Best Albums of 2020

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1.

The New Abnormal 

 The Strokes

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"I don't think I've ever seen a larger disparity between the critics' and audiences' reaction to an album as for this one. Everyone seems to be loving the album except the music critics and honestly, this is the victory The Strokes deserved. For a band who were put on the highest pedestal by the c...""I don't think I've ever seen a larger disparity between the critics' and audiences' reaction to an album as for this one. Everyone seems to be loving the album except the music critics and honestly, this is the victory The Strokes deserved. For a band who were put on the highest pedestal by the critics before they even really started the career, their whole discography since Is This It has felt like an attempt to gain that acclaim back, and they kept failing to impress them, and along the way, their fans. But this album is a goddamn beast! a spectacle worth the 7 year wait, a redemption arc for one of the biggest band of the indie rock era; and I am almost glad that the critics are shitting on this obvious masterpiece, since now majority of their GP audience can finally tear the band's image away from their critique. And maybe this will help The Strokes themselves become more liberated from the Is This It era. Because, honestly, I was getting real tired of reading about how "they used to be so good in their first two albums" in literally every article about the band thereafter (and that one The National song). I absolutely adore this album, and I cant wait to scream "drums please Fab" when they finally start performing it live. Fuck the critics man. This is the Strokes' year."  [More]  Reply  
- Vatsal | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +17 votes (17 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

590 charts

Rank Score:

4,777

Rank in 2020:

1

Rank in 2020s:

2

Overall Rank:

350

Average Rating:

 83 (829 votes)

Comments:

88

2.

Punisher 

 Phoebe Bridgers

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"This albums' slow climb to the very top is representative of how it affects the listener. I first heard it and was like "yeah that was fine". Then months passed and I gave it no attention. Then I went back to it, and realized how much more than 'fine' it actually is! If it doesn't capture you on ...""This albums' slow climb to the very top is representative of how it affects the listener. I first heard it and was like "yeah that was fine". Then months passed and I gave it no attention. Then I went back to it, and realized how much more than 'fine' it actually is! If it doesn't capture you on first listen, give it another chance. This album is the epitome of a slow burner, and really captures the melancholy of 2020."  [More]  Reply  
- chuchunezbie | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

577 charts

Rank Score:

3,366

Rank in 2020:

2

Rank in 2020s:

4

Overall Rank:

517

Average Rating:

 80 (538 votes)

Comments:

38

3.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters 

 Fiona Apple

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"Percussively, I listen and just think: "why aren't more people doing this?" and "why hasn't anyone done something like this in this way before?" Yes, it's good. It's inventive, creative and just... very very percussive. There is a feel of all the sounds being created w/ kitchenware utensils and p...""Percussively, I listen and just think: "why aren't more people doing this?" and "why hasn't anyone done something like this in this way before?" Yes, it's good. It's inventive, creative and just... very very percussive. There is a feel of all the sounds being created w/ kitchenware utensils and pots and pans. This is proof that there's more innovation possible when creating great percussion than just adjusting how you EQ the kick and snare. To my ears it's not so jarring and esoteric as everyone is making it out to be. In fact I find it more accessible than her other albums. I've been unable to get into her too much because of her voice doing the half talking half rapping thing, but here it's so tightly coupled w/ the percussion and the rest of the song that it fits much better whether she is singing or talking. In fact she'll get done w/ a melody before I realize "oh hey she went from talking to singing and I didn't notice" I can tell it's a very personal album for her and a pent up anger over some political and socioeconomic issues she's very opinionated about. I hear some Beyonce and Solange in the vocals and most prominently the lyrics w.r.t. the identity politics of it all. I'm not necessarily entirely ideologically aligned but I can appreciate she executed on her goals as an artistic statement. Probably could have been 10 songs as the triplet triplet boom boom gets a little exhausting by the end but overall yeah pretty great record."  [More]  Reply  
- corenfro | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

618 charts

Rank Score:

3,358

Rank in 2020:

3

Rank in 2020s:

5

Overall Rank:

519

Average Rating:

 81 (699 votes)

Comments:

56

4.

Folklore 

 Taylor Swift

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"I respectfully disagree with the below comment. Taylor Swift has often had high profile collaborators and producers (Max Martin; Jack Antonoff etc.). Taylor's records tend to sound both like Taylor and her collaborators. I see it as a strength rather than a weakness, which has enabled Taylor to c...""I respectfully disagree with the below comment. Taylor Swift has often had high profile collaborators and producers (Max Martin; Jack Antonoff etc.). Taylor's records tend to sound both like Taylor and her collaborators. I see it as a strength rather than a weakness, which has enabled Taylor to capitalise on the potential of collaboration to help the longevity of her career and move in different directions. Of'course, Swift wrote or co-wrote every track on this album so she is certainly not being propped up by others. This record sounds a lot like Taylor and the National as well. That said, it is very much a Taylor Swift record-the kind of melodies and and lyrics being already familiar to Swift fans, even as the music moves in a different direction. "  [More]  Reply  
- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

386 charts

Rank Score:

1,905

Rank in 2020:

4

Rank in 2020s:

16

Overall Rank:

911

Average Rating:

 75 (450 votes)

Comments:

46

5.

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How I'm Feeling Now 

 Charli XCX

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"charli xcx only went and made the perfect pandemic pop album. this is a genuinely stunning album about isolation, relationships, and not being with the people you love. insane production, good writing. proof once again she's the one."  Reply  
- maxjelbart | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

308 charts

Rank Score:

1,887

Rank in 2020:

5

Rank in 2020s:

17

Overall Rank:

920

Average Rating:

 77 (348 votes)

Comments:

19

6.

What's Your Pleasure? 

