Welcome! As usual, my top albums list is coming out at a totally appropriate time and not awkwardly late, like almost halfway into the next year. 2020 was a truly crazy year for everyone, but there was still a lot of really great new music released. I always love showcasing what I felt was some of the best I came across, so I've spent some time carefully compiling this list. As I always say, these lists are my opinion at the time I finish them but sometimes those views change over time so this list might have been different a few months or years later.
I chose a song or two from each release that I think you should give a listen if you're unfamiliar with the album/artist and maybe you'll become a new fan. If you like that song, check out the whole album as well as the rest of that artist's work, and of course go support them in any way possible. Buy music or merch if you are able to, and go see a show when tours come back.
I like to share some thoughts about the top few albums, but I am not always particularly good at turning what I think and feel into words, so I do my best to get some of it out there to hopefully help explain why I felt they were the best.
I made a Spotify playlist of all the "Check Out" songs embedded below that you can find here.
Feel free to let me know what you agree or disagree with and which albums you think I missed and might need to check out. Without further ado, I present my list of the top albums of 2020!
Honorable Mentions
Amaranthe - "Manifest"
Check Out: "Viral"
Stream on Spotify
Stream on Spotify
All Time Low - "Wake Up, Sunshine"
Check Out: "Some Kind of Disaster"
Stream on Spotify
Stream on Spotify
Covet - "Technicolor"
Long Distance Calling - "How Do We Want to Live?"
Check Out: "Immunity"
The Top 15 Albums of 2020
15. Ren Patrick - "Stick Around" EP
14. ÆGES - "DRØMMEN"
Check Out: "Pain"
13. Acceptance - "Wild, Free"
Check Out: "Cold Air"
12. Cloudkicker - "Solitude"
Check Out: "What They Do is Not Art"
11. Eric Hutchinson - "Class of '98"
Check Out: "Cooler Than You"
10. Nightwish - "Human. :II: Nature"
Check Out: "Harvest"
"How's the Heart?"
9. Alexz Johnson - "Still Alive"
Check Out: "Still Alive"
8. pg.lost - "Oscillate"
Check Out: "Shelter"
6. O'Brother - "You and I"
Check Out: "Halogen Eye"
5.5. Taylor Swift - "Evermore"
- I was very happy that 2020 marked the return of Taylor Swift to the world of good music. I used to be a massive fan of hers, from the very beginning up until the 1989 era. Then she spent years floundering between mediocrity and downright awfulness. I felt at some point she would decide to become an actual artist again and she finally did. I've gone back and forth about which I prefer between Evermore and Folklore, and I eventually decided that since they are sister albums and very close in quality that I would give them both the #5 spot. I did come to the conclusion (at this point) that I give the edge to Folklore over Evermore, though for a while it was the other way around. Despite the similarities, there are still things that are unique to Evermore. The instrumentation and production largely feels a little bit more opened up, though the songs still feel very intimate. Evermore is dreamier and less grounded than Folklore and a tad bit less cohesive overall, with more style variations than it's older sister.
The opening track "Willow" has an intriguing mysteriousness to it, with the distant twinkling keys perfectly layered behind the plucked guitar. Taylor's talent as a lyricist and vocalist really shine on both of these albums, but "Willow" is a particularly good showcase. The shift in pitch she chose for the choruses apart from the verses suits the song well, lending a darkness to the verses while brightening up the choruses.
"No Body, No Crime" is another stand out track in my opinion. A country-tinged true-crime inspired tale about questioning the disappearance and possible murder that turns into a revenge story featuring harmonies from HAIM.
Without the craziness of 2020 and all of the things that went with it, we likely wouldn't have gotten Folklore, and definitely not Evermore. I'm glad Taylor was allowed the freedom to create and experiment and grow as an artist, as a result created two fantastic albums.
