The Best & Worst Music Albums Of 2020

I'll save my usual 2020 retrospective spiel for my Cinema recap. I listened to over 300 albums released in 2020 and this is my reflection back on the year in music.

First, I'll list my personal favorite songs of the year, in alphabetical order, with my personal favorite in red. Then I list the worst and best albums of the year. There were some overrated efforts this year (from Charli XCX, Fiona Apple, The Strokes and so on), but not enough to make a full section for them. Without any further ado, let's get to it.

The Best Songs Of 2020

"911" - Lady Gaga
"Alice" - Lady Gaga
"Break My Heart" - Dua Lipa
"Darkness" - Eminem
"Diamonds" - Megan Thee Stallion & Normani
"Diamonds" - Sam Smith
"Die From A Broken Heart" - Maddie & Tae
"Edge Of Midnight" - Miley Cyrus featuring Stevie Nicks
"Gimme What I Want" - Miley Cyrus
"Godzilla" - Eminem featuring Juice WRLD
"Good News" - Mac Miller
"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" - Disturbed
"Like I Do" - Tracee Ellis Ross & Kelvin Harrison Jr.
"Midnight Sky" - Miley Cyrus
"Mood Swings" - Pop Smoke featuring Lil' Tjay
"My Future" - Billie Eilish
"No Time To Die" - Billie Eilish
"Only The Young" - Taylor Swift
"Ordinary Man" - Ozzy Osbourne featuring Elton John
"Prisoner" - Miley Cyrus & Dua Lipa
"RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)" - The Black Eyed Peas & J Balvin
"Rain On Me" - Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande
"Say So" - Doja Cat
"Stupid Love" - Lady Gaga
"The Mystic Crystal" - Ninja Sex Party
"The Other Side" - Justin Timberlake & SZA
"The Plan" - Travis Scott
"The Woo" - Pop Smoke featuring Roddy Rich & 50 Cent
"You Should Be Sad" - Halsey

The Worst Albums Of 2020

Dishonorable Mentions:

"20/20 Vision" - Anti Flag
"Andro" - Tommy Lee
"Artist 2.0" - A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
"Bill Israel" - Kodack Black
"Born Here, Live Here, Die Here" - Luke Byran
"Conversations With Myself About You" - Lovely The Band
"Daystar" - Tory Lanez
"Emergency Tsunami" - Nav
"Fetch The Bolt Cutters" - Fiona Apple
"Fuck Love" - The Kid Laroi
"Funeral" - Lil' Wayne
"Good Intentions" - Nav
"Grandpa Metal" - Posehn
"Homegrown" - Neil Young
"How I'm Feeling Now" - Charli XCX
"How To Survive A Funeral" - Make Them All Suffer
"Just Cause Y'all Waited 2" - Lil' Durk
"Kiss 5" - K-Camp
"Lil' Boat 3" - Lil' Yachty
"Merry Christmas, Lil' Mama: The Gift That Keeps On Giving" - Chance The Rapper & Jeremih
"Neon Future IV" - Steve Aoki
"Nicotine" - Trevor Daniel
"Nightmares Of The Decomposed" - Six Feet Under
"Nightmare Vacation" - Rico Nasty
"Nobody Safe" - Rich The Kid & Youngboy Never Broke Again
"No Face, No Case"- T.R.U. & 2 Chainz
"Pegasus" - Trippie Red
"Rough And Rowdy Ways" - Bob Dylan
"Son Of A Gun" - Key Glock
"State Of Emergency" - Lil' Tjay
"Still Flexin, Still Steppin" - Youngboy Never Broke Again
"The Glofiles Part 4" - Chief Keef
"The New Abnormal" - The Strokes
"Time Served" - Moneybagg Yo
"To Dull The Blades Of Your Abuse" - Leeched
"Top" - Youngboy Never Broke Again
"Treat Myself" - Meghan Trainor
"Until I Return" - Youngboy Never Broke Again
"Who Made The Sunshine" - Westside Gunn
"Wildcard" - Miranda Lambert

