Well, 2020 was a year, wasn’t it? I know, I haven’t been very active at all on here, but a lot of stuff came up that demanded my attention. And, I just plain burned out on the music stuff. That, coupled with all the weirdness and added general stress that the year brought just meant that I didn’t really feel like working on a blog that felt like a second job. All that may still have an effect on when things can get back to something resembling normal on this site, but I do have a plan to make things easier. And that will all be covered in another post.
Anyway, while I wasn’t writing, I was still listening, and I feel like I owe my readers something to wrap up 2020. Normally, my year-end stuff would be spread out over multiple lists and far more polished, but I think the best thing for this year is to just put it all out there in one big list. Below you will find my top 50 albums of the year in alphabetical order with a genre description for each. After that will be a list of 25 honorable mentions. No pictures, no blurbs, just the list. If you would like me to elaborate about any of my picks or argue about them, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. And now, to the lists!
FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2020
- ADRIANNE LENKER – SONGS/INSTRUMENTALS – (folk)
- AFTERBIRTH – FOUR DIMENSIONAL FLESH – (technical death metal)
- ALESTORM – CURSE OF THE CRYSTAL COCONUT – (pirate metal)
- BACKXWASH – GOD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS LEAVE HIM OUT OF IT – (horrorcore, industrial rap)
- BEACH BUNNY – HONEYMOON – (indie rock)
- BLACKLAB – ABYSS – (sludge, doom metal)
- BLU & EXILE – MILES: FROM AN INTERLUDE CALLED LIFE – (hip-hop, jazz rap)
- BORIS – NO – (sludge, hardcore)
- BRANDY CLARK – YOUR LIFE IS A RECORD – (country)
- CHRIS CORNELL – NO ONE SINGS LIKE YOU ANYMORE – (rock, covers)
- CHRIS STAPLETON – STARTING OVER – (country)
- CLIPPING. – VISIONS OF BODIES BEING BURNED – (horrorcore, industrial rap)
- CODE ORANGE – UNDERNEATH – (metalcore, industrial)
- DENZEL CURRY/KENNY BEATS – UNLOCKED – (hip-hop, rap)
- DUA LIPA – FUTURE NOSTALGIA – (pop, nu-disco)
- FÉLETH – DEPRAVITY – (death metal)
- FIONA APPLE – FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS – (art pop, singer-songwriter)
- FIRE-TOOLZ – RAINBOW BRIDGE – (avant-garde metal, vaporwave)
- FREDDIE GIBBS/ALCHEMIST – ALFREDO – (hip-hop, rap)
- FREEWAYS – TRUE BEARINGS – (hard rock, heavy metal)
- GHOSTEMANE – ANTI-ICON – (industrial rap, rap metal)
- GORILLAZ – SONG MACHINE, SEASON ONE: STRANGE TIMEZ – (alternative, indie pop)
- HAIM – WOMEN IN MUSIC PT. III – (indie rock)
- HAKEN – VIRUS – (progressive metal)
- HAUNT – FLASHBACK – (heavy metal)
- HELLRIPPER – THE AFFAIR OF THE POISONS – (black metal, speed metal)
- HYBORIAN – VOLUME II – (stoner metal)
- HYMN – BREACH US – (sludge, doom metal)
- IGORRR – SPIRITUALITY AND DISTORTION – (avant-garde metal, industrial)
- INFANT ISLAND – BENEATH – (screamo, post-hardcore)
- JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT – REUNIONS – (alt country)
- JOHN REUBEN – self-titled – (hip-hop, rap)
- KILL LINCOLN – CAN’T COMPLAIN – (ska punk)
- LAURA MARLING – SONG FOR OUR DAUGHTER – (folk)
- LOWRIDER – REFRACTIONS – (stoner metal)
- THE MIDNIGHT – MONSTERS – (synthwave, synthpop)
- MIDNIGHT DANGER – CHAPTER 2: ENDLESS NIGHTMARE – (synthwave, darksynth)
- PHOEBE BRIDGERS – PUNISHER – (indie rock, indie folk)
- PROTEST THE HERO – PALIMPSEST – (progressive metal)
- RADIANT KNIFE – THE BODY/THE GHOST – (sludge, progressive metal)
- REVERED AND REVILED ABOVE ALL OTHERS – TOPPLING THE ROTTEN PILLAR – (“doomviolence”)
- RINA SAWAYAMA – SAWAYAMA – (pop)
- RUN THE JEWELS – RTJ4 – (hip-hop, hardcore rap)
- SHIRLEY COLLINS – HEART’S EASE – (folk)
- SPECIAL INTEREST – THE PASSION OF – (industrial, noise, post punk)
- THOU/EMMA RUTH RUNDLE – MAY OUR CHAMBERS BE FULL – (sludge, doom metal)
- TKAY MAIDZA – LAST YEAR WAS WEIRD, VOL. 2 – (hip-hop, rap, electronic)
- TOUCHÉ AMORÉ – LAMENT – (screamo, post-hardcore)
- WOBBLER – DWELLERS OF THE DEEP – (progressive rock)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- BELL WITCH/AERIAL RUIN – STYGIAN BOUGH VOLUME I – (funeral doom metal)
- BRING ME THE HORIZON – POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR – (alternative metal, nu metal, industrial)
- CHARLI XCX – HOW I’M FEELING NOW – (electropop, hyperpop)
- DEAFKIDS/PETBRICK – DEAFBRICK – (noise rock, industrial)
- THE FEARLESS FLYERS – TAILWINDS – (funk)
- FLEET FOXES – SHORE – (indie folk)
- HEALTH – DISCO 4 :: PART I – (noise rock, industrial)
- JUICE WRLD – LEGENDS NEVER DIE – (hip-hop, emo rap)
- KOTA THE FRIEND – EVERYTHING – (hip-hop, rap)
- LO TOM – LP2 – (indie rock)
- LOGIC – NO PRESSURE – (hip-hop, rap)
- MAC MILLER – CIRCLES – (hip-hop, R&B)
- MOONS – GO OUT SWINGING – (sludge, doom metal)
- NEW FOUND GLORY – FOREVER + EVER x INFINITY – (pop punk)
- ORGÖNE – MOS/FET – (stoner rock, heavy psych)
- SLICK SHOES – ROTATION & FREQUENCY – (pop punk)
- SÖLICITÖR – SPECTRAL DEVASTATION – (heavy metal, speed metal)
- SONGHOY BLUES – OPTIMISME – (blues rock)
- STATIC-X – PROJECT REGENERATION, VOL. 1 – (industrial metal)
- STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC – THE INEXPLICABLE VIBRATIONS OF FREQUENCIES WITHIN THE COSMIC NETHERWORLD – (stoner metal, “doom jazz”)
- SUFJAN STEVENS – THE ASCENSION – (electropop, experimental)
- TAME IMPALA – THE SLOW RUSH – (psychedelic pop)
- TAYLOR SWIFT – FOLKLORE/EVERMORE – (indie pop)
- TRIVIUM – WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY – (heavy metal, metalcore)
- X – ALPHABETLAND – (punk)
And there you have it. My picks for the best of 2020 and some Honorable Mentions. Like I said above, if you’d like me to go into more detail on any of my picks, ask why an album is in one list and not the other, or point out a glaring omission, feel free to leave a comment.
Continuous Thunder 