Year-End Lists

The Line of Best Fit: The Best Albums of 2020 Ranked

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021]

1. Sawayama
   Rina Sawayama
2. The Baby
   Samia
3. how I'm feeling now
   Charli XCX
4. Punisher
   Phoebe Bridgers
5. Græ
   Moses Sumney
6. Rough and Rowdy Ways
   Bob Dylan
7. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
   Perfume Genius
8. Heaven to a Tortured Mind
   Yves Tumor
9. Ungodly Hour
   Chloe x Halle
10. RTJ4
    Run the Jewels
11. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
    Fiona Apple
12. Saint Cloud
    Waxahatchee
13. The Worst Generation
    Che Lingo
14. Healing Is a Miracle
    Julianna Barwick
15. Big Conspiracy
    J Hus
16. I'm Your Empress Of
    Empress Of
17. We’re New Again: A Reimagining
    Gil Scott-Heron (posthumously) & Makaya McCraven
18. Visions of Bodies Being Burned
    clipping.
19. Anime, Trauma and Divorce
    Open Mike Eagle
20. Beginners
    Christian Lee Hutson
21. Good News
    Megan Thee Stallion
22. Show Pony
    Orville Peck
23. The Angel You Don't Know
    Amaarae
24. Inner Song
    Kelly Lee Owens
25. A Hero's Death
    Fontaines D.C.
26. The Amanda Tape
    THEY.
27. songs
    Adrianne Lenker
28. Jaguar
    Victoria Monét
29. Shore
    Fleet Foxes
30. Someone New
    Helena Deland
31. Blackstarkids
    Whatever, Man
32. Folklore
    Taylor Swift
33. SOURCE
    Nubya Garcia
34. Without People
    Donovan Woods
35. What's Your Pleasure?
    Jessie Ware
36. Petals for Armor
    Hayley Williams
37. Debris
    Keeley Forsyth
38. Warnings
    I Break Horses
39. So When You Gonna...
    Dream Wife
40. Future Nostalgia
    Dua Lipa
41. Twice as Tall
    Burna Boy
42. Now or Never
    Giggs
43. Sister
    Mina Tindle
44. Circles
    Mac Miller
45. Mordechai
    Khruangbin
46. The Prettiest Curse
    Hinds
47. Chromatica
    Lady Gaga
48. Women in Music Pt. III
    Haim
49. Edna
    Headie One
50. Dark Hearts
    Annie

Lindsay Zoladz: Best Albums of 2020, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021]

1. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
2. Punisher
   Phoebe Bridgers
3. Saint Cloud
   Waxahatchee
4. Women in Music Pt. III
   Haim
5. Heaven to a Tortured Mind
   Yves Tumor
6. how I'm feeling now
   Charli XCX
7. What's Your Pleasure?
   Jessie Ware
8. Eternal Atake
   Lil Uzi Vert
9. No Dream
   Jeff Rosenstock
10. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
    Perfume Genius
11. Folklore
    Taylor Swift

Jon Caramanica: Best Albums of 2020, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2011]

1. Southside
   Sam Hunt
2. Sawayama
   Rina Sawayama
3. Pray 4 Love
   Rod Wave
4. A Written Testimony
   Jay Electronica
5. RTJ4
   Run the Jewels
6. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
7. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon
   Pop Smoke
8. Ho, Why Is You Here?
   Flo Milli
9. Poems of the Past
   Powfu
10. Changes
    Justin Bieber
11. Starting Over
    Chris Stapleton
12. YHLQMDLG
    Bad Bunny
13. Honeymoon
    Beach Bunny

And 27 more for a chaotic year

• Savage Mode II
  21 Savage & Metro Boomin
• Burden of Proof
  Benny the Butcher
• Trap Tumbado
  Natanael Cano
• Gaslighter
  The Chicks
• City on Lock
  City Girls
• Underneath
  Code Orange
• From King to a God
  Conway the Machine
• Dark Lane Demo Tapes
  Drake
• Alfredo
  Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
• Positions
  Ariana Grande
• A Rock
  Hardy
• Violence in a Quiet Mind
  Haux
• Auntie
  Ian Isiah
• Atrapado en un Sueño
  Junior H
• Levon James
  King Von
• Just Cause Y'all Waited 2
  Lil Durk
• God Made a Woman
  Lauren Mascitti
• LP5
  John Moreland
• Before Love Came to Kill Us
  Jessie Reyez
• Rosetta
  Dua Saleh
• Jesus Is Born
  Sunday Service Choir
• Easy Money Baby
  Myke Towers
• What's Your Pleasure?
  Jessie Ware
• Saint Cloud
  Waxahatchee
• After Hours
  The Weeknd
• The Dream
  Hailey Whitters
• Top
  YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Jon Pareles: Best Albums of 2020, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2011]