10. "American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Various Artists

Usually, soundtracks for films can be on a wavelength all their own. Some, more often than not, are just scores composed for the feature, but the others are sterling compilations that help not only make record sales, but help boost the attention of the film itself. This fails disastorously with the soundtrack to the direct-to-video film "American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules", the NINTH installment in the "American Pie" franchise overall and fifth in the direct-to-video series. While the film itself is just OK, the soundtrack leaves a gross taste in one's mouth, filled with anthems for people who like the sofest of soft rock and soft pop (nothing on this record holds a candle to Tonic's "You Wanted More" from the first film and 3 Doors Down's "Be Like That" from the second film) that's so unctuous and shoddily concieved, it left me feeling like I had just left an incredibly mediocre college party that had the fainest of marijuana smoke and filled with rejected poetry slammers. While there is an awesome cover of "Venus" performed on here by Bri Holland and The DeeKompressors, the rest of the covers and originals are either flavorless or horribly butchered, with "American Girl" performed by Tatiana DeMaria, who happens to have five of the 13 tracks on here, is the worst offender. Just pitiful. 

9. "Whole Lotta Red" - Playboi Carti

24 Tracks. 63 Minutes. 0 substance. Playboi Carti's "Whole Lotta Red" just came out and it's already slithered it's way onto the worst list. That's quite an impressive acheivement. Alas, that's the only impressive thing about this project. Carti has never been a good artist to begin with, so coming back for another round was not desirable, to say the least. This project was so unctuous and lacking of any standout tracks (admittedly, all of them sounded the same) and does a serious disservice to the trap subgenre. Would I be ok with Carti leaving the game? I wouldn't go that far, as he hasn't made too many records to make an impact. Making an impact, however, is exactly what he hasn't done thus far.

8. "Eternal Atake" - Lil' Uzi Vert

Would I be OK with Lil' Uzi Vert leaving the game? 100% yes. This guy offers nothing new, nothing of substance and nothing original and anytime he does have anything original to say, it's terrible. This is most certainly the case with his 2020 effort "Eternal Atake", a wretched record filled with production that sounds like it was thrown at the wall, tracks that drone on with hollow lyrics and horrific autotuning. I'm fine, personally, with using autotune; it has a unique flavor to it and sounds pleasant when done well. When LUV does it? It sounds like someone throwing up in a bucket. It's all so shockingly degrading and loathesome, with his awful rendition of Backstreet Boy's "I Want It That Way" (re-titled "That Way" here) being the foul fart to kill the flowers. 

7. "Ugly Is Beautiful" - Oliver Tree

Oliver Tree is one of those artists who literally does nothing but crave attention. That's fine, but you need to back it up in your music and Tree certainly does NOT do that. His music could be classified as alternative, but that's if you can put a point on it. With such "wonderful" tracks, including "Me, Myself & I", "Let Me Down", "Bury Me Alive", "Alien Boy", "Joke's On You", "Jerk" and so on, and so on, it's no wonder his work is bereft of creativity. His production is understandably weak, his vocals sound as if he's recording them in front of a fan and the album artwork is, well, ugly. The only thing apt about any of this project is the title of one of the tracks: "Waste My Time". That's exactly what this did, to me: it wasted my precious time.

6. "Everything Means Nothing" - Black Bear

Black Bear is 30 years old, yet he still insists on creating atrocious sing-songy anthems for the 14-year old crowd who just found out the concept of a liqour cabinent. He is, without a doubt, on my most-hated musical artists list. This man is annoying, his vocals are off and his lyrics are beyond simple and could drive one to drink. Such is the case with his newest album "Everything Means Nohing" a title that makes about as much sense as left behind dog waste on the sidewalk. "Hot Girl Bummer" is by far one of the worst songs I've ever heard and is featured as a lead single here. He also has a deut with Trevor Daniel on here, an artist who blew up with his own awful piece, "Falling". The name of the duet? "Clown". How fitting. You would think that by the time he hit his FIFTH album, he would've learned how to, I don't know, make decent music, but this is not the case, here. It may only last 37 minutes (a lucky number for me), but feels like 2 hours.

