perpetual novice Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 Hi everyone, This is my first time doing a best-of list here on ATRL, so I thought I would keep it simple and list what I believe are the best 50 albums of 2020. A big goal of mine for this list was to introduce a number of new acts to ATRL that maybe the site hadn't heard of before, so please do check out anyone on the list that you don't recognise! HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Spoiler (in no specific order) These works are still worth checking out, although they missed my Top 50. 1. Sega Bodega - Salvador 2. Ellie Goulding - Brightest Blue 3. Troye Sivan - In a Dream 4. Lianne La Havas - Lianna La Havas 5. Hayley Williams - Petals for Armour 6. Leon - Apart RESULTS: #50-11 Spoiler 50. Megan Thee Stallion - Good News 49. Babeheaven - Home For Now 48. Doves - The Universal Want 47. Victoria Monet - Jaguar 46. Kiesza - Crave 45. RAYE - Euphoric Sad Songs 44. Phantogram - Ceremony 43. ericdoa - COA 42. JIM-E Stack - EPHERMA 41. Raleigh Ritchie - Andy 40. The Weeknd - After Hours 39. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately 38. VERITE - New Limbs (vol. 1) 37. Dianna Lopez - Shapeshifting 36. Paris Jackson - wilted 35. Tei Shi - Die 4 Ur Love 34. Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts 33. Sevdaliza - Shabrang 32. Rico Nasty - Nightmare Vacation 31. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush 30. Disclosure - ENERGY 29. Christine and the Queens - La vita nuova 28. Soccer Mommy - color theory 27. HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III 26. Donna Missal - Lighter 25. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher 24. Kylie Minogue - DISCO 23. Purity Ring - WOMB 22. Joji - Nectar 21. Allie X - Cape God 20. Bree Runway - 2000AND4EVA 19. Kacy Hill - Is It Selfish If We Talk About Me Again 18. beabadoobee - Fake It Flowers 17. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters 16. Taylor Swift - Folklore 15. Yves Tumour - Heaven to a Tortured Mind 14. Lady Gaga - Chromatica 13. Halsey - Manic 12. PVRIS - Use Me 11. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? * The original version of this list had Ariana Grande's "Positions" at Rank 50, the late addition of Rico Nasty's "Nightmare Vacation" pushed it out. No shade to Ari I just forgot this album was coming out There won't be any more late additions. TOP 10: PERPETUAL NOVICE // ALBUM OF THE YEAR TOP 10 -- TEXT VERSION: Spoiler 10. Georgia - Seeking Thrills 9. SHYGIRL - ALIAS 8. 070 Shake - Modus Vivendi 7. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene 6. Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour 5. Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now 4. clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned 3. Run The Jewels - RTJ4 2. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia 1. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunderland 4ever Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 5 minutes ago, perpetual novice said: 48. Babeheaven - Home For Now Great pick! Just listened to it last weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 5 minutes ago, Sunderland 4ever said: Great pick! Just listened to it last weekend. Thanks I have to admit I liked their Suspended Animation project more, it felt more unique to me, but Home for Now is a nice chilled out album I can see myself coming back to a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackoutZone Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 Positions sneaking its way in somehow I really wanted to like Crave, but it feels so cheap to me, it's like dollar store Emotion, in theory these are great pop bangers, but the execution doesn't hit me at all! Euphoric Sad Songs however perfected this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 2 minutes ago, BlackoutZone said: Positions sneaking its way in somehow I really wanted to like Crave, but it feels so cheap to me, it's like dollar store Emotion, in theory these are great pop bangers, but the execution doesn't hit me at all! Euphoric Sad Songs however perfected this I did debate with myself whether it would be worth including Ariana in the list but all my other options weren't really worth listing either and Ariana would have more name recognition here so It's a cute album. Crave has its cheap moments but I think it's highs, especially All Of The Feelings, make up for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Into The Void Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I heard Jaguar by Victoria Monet yesterday for the first time. Good tracks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Into The Void Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I heard Jaguar by Victoria Monet yesterday for the first time. Good tracks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewan Chaos Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Have fun with your first Best Of! My favorites so far are Ariana, Victoria, and Kiesza. Megan is great but the album generally disappointed me :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 2 hours ago, Ewan Chaos said: Have fun with your first Best Of! My favorites so far are Ariana, Victoria, and Kiesza. Megan is great but the album generally disappointed me :/ Megan’s album slightly disappointed me too but I think it was still good even if it didn’t meet my expectations. “Shots Fired” is the kinda stuff I think she should do more, she’s way better off showcasing herself as a serious rapper than doing the repetitive hoe bops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropical Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Stan Ariana a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 New Update! 39. The Weeknd - After Hours 38. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately 37. VERITE - New Limbs (vol. 1) 36. Dianna Lopez - Shapeshifting 35. Paris Jackson - wilted 34. Tei Shi - Die 4 Ur Love 33. Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts 32. Sevdaliza - Shabrang 31. Tame Impala - The Slow rush 30. Disclosure - ENERGY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackoutZone Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Very good projects, however Verite in such small dose didn't hit me as much as her previous projects. The Slow Rush was also disappointing, but it has its moments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, BlackoutZone said: Very good projects, however Verite in such small dose didn't hit me as much as her previous projects. The Slow Rush was also disappointing, but it has its moments I actually like the direction Verite has set herself on with New Skin and New Limbs, her debut album had a lot of bops but the image and persona in that music felt very put on and had nothing in terms of similarity to her earlier EPs, it kinda felt like she was trying to emulate BANKS. Her past two projects feel a lot more honest and singer-songwritery to me. As for Tame Impala I had the same reaction on my first couple of reasons because I set an expectation for myself on what the album was going to sound like, and when it was more downtempo than I expected I felt disappointed, but lately the album has actually hit for me and I appreciate it a whole lot more for what it is, same thing goes for another album higher up in the list that I didn't care for on release but I adore now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamofyou Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 23 minutes ago, perpetual novice said: New Update! 39. The Weeknd - After Hours 38. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately 37. VERITE - New Limbs (vol. 1) 36. Dianna Lopez - Shapeshifting 35. Paris Jackson - wilted 34. Tei Shi - Die 4 Ur Love 33. Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts 32. Sevdaliza - Shabrang 31. Tame Impala - The Slow rush 30. Disclosure - ENERGY after hours had a few great tracks, but the rest was plastic hearts at 33? i mean i guess it did only come out a few days ago so has gotta grow on people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 11 minutes ago, dreamofyou said: after hours had a few great tracks, but the rest was plastic hearts at 33? i mean i guess it did only come out a few days ago so has gotta grow on people I agree that there a lot of After Hours tracks isn't his best material, but it's still a good album. 2020 has been pretty slow for albums in general, I think if it came out in 2019 it wouldn't have made my Top 50. As for Plastic Hearts I did enjoy the album and I'll continue to come back to it but one thing about it that bothers me and keeps it further down the list is that it's trying to hop into the 80s throwback trend but doesn't use live instrumentation, it sounds pretty shallow as a result. But the music is still good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Rose Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 17 hours ago, perpetual novice said: 38. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately This deserved to be higher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator Verge of Obscene Posted December 3, 2020 ATRL Moderator Share Posted December 3, 2020 Plastic Hearts is way too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 17 minutes ago, Blue Rose said: This deserved to be higher The writing on this album is pretty impeccable but his vocals and instrumentations throughout are pretty one note He definitely would be way higher up the list had he spiced things up a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Rose Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Just now, perpetual novice said: The writing on this album is pretty impeccable but his vocals and instrumentations throughout are pretty one note He definitely would be way higher up the list had he spiced things up a bit more. hmmm the way I disagree with everything you said but I will spare you the essay Then again the album is coming for top10 on my list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunderland 4ever Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, perpetual novice said: 31. Tame Impala - The Slow rush My favorite track is One More Year. What a way to start the record. If only the rest had just been as consistent. Edited December 3, 2020 by Sunderland 4ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator khalyan Posted December 3, 2020 ATRL Moderator Share Posted December 3, 2020 Wait at the taste on this list Love to see Kiesza, RAYE, Miley, and Disclosure. Let me try to listen to a few other albums on your list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 23 minutes ago, Sunderland 4ever said: My favorite track is One More Year. What a way to start the record. If only the rest had just been as consistent. I like that one a lot too, I think the record is pretty consistent in terms of the individual tracks but suffers from bad sequencing, I think with a tweaked tracklist it would have been received much better than it was. 8 minutes ago, jpow said: Wait at the taste on this list Love to see Kiesza, RAYE, Miley, and Disclosure. Let me try to listen to a few other albums on your list Definitely recommend Tei Shi's "Die 4 Ur Love" and Victoria Monet's "Jaguar" if you lean heavily for pop. ericdoa's "COA" too if you like heavy synths in the style of Charli's recent music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzumia Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 19 hours ago, perpetual novice said: 36. Dianna Lopez - Shapeshifting OMG YES Euphoria especially is such a masterpiece, whew perched for the rest of your list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator khalyan Posted December 3, 2020 ATRL Moderator Share Posted December 3, 2020 1 hour ago, perpetual novice said: Definitely recommend Tei Shi's "Die 4 Ur Love" and Victoria Monet's "Jaguar" if you lean heavily for pop. ericdoa's "COA" too if you like heavy synths in the style of Charli's recent music. I'm listening to Tei Shi now and I'm living for it! Thanks for the recommendation, I can see me listening to her for a while now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perpetual novice Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 10 minutes ago, suzumia said: OMG YES Euphoria especially is such a masterpiece, whew perched for the rest of your list That track is so heavenly Euphoria indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts