Throughout the 2010s, everyone was listening to the same tracks over and over again. A lot of these albums helped to shape the people we are today. Some of these nostalgic albums are still particularly relevant to this day. They make us reminiscent of when our lives were much simpler, and when different social media platforms were popular.
With some albums being remastered ten years after release or gaining traction and charting years after their original release, the power of social media and technology has influenced our music consumption to change. From Badlands to Blurryface, there has always been one significant album for everyone.
Blue Neighbourhood – Troye Sivan
This iconic album was the Australian singer’s debut work. Blue Neighbourhood followed the release of Sivan’s EP called Wild, which featured popular tracks Bite and Fools. Plus, Troye’s most popular song Youth was released as a single just before the album release back in 2015.
Blue Neighbourhood as a whole is described to be electropop and synth-pop, with elements of EDM, electro and R&B. Listeners are also faced with Sivan’s personal experiences when it comes to love, youth, yearning and affirmation. However, there have been comparisons made between Troye’s music and musicians such as Lorde, Macklemore and Adele.
For its 10 year anniversary, Sivan announced that there would be a 10th anniversary edition released for this album. This was released on the 13th February 2026, with two of his singles Strawberries & Cigarettes and Swimming Pools being included on the tracklist.
For our teenage selves, this album strongly shaped us. Before TikTok, the mid 2010s were filled with the pastel grunge aesthetic on microblogging app Tumblr. Blue Neighbourhood felt like an external world for fans to escape to. And it still does. During this time, teens that did not feel seen resonated highly with this album. Especially those in marginalised groups. Therefore, Blue Neighbourhood became significant by reducing stigmas around sexuality and mental health. So, this album made challenging topics feel less dark whilst also creating a sense of anticipation over the future.
You can stream the 10th anniversary version of Blue Neighbourhood here:
Cry Baby – Melanie Martinez
This debut alternative pop album was focused on a fictional character, where Martinez focused on internal conflicts and painful romance linked to family life. Following her appearance on the 2012 season of The Voice, Melanie’s unique sultry yet baby-like voices in places resonates with Martinez’s Cry Baby narrative.
When the album was first released in 2015, it managed to debut 6th in the Billboard 200. Cry baby was so significant that it remained on the Billboard 200 chart for 104 consecutive weeks. 5 years later, one of the deluxe edition tracks called Play Date ended up going viral – making the album re-enter the charts.
This specific album features highly relatable topics for young women. These include self-image issues, dysfunctional families and even bullying. All of the track titles align with the childlike theme throughout, but the lyrics have a deeper, darker meaning behind them.
For its 10th anniversary, Martinez released an exclusive vinyl to celebrate. This version included all the tracks from the deluxe edition, including her hit songs Dollhouse and Carousel alongside her popular Dollhouse EP. The EP includes Dead to Me and Bittersweet Tragedy.
You can listen to the full Cry Baby album here:
Badlands – Halsey
When American singer Halsey released her concept album Badlands on the 28th of August 2015, the Tumblr community were absolutely gobsmacked. This album contains a variety of different pop elements alongside industrial undertones. Halsey has also explained that Badlands was based around her mental state at the time.
Halsey decided to focus on a fictional dystopian society called The Badlands. This is seen as a desert wasteland that surrounds the city and keeps citizens captive. Furthermore, Halsey explained that they was also inspired by post-apocalyptic films too. Whilst she was writing, she noticed that the entire concept was like trying to escape from her real-life struggles – but there was no escape.
The nineteen year old (at the time) managed to enter the Billboard 200 at number two when Badlands was released. Plus, it was incredibly successful globally; entering the top ten charts within Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the UK.
For us, Badlands is the soundtrack of our youth. The lyrics highlights her personal experiences, with references to ex boyfriends, sexuality and drugs. But the main message behind Halsey’s debut album is to just be yourself and screw everything else. Which for our generation, this was highly significant.
For its 10th anniversary, Halsey released three special editions to celebrate. These featured unreleased demos, live recordings and even orchestral versions. The Badlands trio were then released on the 29th August 2025.
You can listen to Badlands (Decade Edition Anthology) here:
1989 – Taylor Swift
When 1989 came out in October 2014, fans were faced with lyrics surrounding the aftermath of a failed relationship. Swift depicted heartbreak and self-discovery whilst creating a sense of nostalgia.
Whilst writing this album, Taylor was inspired by the experimental style from synth-pop (specifically from the 1980s). This meant that the majority of the songs contained synthesisers and manipulated vocals. Throughout this, she found the intense way of expressing her thoughts and emotions from this era was highly inspiring. Therefore, she was inspired to call the album 1989 after the year she was born as a result of her inspiration from the musical decade.
When this album hit, we began to start in high school. It felt as though we were all learning what it meant to be disappointed by love, going through changes and being faced with different losses. All at the same time as Taylor Swift herself. 1989‘s unique melodies allowed so many people to feel understood and validated just through music.
In 2023, Swift chose to re-record the 1989 album following disputes over the ownership of her music. This version of the pop album contained 16 re-records from the deluxe album, with five previously unreleased tracks. She also chose to re-record one of her most popular songs Bad Blood (featuring Kendrick Lamar). Swift gained royalties back to all of her music in 2025, where 1989 will forever be that album of our generation.
You can stream 1989 (Taylor’s Version) here:
Blurryface – Twenty One Pilots
Blurryface is the fourth studio album by the American music duo. Released on May 17th 2015, this alternative hip-hop album incorporates themes of mental health, insecurity and doubt.
Once again, Twenty One Pilots created the character Blurryface. Tyler Joseph explained that he “represents all the things that I as an individual am insecure about”. However, the duo are famous for their music being open to interpretation – making some of their music much more relatable to others.
The whole concept around Blurryface felt strongly relatable for our generation. With listeners finding the topics the duo discuss relatable, there is no doubt that a lot of teens fell in love with this album.
Tyler and Joshua re-released the full-length album in 2025 on a double LP for fans to collect. Which was highly successful for them as it turned Blurryface back into a bestseller once again.
You can stream the entire Blurryface album here:
