Despite being in quarantine for the better part of 2020, I listened to far fewer new albums last year than usual. Despite topping over 450 albums in some past years, I hit only 225 new albums listened to in 2020. I didn’t feel like I listened to less music last year, but I probably listened to less new music, instead playing old favourites or comfortable tunes a lot more than usual. That being sad, there were some truly spectacular albums released last year and in this piece I’ll give thanks to a few of them in my own small way.

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The List
  1. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters
    (Indie Folk/Rock)
  2. Touché Amoré – Lament
    (Punk)
  3. Bartees Strange – Live Forever
    (Indie)
  4. Angel Bat Dawid / Tha Brothahood – LIVE
    (Jazz/Spoken Word)
  5. Deftones – Ohms
    (Rock)
  6. Yaeji – WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던
    (Experimental/Pop)
  7. Dogleg – Melee
    (Punk)
  8. Empress Of – I’m Your Empress Of
    (Electronic/Pop)
  9. Open Mike Eagle – Anime, Trauma and Divorce
    (Hip-Hop)
  10. AceMoMA – A New Dawn
    (Electronic/Experimental)
Honourable Mentions

Each of these half dozen albums was in my top 10 or 12 albums of the year at some point, before ultimately being bumped for this final list.

  • Arca – KiCk i
    (Electronic/Experimental)
  • Freddie Gibbs / The Alchemist – Alfredo
    (Hip-Hop)
  • Marcin Przybylowicz, PT Adamczyk & Paul Leonard Morgan – Cyberpunk 2077 (Original Score)
    (Electronic)
  • Pop Smoke – Meet the Woo 2
    (Hip-Hop)
  • Helena Hauff – Kern Vol. 5
    (DJ/Electronic)
  • HEALTH – DISCO 4 :: Part I
    (Industrial/Electronic)