Thank goodness for music, right? It’s an understatement to say that these are trying times for all of us. But arguably more than ever before, music offers much-needed escapism and solace, even if temporary, as we navigate our current hardships, whatever they may be.
It's also important to remember that this is a particularly challenging time for many of those responsible for creating and selling the music we love, with many artists, supporting musicians, live music venues and record stores struggling to stay financially afloat during the prolonged lockdown.
So, as you explore and listen to our selections for the best albums to surface so far this year below (in alphabetical order), and if you happen to have the means right now, we encourage you to consider purchasing the albums that tickle your fancy from the artists’ respective official online stores or your favorite music retailers.
Other ways that you can support musicians include buying tickets to their virtual live performances, purchasing merchandise from their official stores, and making a donation to organizations like the Recording Academy’s MusiCares and Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Musicians Fund.
We hope you enjoy the list below as we mark the midway point of 2020 and at the bottom of the page, be sure to check out our 40-track audio & video playlist comprised of standout tracks from the 20 albums featured here.
The 20 Best Albums of 2020…So Far
FIONA APPLE | Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Epic | Official Store
“What a perfect story for fans and critics everywhere, alone together. Its timing is cosmic. Maybe we all needed to be at home in order to hear the power an empty space can have. The confines of her home freed Fiona Apple and she’s showing us there’s a way out for all of us (even if we’re stuck inside).” – Sarah Paolantonio | Read More
PHOEBE BRIDGERS | Punisher
Dead Oceans | Official Store
“While I can’t say I was prepared for Punisher to ask as much of me as it did, I’m still moved by it, unsettled by it, and captivated by it. I want to turn it inside-out for the next three years, just like I did with Stranger in the Alps. And if that needs to be hard, well, I guess everyone’s in a place in life where they’re staring at the night sky a lot.” – Jeremy Levine | Read More
VANESSA CARLTON | Love Is An Art
Dine Alone Records | Official Store
“Six recordings deep into her career, Love Is An Art has Carlton occupying her most precise and powerful incarnation yet. While one cannot be sure what is next for her, what is clear here is that Carlton is a woman woken to her potential and purpose as an artist—that will continue to be her guiding creative principle, much to our listening pleasure.” – Quentin Harrison | Read More
GEORGIA | Seeking Thrills
Domino | Official Store
“Although Seeking Thrills is Georgia’s sophomore album, there is a freshness and originality that can only be manifested from pure passion. Songs like “24 Hours,” “I Can’t Wait,” “Ultimate Sailor,” and “The Thrill” reinforce this creative freedom that essentially culminates in pure pop music that is unabashedly authentic. Georgia’s uniqueness in a sea of oversaturated, highly manufactured artists is not only refreshing, but so desperately needed.” – Matthew Hocter | Read More
LUKE JAMES | to feel love/d
Culture Collective
“There's a lot of distance between the perspectives heard on the album's first and last songs. And James covers much of that ground through the course of the album. to feel love/d is a short project, comprised of just nine songs. But listeners won't feel cheated, as Luke James offers some of the most soulful performances you'll hear today.” – Kenneth Hicks | Read More
JAY ELECTRONICA | A Written Testimony
Roc Nation | Official Store
“The time really does seem right for A Written Testimony, an album steeped in religious imagery and futurism. And Jay Electronica has a mostly captive audience, built from people sheltering in places, looking for an escape from the confusion, uncertainty, and possible impending doom.” – Jesse Ducker | Read More
LADY GAGA | Chromatica
Streamline/Interscope | Official Store
“Chromatica is the album Gaga’s fans have been waiting for (some demanding) and as I read somewhere recently, it could be the catalyst for that elusive album we have also been demanding from that other bleach blonde, Italian musical icon. Given the craziness of the world at the moment on pretty much every level, this album is an excuse, no, gives license for the world to escape to a place of sonic joy, even if just for forty-three minutes.” – Matthew Hocter | Read More
LÅPSLEY | Through Water
XL | Official Store
“As its title suggests, Låpsley’s second long player ventures into deep waters. Passing through the metaphors of darkness and into the light, Låpsley has shown a certain maturity that this sophomore offering so rightly deserves. It is an organic continuation of her debut that leaves the listener with a sense of fulfillment, coupled with excitement of what is to come next from the rare artistry Låpsley so exquisitely embodies.” – Matthew Hocter | Read More
LAUV | How I’m Feeling
AWAL | Official Store
“Lauv is a singer for those that are looking for the power behind the words, encased in the beauty and complexity of his music. He never fails to bring emotion and has a heartfelt openness with his artistry that is fresh and needed more than ever. How I’m Feeling is all those things and so, so much more.” – Matthew Hocter | Read More