Check Out: "Willow"
5. Taylor Swift - "Folklore"
- As I mentioned above, I went back and forth a lot about which of the two albums I preferred more. The weird thing about both is that I think each of them lose a little steam in the second half, with the strongest songs generally coming early on in the "'ores." After largely writing Taylor off as an artist for several years, even I got swept up in the excitement generated by the surprise announcement and release of Folklore. Even the name inspired hope in me that it would buck the trend of her previous few albums languishing artistically and musically. The aesthetic and album title were reminiscent of her phenomenal 2011 collaboration with The Civil Wars, "Safe & Sound" for The Hunger Games film. I was hopeful that perhaps she would finally create an album in that musical vein. Well Folklore isn't that, but it is perhaps the closest she has come. My first listen to the album was admittedly a little impacted by my own expectations, I hoped for a much more dark and moody sound. That said, I still enjoyed it and grew to love and appreciate the album on it's own merits on subsequent listens. One of my biggest critiques is that I feel the tracklist could have been trimmed. There are a few songs that aren't particularly strong, "Mirrorball" being one of the biggest arguments for trimming, "This is Me Trying" also gets a mention in that department. That's not to say the weaker songs are necessarily bad, I just find them a little bland.
I'm not sure if or how Taylor will translate the songs from these albums into a concert. They certainly aren't the kind of songs that will work well in arenas, let alone massive football stadiums. And it would be jarring to incorporate them along with songs from her back catalogue. I'd like to see her do something along the lines of a smaller scale venue tour that can provide the music with the intimacy it requires. Maybe with mini-residencies in a handful of cities around the country to provide more opportunities for fans to get tickets, instead of a 40+ city tour of stadiums and arenas. That's assuming she has any intention of ever performing these songs live, which she may not. Either way, I'm more excited about the prospect Taylor's future endeavors than I have been for most of the past decade thanks to her welcomed choice to become an actual artist again instead of just another pop star.
Check Out: "The Last Great American Dynasty"
"Betty"
4. Silverstein - "A Beautiful Place to Drown"
- If it wasn't already apparent, Silverstein have cemented their place as one of the greatest bands of their generation. Every single album they've released for the past 20 years has been great. Even after all these years, they still manage to sound like the same band while expanding and experimenting with their sound to keep things fresh. The first two tracks on A Beautiful Place to Drown, "Bad Habits" and "Burn it Down", are absolute bangers I can see being in the regular setlist rotation for years to come. The same goes for the fourth track, "Infinite" which is so catchy I often find it getting stuck in my head. Then there's a track like "All On Me" which is somewhat a departure from what people typically expect from Silverstein, relying more on keyboards and synths with some distortion on the vocals. It even features some saxophone, which I wish was used even more. The following song "Madness" starts out immediately reminding you that this is the same band with a punch of heavy guitar riffs and crashing drums, but then it has a featured spot by rapper Princess Nokia to mix things up. I'm usually not a fan of albums with a large amount of 'featuring' collaborations, but this is a rare instance where they all work.
A Beautiful Place to Drown is an album that any Silverstein fan should be happy with, and anyone not familiar with Silverstein needs to give a listen to.
Check Out: "Bad Habits (Feat. Intervals)"
"Infinite"
3. Caspian - "On Circles"
- Titans Caspian followed up their incredible 2015 release Dust & Disquiet, which was one of the best albums of the decade, with another predictably remarkable effort. I would usually they are an instrumental band, but I guess that is not technically true since On Circles is the second album in a row to include a song with vocals and lyrics. This time it's the aptly name "Nostalgist" featuring vocals from Kyle Durfey of Pianos Become the Teeth. As well as the closing track "Circles On Circles" with vocals and lyrics by Caspian guitarist Philip Jamieson. Typically, I am very much opposed to instrumental albums including a song or two with actual vocals. I say "actual" because many instrumental bands, Capian included, will utilize vocals as an added ambient effect or instrument but not have 'singing' per se. I feel that way because I enjoy a certain mindset when listening to instrumental music. You can let the music take you on a journey and use your own imagination and emotions to sometimes hear the song in a different way. I suppose that is possible with vocals as well, but there is usually a specific story or emotion being conveyed and the song is usually constructed differently to incorporate the vocals and I find it jarring in the context of other purely instrumental songs. The way Caspian writes the songs and works them into the album is just about as well done as it can be, and I don't find it jarring.
