This has been both the easiest list "presidential" list for me make, and also the most difficult. Easy because I was alive for all these years, actively listening to new music. Hard for me because Trump unfortunately became president right after I graduated college, where my mental state flipped a switch from being "busy and successful" to "lazy and depressed." It's particularly hard for me to revisit music from 2017 and 2020 (even the good stuff); particularly bad years for me. But we're not here to talk about mental health. Or even politics. This is music time, baby.
The 50 best albums from Donald Trump's presidency. 2017-2020. This will be much weirder than my Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush lists, seeing as I don't have widely-acclaimed classics to lean on. I figured there were 4 albums that deserved honorable mentions.
+ Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 3
+ Various Artists Mono No Aware
+ Armand Hammer Paraffin
+ Boldy James Manger on McNichols
Run the Jewels 3 was a great album released on Christmas 2016, so it's just 1 week to early to reach my criteria for this list. That Mono No Aware compilation is amazing. Previously unreleased songs from 18 different artists, making for cohesive collection of ambient trips. Is it an "album"? Kinda. Not for this list. Those Armand Hammer and Boldy James albums are awesome underground rap releases. I'm just still dipping my toe into that circle of rap, and trying to figure out what will last.
Here's the list.
#50-41
50 slowthai Nothing Great About Britain
It takes a lot to convince me to try out a grime album that's less than 15 years old, but slowthai's debut presents a snarky character that seems fitting for the genre.
49 Playboi Carti Die Lit
I'm pretty sure I just like anything that's produced by Pi'erre Bourne.
48 ROSALÍA Los Ángeles
Before Rosalía became the face of the modern Latin pop movement, she was fusing flamenco music with beautiful chamber pop arrangements.
47 Tierra Whack Whack World
I've only heard a few albums that go for the "1-minute songs" shtick, and this is probably the best.
46 Rapsody Laila's Wisdom
Rapsody is an extremely talented rapper, and I believe this album keeps listeners at attention from front-to-back.
45 Beach House 7
It was just nice that we were still getting indie pop albums like this in 2018.
44 HAIM Women in Music Pt. III
This album has grown on me over the last couple years, and the more pop albums I listen to, I'm even more convinced this thing will stand the test of time.
43 Sevdaliza Shabrang
Some of the coldest alt-R&B and trip-hop songs I've heard in years.
42 Run the Jewels RTJ4
RTJ returned with a hot batch of politically-charged bangers for the summer.
41 Sharon Van Etten Remind Me Tomorrow
Excellent songwriting, remarkable vocals, and just an overall emotive album experience.
#40-31
40 Phoebe Bridgers Stranger in the Alps
On her first full-length LP, Phoebe wasn't afraid to deliver her discomforting expression of melancholy and show off her knack for melodies.
39 Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist Alfredo
I like Freddie Gibbs a lot.
38 serpentwithfeet soil
I used to "appreciate" this album more than actually enjoy it, but damn, looking back, this is some drop-dead gorgeous, futuristic music.
37 Laura Marling Song For Our Daughter
This thing hits it out of the park when it comes to capturing the personal depth and nostalgic aesthetic I expect from old-fashioned singer-songwriters.
36 Matana Roberts COIN COIN Chapter Four: Memphis
Remaining as obscure as ever, this is Matana's version of a direct jazz-rock record.
35 Phoebe Bridgers Punisher
Since the release of Punisher, Phoebe has collaborated with every artist under the sun, which is weird, because the actual content here is emotionally-draining, depressing and dark
34 Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Bandana
Arguably Freddie's most constantly enjoyable run of songs.
33 Lianne La Havas Lianne La Havas
A refreshing dose of rootsy soul for a rainy Sunday morning, with loose and stripped-back jams to boot.
32 Jlin Black Origami
As the album cover suggests, this style of footwork takes musical influence from countries with elephants.
31 Tyler, the Creator Flower Boy
I do believe Tyler is on a roll with his latest trilogy of great albums, with Flower Boy arguably being his best work to date.
#30-21
30 Charli XCX how i'm feeling now
This was a definitive album for the 2020 quarantine experience.
