Listed below are the best albums of 2020 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 5 hours ago).
"I didn't expect Cudi to jump onto trap so eagerly, but it makes much sense - seeing long time fan Travis Scott surpassing him in success - and it complements his rapping style fine. I have to respectfully disagree with OstrichGoat below; I think besides extending the measures of the beats to 8 be...""I didn't expect Cudi to jump onto trap so eagerly, but it makes much sense - seeing long time fan Travis Scott surpassing him in success - and it complements his rapping style fine. I have to respectfully disagree with OstrichGoat below; I think besides extending the measures of the beats to 8 beats, he hasn't taken any production techniques from trap. The production is satisfying, surprising and subtle as I'm used to from Cudi; the translation into trap makes it very interesting rather.
In terms of vibe, vocals and production this is an album I've always wanted Cudi to make: leaning into the sadness and the rage. I respect his attempts at upbeat tracks, but I think the motivation is wrong if you do it so people won't see you as that sad rapper. He really sounds much more stable on this album, like someone who has his mind made up. But all in all I think music by someone who is still in search will always be superior, even if it's worse in all the parts. That is to say: the album is also very stable, so maybe this album simply came too late. Songs are rather static, which is not a surprise from Kid Cudi really, but every song really contains the same vibe, somewhere between the crippling depression of "Swim in the Light" and the ego trip of "Unfuckwittable". Not one song diverges from this, which makes the album barely bearable. But still he manages to make every song a trip full of surprises in the details of the productions, or his hums, or his rapping technique - because that's often forgotten about Cudi: that he is a great rapper too. There's nothing of "Solo Dolo part II" levels of rapping quality, but - again - he consistently stays on a level of 'pretty good'.
The lack of stand out tracks is the downfall of this album in the end. Something I also noticed on part two of this trilogy. Since it is part of the trilogy, I think there is more pressure on him to succeed, which prevents him from taking risks. That's why I was pretty content with him not finishing the trilogy at first, I understand he will probably not be in the same mood as 2009 since people grow. But still, I'm not mad at this."[+]Reply
"There is a charm hidden with this album. There is a great about of effort put into every song. Each songs theme will be represented with diverse samples and beats. Unfortunately, there is far too much material. This album could be split into three different albums. This just makes a lot of the sp...""There is a charm hidden with this album. There is a great about of effort put into every song. Each songs theme will be represented with diverse samples and beats. Unfortunately, there is far too much material. This album could be split into three different albums. This just makes a lot of the special little moments feel less special. "[+]Reply
"Tasty mixture of Latin rhythms. I think there is a search for conceptual unity but that is overcome by the high points of the album, which surprise by their symmetry: Intro and Outro and mid (Vaya con Dios; Qué te Pedi; Quiero Sentirme Bien; Telepatía)."Reply
"“It’s been over 10 years since JC’s last lp, 2009’s rather fine Further Complications and to paraphrase one of the new songs, something appears to be missing alright. Cos Jarvis sounds tired, very tired as any kind of semblance of fire in the belly is replaced with an overwhelming feeling of apat...""“It’s been over 10 years since JC’s last lp, 2009’s rather fine Further Complications and to paraphrase one of the new songs, something appears to be missing alright. Cos Jarvis sounds tired, very tired as any kind of semblance of fire in the belly is replaced with an overwhelming feeling of apathy as he drags himself through one overlong song to the next. Jarvis has done better and will undoubtedly do better again but he’s sleepwalking through this album. Ho-hum."[+]Reply
"Usually my response to "my new album is '80s inspired" is "oh really, how refreshing" in a very sarcastic tone. The disaster of Muse's last album and the infinite blandness of Dua Lipa's latest release (however the opinions are divided on that) are proof of that. But someone who even dares to bri...""Usually my response to "my new album is '80s inspired" is "oh really, how refreshing" in a very sarcastic tone. The disaster of Muse's last album and the infinite blandness of Dua Lipa's latest release (however the opinions are divided on that) are proof of that. But someone who even dares to bring back the hideous trend of the mullet shows enough dedication for me to be interested. And after the triumph of "Midnight Sky" which was impossible to evade unless you live under a rock, and which made the radio a little bit more bearable, there was no doubt in my mind to listen this release. And that's not to say I wouldn't have listened it otherwise, but her previous releases didn't make me very excited for more. She has suffered from a strong case of authenticity signalling (just like 99% of people on this site, which is why her top album here is that awful "Dead Pets" album), first useless experimentalism, then cringy back-to-basicsness which only americans could have enjoyed, which showed (big surprise) that her love for hip hop was disingeneous to say the least and that she doesn't see it as a genuine art form.
This time she's trying out the '80s and flirts with hard rock (Poppy's fault perhaps?), but the boring power ballads and hillbilly tracks are here still (can you blame me not giving a fuck as a European?), which ruin the experience and make the album ultimately unfocused.
But the first half of the album is very good. The songs are well written. The band is doing its job, but nothing much outstanding from them. So all in all very neutral about this album, you might find some gems but don't count on it."[+]Reply
"Decent album, good melodies, nice song ideas. It's sometimes kind of overwhelming how much is packed into a song, but it never gets mushy or that I felt lost in the song. I think this album develops with every time you hear it completely."Reply
"Took me a lot of listens to really get into this. Yours Conditionally is one of my favourites, and I was a bit disappointed when I heard this one at first. I loved runner, but that was it. But now, I rate it as one of my top 5 albums of all time, and gave it a perfect score of 100/100. There is s...""Took me a lot of listens to really get into this. Yours Conditionally is one of my favourites, and I was a bit disappointed when I heard this one at first. I loved runner, but that was it. But now, I rate it as one of my top 5 albums of all time, and gave it a perfect score of 100/100. There is so much depth in the lyrics, the instrumentation, the movements. I love this album so much, and I think their songwriting here is completely unmatchable. There is clearly an insane attention to detail. So immacculate. Tennis fans, hope you give it a few more listens. Took me at least 10 to really start to get into it."[+]Reply