Jun
List, Music

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

 

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