Good riddance 2020. We’re finally saying good-bye to one of the worst years on record and are hoping for a much better 2021. While 2020 was a turd wrapped in burnt hair, it did give us some fantastic music for our ears and souls to enjoy over these many months spent social distancing. Phoebe Bridgers’ blessed us with Punisher, her highly anticipated follow-up to Stranger in the Alps, and a few EPs to help end the year right. This was also the year Taylor Swift’s music won me over for the first time in my life thanks to her two impressive albums folklore and evermore. We also got a killer Spanish Love Songs album to start the year, Touche Amore somehow found a way to follow up Stage Four with their epic new record Lament, a long awaited new full length from The Front Bottoms and a powerful debut solo album from Hayley Williams. I could go on-and-on with all the new music I enjoyed this year, but it’s best I let the records on my list below speak for themselves.
This was my first year writing for Chorus and it’s been such an honor writing alongside everyone on the website. Through contributors here, I discovered artists I probably wouldn’t have given a chance or found on my own, but I’m glad I did. The result of all these discoveries is what’s probably my most diverse end-of-year album list yet. I never thought I’d have pop records from Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa on my list, but here we are. I’m excited for the new music to come in 2021 and to continue to write about it here at Chorus.fm.
Without further ado, here are my best albums of 2020:
- Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
- Spanish Love Songs – Brave Faces Everyone
- Touche Amore – Lament
- Taylor Swift – folklore
- Taylor Swift – evermore
- Dogleg – Melee
- Deftones – Ohms
- Jeff Rosenstock – NO SLEEP
- Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
- Silverstein – A Beautiful Place to Drown
- The Front Bottoms – In Sickness & In Flames
- Hayley Williams – Petals for Armor
- Jason Isbell – Reunions
- Machine Gun Kelly – Tickets to my Downfall
- Four Year Strong – Brain Pain
- Ratboys – Printer’s Devil
- Chris Stapleton – Starting Over
- Brian Fallon – Local Honey
- Nas – King’s Disease
- Beach Bunny – Honeymoon
- Mac Miller – Circles
- beabadoobee – Fake It Flowers
- Soccer Mommy – color theory
- Pearl Jam – Gigaton
- Bruce Springsteen – Letter to You
- Run the Jewels – RTJ4
- Bartees Strange – Live Forever
- Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake
- Gulch – Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
- Yours Truly – Self Care