My 10 Favorite Albums of 2020
“Everyone needs sunshine, everyone needs rain.”
It was an interesting year for music. Last year, I speculated that new Lorde, Adele, and Rihanna albums were imminent (yes, I still have my clown makeup on), but all of them have been rumored to be delayed now, as a result of the pandemic. With how much money artists make from touring, a good portion of them are punting to years when restrictions will be lifted for concert venues (Oceania gives me hope). Others, however, experienced creative explosions like they’ve never quite seen before, as the quarantines shattered all norms of cycles and eras. 2020 may not have been the year for music anyone expected, but it’s a year of songs and albums that sound like no other year’s collection.
Hailee Steinfeld dropped an EP, Half Written Story. Childish Gambino returned with experimental music on 3.15.20. Doja Cat came out with some pretty compelling new chart-toppers. The cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series recorded a holiday album! There were new tunes from veterans like Huey Lewis and James Taylor, old-fashioned crooners like Mandy Moore and Janet Devlin, pop staples like Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande. And there was a fourth juggernaut from Run the Jewels on top of it all!
This, without even getting into the albums that comprise the actual top ten of this list! As you can see, it was a different kind of year for music, but hardly a worse one. The next ten records speak to that doubly so! Here’s to the songs that move us!
10. McCartney III by Paul McCartney
The quarantine enabled one of the greatest living songwriters to return to a series of self-titled albums for the first time since 1980. From the first notes of Paul McCartney’s trilogy topper, McCartney III, it’s clear that he was marking the occasion of new musical experimentation. This much was evident in the discordant notes of “Long Tailed Winter Bird.” Yet, he was still keen to return to his Wings-esque roots, with “Women and Wives,” Beatles melodies, with “Seize the Day,” and transcendent tracks, with “The Kiss of Venus.” The legend’s still got it; not every superstar can still deliver the number one goods.
9. Imploding the Mirage by The Killers
As one of music’s preeminent pop rock bands, The Killers clearly felt there was a great deal of expectation attached to Imploding the Mirage. That’s why it’s so clearly a cut above their most recent effort (from 2017), Wonderful Wonderful. An argument can be made that Brandon Flowers has never sounded better than he did on “Dying Breed,” as he proved why The Killers are still a defining band in the rock scene and will continue to be well into the future.
8. Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
2020’s earliest contender for the year’s best album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters was a revelation when it dropped onto the scene. Fiona Apple’s offbeat talent is evident throughout every pulsating sound on the album that never quite sounds like music, in its most traditional sense. Instead, Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a work of art all its own and a further cementing of Apple’s legacy, as if she needed any more affirmation.
7. Healer by Grouplove
The Los Angeles-based art pop band, Grouplove, has long been a favorite of mine with their insane vocal collaborations and catchy hooks. To be honest, their 2020 entry, Healer, would earn a spot on this list, even if only boasted “Deleter” as its leading track. Fortunately, Healer is filled with a merry menagerie of musical melodies that maintain Grouplove’s reputation as one of the most fun under-the-radar bands working today.
6. Bigger Love by John Legend
John Legend is certainly in the mainstream now. Many were quick to critique his 2020 album, Bigger Love, as following the same kind of trajectory that Coldplay endured: some stunning genre reinventions are followed up by lighthearted, colorful, radio-made hits. If you know me, though, you know I love Coldplay. So it should be no surprise that I found a lot of merit in Bigger Love, too! Not just in the title track, mind you. Legend is also stunning across collaborations (Gary Clark, Jr., Jhené Aiko), bona fide jams (“Ooh Laa”), and the melancholy love ballads he’s always known for (“Conversations in the Dark”). I can dig it, John Legend!
5. Letter to You by Bruce Springsteen
When I heard Letter to You for the first time, I was immediately concerned. It seemed like Bruce Springsteen was preparing for death and it struck me that this might be a goodbye album, similar to David Bowie’s Blackstar from 2016. After watching the Letter to You documentary, though, Springsteen’s intentions were much clearer: he wanted to reflect on stories of people approaching the ends of their lives, pay homage to the lost original members of the E Street Band, and make a bold proclamation that he’ll die when he’s damn well ready to die. Letter to You is standard Springsteen, but standard Springsteen is remarkable music. Joining the E Street Band’s personnel this time around is Jake Clemons (touching, touching), but the standout instrument, as always, is Bruce’s powerful, soaring voice. Reign long, Boss.
