Listed below are the best albums of the 2020s (so far) as calculated from their overall rankings in over 58,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 2 hours ago).
"The slow burn buzz around this band continues to grow and with this album number 4 for good reason If you are enjoying this album check out their 2018 ‘Shadow on Everything’ release it’s just as good with that rich gothic vibe in spades"Reply
"After the wonderful Room 25, Sundial leaves me feeling flat. The hooks come and go and the music doesn’t go very many exciting places even with much of it being solid and rooted in styles that dazzle me with very little effort. Lyrically, Noname no doubt spits impressively all over the album, but...""After the wonderful Room 25, Sundial leaves me feeling flat.
The hooks come and go and the music doesn’t go very many exciting places even with much of it being solid and rooted in styles that dazzle me with very little effort. Lyrically, Noname no doubt spits impressively all over the album, but I’m not swayed much by her attempts at profundity this time around.
But I’ll at least give her credit, 1 of her 3 Kendrick disses was worth being on this record. *rolls eyes*
A number of the features feel random and disconnected from the entire project and Noname’s contributions to it. And uh. That Jay Electronica verse. Yeah..
There are a couple tracks here Noname knocks out of the park, there are a couple that might as well be wallpaper. Overall, I’m left feeling sour over Noname’s clear disregard of her complete artistic dictation as well I her wishy-washy morality that will forever cast a towering shadow over this album.
She could have been one of the greats too."[+]Reply
"(Really cool mix of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, Neo-Soul, Jazz etc etc. And maybe most remarkable is how Batiste and Co. are able to make these varied sounds and textures meld into a coherent album. Not just a coherent album, but a joyous, celebratory, powerful, bright, inspiring album. On...""(Really cool mix of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, Neo-Soul, Jazz etc etc. And maybe most remarkable is how Batiste and Co. are able to make these varied sounds and textures meld into a coherent album. Not just a coherent album, but a joyous, celebratory, powerful, bright, inspiring album. One of my favorite listens recently and highly recommended.)
Right from the jump, with the absolute stunner that is the opening track "WE ARE", this album treats us to such euphoric, spiritual joy, its hard for me to imagine anyone who enjoys soul/gospel/R&B/Blues or the rich history of Black American music NOT at least liking this. That opening track sets the mood so high and does so so forcefully it's truly impressive.
From there the album takes on a historical tour of some of the greatest musicians and movements of the last hundred years. One song sounds like some Sly and the Family Stone jam, then the next sounds like the modern Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye, then you'll be hearing some D'Angelo or Duke Ellington vibes, then some soulful blues of Albert King, and on it goes. The Neo-Soul and Conscious Hip Hop thrown in and done quite well and ably as well just adds yet another layer to this buffett of truly great and enriching music.
If the album has a major flaw, or flaws, its that the whiplash created by switching up with such dexterity between so many different genres and tempos can be I bit discombobulating. The other flaw is the well-worn go to critique of "iT's sO dErIvAtive!". And, jokes aside, I can hear where this make-believe person is talking about. Most of these sounds and styles are so FULLY embraced and integrated by Batiste that it really does feel like he is pouring himself and what makes him unique into the influences. On occasion I also feel like the sounds are a bit derivative. These moments are rare and even when that feeling of unoriginality comes in, the songs and the performances are so strong I find this critique fade away behind my bobbing head and stupid grin.
This is a refreshingly alive, vital, joyous and optimistic sounding album. It has a brightness and a hope that is infectious. The way the album starts is stunningly great. Track 1 "WE ARE", track 2 "TELL THE TRUTH", track 3 "CRY" (another song of the year candidate), track 4 "I NEED YOU", and track 6 "BOY HOOD" are each flawless. Its rare an album comes out the gates THIS. FREAKING. HAAARD.
Of course with such a beginning its likely to fall off a little in the second half lest it be one of the 20 best songs ever made. And fall off a bit it does. Still some of the songs on side 2 are quite stunning. The D'Angelo-ish jam "ADULTHOOD", and the anthemic Sly-esque "FREEDOM" being a couple examples of latter half gems.