5. "Look For The Good" - Jason Mraz

Everyone's favorite homeless uncle has made a return this year. Mraz had one big hit with "I'm Yours", the unctuous song that only old people found appealing and has since been shoved away to Grocery Store Purgatory, and has come back with his new album "Look For The Good". And guess what? It's disgusting. I was probably one of four people who willingly listened to this record this year and I hated pretty much every minute of it. Every song has the same sound and blends together into one big bowl of rancid mashed potatoes. What really sends this album into the lexicon of crap, however, is a terrible and unexplained rap verse from actress Tiffany Haddish on the track "You Do You". Not only does this come out of nowhere, but the verse itself is garbage. DailyCal.org described the album as a "sickeningly positive atrocity". I second that.

4. "Home Alone (On The Night Before Christmas)" - Various Artists

Christmas music is terrible. I said what I said. Of course that's just my opinion. I'm also not a big fan of dance/house music. Whoever thought that mashing the two genre's up to make an album is a truly evil person. "Home Alone (On The Night Before Christmas)" is almost an hour of being sent through a special kind of hell. I don't know who thought this would be a pleasurable listening experience to anyone sober or not in a club enviornment (and even then I don't think it would be a solid expereince either), but neither of the genres mesh well together. While the artists at the helm show glimmers of talent, the resulting songs are all junk, with not one of them standing out from the other; although that is sort of the point of a record like this: to give off the vibe that it's one nonstop dance party. If that's the case, then this is one sad dance party.

3. "Kid Krow" - Conan Grey

I'm sure that if 6th graders who are starting to realize what the words "edgy" and "dark" mean in the broad term and not to themselves were reading this, they'd be mighty upset that I've put their personal album of the year on my worst list. Oh, how I'm so broken up over that. Conan Grey is the living embodiment of someone making break-up music over their crush in social studies turning them down for a soiree at the local bowling alley, and I honestly hate it. I honestly am baffled at the adoring reception over this album. That's fine if you personally like or love it; I'm not one to take away from someone's enjoyment, but in my humble opinion, this sucked. It could be looked at as a reflection of past mistakes. Let's hope that if Grey is to make another album, he comes out with a better attempt than this. I will admit, however, that his ambitions with the album, while not coming through to this listener, are admirable. 

2. "Memes, Dreams And Flying Machines" - The Sound That Ends Creation

Do me a favor: go to your sink and turn on the garbage disposal. Let it run, uninterrupted, for 19 minutes. That's essentially the same thing as listening to "Memes, Dreams And Flying Machines", an album from Metal group The Sound That Ends Creation. I really don't know how or why this project exists. I literally have nothing more to say about this album. I gave it zero stars out of four, one of two albums this year to get such rating. So there's that.

1. "Tickets To My Downfall" - Machine Gun Kelly

Machine Gun Kelly cannot rap. His rap career is a joke in and of itself. What made him think he could pull off a pop-punk album? SPOILER ALERT: He couldn't. In typical MGK fashion, his lyrics on this atrocity are filled to the brim wih self-congratulatory bragging with total disregard to everyone else. Unless he wants to seem like a sad boy, where he spends sleepless nights drinking and pondering over past relationships. Setting the same bull lyrics over horrendous and frantic punk music is not gonna do anything to hide how lacking in skills he is. Yes, I don't appreciate his music nor his acting. He was TERRIFIC in 2019's "The Dirt". Where is THAT MGK? Where is THAT Colson Baker? Instead, we have this whiny little turd belting such insipidness and getting millions from it. It's somehow a step down from "dissing" Eminem while eating a bowl of Froot Loops. He may be from Cleveland, but just because he's from my home city doesn't mean I gotta like him. This album is atrocious and is the single worst album of 2020.

