2020: The Year in Albums
December 28, 2020
Cover Design by Jode-Leigh Nembhard
This list of things that can be said about this year is exhaustive. It hasn’t been easy, days have run together, and grief has felt ubiquitous. But, amidst all of this, one of the things I’ve felt a great joy about is music — diving deep into the albums and artists that move me, making playlists, listening, and searching.
In a world where the consumption of art, and its future, is constantly questioned, recorded music remains untarnished. The questions have been non-stop: (how) will movie theaters survive? Will concerts ever happen again? What will happen when Netflix [finally] runs out pre-COVID-19 recorded content? (Will Netflix ever run out of content?). With much in disarray, the sanctity of the album remains in tact. As such, recorded music is one of the few art forms that has been unabated by the pandemic, making albums more precious than ever.
There were [many] different albums that did different things for me at different times, and I’m thankful for those artists sharing their work. To commemorate the year, and the albums that touched me, I made up a bunch of categories for those albums, describing, in short, why I appreciate them. Without any further ado — The Completely Unbiased and Wholly Comprehensive Best Albums of 2020:
Where My Bread is Buttered & My Cup is Filled
There is a particular sound, made by a set of artists that has resonated with me for a number of years. I can’t quite qualify that sound, but I know it when I hear it. This year, some of my favorite artists released new albums where they tried new things, explored their sound in new ways, and in some cases, collaborated with new people.
Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder, Kamasi Washington — Dinner Party
Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes — What Kinda Music
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah — Axiom
Thundercat — It Is What It Is
“Wow, This Album Really Grew On Me(?)”
This category is somewhat in contrast to the aforementioned section. Where the last section was about a level of familiarity and trust I feel like I’ve developed with some artists, this is more about exploration in a sense; artists that I’m familiar with, but hadn’t really delved into their work. In other cases, I had assigned some level of expectation to an artist, and they exceeded. I guess the takeaway is, we all come to albums when we’re supposed to. Here are some albums that have grown on me as the year has progressed.
Chloe x Halle — Ungodly Hour
Ricky Dillard — Choirmaster
Dua Lipa — Future Nostalgia
“Wow, I’m Glad I Came Across This!”
One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is looking for new music — particularly music from people I don’t know much about. Each month, through the Plug’n Play playlist, Kevin and I scour the internet for music that moves us, but also music that may go unnoticed. Below are some albums made by artists that I’ve come to love, even though I may have never heard of, or listened to, them before this year.
Washed Out — Purple Noon
Jessie Ware — What’s Your Pleasure?
Nubya Garcia — SOURCE
Victoria Monét — JAGUAR
Video Age — Pleasure Line
Jaga Jazzist — Pyramid
Margo Price — That’s How Rumors Get Started
I Missed You
I am sensitive to the idea that art takes time, and that artists should move when they feel moved. With that said, there’re some people you wait for, sometimes impatiently, but you’re happy when they finally come around. Below are some albums made by artists that I’ve loved for some time, but haven’t released anything in a number of years.
Dornik — Limboland
Tame Impala — The Slow Rush
Chris Stapleton — Starting Over
A Cut Above the Rest
Some albums, for whatever reason, become special to us. It’s not quite something you can explain, but you know it when you hear it. For me, those albums came from Lianne La Havas, Ben Williams, Derrick Hodge, Little Dragon, Khruangbin, and SAULT (twice!), all releasing albums that resonated with me that keeps me coming back to them.
Lianne La Havas — Lianne La Havas
Ben Williams — I Am A Man
Derrick Hodge — Color of Noize
Little Dragon — New Me, Same Us
Khruangbin — Mordechai
SAULT — Untitled (Rise)
Miscellaneous Faves
Albums I really enjoyed but couldn’t think of a category title for lol.
