My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2020
This last year was the hardest I’ve ever known and by the middle of the year, my main goal was just to survive it. That might not have been possible without the fantastic music that dropped throughout 2020. So before we move on to face whatever insane challenges 2021 has to offer, let’s stop and appreciate some of last year’s best releases. Here’s my 10 favorites, starting with some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Against All Logic — “2017–2019”
Along with releasing two albums under his own name in 2020, Chilean-American electronic producer Nicolas Jaar expanded his house side project by venturing into darker, more experimental sounds. The dusty soul loops of Against All Logic’s debut are almost completely gone, switched out for jagged synths and contemporary samples. Jaar brings these elements together into a varied but cohesive listen, delivering everything from the driving beats of industrial hip-hop to the chilling space of dystopian deep house.
clipping. — “Visions of Bodies Being Burned”
Hip-hop’s noisiest trio, featuring producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson alongside rapper Daveed Diggs (who many may recognize as Lafayette from “Hamilton”), is back with the sequel to 2019’s horrorcore spectacle “There Existed An Addiction To Blood.” Compared to “There Existed,” “Visions of Bodies” is even more catchy, experimental and representative of the band’s sound. From the fast-rapped, time-signature-fluid intro that will give longtime fans flashbacks to the group’s first mixtape to the tragic storytelling and orchestral break beats of “Pain Everyday,” this album sounds like clipping. delivering all possible incarnations of their aesthetic and perfecting them all at once.
Rina Sawayama — “SAWAYAMA”
In a year full of fantastic alt pop releases from artists like Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepson, British-Japanese singer and songwriter Rina Sawayama bodied the competition with her debut. “SAWAYAMA” borrows some attitude from ’00s Britney Spears and combines it with intricate production from experimental pop-tinkerer Clarence Clarity to deliver an electrifying crop of surprisingly personal songs. From her mature musings on friendship and family on ballads like “Chosen Family” to the blissful escapism on bops like “Paradisin’, ” Sawayama lets you know exactly who she is and why her voice is so important.
tricot — “真っ黒” (Makkuro)
Japanese math rock band tricot kicked off the year with its most ambitious, polished and catchy project yet. Out of all the intricate and oddball rock bands working today, tricot blends goofy time signatures and angular riffs with gorgeous pop hooks the most seamlessly. Language barrier and compositional quirks aside, good luck listening to “Makkuro” without the chorus of the closing track playing on loop in your head for hours afterward.
The Weeknd — “After Hours”
Abel Tesfaye finally peeled back his bad boy persona to reveal a broken and desperate character on “After Hours.” The Weeknd’s songwriting has never been so consistently confessional, pitting his selfishness and self-hatred against his longing for lasting love, delivering a fascinating character study over some of modern R&B’s most adventurous and pristine production. Whether he’s finding hope on the anthemic “Blinding Lights” or desperately seeking companionship on the epic title track, Tesfaye sounds better than ever before and finally has something to say.
Top 10
10. Zack Villere — “Cardboard City”
Bedroom pop often grabs our ears with raw production and unfiltered performances. Zack Villere is far from a polished singer, but by producing “Cardboard City” with such creativity and detail, he gives his odd inflections and deep tone a fitting and surprisingly immersive foundation. Amateurish charm just drips from every word Villere sings, but when the acoustic arpeggios swell to support the crisp percussion on “Rope Swing” or a gritty guitar solo cuts through the pool of buttery keyboards on “Sore Throat,” he draws you into a whimsical and wondrous world all his own. If you need some weird and cozy tunes to help you feel a little less alone, “Cardboard City” is for you.
9. Quelle Chris and Chris Keys — “Innocent Country 2”
Any hip-hop old heads pining for the old days need to listen to this album and thank Quelle Chris and Chris Keys for proving them wrong. “Innocent Country 2” is heart-wrenching, witty and gorgeous, a perfect harmony of top-tier writing and production with a guest list of the contemporary underground’s finest voices. Quelle Chris’ storytelling has never been more versatile, yanking heartstrings and spitting punchlines without ever feeling tonedeaf, with Chris Keys providing the dust and warmth to make “IC2” already feel like a classic. With any luck, it will be soon, inspiring a new generation of rappers to spit stories this powerful over beats this lavish.
8. deb never — “INTERMISSION”
From the moment she showed herself to the world with a feature on BROCKHAMPTON’s “GINGER” in 2019, deb never showed a lot of potential with her downtrodden presence and emotive performance. I never expected she would fulfill that potential with an album as raw and rough as “INTERMISSION.” deb never responded to the COVID-19 quarantine by recording these eight little songs, with fake vinyl crackle, studio ambience and squeaky acoustic guitars a plenty. In concept, “INTERMISSION” sounds underwhelming, but in practice, her despondent songs grab you by the lapels and don’t let go. In the cathartic slow build of “last train” and the broken desperation of acoustic closer “not okay (bonus),” deb never reflects the exhaustion and grief of 2020 in her own image, creating one of the best lo-fi rock albums in recent memory.
7. Run The Jewels — “RTJ4”
Virtually every review of El-P and Killer Mike’s masterpiece (and concrete proof that Run The Jewels is one of the best hip-hop groups of all time) mentions just how timely it was during nationwide protests responding to the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. But what often gets forgotten amidst all the buzzwords is that “RTJ4” is timeless. For better or worse, these vicious condemnations of the rich and powerful’s hatred and greed will never age a day. Combine both rappers’ brutally precise and elaquent performances with some of El-P’s hardest-hitting beats and you get an instant classic, one that hip-hop fans should honor as both a sign of the times and a timeless masterwork.
6. Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats — “UNLOCKED”
All due respect to Killer Mike and El-P, but it took them almost a decade working together to reach such a perfect synthesis of production and rapping. South Florida-rapper Denzel Curry and Connecticut-producer Kenny Beats got it on the first try. “UNLOCKED” throws back to ’90s hardcore hip-hop without ever feeling derivative, giving Curry’s nonstop punchlines and quotables Kenny’s electrifying foundation of futuristic effects, thumping bass and grimy samples. Curry’s performances are more animalistic and gripping than ever, often reaching an overwhelming pace and power that demand respect as some of the best in the game. After this debut collaborative effort, every hip-hop fan should be desperately awaiting the promised sequel. “UNLOCKED 2” can’t arrive soon enough.
5. The Microphones — “Microphones in 2020”
Over the past four years, Phil Elverum has responded to the death of his wife and mother of his young child by pouring every detail of his grief into song under his Mount Eerie moniker, producing the gut-wrenching “A Crow Looked At Me” and “Now Only.” In 2020, Elverum revived his first early ’00s project to do something even braver and more ambitious: sum up his entire life and its meaning in one epic musical poem. Its scope makes “Microphones in 2020” intimidating, but every ramble and rabbit trail carries beautiful description over intimate production. It’s hard to stop once you embark on this harrowing 45-minute musical autobiography. When you come out on the other side, you’ll come closer to understanding a profound and unique human experience. That’s an incredible gift.
4. Josiah Everhart — “Yearn in Years”
With Bandcamp motivating fans to support independent musicians more than ever by waiving its share of the site’s revenue on Bandcamp Fridays, 2020 was a fantastic year for discovering and supporting unknown artists. But some still slipped through the cracks and Josiah Everhart’s debut full-length album “Yearn in Years” remains the year’s best kept secret. After gaining a modest following on YouTube by posting floksy covers of songs from video game soundtracks he grew up with, Everhart crafted a debut that demands attention and respect for his songwriting and ear for grand production, brought to life with the help of fellow YouTube musician and synthwave producer Amie Waters. “Yearn in Years” is so much more than an average singer-songwriter album, blending the simple intimacy of his confessional writing and delicate guitars with the immersive scope of shimmering synths, spacey drums and soaring solos, including a transcendent saxophone climax on the gloriously bittersweet “Moons of Jupiter.” Everhart’s endlessly replayable and emotionally resonant introduction more than deserves your attention and your support, so get on board and don’t miss the next chapter of his artistic journey.
3. Mac Miller — “Circles”
Posthumous albums are always a crap shoot; they can either honor and cement an artist’s legacy or tarnish their name and add to the pain of their passing. Fortunately, Mac Miller’s “Circles,” which was in progress when he died and finished by producer Jon Brion after, stands as one of the most respectful and artistically complete posthumous albums ever. Miller’s detours into tuneful balladry go over beautifully, continuing the somber thematic journey of 2018’s “Swimming” with even more maturity while still delivering flashes of the playful spitter his early fans fell in love with. Even if you didn’t follow his life and work before his death, Miller’s contemplations on loneliness and guilt resonate deeply, whether it’s his envisioning a better future in the afterlife on “Good News” or accepting responsibility for his biggest regrets on “That’s On Me.” If you need a pick me up or slice of escape, “Circles” isn’t for you. But if you need an unflinching reflection of just how exhausting and overwhelming life can be, Miller gave us that, along with his best album. Rest in peace, Mac.
2. Phoebe Bridgers — “Punisher”
Oftentimes, our emotions are unstoppable, like a force of nature. During a year more mentally grueling than any I’d ever known, Phoebe Bridgers helped me accept that and move forward. Talk to any of her fans and you’ll hear the same thing: “Punisher” is an emotional wrecking ball. Of course, the album sounds immaculate, elevating the hazy singer-songwriter aesthetic from her debut album to even greater heights. But the poetry and cohesive progression of “Punisher” is what makes it one of the best singer-songwriter albums ever. Her style draws a lot of Elliott Smith comparisons, but her work always stands as uniquely hers. The pure power of Bridgers singing about a lover holding her “like water in your hands” despite all the reasons they should stay apart is enough to make her storytelling and poetry stand alongside, if not above, her influences. If you need a cathartic release after a long and punishing year, Phoebe Bridgers’ best album yet is a godsend.
1. Andy Shauf — “The Neon Skyline”
Much like Phoebe Bridgers’ music did, Andy Shauf’s “The Neon Skyline” met me exactly when I needed it when the whole world seemed like it was falling apart. Although the album dropped in January, I discovered it in April, in the early days of quarantine when spring break gave me enough time to realize just how much I hated my life and myself. Music has always been an escape for me, so when I saw a fan recommend “The Neon Skyline” online, I checked it out looking for a distraction. On a first listen, I got what I wanted. I got engrossed in Shauf’s detailed and charming story of a man drinking with old friends and hoping to rekindle an old romance, told over his cozy folk pop instrumentals. But when I reached the closing track, “Changer,” and heard Shauf’s fragile falsetto pushing our hero to keep going even when it seems like he’s lost what he cares about most, the album hit me. I relistened to it three times in a row that night, seeing even more of myself in the story as I picked up more of the same self-hatred, regret and fear that I was facing. And I cried. Again and again throughout 2020, when I needed a reminder to hope in the future even when I felt like a failure, “The Neon Skyline” helped me push forward. So Andy Shauf’s latest masterpiece isn’t just the best album of 2020; it’s my favorite album, one that, in a deep and profound way, changed my life for the better. And I get it: the short runtime, easygoing performances and simple songs can make Shauf’s latest seem a little bland at first. But if you let the story connect with you anywhere close to as much as it did with me, you’ll understand why it’s the most important piece of music I’ve ever heard.
Follow John on Twitter at @JohnMichaelBr15.
