Explore the best albums of the 2020s (so far), based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 chartsClick to see how the rankings are calculated.
Last updated: 2 hours ago
"Album Rating: 63.06 (1,009/16) There’s an episode of The IT Crowd (S1 E3 - Fifty-Fifty) where ‘Roy’ (Chris O’Dowd) attempts to convince his date that he’s a lonely loner and a real bad man. This album is the music equivalent. Fake posturing. Fake sincerity. Fake pottymouthery Bonkers that most of...""Album Rating: 63.06
(1,009/16)
There’s an episode of The IT Crowd (S1 E3 - Fifty-Fifty) where ‘Roy’ (Chris O’Dowd) attempts to convince his date that he’s a lonely loner and a real bad man. This album is the music equivalent. Fake posturing. Fake sincerity. Fake pottymouthery
Bonkers that most of the music press have this top of their end of year lists and above the Little Simz album.
1.I'm That Girl. 73
2.Cozy. 70
3.Alien Superstar. 68
4. Cuff It. 69
5.Energy. 63
6.Break My Soul. 72
7.Church Girl. 49
8.Plastic Off The Sofa. 64
9.Virgo's Groove. 80
10.Move. 25
11.Heated. 28
12.Thique. 79
13.All Up In Your Mind. 81
14.America Has A Problem. 77
15.Pure/Honey. 51
16.Summer Renaissance. 68
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"Such a great band, surely the best band to emerge over the last 10 years and not even close. Four great albums out of four now. Favourite and Starburster are great of course, but it's a consistent album with a few little gems in there. Some really beautiful calm songs in a row in the middle there...""Such a great band, surely the best band to emerge over the last 10 years and not even close. Four great albums out of four now. Favourite and Starburster are great of course, but it's a consistent album with a few little gems in there. Some really beautiful calm songs in a row in the middle there with Bug, Motorcycle Boy and Sundowner. "Reply
"So is disco back? Not a huge fan of the genre but I do love this and some of the other big pop albums from 2020 like this (most notably After Hours). I finally got around to listening to this and it was well worth the hype. Even though I already heard half of the songs there was still a lot to un...""So is disco back? Not a huge fan of the genre but I do love this and some of the other big pop albums from 2020 like this (most notably After Hours). I finally got around to listening to this and it was well worth the hype. Even though I already heard half of the songs there was still a lot to unpack here. The bass in these songs are incredible. I have always loved Levitating but I admit DaBaby's verse in the remix makes the remix a little bit better. I think Good In Bed is very underrated too. Boys Will Be Boys has an obnoxiously low score even though it's an okay song. The "if you need it mansplained" lyric made me cringe and the "if you're offended by this song" lyrics sounds like something Tom McDonald would say. Just a lot of bangers from this album besides that though. Great pop record.
Best: Levitating, Physical, Don't Start Now, Hallucinate, Break My Heart & Love Again
Worst: Boys Will Be Boys...it doesn't deserve the low score it has though."Reply
"The rise and rise of Geese was definitely one of the most fun things to happen in 2025, even if it wasn't quite as unexpected as Cameron Winter's own explosion in popularity right at the end of the year before. 'Getting Killed' goes way beyond the band's previous efforts, sounding more original t...""The rise and rise of Geese was definitely one of the most fun things to happen in 2025, even if it wasn't quite as unexpected as Cameron Winter's own explosion in popularity right at the end of the year before. 'Getting Killed' goes way beyond the band's previous efforts, sounding more original than 'Projector' and balancing melody and experimentalism better than '3D Country', which were both already solid records. There's a lot to like here, the songwriting is strangely catchy, lyrics have emotional weight without seeming like they're trying too hard, but the real triumph is how Winter's vocals are showcased. He's sounded decent across previous releases and had notably improved by 'Heavy Metal', with this record we're getting a clearer sense of his range, calling to mind artists like Justin Vernon or Anohni at different turns. Also, whilst not going for the gravelly quality of Tom Waits, his vocals remind me more of Tom Waits than anyone else. The result is a record with twists and turns, that can go from the chaos of 'Trinidad' to the sweeter melody of 'Cobra' or from the relaxed feel of 'Au Pays du Cocaine' to the infectious groove of 'Bow Down'.
