2020, right?
There was one thing I was sure of when we all went home in March: the output music and other art was going to be nuts! This year did not disappoint, in that respect. I have never listened to as much new music in a year as this one (and I make an annual best album list)!
Seriously, the amount of excellent new music released in this shit storm of a year has been staggering. When contemplating how best to start this list, I finally just admitted that I could not possibly cover every great, or even just really good, release from 2020. So I decided to cap it at 50. Cutting albums from this long list was torturous, but I didn’t want to be working on this list into next year. I’m willing to bet I’ll still be discovering great albums from this year in 2030. Damn!
Alright, so for the long list, I’m giving it to you straight, with no commentary. Just some notes about origin and release date.
Some rules to make it to this list:
- Must be good music
- No singles except full album-length/concept tracks; can be EPs
- No compilations
- Reissues considered only if more significant now
As always, the Top 5 Albums of the year are yet to come.
And so, I present to you, the best albums of 2020, so say I:
| Artist | Album | Release Date | Origin |
| Maât | Solar Mantra | 1/1/20 | France |
| Andy Shauf | The Neon Skyline | 1/24/20 | Canada |
| Afrikan Sciences | Journey Into Mr Re | 2/2/20 | USA |
| Kassa Overal | I THINK I’M GOOD | 2/28/20 | USA |
| Alabaster dePlume | To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 | 2/28/20 | UK |
| Caribou | Suddenly | 2/28/20 | Canada |
| Sen Morimoto | B-Sides & Rarities | 3/20/20 | USA |
| ONIPA | We No Be Machine | 3/20/20 | UK |
| Andrew Judah | Impossible Staircase | 4/20/20 | Canada |
| Sharada Shashidhar | Rahu | 5/14/20 | USA |
| EL-P | Fantastic Damage | 5/14/20 | USA |
| Damu the Fudgemunk, Archie Shepp & Raw Poetic | Ocean Bridges | 5/22/20 | USA |
| Jordan Klassen | Tell Me What To Do | 5/22/20 | Canada |
| 79rs Gang | Expect The Unexpected | 5/29/20 | USA |
| Etienne de la Sayette | KOBUGI | 6/1/20 | France |
| Run The Jewels | RTJ4 | 6/3/20 | USA |
| Photay | Waking Hours | 6/12/20 | USA |
| Nihiloxica | Kaloli | 6/12/20 | Uganda |
| SAULT | UNTITLED (Black Is) | 6/19/20 | USA |
| Soft Focus | Flowers | 6/26/20 | Belgium |
| Keleketla! | Keleketla! | 7/3/20 | UK |
| Duval Timothy | Help | 8/7/20 | UK |
| Son Lux | Tomorrows I | 8/14/20 | USA |
| Nubya Garcia | SOURCE | 8/21/20 | UK |
| Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah | Axiom | 8/28/20 | USA |
| Joshua Van Tassel | Dance Music volume II: More Songs for Slow Motion | 9/11/20 | Canada |
| Slauson Malone | Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak) | 9/16/20 | USA |
| Lex Amor | Government Tropicana | 9/18/20 | UK |
| Takuya Kuroda | Fly Moon Die Soon | 9/18/20 | USA |
| SAULT | UNTITLED (Rise) | 9/18/20 | USA |
| Supergombo | Sigi Tolo | 9/25/20 | France |
| IDLES | Ultra Mono | 9/25/20 | UK |
| Bless The Mad | Bless The Mad | 9/25/20 | USA |
| Christopher Port | Ritual Music (EP | 2020) | 10/9/20 | Australia |
| The Quiet Ones | The Quiet Ones | 10/9/20 | UK |
| Souleance | Les Mouches | 10/9/20 | France |
| Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos | Bichos | 10/16/20 | UK |
| Napoleon Da Legend | Dragon Ball G | 10/16/20 | USA |
| beabadoobee | Fake It Flowers | 10/16/20 | UK |
| clipping. | Visions of Bodies Being Burned | 10/23/20 | USA |
| Planet Battagon | Trans-Neptunia | 10/23/20 | UK |
| PUP | This Place Sucks Ass | 10/23/20 | Canada |
| EABS | Discipline of Sun Ra | 10/30/20 | Poland |
| Mr. Bungle | The Raging Wrath of The Easter Bunny Demo | 10/30/20 | USA |
| Sauce and Dogs | Sauce and Dogs | 11/1/20 | UK |
| Krust | The Edge Of Everything | 11/6/20 | UK |
| ThE DiAboLIcaL LibERTieS | High Protection & The Sportswear Mystics | 11/13/20 | UK |
| Ghost Funk Orchestra | An Ode To Escapism | 11/13/20 | USA |
| Quakers | II – The Next Wave | 11/13/20 | UK |
| Lyckle de Jong | bij Annie op bezoek | 12/7/20 | Netherlands |
Operation Manatee 