It's not easy to use "best of" and "2020" in the same sentence, but for the sake of tradition we will. For all the downsides that came with it, this year did bring a plethora of amazing music to the table, with so many albums being the only thing that made it semi-bearable. Below is a list of a few albums that definitely had that impact on me. Keep in mind this is not a definitive "best of" ranking, rather a purely personal "favourites" list. This is just a loose ranking based on relative enjoyment, not a concrete "4 is better than 5" type listing, if that makes any sense at all. Basically, take all this with a grain of salt. Formatting for this is a little different than previous years, as the old ones looked fine on desktops but a nightmare to view on mobile. A Spotify playlist is also available at the end if that's of interest to you.
Please feel free to let me know what albums stuck out to you most this year, or if there's anything wrong with mine. I've got a few more posts to go before the end of the year, and then I'll see you in 2021. Enjoy.
Honourable Mentions
Seahaven - Halo Of Hurt
I'm Glad It's You - Every Sun, Every Moon
Viva Belgrado - Bellavista
I Love Your Lifestyle - No Driver
Laura Jane Grace - Stay Alive
50. Frail Hands - parted/departed/apart
49. Caustic Wound - Death Posture
48. METZ - Atlas Vending
47. Envy - The Fallen Crimson
46. Gulfer - Gulfer
45. Exhalants - Atonement
44. Dropdead - Dropdead 2020
43. Stormlight - Natoma
42. Frances Quinlan - Likewise
41. Stay Inside - Viewing
40. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20
39. The Strokes - The New Abnormal
38. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
36. Drain - California Cursed
35. Code Orange - Underneath
34. Dehd - Flower Of Devotion
33. Nuvolascura - As We Suffer From Memory And Imagination
32. No Note - If this is the future then I'm in the dark
31. the Mountain Goats - Songs For Pierre Chuvin
30. Nø Man - Erase
29. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
28. Young Jesus - Welcome To Conceptual Beach
27. The Microphones - Microphones in 2020
26. Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
25. The Weeknd - After Hours
24. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter
23. Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison
22. Taylor Swift - folklore
21. Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide
20. Owen - The Avalanche
19. Record Setter - I Owe You Nothing
18. Jeff Rosenstock - No Dream
17. Respire - Black Line
16. Idles - Ultra Mono
15. Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was
14. Backxwash - God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It
13. Infant Island - Beneath
12. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
11. Fleet Foxes - Shore
10. Bartees Strange - Live Forever
9. Touché Amoré - Lament
8. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
7. clipping. - Visions Of Bodies Being Burned
6. Dogleg - Melee
5. Run The Jewels - RTJ4
4. Brian Fallon - Local Honey
3. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters
2. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
1. Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone
As a quick note, the songs chosen for the second play aren't necessarily my favourite from each, just tracks I thought would be good representations of their respective albums. There are also two albums in the top 50 not on Spotify, which are available
here and
here.
So that's it. Again, thank you for the continued interest in this blog, and I'm glad it's still kicking around. Please do let me know what your favourites from this year were, as I'm sure there's a ton that I completely missed or overlooked. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year (though I'll see you before then) and thanks again.