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