The Best Albums Of 2020

Honorable Mentions:

"ADHD" - Joyner Lucas
"After Hours" - The Weeknd
"Bad Boys For Life: The Soundtrack" - Various Artists
"Beastie Boys Music" - Beastie Boys
"Best Of The Blessed" - Powerwolf
"Blood & Stone" - Audiomachine
"Circles" - Mac Miller
"Color Theory" - Soccer Mommy
"Dedicated Side B" - Carly Rae Jepsen
"Enterfear" - Tech N9ne
"Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Various Artists
"Evermore" - Taylor Swift
"Folklore" - Taylor Swift
"Fuck You Bitch: All Time Greatest Hits" - Wheeler Walker Jr.
"Future Nostalgia" - Dua Lipa
"Galore" - Oklou
"Gaslighter" - The Chicks
"Good News" - Megan Thee Stallion
"Horizons" - Surfaces
"Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition" - Linkin Park
"I Disagree" - Poppy
"Jewel Box" - Elton John
"Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Various Artists
"King's Disease" - Nas
"Legend" - Krizz Kaliko
"Lost At Midnight" - OTR
"Manic" - Halsey
"Nectar" - Joji
"Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live In Mexico City" - Iron Maiden
"No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1" - Chris Cornell
"Petals For Armor" - Hayley Williams
"Positions" - Ariana Grande
"Power Up" - AC/DC
"Promising Young Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Various Artists
"Punisher" - Phoebe Bridgers
"Road To F9 Mixtape" - Various Artists
"Run The Jewels 4" - Run The Jewels
"Scare Package: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Alex Cuervo
"Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Alexander Taylor
"She Dies Tomorrow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Mondo Boys
"Sleepyhead" - Cavetown
"Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Various Artists
"Tenet: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Score by Ludwig Goransson, Original Song by Travis Scott
"The Allegory" - Royce Da 5'9"
"The Playlist" - Lou Harris
"The Slow Rush" - Tame Impala
"The Symbol Remains" - Blue Oyster Cult
"The Zeramin Game" - Memories Of Old
"To Kill To Live To Kill" - Manticore
"Under My Influence" - The Aces
"We're The Bastards" - Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons
"Wonder Woman 1984: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" - Hans Zimmer

10. "Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon" - Pop Smoke

Pop Smoke was killed far past his prime. Taken in February of 2020, his debut, and possibly only, studio album came in July and was a tremendous (and fun) listen. "Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon" is a bold title, but it's for a fittingly bold record. Pop Smoke had an amazingly deep and unique voice and flow and it's exhibited terrifically throughout. The production reminds one of solid chrome; the bass and energy vibing off onto the listener. The features are all game and step up to the plate accordingly. If it's one artist that I regret coming to before it was too late this year, it was definitely Pop Smoke. And it's been for sure getting a lot of plays in my car, with personal standouts being "The Woo", "Got It On Me", "Mood Swings", "Gangstas", "Hotel Lobby" and more. Even the artwork is beautiful, making his loss all the more poignant.

9. "Birds Of Prey: The Album" - Various Artists

Speaking of getting a lot of play from me, the soundtrack to my pick for the best film of the year, is wonderful and just as chaotically colorful as the film itself. Kicking off with Doja Cat's "Boss Bitch" and continuing until the very end, the soundtrack is alive and vibrant, making one wanna dance, even whilst driving. The standout is "Diamonds", a powerhouse track from Megan Thee Stallion and Normani, but it's still such a fun, female-empowered compilation that perfectly suits the tone of the film it's attached to. I may be a bit biased towards it because I'm so in love with the film, but that's neither here nor there. Toss in tracks from Halsey, Charlotte Lawrence, and a courageous song from Jurnee Smollett-Bell who portrays Black Canary in the film, and you have the best soundtrack of the year. If Harley Quinn were to be personified into music this album is surely it.