 Jessie Ware

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"I'm falling more and more in love with this album! I feel like it takes the best of Future Nostalgia and Honey, but Jessie's vocal performance is more gripping and seductive than both Dua's and Robyn's. Amazing production - Jessie just shows amazing taste and her experience has taught her how to ...""I'm falling more and more in love with this album! I feel like it takes the best of Future Nostalgia and Honey, but Jessie's vocal performance is more gripping and seductive than both Dua's and Robyn's. Amazing production - Jessie just shows amazing taste and her experience has taught her how to arrange and choose sounds, when to hurry up a song and when to just luxuriate in one. There's really not a miss on there for me. Even the songs that didn't do it for me at first are now growing fast. Wonderful house/disco pop album and my AOTY so far. "  [More]  Reply  
- precarioussalad | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

333 charts

Rank Score:

1,803

Rank in 2020:

6

Rank in 2020s:

20

Overall Rank:

957

Average Rating:

 79 (350 votes)

Comments:

29

7.

After Hours 

 The Weeknd

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"These songs are gorgeously produced and this album is insanely listenable, but this man is a goddamned clown. Here's a verse on the album that I may have made up, but still feels less outrageous than most of what is on this record. I'm filled with so much sadness And all these hoes are filled wit...""These songs are gorgeously produced and this album is insanely listenable, but this man is a goddamned clown. Here's a verse on the album that I may have made up, but still feels less outrageous than most of what is on this record. I'm filled with so much sadness And all these hoes are filled with as much of my dick as I am with sadness And I should stop having sex, because it makes me sad But with all these tears and all this pussy, I can't stop getting it wet"  [More]  Reply  
- HoldenM | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

310 charts

Rank Score:

1,786

Rank in 2020:

7

Rank in 2020s:

22

Overall Rank:

968

Average Rating:

 75 (450 votes)

Comments:

25

8.

Shore 

 Fleet Foxes

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"This year has been so shitty. And while an album like Fetch the Bolt Cutters recognizes our turmoil and frustration, Shore is a great complement. This is a work of love, joy, and hope that has come at not a moment too soon. But even musically, it's making a strong claim as the best Fleet Foxes al...""This year has been so shitty. And while an album like Fetch the Bolt Cutters recognizes our turmoil and frustration, Shore is a great complement. This is a work of love, joy, and hope that has come at not a moment too soon. But even musically, it's making a strong claim as the best Fleet Foxes album. It encapsulates the excitement and accessibility of their self-titled, matches the scope and consistency of Helplessness Blues, while pushing the sound and songwriting with similar adventurousness as Crack-Up. It remains to be seen whether it captures thee same adoration for me as those first two records, given that I've had a decade with them, and at such a formative age. But I gotta say, Shore does not disappoint. "  [More]  Reply  
- HoldenM | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

391 charts

Rank Score:

1,725

Rank in 2020:

8

Rank in 2020s:

23

Overall Rank:

999

Average Rating:

 78 (372 votes)

Comments:

21

9.

RTJ4 

 Run The Jewels

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"RTJ 4 is the opposite of timeless music. This is the encapsulation of a specific moment in history: here and now."  Reply  
- SamNassiri98 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

436 charts

Rank Score:

1,682

Rank in 2020:

9

Rank in 2020s:

24

Overall Rank:

1,032

Average Rating:

 79 (402 votes)

Comments:

26

10.

The Slow Rush 

 Tame Impala

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"If you were to extrapolate what you'd expect an album like this to sound like given Tame Impala's trajectory from Innerspeaker -> Lonerism -> Currents, The Slow Rush is what you'd expect. For that reason I don't anticipate critics to really go crazy over this. It's not a huge departure from the s...""If you were to extrapolate what you'd expect an album like this to sound like given Tame Impala's trajectory from Innerspeaker -> Lonerism -> Currents, The Slow Rush is what you'd expect. For that reason I don't anticipate critics to really go crazy over this. It's not a huge departure from the sounds from Currents, in some places it sounds like he used the same synth settings as some tracks from Currents, but he does bring in even more new sounds and mixing techniques into, whether it's woodwinds or congas or miscellaneous percussive sounds or just using his voice in wild ways (which is hardly new for him). That said, Kevin Parker is as talented at production/arrangement/mixing as anyone out there. Hendrix had the guitar and KP has Ableton. He's an artist that just doesn't release anything that isn't meticulously crafted and detailed. He's not going to convert fans on this one like he did on Currents and similarly if you're a stoned hippie longing for the days of innerspeaker and lonerism dunga dunga throwback 60's sound you might want to look elsewhere. That said, I think it is better than currents, songs like Posthumous Fogiveness and One More Hour showcase him returning to the more lengthy adventurous song structures from Lonerism and Currents didn't have a ton of that outside of Let it Happen (which I still think is more long than it is really complex albeit still being a fantastic song) and it has some of his best most diverse sounding production and catchy pop hooks on it as well. Move along, there's really nothing to see here. Just an all-time great padding his stats with another quality piece of art."  [More]  Reply  
- corenfro | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (10 helpful | 2 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2020

Appears in:

394 charts

Rank Score:

1,477

Rank in 2020:

10

Rank in 2020s:

31

Overall Rank:

1,176

Average Rating:

 73 (630 votes)

Comments:

53

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Total albums: 970. Page 1 of 97

Best Albums of 2020 composition

Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard	4	0%
Adrianne Lenker	3	0%
Old Man Gloom	2	0%
Sault	2	0%
Arca	2	0%
Nine Inch Nails	2	0%
Neil Young	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	476	48%
	198	20%
	55	6%
	34	3%
	29	3%
	25	3%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	985	99%
Yes	15	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	970	97%
Yes	30	3%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	995	100%
Yes	5	1%