With that out of the way, Caspian music is all about the journey and On Circles is no exception. The opening track "Wildblood" feels at the beginning as if it's settling in for the ride you are about to go on. Slowly enticing you to come inside the world the album has created for itself. There's a tight knit woven by all of the different elements, which includes FOUR guitarists, it's easy to find new dimensions within the sonic fabric of the album to key in on, "Wildblood" and "Flowers of Light" in particular. They are masters at creating epic cinematic soundscapes, some of the greatest ever, and On Circles showcases the many different types of soundscapes they have in their repertoire, from the flowing and growing slow build of "Wildblood" to the relatively minimalistic and calm "Onsra" directly into the bone crushing, fuzzy bass heavy relentlessness of "Collapser."
Caspian is one of those bands that only ever releases masterpieces, and On Circles is another gem in their epic discography. Make sure you take some time to put this album on, close your eyes and let it take you places.
Check Out: "Flowers of Light"
"Collapser"
2. Miley Cyrus - "Plastic Hearts"
- I'm as surprised as you are to see this album here. Much like Taylor Swift, I used to be a big fan of Miley and then she lost me for a while. But she has definitely won me back over with this fantastic album. I didn't really expect much when I heard she had new music coming out, then after hearing and falling in love with the amazing lead single "Midnight Sky," I began cautiously anticipating the release of the album. Right off the bat, Plastic Hearts starts with two of the strongest songs on the album "WTF Do I Know" and "Plastic Hearts." After years of most popular mainstream music lacking the presence of real instruments, this album starts off with an actual bass guitar and not some computer generated bass-like tones. That is a sign of what's to come. It's so refreshing to hear music from a massive popstar like Miley that has REAL guitars, drums and bass. The opening track "WTF Do I Know" is an in-your-face Rock song with the aforementioned punchy bass and a guitar solo. This style of music suits Miley's unique voice perfectly and that's one of the reasons I became a fan of her so many years ago, before pop music shied away from anything that came close to Rock and Roll music. After the next "Plastic Hearts," the album deviates from being straight up rock and jumps around to various 70s-90s influences such as Disco and new wave. Despite the stylistic variety, Plastic Hearts still manages to be probably the most cohesive and consistent album she's ever released.
I am very happy Miley decided to scrap her previous album plans and completely change course to what became Plastic Hearts, while I certainly am not happy about the circumstances in her life that brought about the change. I hope this is the beginning of a new Miley era that leads to even bigger and better things and more great music.
Check Out: "WTF Do I Know"
"Plastic Hearts"
1. Intervals - "Circadian"
- Intervals is a band that I am relatively new to being a fan of. I only started listening to them after seeing them open for Between the Buried and Me at the end of 2019. Man, have I been missing out. It's that sweet spot of instrumental music that I really love, technical but still very catchy and melodic. I'm a huge fan of instrumental music in general, but when the top line melodies are written in a way where the instruments, particularly the guitars "sing," it really does something for me. Circadian beautifully combines memorable melodies and djent-y technical prog metal rhythms. This is almost exactly the type of music that Polyphia wishes they were making now, instead of whatever garbage they're churning out, but without the unnecessary rap crossover nonsense.Often times with this list, I penalize albums for being too short and this one comes in at only 8 tracks and 35 minutes long. I do wish there was one more track or that some were a bit longer, but the whole thing from start to finish is just a joy to listen to. I dare anyone to put on "Signal Hill" and not feel an immediate boost to their mood. The final 40 seconds of that track is one of the best segments of music I've heard in years.Speaking of songs I wish were longer, a surprise saxophone spot in a song always makes everything better and "D.O.S.E" is no exception. It already stands out with a slightly different vibe from the rest of the album, but not so much as to feel out of place. The 'chorus' for lack of a better term is one of the strongest on the whole album, I find myself humming it at random times after listening to it. Then in the final minute, out of absolutely nowhere, Saxl Rose joins the party to play along with the superb melody and finishes it out with a low key solo. Every time the sax hits, it feels so refreshing and perfectly placed. My only problem is at the end of the song, I find myself wishing there was 30-60 more seconds of it. But at the end of the day, the mark of good art is to leave your audience wanting more, and that's better than feeling like some of it could have been trimmed out.I know some people haven't listened to much instrumental music, or may not have found much they like. I think this is an album that those people can find enjoyment in just as much as the people like me who listen to a lot of instrumental.
Check Out: "5-HTP"
"String Theory"
"D.O.S.E."
Well there it is, the top albums of 2020 according to The Real Concert King. Thank you so much for taking the time to check it out!
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