Best Albums of 2020

Disclaimer: It’s been a while since the last post here, and that’s primarily due to the unfinishable nature of this article. I started working on this back in December and wanted it to be one of the first things on the freak book. Over the course of the last couple weeks I made it my goal to finish this before working on anything else, but I’ve lost motivation to actually finish. Now I’m ready to move onto working on some other (shorter and easier to write) content so I’m posting this in its incomplete form because everyone loves lists and there’s definitely still a lot here. So, without further ado, here are the albums we loved this year. 

Honorable Mention: Whole Lotta Red

It took a while, but this album certainly grew on me. Initially, songs like “Sky” (one of the best in the Carti catalogue) immediately grabbed my attention while others like “Stop Breathing” or “JumpOutTheHouse” left me feeling fairly skeptical. While there are still moments on this album I find somewhat cringeworthy, I can say with confidence I enjoy the majority of the album. There are some great one-liners (including the eerily timed “I just hit a lick with a mask, MF Doom”), hard-hitting and creative beats, and fairly impressive vocal acrobatics. Even the Kanye feature is pretty good. The Cudi feature absolutely sucks though. 

13. Mac Miller - Circles

As we’ve seen in recent years, the posthumous album release is a daunting and difficult task for those involved. Sadly, we’ve had the opportunity to see quite a few posthumous releases recently and, while it’s certainly a good thing that the art these musicians created is able to see the light of day, the promise of what could have been if the artist were there to see it through always lurks in the shadows. Luckily, it seems Mac Miller was nearly finished with this album and those who put the finishing touches on it were competent and thoughtful in how they did so. Circles finds Mac Miller finally settling into his own as a rapper-turned-singer. There is still at least one rap song here, but the whole album still feels like a rap album—even if it doesn't sound like one.

While an album like Swimming, in which Miller was already spending more time singing than rapping, was conceptually interesting, Circles finds all the pieces of the puzzle—instrumentally, vocally, and conceptually—falling into place. Here he sounds as genuine and forthright as ever, expressing emotion while communicating in a blunt manner the realizations he’s come to about himself and the world. This is truly an album about the human experience, not overlooking the beauty but well aware of the darker elements of human nature. Mac engages in the type of emotional honesty here that only comes from serious self-reflection, and it's admirable of him to so openly share these things with those of us who understand we aren’t perfect either. 

Faces, his magnum opus, exists on a tier apart from his other albums as a masterpiece. But, considered among the rest of his discography, Circles is up there with the best of them. An impressive feat for an accomplished rapper who decided to start singing. 

12. Wifigawd and Tony Seltzer - Heat Check Vol. 2

It’s so refreshing to hear an album that’s just really fun. I often find myself gravitating towards music that reflects the general malaise of an increasingly hopeless world, but occasionally it’s nice to roll the windows down and yell “I go ten for ten, don’t get shot like Uncle Ben” along with Wifigawd over a rearview mirror-rattling Tony Seltzer beat. Heat Check Vol. 2 is one of those albums that may not be particularly groundbreaking or prophetic, but is just kind of perfect. There’s not a single filler track here. Tony Seltzer’s production is incredibly distinctive in a very indescribable way, it’s so obvious throughout the album that he’s behind the boards. The beats he delivers range from smooth-and-vibey to straight-from-the-streets. Wifigawd delivers throughout the album as well, matching his voice and flow to whatever Tony throws his way, constantly adapting. There have been many great albums that pair a rapper and producer (and actually give the producer an artist credit) and while Heat Check Vol. 2 isn’t the best, it is a fantastic example of two compelling artists really clicking with one another. Also, the Wiki verse is sick. 

11. ILLFIGHTYOU - ILLFIGHTYOUTOO

If you haven’t heard ILLFIGHTYOU’s 2013 mixtape ILLFIGHTYOU, I highly recommend it. ILLFIGHTYOUTOO picks up right where its predecessor left off. These are high energy tracks driven by zany beats. If I had to pick one word to describe this album it would be “thrilling.” Over the course of 41 minutes UGLYFRANK, KHRIS P, and GLENN show us why they’re so fond of capitalization by taking listeners on a thrill ride filled with twists, turns, humor, and dazzling displays of flow and lyricism. GLENN and UGLYFRANK both exhibit their proven ability to deliver a relentless onslaught of bars while KHRIS P, even if he doesn’t quite keep up, makes himself indispensable by adding variety (also worth mentioning he handles the production which is just incredible throughout). 