29 Charli XCX Pop 2
Charli's most consistent set of solid songs since her artistic rebirth in the realm of experimental pop.
28 Richard Dawson Peasant
An honest-to-god "freak folk" album from 2017 that does the genre justice.
27 Car Seat Headrest Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)
Car Seat Headrest re-record an album they made in 2011, giving it a proper upgrade in production quality and turning it into one of the most epic indie rock albums of the decade.
26 Ibibio Sound Machine Uyai
Every review I've seen for this album says this fuses LCD Soundsystem with Fela Kuti, and that's a golden formula in my book.
25 Against All Logic 2012-2017
Nicolás Jaar flexes his talents as an electronic producer with what is easily some of the funkiest house music of the decade.
24 Jean Grae & Quelle Chris Everything's Fine
A rap album loaded with quirky instrumentals, charismatic personality, and unbeatably smart verses.
23 Little Simz GREY Area
Little Simz proves herself as one of the coolest artists in the game, with her instantly-lovable delivery and the naturally nocturnal feel to these songs.
22 Noname Room 25
My apologies to Noname: I am just another white guy who loves your music.
21 Pusha T Daytona
Push was made for punching you with his bravado in short and sweet fashion.
#20-11
20 Low Double Negative
The Minnesota Mormons shift their sparse and delicate brand of slowcore to dense layers of industrial and ambient sounds.
19 Angel Olsen All Mirrors
Angel takes a successful whack at tying grandiose baroque pop with ethereal synths.
18 Perfume Genius Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
Mike Hadreas makes you question the unseen corners of your heart and mind.
17 Fiona Apple Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Fiona has officially found a new home with this sloppy and shaggy bedroom pop sound.
16 Lingua Ignota Caligula
I freaking love that industrial noise that shows up on these song, just adding the final stab to the gut within these slow, tortured, neoclassical songs.
15 black midi Schlagenheim
Few rock albums have ever presented organized chaos with production this clean.
14 Yves Tumor Safe in the Hands of Love
This album is a hot mess of pitch-black songs that I'm hesitant to call "pop."
13 Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell!
I'm always impressed with this album's consistency in sarcastic and sad lyrical quality, somehow keeping me hooked for an entire hour of piano ballads.
12 U.S. Girls In a Poem Unlimited
For anybody still waiting for St. Vincent to return as the queen of art pop/rock, I'm pretty sure you just missed when U.S. Girls took over.
11 ROSALÍA EL MAL QUERER
Looking back, I would kill for a pop album as artistically expansive as this in 2022.
#10-1
10 Purple Mountains Purple Mountains
David Berman left us with an album of sadly relatable yet delightfully quotable rock songs, made for the road.
9 SZA Ctrl
SZA covers all the bases on Ctrl, making for one of the most cohesive R&B albums of the decade.
8 Earl Sweatshirt Some Rap Songs
Earl has always had a hint of depressive monotone in his voice, but this experience sounds like a man who's ultimately given up on life, either as a person or as an artist.
7 Perfume Genius No Shape
Arguably the highest production quality of any album on this list, it's also arguably Mike Hadreas's strongest collection of songs.
6 Kendrick Lamar DAMN.
Say what you want about this album conceptually, I just think it aces the test for making the greatest summertime rap album possible.
5 Daughters You Won't Get What You Want
A downward spiral of no wave perfection, and one of the most cacophonous albums I've ever heard.
4 Jessie Ware What's Your Pleasure?
Stunning production for what sounds like a modern-day greatest hits for disco and dance music.
3 Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me
A literal cry of grief that borders on not being considered "music," yet an unforgettable listen that stands too artistically unique to deny its ability to connect with our most complex emotions.
2 SOPHIE OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES
Sadly another artist on this list who is no longer with us, but damn, Sophie made the most bombastic and calculated studio techniques sound like child's play.
1 Weyes Blood Titanic Rising
These are sincere songs of hope from a voice that sounds like she's finally breaching above the water for her first time, and the freaking strings section on this sounds spectacular.