1. The Ascension
   Sufjan Stevens
2. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
3. Græ
   Moses Sumney
4. Folklore
   Taylor Swift
5. Rough and Rowdy Ways
   Bob Dylan
6. Lianne La Havas
   Lianne La Havas
7. Twice as Tall
   Burna Boy
8. RTJ4
   Run the Jewels
9. Mama, You Can Bet!
   Jyoti
10. Sign
    Autechre

NPR Music: The 50 Best Albums of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Untitled (Black Is)
   Sault
2. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
3. Miss Colombia
   Lido Pimienta
4. Punisher
   Phoebe Bridgers
5. Spilligion
   Spillage Village
6. Adès Conducts Adès
   Boston Symphony Orchestra & Thomas Adès & Kirill Gerstein & Christianne Stotijn & Mark Stone
7. YHLQMDLG
   Bad Bunny
8. SOURCE
   Nubya Garcia
9. Eternal Atake
   Lil Uzi Vert
10. Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me
    Waylon Payne
11. Women in Music Pt. III
    Haim
12. Lianne La Havas
    Lianne La Havas
13. Ho, Why Is You Here?
    Flo Milli
14. Future Nostalgia
    Dua Lipa
15. RTJ4
    Run the Jewels
16. Expectations
    Katie Pruitt
17. Data Lords
    Maria Schneider Orchestra
18. Underneath
    Code Orange
19. On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment
    Ambrose Akinmusire
20. Jaguar
    Victoria Monét
21. Regresa
    Buscabulla
22. Negro Folk Symphony
    ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
23. Ungodly Hour
    Chloe x Halle
24. The Slow Rush
    Tame Impala
25. A Small Death
    Samantha Crain
26. Pauline
    Ashley Ray
27. Mama, You Can Bet!
    Jyoti
28. Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar)
    Siti Muharam
29. songs
    Adrianne Lenker
30. My Turn
    Lil Baby
31. It Is What It Is
    Thundercat
32. Live Forever
    Bartees Strange
33. Spider Tales
    Jake Blount
34. Silver Ladders
    Mary Lattimore
35. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
    Perfume Genius
36. Fuck The World
    Brent Faiyaz
37. Debussy - Rameau
    Vikingur Ólafsson
38. Muthaland
    Bbymutha
39. Sawayama
    Rina Sawayama
40. En Español
    The Mavericks
41. Thank You for Using GTL
    Drakeo the Ruler
42. The experience of repetition as death
    Clarice Jensen
43. Inside
    X Alfonso
44. Total Freedom
    Kathleen Edwards
45. Savage Mode II
    21 Savage & Metro Boomin
46. Some Kind of Peace
    Ólafur Arnalds
47. Saint Cloud
    Waxahatchee
48. Giver Taker
    Anjimile
49. Don't Feed The Monster
    Homeboy Sandman
50. how I'm feeling now
    Charli XCX

