The best New Zealand albums of the decade so far have been named.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s editorial team has compiled the 80 Best New Zealand Albums of the 2020s So Far — a list that reflects the breadth and richness of modern Aotearoa music, from chart-topping pop stars to quietly brilliant independent artists.
New Zealand’s biggest music star, Lorde, features as her new album Virgin drops today, alongside global success stories like The Beths and BENEE. Comeback records from Fazerdaze, David Dallas, and Home Brew sit comfortably next to breakthrough releases from fresh voices, including Auckland-based Māori producer MOKOTRON.
Lorde’s laid-back reinvention marked an evolution for one of New Zealand’s major names.
“Solar Power is Lorde at her most mellow, scaling everything back — sights and sounds, lyrics and rhythms — to their rawest elements. In this way, it’s the polar opposite of the dramatic grandeur of Melodrama, swapping maximalism for minimalism, intense synth lines for blissed-out acoustic guitars,” wrote a Rolling Stone AU/NZ reviewer.
The Beths also pushed their sound forward with Expert in a Dying Field, an album that dialed up the urgency while refining their indie-pop formula.
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“Expert in a Dying Field sped the band forward with exhilarating abandon, chasing the thrilling hooks and adrenaline of Future Me Hates Me. The tempo was revved up, the shackles entirely removed.”
Where The Beths leaned into their strengths, others carved out entirely new paths.
“MOKOTRON is the moniker of Auckland-based Māori producer and academic Tiopira McDowell, who explores his Indigenous identity and more in bass-heavy electronic music. On WAEREA, his vision is informed by the past but his sound faces the future.”
Read the full album list here.
