ALBUMISM SELECTS: The 100 Best Albums of 2020

While the ongoing global pandemic, stateside political upheaval and persistent plague of racial injustice have cast a dark shadow across 2020 for many of us, the magnetic music that has emerged throughout the year has thankfully offered beacons of light for our weary souls and eager ears.

And as we approach the conclusion of this tumultuous year, it’s time once again to revisit and celebrate the albums that inspired us. As with our previous end-of-year lists, this year’s final rankings reflect the consensus of our staff’s selections combined with our readers’ choices per the poll we circulated a few weeks ago, which generated more than 30,000 responses.

So without further ado, we’re thrilled to reveal our picks for the 100 Best Albums of 2020. We encourage you to explore the list via the main index below and be sure to click the links that appear below each album cover for more information, including full album streams and accompanying videos. Enjoy!

100 Best Albums of 2020:

#1 | Róisín Murphy | Róisín Machine
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#2 | Lianne La Havas | Lianne La Havas
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#3 | SAULT | Untitled (Black Is)
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#4 | JESSIE WARE | What’s Your Pleasure?
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#5 | TAYLOR SWIFT | folklore
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#6 | SAULT | Untitled (Rise)
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#7 | Kylie Minogue | DISCO
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#8 | Pet Shop Boys | Hotspot
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#9 | Fiona Apple | Fetch The Bolt Cutters
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#10 | Doves | The Universal Want
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#11 | Dua Lipa | Future Nostalgia
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#12 | Brandy | B7
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#13 | Phoebe Bridgers | Punisher
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#14 | Faithless | All Blessed
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#15 | Alanis Morissette | Such Pretty Forks In The Road
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#16 | Run The Jewels | RTJ4
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#17 | Mandy Moore | Silver Landings
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#18 | Moses Sumney | græ
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#19 | Soccer Mommy | color theory
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#20 | The 1975 | Notes On A Conditional Form
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#21 | Vanessa Carlton | Love Is An Art
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#22 | Natalie Schlabs | Don’t Look Too Close
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#23 | Black Thought | Streams Of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane and Able
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#24 | Ego Ella May | Honey For Wounds
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#25 | S.G. Goodman | Old Time Feeling
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#26 | Jacob Collier | Djesse Vol. 3
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#27 | Yumi Zouma | Truth or Consequences
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#28 | Bright Light Bright Light | Fun City
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#29 | Georgia | Seeking Thrills
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#30 | Car Seat Headrest | Making A Door Less Open
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#31 | Sam Sparro | Boombox Eternal
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#32 | Katie Melua | Album No. 8
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#33 | Busta Rhymes | Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God
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#34 | Mac Miller | Circles
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#35 | The Dirty Clergy | In Waves
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#36 | Carly Rae Jepsen | Dedicated Side B
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#37 | Country Westerns | Country Westerns
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#38 | The Vapors | Together
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#39 | Laura Marling | Song For Our Daughter
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#40 | Ton Aspaul | Black Country Disco
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#41 | Kyshona | Listen
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#42 | Luke James | to feel love/d
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#43 | Agnes Obel | Myopia
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#44 | Låpsley | Through Water
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#45 | Jay Electronica | A Written Testimony
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#46 | LÉON | Apart
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#47 | Melanie C | Melanie C
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#48 | Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes | What Kinda Music
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#49 | Ben Watt | Storm Damage
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#50 | Caroline Rose | Superstar
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#51 | Lady Gaga | Chromatica
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#52 | Bob Mould | Blue Hearts
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#53 | The Adobe Collective | All The Space That There Is
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#54 | Gloria Estefan | Brazil305
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#55 | Arlo McKinley | Die Midwestern
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#56 | Little Dragon | New Me, Same Us
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#57 | Leven Kali | HIGHTIDE
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#58 | Man Man | Dream Hunting In The Valley Of The In-Between
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#59 | Bob Dylan | Rough And Rowdy Ways
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#60 | Jadakiss | Ignatius
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#61 | The Danberrys | Shine
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#62 | Public Enemy | What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?
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#63 | Teddy Thompson | Heartbreaker Please
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#64 | Lauv | How I’m Feeling
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#65 | Kandace Springs | The Women Who Raised Me
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#66 | The Jayhawks | XOXO
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#67 | Norah Jones | Pick Me Up Off The Floor
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#68 | Nas | King’s Disease
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#69 | Lisa Loeb | A Simple Trick To Happiness
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#70 | Fleet Foxes | Shore
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#71 | Waxahatchee | Saint Cloud
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#72 | Tame Impala | The Slow Rush
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#73 | Courtney Marie Andrews | Old Flowers
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#74 | Nubya Garcia | SOURCE
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#75 | Fontaines D.C. | A Hero’s Death
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#76 | Open Mike Eagle | Anime, Trauma and Divorce
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#77 | The Weeknd | After Hours
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#78 | Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit | Reunions
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#79 | Shamir | Shamir
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#80 | The Flaming Lips | American Head
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#81 | Lucinda Williams | Good Souls Better Angels
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#82 | Alicia Keys | ALICIA
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#83 | The Killers | Imploding The Mirage
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#84 | The Chicks | Gaslighter
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#85 | The Strokes | The New Abnormal
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#86 | Caribou | Suddenly
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#87 | P.J. O’Connor | Television’s Golden Age
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#88 | Annie | Dark Hearts
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#89 | Rufus Wainwright | Unfollow The Rules
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#90 | Common | A Beautiful Revolution (Pt 1)
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#91 | Nadine Shah | Kitchen Sink
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#92 | Sa-Roc | The Sharecropper’s Daughter
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#93 | Sasha Sloan | Only Child
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#94 | Pearl Jam | Gigaton
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#95 | I Break Horses | Warnings
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#96 | Shelby Lynne | Shelby Lynne
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#97 | The Sounds | Things We Do For Love
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#98 | Dinner Party | Dinner Party
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#99 | Enemy Radio | Loud Is Not Enough
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#100 | Disclosure | ENERGY
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