Pleaser’s Perfect 10s
While Pleaser does not follow a rating-based model like another notable music publication with a P-name, we do agree that perfect 10 albums exist. They are the albums that comfort us in our darkest moments, inspire us to create art or just sound really cool. Everyone has a perfect album, most of us have multiple! Here are some albums that Pleaser contributors keep coming back to again and again.
GRAPHIC BY ELENA PEJOVSKA
NADYA’S PICK
The Neon Skyline
Andy Shauf
2020
“Fire Truck and Try Again”
First off, no one does albums like Andy Shauf. The Neon Skyline is the name of a fictional bar where our narrator goes and learns his ex is back in town. The album captures what ensues: a night filled with conversations, dancing, longing and memories. Shauf has one of those “quietest man alive” voices. He gently sings surprising melodies over beautiful instrumentals filled with piano and clarinet. There is no other songwriter who is able to highlight the smallest moments and make them feel extremely important. The Neon Skyline is a strong reminder that there are big feelings tucked behind small details of our day to day. Every time I listen to this record I discover a new joke or crushing metaphor that keeps me coming back.
GRACE’S PICK
Cruel Joke
Ken Pomeroy
May 16, 2025
“Stranger”
Ken Pomeroy captures pain in a way that sits with you long after listening to her music. When Cruel Joke was released back in May, I remember sitting cross-legged at the edge of my bed, breathing through each track and letting it move through me as if I were listening to an old friend pour out the most vulnerable parts of their personal history. Her words cut hard and fast like a razor blade, writing gut-wrenching lines such as “I think it’s funny how my own mind will hide things so I don’t cry / I had a friend say the hardest thing is looking back without innocent eyes.” The album is innately human, capturing the heaviest parts of life and intertwining those feelings with a cathartic expression of hope. Pomeroy, a proud Native American with Oklahoman upbringing, is a generational storyteller at only 22. Weaving together personal anecdotes of family hardships and broken hearts, she’s successfully created an album that’s just as raw and tender as it is blunt and burdensome. I’ve listened to the album from top to bottom more times than I can count this year, and I would recommend it to anyone who is yearning to be seen.
TAYLOR’S PICK
Electric Light
James Bay
May 18, 2018
“Wild Love”
The first time I heard this album I was not into music the way I am now, and I think that speaks a lot on why it’s so perfect to me. I’ve always loved James Bay’s song, “Let It Go,” from his first album Chaos And The Calm, and I distinctly remember being in the bathroom merely months after Electric Light was released, brushing my teeth and thinking about that song. I thought to myself, I wonder what other songs he’s made, to which I strolled onto Spotify and fell into Electric Light so fast my head and heart were spinning after I finished listening to it. It’s Bay’s sophomore album that brings out the idea of togetherness with drunken-pop sounds while still utilizing a lot of his original folk-rock style.
Every song surrounds the relationships we have in our lifetime, moving from being absolutely in love with someone to then questioning if this is truly the right person. Fast forward to today, I can picture a scene and certain colors with each song as it comes on (potentially from the amount of times I’ve listened to it) and it shows just how much Bay is a storyteller with his music. Even if you haven’t experienced a certain corner of a relationship seen from one of the songs, you still find yourself singing along because of how much the sound itself wraps you in. Overall, Electric Light is incredibly beautiful and every time I put on one song I can’t help but let the whole album flow. I can go from screaming “Pink Lemonade” at the top of my lungs to then sobbing to “Wild Love” all in the same car ride, and that’s really beautiful to me.
TORI’S PICK
Pure Heroine
Lorde
September 27, 2013
“Ribs”
I have thought about what constitutes an album with no skips, a true perfect tracklist, many times. And while there are lots of albums I love as a solid whole or could listen to every song without complaint, I always come back to Pure Heroine in the end. Of course, it’s the album that catapulted a teenage Lorde into worldwide stardom for “Royals.” But the tumblr-using, deep-down-still-sad-teenager, indie pop fans know the B-sides are the crowning glory of this album. I’d even venture to say this is one of few albums I know to exist where the deluxe version has no skips either — “Million Dollar Bills” is the kind of song I’m shocked isn’t resurrected into her Virgin Tour setlist post-“Girl, So Confusing.”
Maybe it’s a lukewarm take at this point, but “Ribs” will forever be a song that gives me chills. Putting the intangible closeness of a best friend into the lyrics, “You're the only friend I need / Sharing beds like little kids / And laughing 'til our ribs get tough / But that will never be enough” is one of those musical feats I find myself hard pressed to outrank. While I was 13 when this album came out, and it’s one of the earliest bodies of work I loved as a whole, at 25, it grips me just the same. I’m listening to “A World Alone” as I write this, and maybe it’s the nostalgia, but I never stop being impressed by this album’s ability to stand up over a decade later.
LINDSEY’S PICK
Shadowglow
Flipturn
August 19, 2022
“Space Cowboy”
As someone who spends the majority of her time listening to music or searching for new tunes to endlessly play on repeat, I’ve come across plenty of albums I consider 10/10. One album in particular stands out to me as a body of work I truly consider perfect, and that is Shadowglow by Flipturn. From the first time I listened to this album front to back I was hooked and haven’t let go since. Every single song is just so incredible that it genuinely blows my mind that a group of people could be so talented. I have gone through every emotion possible while listening and always come back to it as a comfort album. I even got the artwork tattooed! And if Flipturn couldn’t get any better, hearing these songs live at their concerts is an otherworldly experience that I wish I could relive every single day :,). Their second album, Burnout Days, is also an honorable mention, and an equally incredible follow up project to their debut album.