Consequence: Top 50 Albums of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
2. RTJ4
   Run the Jewels
3. Punisher
   Phoebe Bridgers
4. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
   Perfume Genius
5. Future Nostalgia
   Dua Lipa
6. Saint Cloud
   Waxahatchee
7. Ohms
   Deftones
8. Chromatica
   Lady Gaga
9. Alfredo
   Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
10. Gigaton
    Pearl Jam
11. Reunions
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
12. Map of the Soul: 7
    BTS
13. Sawayama
    Rina Sawayama
14. It Is What It Is
    Thundercat
15. After Hours
    The Weeknd
16. YHLQMDLG
    Bad Bunny
17. Heaven to a Tortured Mind
    Yves Tumor
18. how I'm feeling now
    Charli XCX
19. The Ascension
    Sufjan Stevens
20. Eternal Atake
    Lil Uzi Vert
21. Petals for Armor
    Hayley Williams
22. A Written Testimony
    Jay Electronica
23. Fake It Flowers
    Beabadoobee
24. Likewise
    Frances Quinlan
25. Ultra Mono
    Idles
26. Forgotten Days
    Pallbearer
27. Folklore
    Taylor Swift
28. Suddenly
    Caribou
29. Everything is Beautiful
    Princess Nokia
30. As Long as You Are
    Future Islands
31. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
    Oneohtrix Point Never
32. Shore
    Fleet Foxes
33. Letter to You
    Bruce Springsteen
34. The Price of Tea in China
    Boldy James & The Alchemist
35. That's How Rumors Get Started
    Margo Price
36. Giver Taker
    Anjimile
37. Twice as Tall
    Burna Boy
38. Gaslighter
    The Chicks
39. Shamir
    Shamir
40. Lamb of God
    Lamb of God
41. Pray for Paris
    Westside Gunn
42. Live Forever
    Bartees Strange
43. The Greatest Part
    Becca Mancari
44. Power Up
    AC/DC
45. The Liz
    Armani Caesar
46. Miss Anthropocene
    Grimes
47. American Head
    The Flaming Lips
48. The Neon Skyline
    Andy Shauf
49. Good News
    Megan Thee Stallion
50. Honeymoon
    Beach Bunny

Complex: The Best Albums of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. After Hours
   The Weeknd
2. My Turn
   Lil Baby
3. Eternal Atake
   Lil Uzi Vert
4. Alfredo
   Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
5. Burden of Proof
   Benny the Butcher
6. Savage Mode II
   21 Savage & Metro Boomin
7. The Slow Rush
   Tame Impala
8. Circles
   Mac Miller
9. Pray for Paris
   Westside Gunn
10. Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon
    Pop Smoke
11. The Goat
    Polo G
12. From King to a God
    Conway the Machine
13. Folklore
    Taylor Swift
14. Wunna
    Gunna
15. Ungodly Hour
    Chloe x Halle
16. YHLQMDLG
    Bad Bunny
17. A Muse in Her Feelings
    dvsn
18. A Written Testimony
    Jay Electronica
19. Meet the Woo 2
    Pop Smoke
20. Ho, Why Is You Here?
    Flo Milli
21. So Help Me God!
    2 Chainz
22. Angelic Hoodrat
    Kenny Mason
23. It Was Good Until It Wasn't
    Kehlani
24. The Price of Tea in China
    Boldy James & The Alchemist
25. RTJ4
    Run the Jewels
26. Fuck The World
    Brent Faiyaz
27. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
    Fiona Apple
28. Dark Lane Demo Tapes
    Drake
29. Young & Turnt 2
    42 Dugg
30. Good News
    Megan Thee Stallion
31. Top
    YoungBoy Never Broke Again
32. Mt. Marci
    Roc Marciano
33. Notes on a Conditional Form
    The 1975
34. Future Nostalgia
    Dua Lipa
35. One and Only
    Sheff G
36. Positions
    Ariana Grande
37. Limbo
    Aminé
38. Unlocked
    Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats
39. Anyways
    Young Nudy
40. Legends Never Die
    Juice WRLD
41. Industry Games
    Chika
42. Reasonable Drought
    Stove God Cooks & Roc Marciano
43. Spilligion
    Spillage Village
44. King's Disease
    Nas
45. While The World Was Burning
    Saint Jhn
46. Only for Dolphins
    Action Bronson
47. Just Cause Y'all Waited 2
    Lil Durk
48. Featuring Ty Dolla Sign
    Ty Dolla $ign
49. Detroit 2
    Big Sean
50. Forever, Ya Girl
    KeiyaA

