The 30 best songs of the 2010s, ranked

A new installment of the “Music of the Decades” series ranks what the author calls the 30 best songs of the 2010s, describing the decade as turbulent and defined by shifting pop production and streaming-driven listening habits. The piece notes the rise of solo superstars like Adele, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Drake, alongside increasingly team-based songwriting credits, and points to retro influences and the fading of rock bands from the charts. It also highlights changes in how people consume music, as Spotify becomes the “new radio” and algorithmic playlists fragment audiences. The list begins with Katy Perry’s “Roar” (2013), detailing its credited writers and its crowd-chant chorus.