The best albums of 2020: The ballots

Top 10 LPs

1. Jeff Rosenstock, NO DREAM
2. Fiona Apple, Fetch The Bolt Cutters
3. Moses Sumney, græ 
4. Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher
5. Run The Jewels, RTJ4
6. Bruce Springsteen, Letter To You
7. Katie Malco, Failures
8. Dogleg, Melee
9. OneOhTrix Point Never, Magic Onohtrix Point Never
10. Ratboys, Printer’s Devil

The next 10

11. No Thank You, Embroidered Foliage
12. Perfume Genius, Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
13. Bright Eyes, Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was
14. Sylvan Esso, Free Love
15. The Secret Machines, Awake In The Brain Chamber
16. Bully, Sugaregg
17. Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now
18. Jay Electronica, A Written Testimony
19. Exhalants, Atonement
20. Rina Sawayama, SAWAYAMA

Top 5 EPs

1. Little Simz, Drop 6
2. Gabrielle Marlena, Lady Comforts
3. Tomberlin, Projections
4. Holly Humberstone, Falling Asleep At The Wheel
5. Muncie Girls, B-Sides The Point

Top 5 singles

1. Diet Cig, “Thriving”
2. Tierra Whack, “Dora”
3. LPX, “New Mood”
4. SZA, “Hit Different”
5. Sad13, “Ghost (of a good time)“

Song of the year: Katie Malco, “Creatures”

Top 5 reissues

1. Prince, Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
2. Neil Young, Homegrown
3. Rush, Permanent Waves 40th Anniversary Edition
4. Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell Archives—Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967)
5. Various Artists, Black Riot 

Top 10 LPs

1. Moses Sumney, græ 
2. Lianne La Havas, Lianne La Havas
3. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist, Alfredo
4. Mac Miller, Circles
5. Run The Jewels, RTJ4
6. Thundercat, It Is What It Is
7. The Weeknd, After Hours
8. Kehlani, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t
9. Sylvan Esso, Free Love
10. 070 Shake, Modus Vivendi

The next 10

11. Brent Faiyaz, Fuck The World
12. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
13. Princess Nokia, Everything Is Beautiful
14. Burna Boy, Twice as Tall
15. Ty Dolla $ign, Featuring Ty Dolla $ign
16. Megan Thee Stallion, Good News
17. Childish Gambino, 3.15.20
18. Amine, Limbo
19. Brasstracks, Golden Ticket
20. Kota The Friend, Everything

Top 5 EPs

1. Gaidaa, Overture
2. Dua Saleh, ROSETTA
3. Little Simz, Drop 6
4. Pink Sweat$, The Prelude
5. Zaia, Very Alone

Top 5 singles

1. Cardi B, “WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)”
2. Childish Gambino, “12:38 (feat. 21 Savage, Ink, & Kadhja Bonet)”
3. Jean Deaux, “Moody! (feat. Saba)”
4. Amine, “Compensating (feat Young Thug)”
5. Saweetie, “Tap In”

Honorable mention: The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” (only because it was released in 2019)

Top 10 LPs

1. Jacob Collier, Djesse Vol. 3
2. Tayla Parx, Coping Mechanisms
3. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
4. Chloe x Halle, Ungodly Hour
5. Hayley Williams, Petals For Armor
6. Megan Thee Stallion, Good News
7. DUCKWRTH, SuperGood
8. BLACKPINK, THE ALBUM
9. Taylor Swift, folklore
10. BTS, BE

The next 10

11. Thundercat, It Is What It Is
12. Fiona Apple, Fetch The Bolt Cutters
13. Rina Sawayama, Sawayama
14. Black Pumas, Black Pumas
15. Kota The Friend, Everything
16. The Weeknd, After Hours
17. Flo Milli, Ho, Why Is You Here?
18. NCT 127, Neo Zone
19. Joji, Nectar
20. The Chicks, Gaslighter

Top 5 EPs

1. CHIKA, Industry Games
2. Tank And The Bangas, Friend Goals
3. Little Simz, Drop 6 
4. Masego, Studying Abroad
5. TWICE, More & More

Top 5 singles

1. Tobe Nwigwe feat. FAT, “Eat”
2. Jacob Collier feat. Mahalia and Ty Dolla $ign, “All I Need”
3. Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé, “Savage (Remix)”
4. BTS, “Dynamite”
5. Cardi B. feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”

Top reissue

NCT, NCT RESONANCE Pt. 2 - The 2nd Album

NCT RESONANCE Pt. 1 certainly lived up to its ambitious title: The expanding collective showed such tremendous growth on this genre-bending, generation-hopping showcase, rendering it one of the most memorable albums of the year. Pt. 2 only bolsters an already impressive effort, blending vibrant elements of jazz, R&B, pop, EDM, and hip-hop in a mix of tracks that sound hand-plucked from the ’90s.

Top 10 LPs

1. Waxahatchee, Saint Cloud
2. Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher
3. Grimes, Miss Anthropocene
4. Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now 
5. Bartees Strange, Live Forever
6. Told Slant, Point The Flashlight And Walk
7. Bright Eyes, Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was
8. Arca, KiCk i
9. Beach Bunny, Honeymoon
10. NNAMDI, Brat

The next 10

11. HAIM, Women In Music, pt. III
12. The Front Bottoms, In Sickness & In Flames
13. Julianna Barwick, Healing Is A Miracle
14. Katie Dey, mydata
15. Soccer Mommy, Color Theory
16. Frances Quinlan, Likewise
17. Against All Logic, 2017-2019
18. Ricky Eat Acid, When they align just so, memories of another life bleed into my own
19. Porridge Radio, Every Bad
20. Gladie, Safe Sins

Top 5 EPs

1. Talker, Wax
2. PUP, This Place Sucks Ass
3. The Ophelias, For Luck
4. Tomberlin, Projections
5. Yo La Tengo, Sleepless Night

Top 5 singles

1. The Front Bottoms, “Camouflage”
2. Charli XCX, “Enemy”
3. PHONY, “Waffle House”
4. The Beths, “Jump Rope Gazers”
5. Talkboy, “Stupid Luck”

Top 10 LPs

1. Perfume Genius, Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
2. Rina Swayama, SAWAYAMA
3. Chloe x Halle, Ungodly Hour
4. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
5. Lianne La Havas, Lianne La Havas
6. Taylor Swift, folklore
7. Jessie Ware, What’s Your Pleasure?
8. Soccer Mommy, Color Theory
9. Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher
10. DEHD, Flowers Of Devotion

The next 10

11. Haim, Women In Music Pt. III
12. Waxahatchee, Saint Cloud
13. Shamir, Shamir
14. Carly Rae Jepsen, Dedicated Side B
15. Joji, Nectar
16. Kylie Minogue, DISCO
17. Sylvan Esso, Free Love
18. Fleet Foxes, Shore
19. Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now
20. The Chicks, Gaslighter

Top 5 EPs

1. Troye Sivan, In A Dream
2. Christine And The Queens, La vita nuova
3. Remi Wolf, I’m Allergic To Dogs!
4. Orville Peck, Show Pony
5. Kali Uchis, To Feel Alive

Top 5 singles

1. Rina Sawayama, “Bad Friend”
2. Soccer Mommy, “Circle The Drain”
3. Beyoncé, “Black Parade”
4. Chloe x Halle, “Ungodly Hour”
5. Orville Peck feat. Shania Twain, “Legends Never Die”

Top 10 LPs

1. Soccer Mommy, Color Theory
2. Hum, Inlet 
3. Taylor Swift, folklore 
4. Snarls, Burst 
5. Ganser, Just Look At That Sky
6. Andy Bell, The View From Halfway Down
7. Grant Lee Phillips, Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff
8. Lady Gaga, Chromatica 
9. Kathleen Edwards, Total Freedom
10. Sad13, Haunted Painting 

Top 5 singles

1. Kylie Minogue, “Say Something”
2. Miley Cyrus, “Edge Of Midnight (Midnight Sky Remix)” featuring Stevie Nicks
3. The Network, “Trans Am”
4. Sloan, “Silence Trumps Lies”
5. Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now”

Top EP

topographies, Not My Loneliness, But Ours

Although topographies certainly takes cues from The Cure’s gothic gloom—perhaps understandably, since the group’s fronted by Gray Tolhurst, son of one-time Cure drummer Lol—the San Francisco band nails the gloomy intersection of foggy shoegaze and needling post-punk.

