With our recent countdown of Albumism’s overall 100 Best Albums of 2020 complete, it’s now time to illuminate the mighty fine albums that our talented team of writers have deemed their personal favorites of the year. Even the most cursory scan of our staff’s selections below reveals just how unique and varied our musical tastes are, which certainly shines through all of our articles throughout the year.

Check out our personal picks and let us know what your favorite albums of 2020 are in the comments below!

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01 | Jessie Ware | What’s Your Pleasure?

Around this time one year ago, alongside my favorite album selections for 2019, I affirmed that the then-upcoming fourth studio project by Jessie Ware was the album I was most excited about as 2020 beckoned. And much to my delight, upon its arrival this past June, the brilliant What’s Your Pleasure? easily exceeded my expectations and subsequently became a permanent fixture on my turntable.

The most magnetic of her four impressive albums to date, What’s Your Pleasure? finds the ever-commanding Ware and her crew of collaborators expertly synthesizing a mélange of electro, funk, soul, post-disco and other retro inspirations to concoct an exhilarating affair that nevertheless sounds fresh and forward-thinking.

And while it’s impossible to resist the allure of the album’s propulsive, dancefloor-designed fare, it’s actually the more subdued, yet no less sublime closer “Remember Where You Are” that has resonated most profoundly for me over these past few months. Like the eleven compositions that precede it, the song is pure magic and further evidence that Ware’s penchant for elevating our spirits—even during these most dispiriting of times—is more powerful than ever.

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01 | SAULT | Untitled (Rise)

Untitled (Rise) is capable of it all: invoking chest-beating, revolutionary feelings, moving your body with its rhythmic virtuosity and soothing your soul with its heavenly glow. This is the album 2020 needed to help make sense of it all—dynamic music to inspire “good trouble.” Genius level.

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01 | Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist | Alfredo

There’s something about Freddie Gibbs that brings out the best in top hip-hop producers, as his team-up with The Alchemist is a revelatory experience. Gibbs sounds perfect over Alchemist’s production, whether it’s retelling detailed crime capers or musing about selling illicit substances. Alchemist creates a backdrop which is both evocative and surreal, outdoing himself during what’s been a very busy few years for the track-master.

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01 | Vanessa Carlton | Love Is An Art

Carlton has been developing this ethereal, alternative pop vibe as early as her fourth album Rabbits on the Run (2011). Love Is an Art feels like a triumphant realization of that aesthetic—a sound sure to keep her stationed as a singular voice in popular music.

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01 | The 1975 | Notes On A Conditional Form | Buy | Listen

In an interesting year, Notes seemed to be the album that fit the highs and lows, the isolation, moments of re-evaluation, and the hope for better days so perfectly. Slightly disoriented in its sequencing, the album feels like the world on shuffle. Tracks like “Having No Head,” “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)” and “Me And You Together” continue to shine.

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01 | Luke James | to feel love/d

to feel love/d is a compact album, but Luke James still manages to show his versatility throughout the nine-song LP. From funky, mid-tempo cuts to majestic ballads, James gives a performance that perfectly suits the instrumentation backing him. His vocals are stirring, and they beautifully capture the emotions expressed in his lyrics.

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01 | inseclude | inseclude

Alluringly dark and masterfully intricate, inseclude's self-titled debut is exactly the sweeping odyssey my mind craved all year. Individually, the songs enthrall like Cure B-sides, with each one pulling you into a fascinating world. But it's when you surrender to the whole that the real riddles are roused.

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01 | Waxahatchee | Saint Cloud

This album is so emotionally in-touch, it feels like home. Katie Crutchfield’s voice and songwriting are rock solid and seemingly effortless—very few musicians can do as much as she does with so little. The title track is a beautifully-sung, lyrically-enlightened meditation on death —and maybe one of the best songs I’ve ever heard.

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01 | Waylon Payne | Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me

I first heard about country singer / songwriter Waylon Payne in the most 2020 way—on Twitter. One tweet from writer and critic Ann Powers in September and I was off and running to meet what quickly became my favorite album of 2020. Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me is a stunning ode to battling demons and living a life so fast and hard that it almost killed Payne a few times. Listen to the album first, then read the “Essays” on Payne’s website (start from the bottom and read upwards) to dive into the songs’ back stories that call out Kris Kristofferson, Payne’s old drug dealer and a truly cosmic Lindsay Lohan connection. No other album this year traffics in grace and grit as beautifully as Blue Eyes does.

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01 | Fiona Apple | Fetch The Bolt Cutters

No album released in 2020 was more emblematic of this turbulent year than Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Despite being recorded between February 2015 and March 2020, before COVID-19 took over our lives, this album captures the feelings and intensity of being isolated and alone with your thoughts. Upon my first listen, I could have sworn Apple recorded it in the middle of the shutdown because it felt so timely. Fetch The Bolt Cutters brilliantly channels our rage, anxiety, and frustration with intelligence, thoughtfulness, and humor. It is Apple’s best work.

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01 | Soccer Mommy | color theory

color theory is an impressive album, not only because it's a fun listen, but also because of the way Sophie Allison evolved her songwriting, becoming more sophisticated, while also not changing the essence of her sound. For too many musicians, growth means making songs overly complex. color theory has depth, but Allison doesn't hit you over the head with it. It's an all-too rare feat.

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01 | Neil Young | Homegrown

Homegrown brought a tremendous amount of joy to my life, as I lived it in a one-bedroom apartment in New York City during the global pandemic lockdown. Recorded some 45 years ago, it's the third sister to my favorite Neil Young records On The Beach (1974) and Tonight's The Night (1975). I spent a lot of late nights blasting "Vacancy" in my headphones, dancing and headbanging in my pajamas, Neil's fuzzy guitar my forever escape.

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01 | Grant-Lee Phillips | Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff

2020 was a year I'd quite honestly rather forget for many reasons, but at the very least, it gave us this beautifully crafted set of songs that hit the heart and mind in all the right places. Phillips has been making these kinds of aural gems for decades, and we're lucky he still has so much to say when we need his empathy and wisdom.