But what makes this album, and the work of ILLFIGHTYOU more broadly, so interesting is the pervasive sense of freedom and fun. Sure, GLENN may claim that he “don’t even like rap,” but it's clear his real frustration lies with elements of the industry and culture surrounding rap. It’s obvious here that he loves rapping. In fact, all three members sound like they’re having a blast throughout most of the project. The politics of this album are also appealing. On “Carbroke” there’s a reference to “drinkin’ water mixed with lead,” but the even better political message here is the anti-politics of tracks like “F***Washington.” Pure rejection of the political system and the promises it won’t fulfill. It’s protest music for those more concerned about the fundamental inequalities the government upholds than party affiliations. 

10. 100 Gecs - 1000 Gecs

100 Gecs may soon become supremely uncool, and if that happens it will largely be a result of their fanbase, which is sad. However, despite what may or may not happen in the near future, 1000 Gecs is a pretty great album. It represents a thesis on what hyperpop could become by drawing on PC Music and other pioneers of the genre. But this album pushes the envelope of what we as listeners are willing to put up with. It took a few listens for me to come around to the most accessible tracks on this album, and even longer before I found myself sold on the entire project. But here we are, they’ve convinced me that this is good. They’ve also managed to sneak in a few pretty solid critiques of capital as well. It’s certainly not as complex and detailed in its treatment of capital as the work of someone like Dean Blunt, but it's also not too superficial either. Or maybe it uses its superficiality to make a more interesting point? “Money Machine,” a satisfyingly brutal track aimed at the “big truck bro” community, includes the slightly enigmatic but endlessly interesting line “feel so clean like a money machine” repeated throughout. Obviously one line poking fun at the cleanliness of ATMs isn’t the most poignant critique, but its the way little moments from across the project come together that makes you start to sense there’s more to this album than what initially attacks one’s ears.

Another great thing about this album is that, despite the blown-out instrumentals and heavily processed vocals, it's packed with earworms. Occasionally, an artist says something incredibly obvious and uninteresting but they say it with such conviction and at such a perfect moment in the song that it has an almost otherwise unattainable emotional impact. This was what made Lil Peep stand out. And 100 Gecs find one of those moments when, on “800db Cloud,” Laura Les yells “I might throw my phone into a lake yeah!” over complete silence only to have the instrumental immediately crash back in as you watch your phone disappear underwater forever. It’s the moments like this that draw listeners into the album, but as one becomes more accustomed to whatever the hell they’re doing here, the value of the rest of the album quickly comes into focus. 

9. Dean Blunt - Roaches 2012-2019 (Deluxe Version)

I mean, its just really good. It’s not as thematically or sonically consistent as his most compelling projects, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s fascinating to get a peek (even though it may not provide much more insight) into the process that results in a complete Dean Blunt project. The songs here are from a range of different styles and at different stages of completion, and the listener can gather from these songs some idea of how Dean Blunt goes about making music. There’s a lot of great ideas here and some tracks that would make great singles as well. Really, it’s Dean Blunt. How could you not love it?

8. Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist - Alfredo

Absolutely fantastic album. Gibbs and The Alchemist have been incredibly consistent over the last few years and they clearly clicked here. The beats are astounding and Gibbs is rapping as well as ever, proving himself able to continue addressing many of the same topics he’s addressed throughout his career in new and interesting ways. 

7. AceMoma - A New Dawn [HOA007] 

Don’t have a ton to say about this one other than that AceMo and MoMa Ready nailed it. The drums, for example, are exquisite throughout—frenetic and mesmerizing, the attention to detail that went into constructing these tracks is unmistakable. The non-drum parts of the track compliment the drums perfectly, never becoming overwhelming or too busy but always keeping the listener on edge.

6. Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never

Like Dean Blunt, Daniel Lopatin has a knack for making some pretty awesome music pretty consistently. On Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, Lopatin takes a look back at his career thus far, incorporating elements of all his other albums into a radio-themed journey through pop and ambient. He proves adept at both, making some compelling pop tracks that still sound like OPN while also delivering some brilliant ambient passages. His commitment to confronting the disintegration of all we hold dear is admirable.

5. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake

Bars. The first part of this album is just a masterclass in unloading a dizzying display of bars. It falls in the tradition of Lil Wayne mixtapes, a combination of fun lines you shouldn’t take too seriously, surprisingly insightful lines it’s easy to miss, and a mastery of flow and delivery that very few artists have. The second half of the album finds Uzi fulfilling his role as emo-rap emperor, devoting more time to singing and melody resulting is some absolute bangers. There are a few duds here, and the concept really doesn’t seem to matter too much, but overall this is a great album. The deluxe version is great too, providing us studio quality versions of leaks we’ve loved for years. It seems Uzi just keeps getting better.

4. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways

For decades now, Bob Dylan has taken listeners on twists and turns through different phases of his career. Every one of these phases found him wielding his ungodly knowledge of literature, poetry, and religion to create some of the most enigmatic and complex music ever written. And while Rough and Rowdy Ways still contains brilliant imagery, turns of phrase, and allusions to historical events, it also finds Dylan leveling with the listener in a novel way. He doesn’t dumb things down for us, he just simplifies them. But the part of Dylan that likes to obscure things just beyond the point of clarity still exists here (thankfully), it’s just balanced by an aging songwriter realizing there are some things he’d like to make clear before he moves on. 

“I drive fast cars and I eat fast food, I contain multitudes”

It’s all the more impressive that he did this while also making a collection of songs that are so pleasant to listen to. 

3. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind

After proving themself as a master of experimentation on 2018’s Safe in the Hands of Love, Yves Tumor returns a full-blown rockstar on Heaven to a Tortured Mind. This arena-ready album showcases a fondness for the tropes of classic rock and hair metal while maintaining a healthy dose of experimentation. Crowd pleasing guitar solos meet abrasive noise, catchy hooks meet abstract imagery (“severed heads, on the mental guillotine”), and throughout Tumor exudes a swagger rarely performed so convincingly in contemporary rock. While it would be great to see another album in this vein from Yves Tumor, the success of this album makes us even more excited for whatever concept they may adopt for their next project. 

2. Against All Logic - 2017-2019

In 2018, under the radar of most music blogs, Nicolas Jaar revived his Against All Logic moniker to release some of the best work of his career with 2012-2017. These songs weren’t made for MoMa, they were made for the dance floor. Packed with soul and gospel samples, expertly chopped drums, and plenty of weird eccentricities to keep the listener on edge, it was one of the most fun and complex albums of the last decade. 

And now, just two years later, Jaar returned as Against All Logic with 2017-2019. Here the template remains similar to 2012-2017, but the sonic palette is largely upended. In place of the soul and gospel we find industry and machine. The album artwork, which includes an image of a soldier on an iPhone, perfectly captures the mood here. What was once loose and fluid has become more structured and regimented. While not as obviously dance floor ready as 2012-2017, this album still maintains the sense of rhythm and groove necessary for getting down. It may not be quite as good as its predecessor, but the juxtaposition of industrial sounds with club-ready grooves makes for a very compelling project and proves that, across various sub-genres, Nicolas Jaar is still one of the most innovative artists in electronic music. 

The Best: Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony

It’s clear that Bob Dylan, Yves Tumor, and Freddie Gibbs all knew they made the best album of the year. But it’s clear that the Jays really knew they made the best album of the year. The long awaited debut from Jay Electronica finally arrived in 2020, and, as he admits: “my debut album featurin' Hov, man, this is highway robbery.” Few artists have the opportunity to have someone like Jay-Z feature on the majority of songs on their debut album. Even fewer have the capacity to keep up. This is an album that exudes greatness at every turn. The instrumentals are flawless, packed with expertly selected samples and ranging from sinister to sublimely prophetic. The hissing beat that opens “The Blinding” sounds like a mechanical minotaur trying to escape from a cage while the instrumentals for songs like “The Neverending Story'' or “Universal Soldier” (among others) sound as if God himself delivered them to Roc-A-Fella Records. 

But as fantastic as the instrumentals are, they are merely here to construct the pulpit from which Hov and Jay Electronica can deliver their sermons-turned-rap-verses. Almost every line on this album feels revolutionary, verses filled with life-times full of wisdom from two industry veterans that still have a knack for making music that sounds fresh and exciting. Jay Electronica shines, adept at both introspection and intimidation (“I wore a ski mask and glove to the masquerade”). Jay-Z takes notes from Mach-Hommy, adopting a new flow but making it sound as if he’s rapped like this his whole career. His ability to conjure a luxurious flex underscored by poignant commentary only continues to improve. 

Few artists are able to live up to the sort of expectations that have been placed upon Jay Electronica, but here he exceeds those expectations.

So, there it is, our first albums of the year list. Hopefully you enjoyed it and we will have some more content up soon.