Of course it would be silly to end a comment on this album without remarking on Jon Batiste as a vocalist and a musician. He is a great, personable, almost effervescent force as a vocalist. He radiates some kind of warmth and relatability that I love to hear and is what has been the main driving force behind me listening to this album for hours today. And as a musician, well, he got this band together, arranged these songs, assembled this album and made this music - I think he is a world-class musician and artist. Glad I found this and heard it. It really has brightened up my day."[+]Reply
"Julia Holter's had quite a strange career. After slowly working towards a more accessible sound and building mainstream critical approval, culminating in 2015's Have You In My Wilderness, she followed this up with the sprawling and uncompromising (and also totally brilliant) Aviary 3 years later....""Julia Holter's had quite a strange career. After slowly working towards a more accessible sound and building mainstream critical approval, culminating in 2015's Have You In My Wilderness, she followed this up with the sprawling and uncompromising (and also totally brilliant) Aviary 3 years later. It's been a long wait for a record since then and with that track record it's been tough to get a sense of what kind of direction would be next. We find out on Soemthing in the Room She Moves, a quieter album which follows all of Holter's fascinations into a minimal direction. Tracks are often long and repetitive, building atmosphere instead of playing as direct as prior releases. There's a lot that's familiar but as a collected work there's not much I've heard that's like it.
Holter is perhaps only second to MF DOOM in her interest in how the actual sounds of words can create strange shapes in music. As an example, on Spinning she tears apart all of the lyrics into paired up monosylables, giving them the exact same rhythm as the 1-2 of the instrumentation. The effect is that you become totally surrounded by the simple rhythm, it's all you can focus on. This ultra staccato approach is used a number of times across the record but it's far from the only technique Holter uses. Marteria is more classically put together, with words almost blending together, it would fit nicely on Aviary and Sun Girl makes use of repetition to the point that the title loses its sense of meaning and the title track alternates between a similar approach to Spinning and an elongating of certain syllables, I don't think I've heard a voice sound this much like an instrument. The record probably pushes things a bit far on Meyou, a track that sounds like Meredith Monk performing after leaving all her instruments at home, there's some nice harmonies but not nearly enough to fill 6 minutes. The record overall feels a little long for something that requires so much patience and attention, maybe a more slender 8 track release would have worked better?"[+]Reply
"I've never been a massive Foo Fighters fan - their debut being underrated and excellent and the Colour and the Shape being their best work, a smattering of great singles since and a great creative spark of innovation with Wasting Light - I wouldn't really call them an "albums" band. I saw them li...""I've never been a massive Foo Fighters fan - their debut being underrated and excellent and the Colour and the Shape being their best work, a smattering of great singles since and a great creative spark of innovation with Wasting Light - I wouldn't really call them an "albums" band. I saw them live in a stadium in 2018 (I was actually their for the support slot, but I wasn't calling it an early night) and they were absolutely incredible live.
Unlike the shot in the arm that was 2011's Wasting Light, this album doesn't feel essential but merely contractual. The title track sounds like an 80s throwback song without direction, No Son of Mine is a Motorhead rip off without the permission this time around and Cloudspotter sounds like if you put Foo Fighters 00s - 10s albums into a computer and an AI bot composited it into a single track.
Not a terrible listen, but I doubt I'll find a reason to ever want to hear it again."[+]Reply
"I found this album to be one that was straight out the blocks with a really strong start and then seemed to maybe lose its momentum a lil towards the end... still a very pleasant listen overall however, containing some real gems in the form of 'Quicksand', 'This Enchanted', 'Lights On' and 'The R...""I found this album to be one that was straight out the blocks with a really strong start and then seemed to maybe lose its momentum a lil towards the end... still a very pleasant listen overall however, containing some real gems in the form of 'Quicksand', 'This Enchanted', 'Lights On' and 'The Rhythm'."[+]Reply