the CD version.

What to skip

Not every 2010s album translates well. Heavily compressed EDM and trap releases often have mastering that sounds worse on vinyl than on a good streaming service, because the format exposes the dynamic range ceiling. Mid-decade pop albums mastered for Spotify loudness typically sound harsh through a decent cartridge. If a 2010s album never appeared on a vinyl-specific best-of list and you cannot find pressing-plant notes, it is probably a CD-cut-onto-wax release and not worth the shelf space.

How to buy without overpaying

For current titles still in print, buy direct from the label or from a known indie retailer (your local shop, Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc, or the artist's Bandcamp if they sell physical). For out-of-print pressings, Discogs is the most reliable marketplace, but check the seller's grading carefully and look at the matrix numbers in the runout photos before paying collector prices. The 2017 reissue of Born to Die cut at Optimal Media, the 2013 Columbia two-LP of Random Access Memories, and the 2010 Merge pressing of The Suburbs are the three variants where original-pressing sound quality versus price still tilts heavily toward the buyer.

If you are building a 2010s vinyl section from scratch, those eight records are the spine. Add anything else from the era that you already love and have been wanting to hear on a turntable, and you will have a decade-defining shelf that sounds better than the streaming queue ever did.

Frequently asked questions

What was the best-selling vinyl album of the 2010s?

According to Nielsen Music's decade-end report published in January 2020, the Beatles' Abbey Road was the best-selling vinyl LP of the 2010s with 558,000 copies sold. The original 1969 release benefited from a 50th-anniversary box-set reissue in 2019.

Which 2010s original albums sold the most vinyl?

Only two studio albums actually released in the 2010s made Nielsen's top ten best-selling vinyl LPs of the decade: Lana Del Rey's Born to Die (10th, 283,000 copies) and the Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack (3rd, 367,000 copies). The soundtrack is a compilation of 1960s and 1970s songs, so Born to Die stands as the only original 2010s studio album on the list.

Were vinyl sales actually growing during the 2010s?

Yes. RIAA mid-decade data showed vinyl dollar sales rising every year from 2006 through the end of the 2010s. By 2019, US vinyl revenue had overtaken CD revenue for the first time since the 1980s, a crossover driven largely by reissues and catalog titles but increasingly supported by new releases as the decade went on.

Should I buy original pressings or later reissues?

For most 2010s originals, the original 2010-2016 pressing is still the safest buy in terms of mastering quality. The exception is when a later reissue was cut at a known audiophile plant, like the 2017 Lana Del Rey Born to Die reissue cut at Optimal Media in Germany. Always check the matrix numbers in the runout groove against Discogs before paying collector prices for any variant.

Is it worth buying a 2010s album on vinyl if I already have it on streaming?

It depends on the mastering. If the album was recorded and mixed with dynamic range in mind, the vinyl version almost always sounds better than the compressed streaming master. If the album was brick-walled for streaming, the vinyl cut is sometimes just a louder version of the same master and not worth the purchase. The eight albums above are all in the first category.