Best Albums of 2020

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Explore the best albums of 2020, based on over 2 million album rankings across 59,000 charts.
Last updated: 58 minutes ago.

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2020 year summaryThe best artists of 2020 were The Strokes, Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, The Weeknd, Jessie Ware, Fleet Foxes, Run The Jewels and Tame Impala.

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How I'm Feeling Now

Charli XCX

"An often cheeky, often sincere, always revved up victory lap of her previous album (and magnum opus), How I'm Feeling Now is just a reminder that Charli XCX is our modern queen of pop." Reply

HoldenM | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

313 charts

Rank Score:

2,225

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

773

Average Rating:

77 (356 votes)

Comments:

What's Your Pleasure?

Jessie Ware

"If the phrase "Disco died" is true then this must be disco heaven. Jessie's vocals are so sultry and smooth. Every song is hit with such passion vocally. The instrumentals are as dynamic as a disco's greatest hits collection from 1982. The one criticism i have is the album gets a little slow in t..." [+] Reply

- titansaurs28 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

333 charts

Rank Score:

2,145

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

810

Average Rating:

79 (354 votes)

Comments:

11.

Future Nostalgia

Dua Lipa

"Yes that is the same sample White Town used, and being able to recognize it immediately makes me feel really fucking old. Anyways I actually really dig this! maybe doesn't quite have enough of the "Future" that's promised early on at least sonically (except on "Don't Start Now", which feels like ...""Yes that is the same sample White Town used, and being able to recognize it immediately makes me feel really fucking old. Anyways I actually really dig this! maybe doesn't quite have enough of the "Future" that's promised early on at least sonically (except on "Don't Start Now", which feels like a laser'd-up version of one her earlier hits), but with nostalgia that for once sounds this, yes, fresh and purposeful it's hard to complain. Maybe because it takes more of it's ideas from late 70s disco-1980 disco and that turn of the millenium-to-early '00s stage when the dance hits had a more noticeable house influence, it doesn't just melt into another tired 80s pastiche that felt promised (except on the the aptly-titled "Physical", which is engaging enough to forgive anyways). In many ways I'm reminded of last year's Dedicated, another album with a similar sultry-yet-sinewy sound that had a lot of similar influences and that musically was very attractive... but always felt like it was missing something, or that it just wasn't a good album for Carly Rae personally, as much as I love her dearly. Now it seems clear that it needed that kind of larger-than-life swagger that's also slyly circumvent about when to push the music deeper into the surface that Dua provides here. It's one snappy velvet-rope of a release, with only one truly forgettable moment ("Hallucinate"), that works pretty seamlessly as a singular sound but also (I can't stress this enough) how it finally reminds the pop world about the beauty of brevity. This is not some turgid 18 track dumping ground, trying to tick as many streams and find it's way onto the highest number of playlists as possible, at 37 minutes it almost never loses it's steam or feels un-neccessarily flabby, where nearly every moment she knows exactly what she's doing and how best to maximize the potential of each track without over-doing it.... ... well, usually. Unavoidably it feels like we just can't have a constiently immaculate pop release that can simply announce it's importance based on the music alone, now everything has to have it's obligatory Very Important Message moment. The problem here (the offending number "Boys Will Be Boys") is that it feels like it both wants to be a button-pushing conversation starter but also end up feeling as blandly inspirational as a latter-day Pink or Alessa what'shername track, which means you get big orchestral arrangements (yes, and a fucking choir too) with simplified sloganeering lyrics- delivered in Dua Lipa's coolly detached prescence that hitherto has worked so well but at this moment guarantees any attempt at a provocation useless. Even if it was secretly intended as the most basic cheeky kiss-off. When the album should've been enjoying an ecstatic victory lap or a more organic swell to a thundering closer, this becomes a limp attempt at political relevance that brings nothing new to the table and hammers the ending flat in the process (in many ways the album could've ended with the more early 00s hip-hop influenced "Good in Bed", not dissimilar in themes but less blandly preachy and a far more congenial way to go out). While that might be a bit of a dissapointing post-script (nobody goes to the club awaiting a scrapped-together lecture at 1:57 am), it doesn't destroy the appeal of what came before it. I think it's best to temper expectations somewhat as the over-praise has been a bit unavoidable (in these apocalyptic times anything this sleek and sexy and well-produced and get-the-bootstraps-kicking is bound to get that treatment), and whether this does end up delivering on the initial promise of being the start of something big or just a great little pop capsule in it's own right I can't imagine it will ever stop sounding this exquisite in the... *tongue out* Future. " [+] Reply

cestuneblague | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (5 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

351 charts

Rank Score:

1,645

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

1,065

Average Rating:

75 (385 votes)

Comments:

17.

Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez

Gorillaz

"This is the Gorillaz album I’d been waiting fifteen years for. Demon Days felt like the ultimate pleaser and the best, most distilled record Gorillaz could have released. I loved Plastic Beach and has some real moments of genius, but just seems a little high concept and disjointed in places. Huma..." [+] Reply

- lylecatcliffe | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

224 charts

Rank Score:

1,137

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

1,510

Average Rating:

77 (276 votes)

Comments:

21.

Song For Our Daughter

Laura Marling

"Calming album. Her voice is so pure and gentle. Lovely songs. Really good record" Reply

- meltchett | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

233 charts

Rank Score:

1,063

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

Overall Rank:

1,619

Average Rating:

77 (202 votes)

Comments:

30.

Lianne La Havas

"Just a smidge top heavy, but otherwise, one of the most wonderful albums of the year. Smooth, catchy, and full of life. Not to mention one of the most well-written and heartfelt R&B records in a while." Reply

HoldenM | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

197 charts

Rank Score:

771

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

118

Overall Rank:

2,152

Average Rating:

78 (175 votes)

Comments:

32.

Ultra Mono

Idles

"Finally a rock album for our times seldom do you here raw power screaming at the world fuuuck this along with Fetch the Bolt Cutters my albums of the year" Reply

- happyg | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

196 charts

Rank Score:

724

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

124

Overall Rank:

2,260

Average Rating:

75 (217 votes)

Comments:

36.

Untitled (Black Is)

Sault

"Nice collection of some fun jams but that's all they are mostly; jam sessions. Songwriting isn't a feature on the album." Reply

mdbaxter | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

156 charts

Rank Score:

561

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

161

Overall Rank:

2,790

Average Rating:

74 (107 votes)

Comments:

43.

Every Bad

Porridge Radio

"This is laid-back, sometimes angry, but extremely harmonic indie rock. Dana Margolin sings emotionally, but also in a really cool slacker style. I'm impressed." Reply

- Nepology | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

150 charts

Rank Score:

473

Rank in 2020:

Rank in 2020s:

198

Overall Rank:

3,225