Inevitably with something this varied there'll be tracks or sections that you like more than others and for me it's the second half where things really come into their own. The final three tracks stand out especially, 'Bow Down', while a bit simpler in its composition has one of the most dynamic vocal performances, going from near spoken word to strained, drawn out notes, a really fun instrumental break caps it off. 'Taxes' just builds and builds as the emotion of the whole things spills over with the line "I will break my own heart from now on". Finally, 'Long Island City Here I Come' carries even more momentum as almost every instrument becomes dedicated to rhythm letting another spotless vocal performance filled with drama and energy take off. Its a perfect place to end an album that makes you wonder what's next."Reply
"It's here guys! I'm gonna be honest. This is very easily AOTY for me and it'll take the will of God for another album to take that title. Every, and I mean EVERY, song is amazing. "John L", "Hogwash", and "Slow" are fucking insane. "Marlene Dietrich", "Diamond Stuff", and "Ascending Forth" are al...""It's here guys!
I'm gonna be honest. This is very easily AOTY for me and it'll take the will of God for another album to take that title. Every, and I mean EVERY, song is amazing. "John L", "Hogwash", and "Slow" are fucking insane. "Marlene Dietrich", "Diamond Stuff", and "Ascending Forth" are all so beautiful, a true surprise coming from black midi, whose 'prettiest' song before was "Western". "Chondro" is the perfect balance of beautiful and unhinged. And "Dethroned". "Dethroned" is a tough one. The KEXP performance of this song is phenomenal. However, the studio mix is tougher to get behind. I think my major problems are the mixing and the voice effects. The guitar is way too quiet and the vocals overpower everything else, which really differs from the crisp sound of the KEXP recording. That being said, the final section is very good, which redeems it a little for me.
Aside from "Dethroned", I'd say the vocals have improved ten fold from their past recordings. Geordie is genuinely very melodic at many points on this album. This is a complete departure from the spoken, yelping vocals of Schlagenheim. It shows a maturing of their style, even in just two years.
I'm glad black midi went with a new approach to this album. While not entirely experimental like Schlagenheim, black midi moves in a fresh direction and they sound fantastic."Reply
"(Total masterpiece. Genres to describe this I guess would be post-industrial, Noise, with some kind of gospel spirituality mixed in. Anyway, that doesn’t really describe this album. Not very well, anyway.) What can I possibly say that will do this album justice? I don’t think I am capable. This a...""(Total masterpiece. Genres to describe this I guess would be post-industrial, Noise, with some kind of gospel spirituality mixed in. Anyway, that doesn’t really describe this album. Not very well, anyway.)
What can I possibly say that will do this album justice? I don’t think I am capable. This album is special. When I listen to HEY WHAT, it is an out-of-body experience. The detail contained within the “noise”, the way the sheer volume of the album rolls over me like waves, I feel like I am thrown into a storm in the middle of the ocean, and for a few seconds I fight it and I panic and I start to scream and cry. But then a voice reassures me that these tidal waves won’t cause me harm – not truly and not truly me -, and I am told to breathe and embrace the immensity of this place and this experience. I relax and I breathe and … I am fine, I am calm, I am free. The rest of the album is like a massive, Pacific-sized epic about modern life and spirituality. And unlike so many other unapologetically gloomy, bitter, and hopeless epics that seem to tackle this struggle, with HEY WHAT I feel love and I feel hope and I glimpse a way through this mess I find myself in.
Musically, production-wise, this album makes me laugh lovingly and in awe, because I just can’t understand how humans being of flesh and blood can go and create this. Like, how? This could be called “Noisy” and “Staticy” and “Loud” but I can’t really say that those words fit to describe even the most inhuman and loud and most intense moments in this album. These scratchy, buzzing, sonically overwhelming sounds never sound harsh or hard to listen to. Again, like I said at the beginning, I have no clue how to express what this sounds like to me. The machines present on this album are simply communicating, meshing, corresponding with the human voices and harmonies. When the harmonies and the machine sounds come together, in these artist’s genius hands, what you get is transcendent music of the highest caliber.
Just yesterday I was trading comments with the excellent fellow-BEA user buzzdainer. Buzzdainer mentioned about Chris Stapleton’s 2020 album Starting Over: “…for me it's the quintessential album for coping with the cruel realities of our current decade.” This description was excellent and I can see how Starting Over would have that effect. However, when I took a look and thought about what album for ME truly had such a significance in this current decade… I couldn’t think of one. The music I have loved from this decade thus far has been mostly powerful and cathartic in very different ways or, in some cases, very escapist. But no album as of yesterday had I heard that really uplifted me and helped me cope and find meaning and stabilized me in this current crazy world we live in.
Then just a couple hours later I pushed play on Low’s latest. By the time I finished listening the very first time I felt emotionally satiated, understood, fulfilled. And I felt spiritually uplifted and enlightened. This is probably the most uplifting piece of music I have heard this decade so far. It for sure is.