DUA LIPA | Future Nostalgia
Warner | Official Store
“There’s a genuine sense of joy and musical discovery that permeates every part of Future Nostalgia that not even the staunchest rock press pundit could disavow. For now, Future Nostalgia lives up to its namesake as a luxuriant second act that prognosticates that Dua Lipa is a much more formidable force than anyone could have imagined.” – Quentin Harrison | Read More
LITTLE DRAGON | New Me, Same Us
Ninja Tune | Official Store
“As Yukimi Nagano sings on the hauntingly beautiful “Every Rain,” “Felt it in my bones / hidden melodies / Why am I holdin' back? / Help me please,” one thing is for sure, Little Dragon need no help with creating gorgeous music. Theirs is some of the finest around. This album really is the salt of the earth.” – Matthew Hocter | Read More
MANDY MOORE | Silver Landings
Verve Forecast | Official Store
“One cannot regard Silver Landings as anything other than an unequivocal triumph for Mandy Moore. Assuredly, Moore has even more to show us in the years to come, but Silver Landings marks the occasion that Moore has now taken hold of her artistic sense of self—and she won’t be letting it go.” – Quentin Harrison | Read More
AGNES OBEL | Myopia
Blue Note/ Deutsche Grammophon | Official Store
“Myopia finds the Danish-born, Berlin-based singer-songwriter-instrumentalist stretching the cinematic scope of her sound and manipulating her angelic voice in striking ways, while lyrically traversing the inner-workings and turmoil of the human psyche. Accordingly, Myopia is an immersive, cohesive album that demands to be listened to alone and experienced as a complete work of art.” – Justin Chadwick | Read More
RUN THE JEWELS | RTJ4
Jewel Runners/BMG | Official Store
“Not to sound cliché, but it really feels like we’re at a tipping point in global history right now. There’s a sense that right now, real change is possible. Or it could all descend into a dystopian hellscape. Run the Jewels captures these feelings of anger and uncertainty, and channels them into musical form. Like real revolution, it’s not always pretty, but its wholly satisfying and never half steps.” – Jesse Ducker | Read More
SAULT | Untitled (Black Is)
Forever Living Originals | Official Store
“Just as D’Angelo’s Black Messiah (2014) landed at the perfect time, so this monumental piece of work arrives with a bible in one hand and balled fist in the other to demand equality and freedom for all at exactly the right moment.” – Patrick Corcoran | Read More
SOCCER MOMMY | color theory
Loma Vista | Official Store
“Second albums are notoriously challenging to make, but Soccer Mommy has created something every bit as good as Clean. This is largely because Allison hasn't changed too many things. The songs are still strong. The vocals are still captivating. The instrumentation still flutters in and out of focus, making it feel like you're intermittently dozing during a particularly dull meeting. But she's added in more complex song structures in addition to heavier grooves. So she's essentially taken what worked well the first time and managed to only enhance the things that needed to be, while keeping everything else perfect.” – Steven Ovadia | Read More
SAM SPARRO | Boombox Eternal
Sparro, Inc. | Amazon
“Boombox Eternal is a fine aural portraiture of a man possessed by the passion of the music of his youth and his desire to bring it into a contemporaneous context as an adult—without losing the exuberance of the former in the process. As with his canon antecedent to Boombox Eternal, Sparro uses this affair to continue to bridge the gap between yesterday, today and tomorrow, except this time his craftsmanship and spirit are in glorious sync.” – Quentin Harrison | Read More
MOSES SUMNEY | græ
Jagjaguwar | Official Store
“Just as Sumney offers the deepest introspection lyrically, so this album merits the same level of attention. It needs a listener’s focus to revel and delight in every one of it nuances. Put your headphones on, lock the door and slip into his world—you will be rewarded. The græ of the title is a nod to the in-between states that Sumney exists in and his resolute refusal to be put into a box of anyone’s making. In a world filled with “cancel culture” and the increasing polarization of opinions, Sumney dwells instead in the grey areas, where definitive roles and opinions are rendered redundant—the only interesting place to be.” – Patrick Corcoran | Read More
JESSIE WARE | What’s Your Pleasure?
PMR/Virgin EMI | Official Store
“From the beginning of her career, Ware has always been about the long-term goals of artistic sustainability and integrity. What’s Your Pleasure? deepens the singer-songwriter’s commitment to her craft with the album marking a striking and sultry chapter in her canon.” – Quentin Harrison | Read More
YUMI ZOUMA | Truth or Consequences
Polyvinyl | Official Store
“As evidenced across the entirety of their superb new album Truth or Consequences, the quartet’s proven penchant for crafting instantly memorable songs that burrow in your mind, tug at your heartstrings and soothe your soul has never been more thrillingly intact.” – Justin Chadwick | Read More
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