Les Inrockuptibles: Our Top 100 Albums of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. The New Abnormal
   The Strokes
2. Working Men's Club
   Working Men's Club
3. Immensità
   Andrea Laszlo De Simone
4. A Hero's Death
   Fontaines D.C.
5. Someone New
   Helena Deland
6. Ludi
   Chassol
7. Rough and Rowdy Ways
   Bob Dylan
8. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
   Gorillaz
9. acts of rebellion
   ela minus
10. QALF
    Damso
11. Positive Mental Health Music
    Tiña
12. Man Alive!
    King Krule
13. Grand Prix
    Benjamin Biolay
14. L'Ère du Verseau
    Yelle
15. Ultra Mono
    Idles
16. Sexy Planet
    Bonnie Banane
17. Heaven to a Tortured Mind
    Yves Tumor
18. The Mother Stone
    Caleb Landry Jones
19. Gong!
    Catastrophe
20. Trinity
    Laylow
21. American Head
    The Flaming Lips
22. Galore
    Oklou
23. Renegade Breakdown
    Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu
24. Mordechai
    Khruangbin
25. Pour de vrai
    Ichon
26. The Ascension
    Sufjan Stevens
27. Beyond the Pale
    Jarv Is
28. Baby Love
    Jean-Louis Murat
29. The Slow Rush
    Tame Impala
30. Gore
    Lous and The Yakuza
31. Bon Voyage Organisation
    La Course
32. KiCk i
    Arca
33. Surex
    Perez
34. All the Time
    Jessy Lanza
35. Vierge
    ascendant vierge
36. Fall to Pieces
    Tricky
37. Have We Met
    Destroyer
38. Telas
    Nicolas Jaar
39. We Will Always Love You
    The Avalanches
40. Róisín Machine
    Róisín Murphy
41. To Love Is to Live
    Jehnny Beth
42. Domesticated
    Sébastien Tellier
43. The Night Chancers
    Baxter Dury
44. Happy Birthday
    Sneaks
45. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
    Oneohtrix Point Never
46. Feral
    RVG
47. Au Paradis
    Thousand
48. Welcome to Bobby's Motel
    Pottery
49. Room With A View
    Rone
50. Disparitions
    Jonathan Personne
51. ACR LOCO
    A Certain Ratio
52. Inner Song
    Kelly Lee Owens
53. Sing In A World That's Falling Apart
    Black Lips
54. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
    Fiona Apple
55. L'appel de la forêt
    Julien Gasc
56. What We Drew
    yaeji
57. Beauseigne
    Zed Yun Pavarotti
58. Earth to Dora
    Eels
59. Suddenly
    Caribou
60. Gold Record
    Bill Callahan
61. Star Feminine Band
    Star Feminine Band
62. Karma & Desire
    Actress
63. On​/​Off
    Bachar Mar-Khalifé
64. Sideways to New Italy
    Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
65. Sundowner
    Kevin Morby
66. Hystérie!
    Régina Demina
67. I Think I'm Good
    Kassa Overall
68. Corse île d'amour
    Barbara Carlotti
69. The Fifth Season
    Lafawndah
70. Myopia
    Agnes Obel
71. Song for Our Daughter
    Laura Marling
72. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
    Perfume Genius
73. Dixie Blur
    Jonathan Wilson
74. Zeros
    Declan McKenna
75. Seeking Thrils
    Georgia
76. Island
    Owen Pallett
77. There Is No Year
    Algiers
78. Le cut-up populaire
    Pascal Comelade
79. Vie étrange
    Dominique A
80. Farewell To All We Know
    Matt Elliott
81. It Is What It Is
    Thundercat
82. The Neon Skyline
    Andy Shauf
83. Traditional Techniques
    Stephen Malkmus
84. Serpentine Prison
    Matt Berninger
85. Homegrown
    Neil Young
86. Starmaker
    Honey Harper
87. Feel Feelings
    Soko
88. In and Out of the Light
    The Apartments
89. Satan & Eve
    Damien
90. Love + Light
    Daniel Avery
91. The Performer
    James Righton
92. Aimée
    Julien Doré
93. Strange To Explain
    Woods
94. Un, Deux, Trois
    Juniore
95. Vanité
    Klub des Loosers
96. Nosso Ritmo
    Yuksek
97. Songs for the General Public
    The Lemon Twigs
98. Figures
    Aksak Maboul
99. Hey Clockface
    Elvis Costello
100. On&On
     Daniel Blumberg