To list the specific tracks on here that I love or want to shout out seems like a silly activity. It is only silly for me because the whole album, start to finish, is the perfect example of a cohesive album experience. For example, I can point out (and – lol - I am about to) that the back-to-back majesty of the track “Hey” followed by “Days Like These” makes me legitimately weep with joy and some emotional mixing I still don’t understand. And that is true, I think Hey/Days Like These is some of the greatest music I have ever heard full stop. BUT I had heard “Days Like These” as a single and when I heard it in that out-of-context way, I thought it was a pretty song and it made me excited for the new album… and that is all I thought of it. But when I hear it now on the heals of “Hey” and also after the absolutely stunning build up to this middle portion of the album, it is cathartic, life-changing, inspiring and perfect. Every song here is special on its own but transcendent as part of the entire sweep of the album.
This album expresses to me; Humanity, Human Goodness, True Affection and Love and Unity winning and triumphing in the face of inhumanity, materialism, and the bleak ubiquity of the utterly unfeeling. This album is a treasure. I actually feel a deep appreciation and an immeasurable respect for and to Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk and BJ Burton for creating this album. It’s just what I needed to hear in days like these.
Now I know I have not really said much of anything in this “review”/rambling comment – I haven’t touched much upon the songs and the lyrics and the harmonies and the industrial manipulations and genres and all that. Well, sorry. But this album, more than any other this year (outside of perhaps By the Time I Get To Phoenix), really transcends words and clear description.
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"Like if FKA Twigs did hyperpop, a dynamic and innovative statement! This album shows her powerful and versatile vocals, which range from breathy whispers to soaring falsettos. Again she blends of pop, electronic, experimental, trip hop, new wave, and traditional music to creating a dynamic sound ...""Like if FKA Twigs did hyperpop, a dynamic and innovative statement! This album shows her powerful and versatile vocals, which range from breathy whispers to soaring falsettos. Again she blends of pop, electronic, experimental, trip hop, new wave, and traditional music to creating a dynamic sound that, while sparse in sections, is in general much more dense than her last record Pang.
The production is top-notch, with layers of synths, percussion, and other sounds that add to the overall mood. Polachek's lyrics are introspective and often deal with themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, adding a personal and emotional depth to the album. The result is a tapestry of sound that captures the listener's attention, with intricate details that make it difficult to decide where to focus."Reply
"(Consistent and cohesive debut LP from Magdalena Bay. Some top-tier synthpop - creative, catchy and quite beautiful.) I am a fan of this album. The things I love about great synthpop are here in droves. Those being a charming childlike wonderousness that is infectious when you listen, lots of cat...""(Consistent and cohesive debut LP from Magdalena Bay. Some top-tier synthpop - creative, catchy and quite beautiful.)
I am a fan of this album. The things I love about great synthpop are here in droves. Those being a charming childlike wonderousness that is infectious when you listen, lots of catchy melodies, vocals that float along over the tracks like some sort of fairy spirit, and of course lots of tracks that can be danced around to like a wild person or can be enjoyed while sitting and dreaming about whatever it is you dream about. Synthpop isn't one of my go-to genres by any means, but this is being an exceptional version of the genre, I can say that I am enough of a fan of what this duo is doing with this style to consider this one of the better albums of the year.
The album is indeed pretty consistent. That said the opening run of tracks from the opener "The End" through track 7 "Chaeri" is a good deal more excellent and catchy to me than the last half. Note: This may be due to the simple fact that I listened to the first half of this 3 times and got interrupted each time, so I only have heard the album in its entirety twice, but that opening half 5 times. Idk, that is probably contributing to my current take that the first half is superior. Still, even now, I can say that the 1-2 punch that ends the album is just as good as anything at the start (except maybe "Secrets (Your Fire)" which is song of the year material to my ears).
The music here is dreamy and somewhat osychedelic, its got moments to inspire dancing and moments to inspire quasi-philosophical contemplation. And each track is stitched to the others in a smooth and seamless way. The album works really well as an album and not just a series of seperate tracks with occasional total standouts.
I don't have much of great intelligence to say about this one (go figure) but I think its really quite beautiful and its recommended to everyone but ESPECIALLY to those of you craving a great pop album. This is perhaps the best and most bubbly and gorgeous pop album of any variety I have heard this year. Stellar debut album as well. This is a super impressive way to start your LP career."Reply
tommylindsey | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 1
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AvalancheGrips | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5
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Mercury | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 10
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corenfro | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3
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