8. "Ordinary Man" - Ozzy Osbourne

If one is to be a metal fan, one has to be familliar wih the godfathers of the era, and Ozzy Osbourne is surely one of them. His 2020 effort, "Ordinary Man" is simultaneously breathtaking and reassuring. After Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson's, his world looked a bit dreay. He quickly looked at everything glass-half-full, however, and gave us this metal majesty. Ozzy has an incredible and unique voice, one that feels so smooth, it's like floating through thin air. The guitars are thrashin'. The drums are smashin'. Everything about this album strikes gold from the opening notes to the final crescendo. As a bonus, Ozzy includes his collaboration with Post Malone & Travis Scott, "Take What You Want" as the closing track. To cement his legacy as one of the supreme metal icons, Ozzy even has a song with Sir Elton John, the title track here, to prove to his fans that he's not going anywhere soon. Let's hope his next album is just as fantastic as this one.

 

7. "The Prophecy" - Ninja Sex Party

Ninja Sex Party is a musical anomally, mystery and ultimate satisfaction. A comedy band fusing styles of classic rock and metal, NSP features Dan Avidan on lead vocals, and my goodness, does he have an ever ethereal voice. He can transcend the viewers directly into the stories and scenarios they sing about with all the effort of turning on a light. "The Prophecy" further extends this sentiment and also continues the bands streak of providing tasty jams for people who like all sorts of music. From the epic 12 minute opener "The Mystic Crystal" to silly jams like "It's Bedtime", "Welcome To My Parent's House" and "Do Math With Us",  the band proves that we need  artists like them in the world, to take away from the seriousness and provide a safety blanket over anyone afraid of how the future may play out.

6. "The Way It Feels" - Maddie & Tae

Country music is an extremely divided and tricky genre to pull off right. Do it wrong, you get douchey trash like Luke Bryan's "One Margarita" and Florida Georgia Line's "I Love My Country". Get it right? You get the poignant and lovely Maddie & Tae's "The Way It Feels". This duo has proven in the past that they can do this genre beautifully, so it puzzles as to why they waited five years to come out with their second album. No matter what, the wait was more than worth it, as they come back with beautiful songwriting and heavenly vocals. There's not an ounce of artifice or "bro-country" which they so famously made fun of years back, but rather anthems that cut right to the heart. The big hit from this record is "Die From A Brokem Heart", a ballad about recovering from a nasty breakup, and it transports listeners into the singers' shoes. I highly appreciate and adore these two, and if they were to wait another five years for their next effort, it would be a crime, but understandable; you don't wanna churn out junk.

5. "Love Goes" - Sam Smith

An album that I fully didn't expect to strike directly into my heart, Sam Smith's "Love Goes" is one that struck an odd chord with me, acting simultaneously as a gut punch and a heartwarmer. Smith has a high voice, but when he hushes it down for certain tracks, it resonates with the viewer on a different plane, lulling one into a sense of comfort. From the acapella opening song "Young", to terrific ballads like "Diamonds", "My Oasis" and "Dancing With A Stranger" to absolute tear-jerkers like "Kids Again" and "For The Lover That I Lost", it solidifies this album as Smith's best work yet, right up there with his Bond Theme from 2015's "Spectre". I'm not shy in saying that this album made me well-up like a baby and is one of the only albums of this year to do so. Job well done.