Stereogum: The 50 Best Albums Of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
2. Saint Cloud
   Waxahatchee
3. RTJ4
   Run the Jewels
4. Women in Music Pt. III
   Haim
5. Folklore
   Taylor Swift
6. Manger on McNichols
   Boldy James / Sterling Toles
7. Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
   Oneohtrix Point Never
8. Lament
   Touché Amoré
9. Untitled (Rise)
   Sault
10. color theory
    Soccer Mommy
11. Inlet
    Hum
12. Hannah
    Lomelda
13. Heaven to a Tortured Mind
    Yves Tumor
14. Shore
    Fleet Foxes
15. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
    Perfume Genius
16. Live Forever
    Bartees Strange
17. Notes on a Conditional Form
    The 1975
18. Alfredo
    Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
19. how I'm feeling now
    Charli XCX
20. 925
    Sorry
21. Inner Song
    Kelly Lee Owens
22. Rough and Rowdy Ways
    Bob Dylan
23. World House
    Mil-Spec
24. No Dream
    Jeff Rosenstock
25. Song for Our Daughter
    Laura Marling
26. What's Your Pleasure?
    Jessie Ware
27. It Is What It Is
    Thundercat
28. Punisher
    Phoebe Bridgers
29. Viewing
    Stay Inside
30. Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
    Gulch
31. Microphones in 2020
    The Microphones
32. KiCk i
    Arca
33. 2017 - 2019
    Against All Logic
34. The Neon Skyline
    Andy Shauf
35. The Price of Tea in China
    Boldy James & The Alchemist
36. Suddenly
    Caribou
37. Reunions
    Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
38. Sign
    Autechre
39. Every Bad
    Porridge Radio
40. Græ
    Moses Sumney
41. Southside
    Sam Hunt
42. Descendants of Cain
    Ka
43. Introduction, Presence
    Nation of Language
44. A Hero's Death
    Fontaines D.C.
45. FREE I.H: This Is Not The One You've Been Waiting For
    illuminati hotties
46. Take A Chance On Rock 'n' Roll
    Couch Slut
47. May Our Chambers Be Full
    Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou
48. It Was Good Until It Wasn't
    Kehlani
49. As We Suffer From Memory and Imagination
    nuvolascura
50. Future Nostalgia
    Dua Lipa

Uproxx: The Best Albums Of 2020

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Folklore
   Taylor Swift
2. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
   Fiona Apple
3. Spilligion
   Spillage Village
4. Eternal Atake
   Lil Uzi Vert
5. Future Nostalgia
   Dua Lipa
6. Circles
   Mac Miller
7. Saint Cloud
   Waxahatchee
8. Women in Music Pt. III
   Haim
9. Ungodly Hour
   Chloe x Halle
10. After Hours
    The Weeknd
11. Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial
    Roddy Ricch
12. Shore
    Fleet Foxes
13. RTJ4
    Run the Jewels
14. My Turn
    Lil Baby
15. Punisher
    Phoebe Bridgers
16. Ho, Why Is You Here?
    Flo Milli
17. Heaven to a Tortured Mind
    Yves Tumor
18. Cuttin’ Grass - Vol​.​1 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions)
    Sturgill Simpson
19. Fine Line
    Harry Styles
20. Positions
    Ariana Grande
21. Black Habits
    D Smoke
22. What We Drew
    yaeji
23. how I'm feeling now
    Charli XCX
24. color theory
    Soccer Mommy
25. Live Forever
    Bartees Strange
26. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
    Perfume Genius
27. Limbo
    Aminé
28. YHLQMDLG
    Bad Bunny
29. The Goat
    Polo G
30. Rare
    Selena Gomez
31. Talk About It
    Blimes and Gab
32. Everything
    Kota the Friend
33. Good News
    Megan Thee Stallion
34. Wunna
    Gunna
35. Sawayama
    Rina Sawayama
36. Mordechai
    Khruangbin
37. It Was Good Until It Wasn't
    Kehlani
38. Imploding the Mirage
    The Killers
39. songs
    Adrianne Lenker
39. instrumentals
    Adrianne Lenker
40. Pray for Paris
    Westside Gunn
41. The Album
    Blackpink
42. Better
    Deante' Hitchcock
43. Queen of Da Souf
    Mulatto
44. Twice as Tall
    Burna Boy
45. The Slow Rush
    Tame Impala
46. A Written Testimony
    Jay Electronica
47. Fake It Flowers
    Beabadoobee
48. My Agenda
    Dorian Electra
49. Heaven or Hell
    Don Toliver
50. The New Abnormal
    The Strokes