Top 5 reissues

1. Pylon, Box (New West)
2. Various Artists, Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987 (Captured Tracks)
3. The Replacements, Pleased To Meet Me Deluxe (Rhino)
4. Various Artists, Musik Music Musique 1980: The Dawn Of Synth Pop (Cherry Red)
5. Various Artists, Make More Noise! Women In Independent UK Music 1977-1987 (Cherry Red)

Top 10 LPs

1. Oneohtrix Point Never, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
2. Amaarae, The Angel You Don’t Know
3. Run The Jewels, RTJ4
4. Thundercat, It Is What It Is
5. Jay Electronica, A Written Testimony
6. Grimes, Miss Anthropocene
7. Fiona Apple, Fetch The Bolt Cutters
8. Roc Marciano, Mt. Marci
9. Adrianne Lenker, Songs & Instrumentals
10. Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now 

The next 10

11. Open Mike Eagle, Anime, Trauma & Divorce
12. Juliana Barwick, Healing Is A Miracle
13. Yves Tumor, Heaven To A Tortured Mind
14. Mach-Hommy, Mach’s Hard Lemonade
15. Salem, Fires In Heaven
16. KeiyaA, Forever, Ya Girl
17. Ka, Descendants Of Cain
18. Armand Hammer, Shrines
19. Hum, Inlet
20. Taylor Swift, folklore

Top 5 singles

1. Tierra Whack, “Dora”
2. Roddy Ricch, “The Box”
3. Megan Thee Stallion, “Savage”
4. Headie One & Drake, “Only You Freestyle”
5. SZA, “Hit Different”

Top 10 LPs

1. Fiona Apple, Fetch The Bolt Cutters
2. Sen Morimoto, Sen Morimoto  
3. Dogleg, Melee 
4. Andy Shauf, The Neon Skyline
5. Melkbelly, PITH 
6. Thanya Iyer, KIND 
7. Hayley Williams, Petals for Armor
8. Jeff Rosenstock, NO DREAM
9. Illuminati Hotties, FREE I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been
10. Touche Amore, Lament

The next 10

11. The Innocence Mission, See You Tomorrow
12. Anjimile, Giver Taker
13. Gulfer, Gulfer 
14. Mary Lattimore, Silver Ladders
15. KeiyaA, Forever, Ya Girl
16. tricot, Makkuro 
17. Max De Wardener, Music for Detuned Pianos
18. Fennec, Free Us Of This Feeling
19. Disheveled Cuss, Disheveled Cuss
20. NNAMDI, BRAT

Top 5 EPs

1. Hannah’s Little Sister, EP.mp3
2. Nailah Hunter, Spells 
3. KennyHoopla, how will i rest in peace if i’m buried by a highway? //
4. Esther Rose, My Favorite Mistakes
5. Susie Derkins, How to Talk

Top 5 singles

1. Mura Musa ft. Slowthai, “Deal Wiv It”
2. Disheveled Cuss, “She Don’t Want”
3. Melkbelly, “LCR”
4. Sen Morimoto, “Woof”
5. Dogleg, “Fox

Top 10 LPs

1. Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher
2. U.S. Girls, Heavy Light
3. Fiona Apple, Fetch The Bolt Cutters
4. Rina Sawayama, SAWAYAMA
5. Kelly Lee Owens, Inner Song
6. Chloe x Halle, Ungodly Hour
7. Ela Minus, acts of rebellion
8. Eartheater, Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin
9. Soccer Mommy, Color Theory
10. Okay Kaya, Watch This Liquid Pour Itself

The next 10

11. Arca, KiCk i
12. Samia, The Baby
13. Loma, Don’t Shy Away
14. Porridge Radio, Every Bad
15. Angel Olsen, Whole New Mess
16. Momma, Two Of Me
17. Moses Sumney, græ
18. Hazel English, Wake UP!
19. Katie Von Schleicher, Consummation
20. Madeline Kenney, Sucker’s Lunch

Top 5 EPs

1. Tomberlin, Projections
2. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin, How can I
3. India Jordan, For You
4. Skullcrusher, Skullcrusher
5. Shygirl, ALIAS

Top 5 singles

1. Ela Minus, “megapunk”
2. India Jordan, “For You”
3. Phoebe Bridgers, “Kyoto”
4. Kelly Lee Owens, “On”
5. Porridge Radio, “Sweet”

Top 10 LPs

1. Sault, Untitled (Black Is)
2. Jay Electronica, A Written Testimony
3. Fiona Apple, Fetch The Bolt Cutters
4. KA, Descendants Of Cain
5. Chris Keys & Quelle Chris, Innocent Country 2
6. Run The Jewels, RTJ4
7. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Bandana Beats
8. Armand Hammer, Shrines
9. Westside Gunn, Pray for Paris
10. Kehlani, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t

Top 5 singles

1. Noname, “Song 33"
2. Disclosure, “Douha (Mali Mali)“
3. Roddy Ricch, “The Box”
4. Cardi B, “WAP” (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
5. Lil Baby, “The Bigger Picture”