Top 50 Music Albums of the 2020s
by 
Davy 
- Chart updated: 01/18/2026 22:15
- (Created: 07/11/2021 18:42).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
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I actually only discovered this album because it was featured in a lot of 2021 year ends lists and I liked the cover art (the amount of good music I've discovered because I liked the cover is insane at this point). Usually I don't get into contact with hardcore that often; the straightforward aggressivness just isn't enough to get my attention. But usually Devonte Hynes (I love Blood Orange's mellow sound!) isn't a returning guest vocalist on a hardcore bands album either - this fact alone gives an insight, what kind of dynamic we are talking about with Glow On. So when I first put on Blackout, it was aggressive enough to immediatly catch my attention, the singers wrathful shouting didn't seem silly at all and actually empowered me. But: Their music doesn't lack creativness, is extremly melodic and therefore catchy and transitions seemlessly from one instrumentally brilliant segment into another. I love the little percussive tricks and other sound knacks that elevate these songs even more and makes them truly special. And as someone who adores long songs, these punk-lengthy 3-min-max songs don't feel too short, just perfectly executed. Like shooting stars, this album will glow on longer than we can imagine. Or, as someone in YouTube comments wrote: "That's the band our kids will ask about."
/watch?v=WdJZlmhQXug [First added to this chart: 01/14/2022]
/watch?v=WdJZlmhQXug [First added to this chart: 01/14/2022]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,059
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The climatic journey into the mad world, that Narrator creates, is simply frightening - in my opinion, from the odd beginning to the complete breakdown that follows, this song is the audio-equivalent of a psychotic episode (I am my own Narrator). Martha Skype Murphys banshee-like singing and screaming conjures demonic maelstroms in the speakers and headphones. This music twists and turns, is truly off-putting and weirdly appealing. The nasal chanting of singer-drummer Ollie Judge complements the instrumental heist of his bandmates in a comedic way. While not as jazzy and in a way less experimental than the London Math Punk associates black midi and Black Country, New Road, Brighton's Squid manage to keep a certain melodic catchiness that speaks to me even more and makes this debut album really stand out from all the madness that was created in Dan Carey's Speedy Wunderground during the pandemic. Instrumentally, of course, they are as precise and skilled as their contemporaries. Still, I'm a bit sad that it ultimately was Geese - an American band - that brought this experimental, challenging rock sound into the mainstream and not Squid.
/watch?v=__zmVSREvxY [First added to this chart: 07/20/2021]
/watch?v=__zmVSREvxY [First added to this chart: 07/20/2021]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,558
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In Germany, no hip hop artist has ever come close to even remotely be considered comparable with American hip hop. Most "Deutschrap" is lyrically dull and musically uninteresting in my opinion (I'm not talking about underground though). OG Keemo and his producer Funkvater Frank (they have to be considered a duo, like Madlib and Freddie Gibbs, Mobb Depp and RTJ because Frankie really is the architect of unbelievable bangers that deserve more recognition) changed this completely. This second album generated a cult following online, maybe to the irritation of American rap fans (in part because they don't understand the lyrics), but from German perspective, this is the peak of what this country has to offer regarding Concious rap, thoughtful lyrics and extremely fun and interesting Gangsta trap beats.
/watch?v=uWwd7R9O8C8 [First added to this chart: 04/07/2022]
/watch?v=uWwd7R9O8C8 [First added to this chart: 04/07/2022]
I like to think of myself as someone who enjoys music exclusively in an audiotory way. As someone who doesn't care about the aesthetics of music videos, live performances, interview personalities, social media presences and clothing style. But that's bullshit. All of those things influence our music listening experience and can capture the vibe of the music. Magdalena Bay are doing a perfect job at displaying an overall package: Their music is astral, retrofuturistic and spacey and so are their music videos. That on4word created a Super-Mario-64-cover of one of their tunes only serves as a seal of approval, because it shows how this album pushes the same emotional buttons as the best work be Radiohead, Bords of Canada and Aphex Twin (aka music for pretentious RYM-indie-geeks? I don't mind, it's just to good). This is pop music's equivalent to Origin of Symmetry.
/watch?v=vIjyphobmyg [First added to this chart: 01/15/2025]
/watch?v=vIjyphobmyg [First added to this chart: 01/15/2025]
Year of Release:
2024
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,437
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This is the 20th studio album that King Gizzard released within 10 years. I've discovered them in 2017 when they put out 5 albums in one year - so of course it's their sheer producitivity and the whole "Gizzverse" around their releases, lyrcis, narratives (supernatural environmental catastrophe) and live shows that makes King Gizzard to one of my favourite bands. But it's also their brilliant music and this first double album proves how much this band has evolved since 2017. It's like a "greatest hits collection" of all the genres they've experimented since - except that it's no best of, it's new songs. So this album is perfect for people who want to get into "the Gizzverse", because it combines everything this band is good at: progressive 18-minute guitar-jorneys and dream-pop-like acid episodes, synth-neo-psychedelia as well as gnarly shabby garage metal tunes - and yes, even hip-hop rhythms and rapping.
/watch?v=0Gm2TudHe0s [First added to this chart: 01/11/2023]
/watch?v=0Gm2TudHe0s [First added to this chart: 01/11/2023]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
509
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One might say that nostalgia-driven music is a cheap trick to please oldheads (of any genre, but in particular with rock music). Visiting a War On Drugs concert is a nice case study of this thesis, as there are a lot of at least middle aged (white) dudes. But then there is also a considerable amount of younger people and I guess this showcases the fact that some music simply is timeless. Of course, Adam Granduciel's lyrics are soaked with nostalgic references as well - this record might be their most pathetic album to date. As a U2 fan tho, that's not necessarily a bad thing. U2 really leaned into the pathetic side of music Joshua-Tree-onwards and this sparked some of my favourite moments of music history. That's why I like this Drugs-record the most, even though it lacks the dream-guitar-duration of Strangest Thing and Under The Pressure - in a way, it's just a great collection of guitar-and-piano-driven pop songs with insanely good vocals by Adam Granduciel.