4. Manic by Halsey
Every now and then, a pop album from an established star hits me unexpectedly. Harry Styles and Ariana Grande both blew me away last year, for example. This year, the honor clearly belongs to Halsey, who dominated my pop listening in the early throes of 2020 when she dropped a stunner of an album back in January. At times, it may feel overproduced, but that just contributes to the feeling sought by Halsey from the title. Not to mention, “Without Me,” “Graveyard,” and “You Should Be Sad” are as great a trio of singles as any album has had in recent memory. Ascend now, Halsey.
3. Look for the Good by Jason Mraz
Y’all know me. Jason Mraz’s Know. was my favorite album of 2018 and every one of his records has been an all-time classic for me. 2020’s Look for the Good was no exception, coming along at the perfect time to remind the world what it means to be hopeful and optimistic in a world that promises none of that. It didn’t have the high highs of some of his previous work, but it’s about as consistent as they come for the musician who’s just good for your soul. Even though there’s not an all-time great Mraz needle drop on the record, I still found tons (and months!) of enjoyment in songs like the easy listening “Good Old Daze,” the boppy “Wise Woman,” and the goofy song that sounded like Mraz of yore, “DJ FM AM JJASON.” (Take a look at the wordplay in that last title. Think about the months of the year.)
2. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
Credit where it’s due, NPR’s Stephen Thompson has been championing the talents of indie rock underdog/budding superstar Phoebe Bridgers. In 2020, though, I saw the light — and it looked awfully dark. Bridgers’ June 2020 LP, Punisher, was the breakout album of the year. She instantly vaulted into territory for me that reminds me of when I first heard Lorde for the first time. Bridgers is undeniably gifted, as she was responsible for some of the year’s best songs, like the dreamy “Kyoto,” the solemn “Graceland Too,” and the modernly nostalgic, “DVD Menu.” She’s speaking to a new generation in Punisher and I’m happy to be a part of it.
1. Folklore and Evermore by Taylor Swift
It’s the double chorus in “Cardigan” and the double bridge in “August” and the time stamps on both of them aligning like Easter with their trilogy topper, “Betty.” It’s the first notes of Aaron Dessner’s piano on “The 1,” signaling the arrival of the album Swifties have long desired. It’s the pause built into “Then it was bought by me” in “The Last Great American Dynasty.” It’s the fury behind “Don’t call me ‘kid’ / Don’t call me ‘baby.’” It’s the unparalleled vulnerability in “Peace,” the “this could be an opener and a closer” of “The Lakes,” the yearning of “Mirrorball,” and the devastation in “My Tears Ricochet.” It’s the vocalizing of “At least I’m trying” and “I gave so many signs” on top of Bon Iver’s honey butter voice.
It’s the fact that all of this in Folklore wasn’t enough and five months later, she surprise announced Evermore. It’s the all-time great Swift melody of “Champagne Problems,” the Jack Antonoff swimming pool progression of “Gold Rush,” the clef climbing of “Willow.” It’s the lyric, “And I’m sitting on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go?” It’s the fact that “Dorothea” could be a ten-year follow-up to “Back to December.” It’s the fact that “‘Tis the Damn Season” could be that, too, if it wasn’t busy being the best Christmas song since Bublé came to town. It’s the perfection of “Ivy.” It’s the finality of “Happiness.”
For all these reasons and infinite more, Folklore and Evermore, Taylor Swift’s 2020-defining (and career-defining) sister albums produced with Dessner and Antonoff and Justin Vernon and William Bowery (fun) across the country, are the inseparable albums of the year. For all these reasons and more, these are two of the greatest works of art to ever exist in the history of humans and records and universes. For all these reasons and (ever)more, Evermore is a new Taylor Swift all-timer and one of the best things about 2020. For all these reasons and more, I feel comfortable saying Folklore is my favorite album ever made. So yeah, it belongs at number one. And yeah, 2020 could’ve been worse without Taylor Swift, who just had a career year in a career that already saw her as one of the world’s best-ever songwriters and the voice of her generation. Folklore and Evermore, thanks for giving music a great year.
More from the Best of 2020 series:
My 20 Favorite Books I Read in 2020
My 20 Favorite Podcasts of 2020
See also:
(#1 was Melodrama by Lorde)
(#1 was Know by Jason Mraz)
My 100 Favorite Songs of the Decade
(#1 was “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA)
(#1 was Happiness Begins by Jonas Brothers)
