The Top 49 Albums Of 2020

A full ranking list complete with streaming links is available at the bottom of this post, with the genre-specific notices following thereafter…

2020, It’s Been… Well, It’s Been And Gone And Thank Fuck For That!

And there you are, theydies and gentlethems!

My personal pin in the cushion that was 2020 Pop Music; hundreds of listening hours condensed into a handy JPEG. And if it all feels a little anti-climactic… well, yeah. The ironic folly behind all end-of-year lists is that the attempted final resolution to reconcile any sort of status quo will never really happen, no matter how comprehensive the content may be. There will always be something one has overlooked or overrated that needed more time than a mere twelve months to make its true charms felt, but until then, this is what I have got to show for the year that was, other than a newfound ability to open doors with my wrists and elbows…

But not really… 😉

Here’s a few miscellaneous plugs to finish this whole thing out with.

For more finite reviews on specific tracks and remixes from this year, do check out 100 Word Song Review, as well as their comprehensive Spotify playlist.

For hilarious discussions on past pop music obscura, subscribe to Unflopped on either Apple or Spotify.

For having trivia-based fun whilst helping out the human condition via Zoom, follow Eggnog Quiz Nights on Facebook.

Thanks to every one of those guys for keeping me amused and enlightened in equal measure this year and thanks for taking your time out to have a read through all of this.

Let’s hope 2021 will be a year that treats us kinder, eh?

Happy New Year, everyone, and I’ll see you on the other side.

xxxo

My Favourites (Fully Ranked List)

49. Deleter – Holy Fuck (Spotify — Apple)

48. Wild Wild East – Sunny Jain (Spotify — Apple)

47. Wu Hen – Kamaal Williams (Spotify — Apple)

46. some kind of peace – Olafur Arnalds (Spotify — Apple)

45. Aporia – Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams (Spotify — Apple)

44. Warnings – I Break Horses (Spotify — Apple)

43. 100% YES – Melt Yourself Down (Spotify — Apple)

42. Voices – Max Richter (Spotify — Apple)

41. Shabrang – Sevdaliza (Spotify — Apple)

40. Gaslighter – The Chicks (Spotify — Apple)

39. Dark Matter – Moses Boyd (Spotify — Apple)

38. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never – Oneohtrix Point Never (Spotify — Apple)

37. Love And Dancing – Horse Meat Disco (Spotify — Apple)

36. Pyramid – Jaga Jazzist (Spotify — Apple)

35. Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath Of God – Busta Rhymes (Spotify — Apple)

34. Massive Oscillations – Waclaw Zimpel (Spotify — Apple)

33. Sixteen Oceans – Four Tet (Spotify — Apple)

32. Peel – KMRU (Spotify — Apple)

31. Karma & Desire – Actress (Spotify — Apple)

30. songs and instrumentals – Adrianne Lenker (Spotify — Apple)

29. Rejoice – Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela (Spotify — Apple)

28. Optimisme – Songhoy Blues (Spotify — Apple)

27. Island – Owen Pallett (Spotify — Apple)

26. Amazones Power – Les Amazones D’Afrique (Spotify — Apple)

25. Opaquer – KMRU (Spotify — Apple)

24. The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo – Mr. Bungle (Spotify — Apple)

23. Cenizas – Nicolas Jaar (Spotify — Apple)

22. SIGN – Autechre (Spotify — Apple)

21. Illusion Of Time – Daniel Avery & Alessandro Cortini (Spotify — Apple)

20. The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises In Group Form – Matmos (Spotify — Apple)

19. Inner Song – Kelly Lee Owens (Spotify — Apple)

18. Visions Of Bodies Being Burned – clipping. (Spotify — Apple)

17. What We Drew 우리가 그려왔 – Yaeji (Spotify — Apple)

16. Source – Nubya Garcia (Spotify — Apple)

15. Keleketla! – Keleketla (Spotify — Apple)

14. The Ascension – Sufjan Stevens (Spotify — Apple)

13. After Hours – The Weeknd (Spotify — Apple)

12. Working Men’s Club – Working Men’s Club (Spotify — Apple)

11. I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep – Ghostpoet (Spotify — Apple)

10. Conference Of Trees – Pantha Du Prince (Spotify — Apple)

9. Fetch The Bolt Cutters – Fiona Apple (Spotify — Apple)

8. Róisín Machine – Roisin Murphy (Spotify — Apple)

7. græ – Moses Sumney (Spotify — Apple)

6. There Is No Year – Algiers (Spotify — Apple)

5. RTJ4 – Run The Jewels (Spotify — Apple)

4. What’s Your Pleasure? – Jessie Ware (Spotify — Apple)

3. KiCk i – Arca (Spotify — Apple)

2. Heaven To A Tortured Mind – Yves Tumor (Spotify — Apple)

1. Set My Heart On Fire Immediately – Perfume Genius (Spotify — Apple)

Genre-Specifics For The Normcores

Alternative Album Of The Year – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius

Classical Album Of The Year – Voices by Max Richter

Country/Folk Music Album Of The Year – songs and instrumentals by Adrianne Lenker

Dance Music Album Of The Year – Róisín Machine by Róisín Murphy

Electronic Music Album Of The Year – KiCk i by Arca

Hip Hop/Rap Album Of The Year – RTJ4 by Run The Jewels

Jazz Album Of The Year – Source by Nubya Garcia

Pop Music Album Of The Year – What’s Your Pleasure? by Jessie Ware

R&B/Soul Album Of The Year – There Is No Year by Algiers

Rock Album Of The Year – The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo by Mr. Bungle

World Music Album Of The Year – Keleketla! by Keleketla

Debut Album Of The Year – Working Men’s Club by Working Men’s Club

Extended Play Of The Year – The Fifth Season by Lafawndah