/watch?v=B3OEofsCur8 [First added to this chart: 12/30/2021]
/watch?v=B3OEofsCur8 [First added to this chart: 12/30/2021]
Year of Release:
2021
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,087
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Listened to this album for the first time when I way heavily in love on a warm summer night in Albania. From the moment, Slowdive had released kisses in advance, I knew they would drop something biblical. I discovered Slowdive with their selftitled comeback album in 2017. It's still shocking that although we had great artists further developing and reshaping Dream Pop Post-Souvlaki, the sound has sucessfully (even more sucessful than before) evolved to it's Tik Tok era. But only when you dive slow, the big, deep emotions are tickled out of your heart. Because when Neil Halstead picks the guitar strings, he's intertwining the web of lover's souls and when he and Rachel Goswell sing their mumble pop, it's not some 50-plus-boomers, it's the voice of young lovers. That's why I was carried by the wave, listening to this record on a Mediterranean shore. I was tired and fell half-asleep in my lovers arms for the last third of the record, which made the dreamyness even more perfect.
/watch?v=G9RpHfPyEx8 [First added to this chart: 11/15/2024]
/watch?v=G9RpHfPyEx8 [First added to this chart: 11/15/2024]
Year of Release:
2023
Appears in:
Rank Score:
961
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Before even releasing their debut single (!) "Nothing Matters" TLDP have signed to Island Records and opened for the Rolling Stones. Industry plant? Rich kids? Maybe, but still so unbelievably good. Although this is by far not inventive or musically skilled as other acts who originated from the post-Covid Windmill scene, TLDP makes my heart jump. They are writing hymns not calculations. It's their opulent, orchestral sound that makes them stand out and as they combine that with Ghost-townly Western rhythms and Abigail Morris marvellous vocals (I seriously think she is the best female singer after Florence Welch) they create the most fun hymns.
/watch?v=s78dvZBb4DU [First added to this chart: 01/15/2025]
/watch?v=s78dvZBb4DU [First added to this chart: 01/15/2025]
Year of Release:
2024
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,076
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After many years of discovering new movies, it rarely happened that a contemporary band caught my attention with their debut and managed to develop to become even better and interesting with every album. Fontaines DC is this one band that I discovered through my Youtube recommendations when I was 23 and lived a heated summer in Berlin. I was captivated by the raw, unpolished guitar sound straight outta the pub and Grian's strong accent – and I was sure that they couldn't get any better then with this raw, street-poetry style of "Boys in the better land". On came more and more music (thanks to Covid I guess) and with every new song I was like "naaaah, it's not as good as the last era" - and after a while it became my new favourite banger by them. "I love you" was on a new level. Fontaines really crafted drama and intensity on this torn and epic song. It's a perfect finale for an album that really has no low points.
/watch?v=Ty9Pcg3qrmU [First added to this chart: 02/15/2024]
/watch?v=Ty9Pcg3qrmU [First added to this chart: 02/15/2024]
Year of Release:
2022
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,647
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When this album was released, it really stayed true to it's title. It was a feeling of being washed up at the shore, having experienced traumastising months on sea and now walking with weary feet on warm sand - a certain streak of hope that arose in the pandemic Indian summer (I wasn't aware that the German lockdown winter of 2020/21 would be even worse, but at least the streak of hope stayed with the vaccine on the horizon). I appreciate the de-complexication of these songs in comparison to Fleet Foxes' two previous records. Of course, a Fleet Foxes record won't be a Fleet Foxes record without the typical melancholia of the folk songs. But on this fourth album, Robin Pecknold sounds more hopeful than ever, this is his brightest collection of songs since his brilliant debut.
/watch?v=L2E2DpWO3-Y [First added to this chart: 07/20/2021]
/watch?v=L2E2DpWO3-Y [First added to this chart: 07/20/2021]
Year of Release:
2020
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,717
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Total albums: 50. Page 1 of 5
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Top 50 Music Albums of the 2020s composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Blond (DE) | 2 | 4% | |
| Fontaines D.C. | 2 | 4% | |
| Empty Country | 1 | 2% | |
| CMAT | 1 | 2% | |
| Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine | 1 | 2% | |
| Magdalena Bay | 1 | 2% | |
| Paolo Nutini | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
18 | 36% | |
 |
14 | 28% | |
 |
5 | 10% | |
| |
4 | 8% | |
 |
3 | 6% | |
 |
1 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 50 Music Albums of the 2020s chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 50 Music Albums of the 2020s similar charts
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Other decade charts by Davy
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 2020s | Davy | 2020s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 50 Music Albums of the 2010s | Davy | 2010s decade chart | 2022 | |
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| Best Ever Artists | |
|---|---|
| 1. The Beatles | |
| 2. Radiohead | |
| 3. Pink Floyd | |
| 4. David Bowie | |
| 5. Bob Dylan | |
| 6. Led Zeppelin | |
| 7. The Rolling Stones | |
| 8. Arcade Fire | |
| 9. Neil Young | |
| 10. Nirvana | |
| 11. The Velvet Underground | |
| 12. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 13. Miles Davis | |
| 14. The Smiths | |
| 15. R.E.M. | |
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| 20. The Cure |