HAILEY’S PICK
Blurryface
Twenty One Pilots
May 17, 2015
“Fairly Local” / “Message Man”
As most of us should know, this album changed lives. It’s not a perfect album in the sense that it’s the best album ever (although it’s close), but it defined a time period. When I think of 2015-2017, I think of Blurryface. It was the anthem of my freshman year of high school – everything was new, my mental health was low, it all sucked – but I had this album. In a weird way, it kinda raised me, and even now ten years later, I find myself listening to it like I’ve never heard the record before. “Fairly Local” and “Message Man” are two of my favorite tracks from it, but that has absolutely changed up a million times in the time that I’ve had with it. Also, to think that this album is ten years old and still makes such an impact on people is insane and proves (in my humble opinion) that it’s perfect.
FAITH’S PICK
NEVER ENOUGH
Turnstile
June 6, 2025
“LIGHT DESIGN”
As a casual listener of Turnstile before the release of NEVER ENOUGH, this album turned me into a full-fledged fan. I have always admired their community they’ve created and incredible stage presence, but now, after hearing the album for the first time and seeing their short film in theaters, I’ve fully immersed myself in their world. This album maintains their heavy punk sound and mixes it with their own version of indie rock, perfectly digestible for new listeners. This album isn’t just an incredible collection of songs; it’s an immersive experience. There’s never a wrong time to listen to this album; it’s a melting pot of nostalgia, love, rage and connectivity that feels rare and precious. Seeing this album performed live was truly a transcendent experience, and everything somehow felt curated and organic at the same time. Their attention to detail within their music videos and the love they have for making music are apparent on first listen, cementing this album into my personal hall of fame.
ISABEL’S PICK
The Black Parade
My Chemical Romance
October 20, 2006
“Famous Last Words”
My Chemical Romance is considered one of the greatest acts of our generation for a reason. I consider The Black Parade to be a perfect album because of the unalarming yet intense way it is able to explore such dark concepts. This album, a rock opera concept album, is about a patient who just passed away from cancer, and each song focuses on the patient’s perspective of his life and legacy now that he has passed. It is sort of the middle ground between life and afterlife. Each song tells a different story of anger, heartbreak, reflection and acceptance, while the album as a whole evokes a theatrical listening experience.
I have always been a big fan of My Chemical Romance; I consider them to be one of my favorite artists of all time, but I grew a greater appreciation for this album in particular this past August when I saw them play it live in its entirety. As I sat in the nosebleeds of Metlife Stadium, I was genuinely in awe of the production and talent. I can without a doubt say this was the best concert I have ever been to in my life. The Black Parade goes through the stages of grief from an extremely unorthodox perspective, and it ends with my favorite song off the album, “Famous Last Words.” This song closes out the experience with words of acceptance: “I see you lying next to me / With words I thought I'd never speak / Awake and unafraid, asleep or dead.”
JACKIE’S PICK
FOUR
One Direction
November 17, 2014
“Once in a Lifetime”
Hearing this album at the age of 12 was my escape when I was having trouble at home. I remember when it first came out I was in my grandparents’ van with my iPod and long, wired headphones, listening to it. We had a long drive. It was winter, and I just let it play over and over again, staring out the window and maladaptive daydreaming about anything and everything. The way this album flows is like a perfect emotional rollercoaster from lying down and crying to the song “18,” to getting up, jumping around and screaming along to “Stockholm Syndrome.” The immense joy I feel at the age of 23 whenever I hear any One Direction song under any circumstance says a lot. It always goes back to them and their music, which has always stuck with me. When I listen to “Once in a Lifetime,” it transports me back to that van, where it’s winter, and I’m just looking out the window and I’m happy.
PEYTON’S PICK
A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling
Magdalena Bay
Mar 13, 2020
“How to Get Physical,” “Story” and “Killshot”
After hearing Imaginal Disk in 2024, and previously only knowing “Killshot,” I knew I needed to get a fully-rounded view of Magdalena Bay’s sound. Though I was about four years late to this album, I listened to it in full every day for at least a month in late 2024. While I usually have a penchant for darker themes in media, I couldn’t help but revel in the pop perfection that is this album. From the speaker-blowing bass of “Story” to the synth beat of “Oh, Hell,” it’s difficult not to just listen to this album front-to-back over and over and over again. A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling puts a little pep in my step when I’m feeling down, and is one of those rare pop albums that works especially well in the winter months.
MADDIE’S PICK
IGOR
Tyler, the Creator
May 17, 2019
“ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” and “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU”
Tyler, the Creator has always been one of my favorite artists and IGOR is the album that completely changed how I think about music. I remember being 15, sitting in my room with my headphones on, completely absorbed in it as every sound felt like it was pulling me somewhere new. Every time Tyler releases something, I’m in awe, but this album is untouchable. It’s 39 minutes of pure perfection that I can only listen to from start to finish. Its emotional depth is what fascinates me the most. In his earlier albums he leaned more into outrage rap, but this time he let himself be soft, heartbroken and uncertain. It’s refreshing to hear a hip-hop album embrace vulnerability so openly.
From the second the heavy synth-bass of “IGOR’S THEME” starts, I feel like I’m entering into a new world. “I THINK,” with Solange’s dreamy background vocals, radiates color, and the whole album feels alive in that same way. “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU” showcases his ability to completely reinvent his sound. It feels like heartbreak on a summer day, bright but aching. I truly will never shut up about “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” – it’s one of my all-time favorite tracks and album closers because it captures that bittersweet, confusing emotions of an amicable breakup. I also love how the album is how it loops back on itself with the last note almost mirroring the first, like it never really ends. It just keeps evolving, the same way love does. IGOR is vulnerable, weird, beautiful and completely unique. Every time I listen, I find something new to love.
Introduction by Nadya Barghouty
