The 70 Best Pop Albums Of 2020

The 70 Best Pop Albums Of 2020

At one point, the album felt like a dying art. In the streaming age, singles are king and there’s little incentive to craft a cohesive listening experience when the project is destined to be spread across multiple playlists anyway. It was a worrying trend for those of us (i.e. dinosaurs) that enjoy taking a journey with an artist. Funnily enough, the album enjoyed something of a comeback this year. Maybe the events of 2020 had something to do with it or, perhaps, labels are just waking up to the fact that an album can be a mini-playlist in and of itself.

Compiling a list of the year’s best releases is always something of a farce because your appreciation of an album can, and really should, change with time. That’s why I’m favoring projects that grew on me, revealing new layers, throughout 2020. Such as Taylor Swift’s folklore or Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Given the doom and gloom of the year, I also spent a lot of time escaping into the shimmery worlds created by disco-dabbling divas like Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware and Kylie Minogue. Check out my top 70 albums of 2020 below.

70. ENERGY — Disclosure

69. Heaven & Hell — Ava Max

68. Carly Pearce — Carly Pearce

67. Always Live For Always — Skott

66. TREAT MYSELF — Meghan Trainor

65. International Hotel — Billy Raffoul

64. Turbulence — Ella Vos

63. CHRYSALIS — Tia Gostelow

62. Sellout — Koe Wetzel

61. Wilted — Paris Jackson

60. Emmanuel — Anuel AA

59. Oddyssey — Amtrac

58. lil kiwii — Kiiara

57. love is not dying — Jeremy Zucker

56. [12:00] — LOONA

55. Promising Young Woman Soundtrack

54. Dedicated Side B — Carly Rae Jepsen

53. BE — BTS

52. Such Pretty Forks In The Road — Alanis Morissette

51. Between You And Me — San Cisco

50. Manic — Halsey

49. Magical Thinking — Shallou

48. mama’s boy — LANY

47. Club Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa & The Blessed Madonna

46. Petals For Armor — Hayley Williams

45. Album No. 8 — Katie Melua

44. good to know — JoJo

43. Dark Matter — CamelPhat

42. How To Be Human — Chelsea Cutler

41. EYES WIDE OPEN — TWICE

40. Gaslighter — The Chicks

39. The Rarities — Mariah Carey

38. PAPI JAUNCHO — Maluma

37. Hey u x — BENEE

36. Cape God — Allie X

35. High Road — Kesha

34. R.Y.C. — Mura Masa

33. Dark Hearts — Annie

32. Imploding The Mirage — The Killers

31. Chromatica — Lady Gaga

30. Apart — LÉON

29. how i’m feeling now — Charli XCX

28. night, love you. — Nightly

27. Strangers / Lovers — Dagny

26. SAWAYAMA — Rina Sawayama

25. TINI TINI TINI — TINI

24. Heartbreak Weather — Niall Horan

23. THE ALBUM — BLACKPINK

22. Three. Two. One. — Lennon Stella

21. Plastic Hearts — Miley Cyrus

20. Starting Over — Chris Stapleton

19. Leave It Beautiful — Astrid S

18. Love Goes — Sam Smith

17. BREACH — Fenne Lily

16. Róisín Machine — Róisín Murphy

15. Women In Music Pt. III — Haim

14. Smile — Katy Perry

13. As Long As You Are — Future Islands

12. Ungodly Hour — Chloe x Halle

11. Seeking Thrills — Georgia

10. The Otherside — Cam

9. Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa

8. Ugly Is Beautiful — Oliver Tree

7. What’s Your Pleasure? — Jessie Ware

6. After Hours — The Weeknd

5. Rare — Selena Gomez

4. DISCO — Kylie Minogue

3. Only Child — Sasha Sloan

2. folklore — Taylor Swift

1. Fetch The Bolt Cutters — Fiona Apple

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