Alright so first off, I’ll acknowledge that yes, I understand it’s June of 2021 and I’m just now putting out my list of favorite albums of 2020. But 1.) better late than never and 2.) uhhhhh what a year it’s been. I feel like this second point is a bit of an understatement.
I mean, where to start?
There’s a lot I could say about 2020, much of it probably boring and repetitive. Needless to say, it was a very, very hard year. So hard, it felt like 5 years rolled up into one. I had a friend the other day ask “remember when we filmed that thing years ago?” and when I looked it up, I let him know it was barely a year ago, right before the pandemic. Time – and life itself – was severely warped.
But it really made me think about the place of art in our daily lives. Just about everyone I know retreated into TV and film. New shows were binged over just a few days for a lot of people. Music became an escape as well. I put out a poll on Twitter asking if people listened to more or less music than normal during the pandemic and the clear majority of people said “more”.
As for me, I surprisingly listened to less music and watched less movies. I normally check out new albums in the car on my way to the office but with that off the table, I had to really make time for it. I didn’t do the best job because I was somehow busier than ever during 2020 but I still managed to listen to a lot of great, new music. Here are my favorites:
40. Arca – KiCk i
39. The Strokes – The New Abnormal
38. Porridge Radio – Every Bad
37. Black Lips – Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart
36. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
35. Baauer – Planet’s Mad
34. Noveller – Arrow
33. Christine and the Queens – La vita nuova
32. Purity Ring – WOMB
31. Dan Deacon – Mystic Familiar
30. Lady Gaga – Chromatica
29. STRFKR – Future Past Life
28. Freddie Gibbs – Alfredo
27. Washed Out – Purple Noon
26. Grimes – Miss Anthropocene
25. Nas – King’s Disease
24. Adam Lambert – VELVET
23. Run The Jewels – RTJ4
22. Thundercat – It Is What It Is
21. Taylor Swift – folklore
20. Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
19. Dogleg – Melee
18. The Glitch Mob – Chemicals
17. Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
16. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
15. The 1975 – Notes On A Conditional Form
14. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud
13. Julianna Barwick – Healing Is A Miracle
12. Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony
11. HAIM – Women In Music Pt. III
10. Destroyer – Have We Met
9. Yves Tumor – Heaven To A Tortured Mind
8. Carly Rae Jepsen – Dedicated Side B
7. Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG
6. The Killers – Imploding The Mirage
5. Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
4. The Flaming Lips – American Head
3. Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure?
2. Yelle – L’Ère du Verseau
1. Charli XCX – How I’m Feeling Now