4. "Music To Be Murdered By" - Eminem

I'm not entirely sure why Eminem is digging this "surprise album" gimmick (he previously did this with 2018's "Kamikaze"), but whatever the case, his eleventh studio album, "Music To Be Murdered By" is brilliant. Eminem may come off as someone still trying to wash away the negative reception of his 2017 album, "Revival", one I personally loved but others weren't so kind to. While Eminem doesn't so much do this on this record, he still manages to come across as one of the best rappers of our time. This is based around Alfed Hitchcok's album "Alfred Hitchcok Presents Music To Be Murdered By" released in 1958, with audio snippets from that album interspersed awesomely ino the album. Standouts include "Godzilla" featuring the late Juice Wrld, "Darkness", Unaccomadating" featuring Young M.A., and "Little Engine" while his deluxe edition ('Side B") includes "Gnat" and "Killer". This is just the tip of the iceberg, however. Eminem is still achieveing his goal of pissing the world off, and does this with his new album, filled with his traditional lyrical barbs, wordplay and fast-rapping, chopping if you will. "Music To Be Murdered By" clearly proves that Em can't and won't be stopped. Thank God, for that.

3. "S&M 2" - Metallica & San Framcisco Symphony

Metallica reteams with the San Francisco Harmony to make a follow-up to their 1999 album "S&M" with "S&M 2", a divine and amazing live album matching it's predecessor alomst every step of the way. Metallica may have gotten older, but they haven't lost an ounce of their demeanor or showmanship. As every one of their concerts do, the album kicks off with Ennio Moricone's "The Ecstacy Of Gold" from the 1968 western "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" before kicking straight into "The Call of Kthulu" and it doesn't stop for almost two and a half hours, with both the band and the harmony bringing back classic's like "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "One", "Enter Sandman" and "Sad But True" while incorporating other tracks from more recent albums that help tell a musical oddessy of sorts. After it's over, there's a certain sense of fufillment to the artists and the listener. If they ever do an "S&M 3", it'll feel like a conclusion to a story decades in the making. 

2. "Plastic Hearts" - Miley Cyrus

By 2015, Cyrus had produced two awful records, "Bangerz" in 2013, and "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz" in 2015. It seemed like all hope was lost on her. After making a mellowed out comeback in 2017 with "Younger Now", she EXPLODES into 2020 with "Plastic Hearts", by far her best effort to date and almost makes one forget those two albums ever happened. Cyrus embraces a pop-punk attitude-like persona on this record and it pays off in spades. While it was a bit sad, at least in my opinion, to not include the wonderful 2019 hit "Don't Call Me Angel" with Ariana Grande and Lana Del Rey from "Charlie's Angels" as a bonus, the rest of the album is pure brilliance, with "Prisoner" featuring Dua Lipa, "Gimme What I Want" and "Edge Of Midnight" being masterpieces on their own. Cyrus' raspy yet powerhouse of a voice bounces through the room like an echo and sticks into the audience's craniums long after the record is over. Cyrus proves that she is force to be reckoned with and I hope she continues ont this path for futrue records.

1. "Chromatica" - Lady Gaga

The word "Masterpiece" is too often thrown around in the entertainment industry, but it is with full confidence that I call Lady Gaga's "Chromatica" a masterpiece. On many levels, this is a sterling accomplishment for Gaga. As soon as you hear the music cresendoing to a high as Gaga's opening vocals take over ("My name isn't Alice, but I'll keep lookin' I'll keep lookin' for Wonderland"), you're shot off onto a musical landscape so expansive and massive, one feels lost and amazed by it. Lady Gaga is always brazen and confident with her work, and as she should be. This is a record to be fully proud of. Earlier in this list, I mentioned that dance/club albums usually blend together to make people feel as if they're in a club-set enviornment. This does such a perfect job of doing that, it's almost crazy I haven't heard more of it's tracks on the radio. The music video she had done for "Rain On Me" was directed by solid film director Robert Rodriguez and it's the cherry on top of an already beautiful piece of work. Lady Gaga ripped down the scene when she stepped onto it. After her 2016 classic "Joanna" and her beautiful work in 2018's best film "A Star Is Born", 2020's "Chromatica" is not only a statement solidifying her amazing work, but is also the very best album of the year.