Open your ears to these 10 albums
They say that everything old is new again. That couldn't have been truer in 2020, when disco infiltrated pop, Fleetwood Mac became viral stars, and Glen Campbell and The Andrews Sisters joined my vinyl collection on heavy rotation. What can I say? It was a year when many of us gravitated toward comfort music, and revisiting our familiar favorites from college and childhood felt way more therapeutic than sifting through endless Spotify “New Music Friday” playlists. But while I admittedly sampled far fewer albums than usual, there were still plenty of new efforts that helped get me through these fraught last 12 months. Among my favorites:
Comparisons to David Bowie are well-trodden for the still-young Mckenna, who does his idol proud on the theatrical and thoughtful “Zeros.”
9. Chloe x Halle, ‘Ungodly Hour’
Few sophomore efforts in recent memory have been as effortlessly confident as “Ungodly Hour,” whose polished vocals and R&B production are matched by hypnotic visuals.
8. Phoebe Bridgers, ‘Punisher’
A primal scream in these lonely, isolated times, Bridgers achingly captures our collective pandemic gloom with vivid metaphors (“ICU”) and startling introspection (“Savior Complex“).
7. Fleet Foxes, ‘Shore’
A warm blanket of an album from modern folk-rock royalty, with soaring anthems about hope (“I'm Not My Season”) and forgiveness (“Featherweight”) in the face of certain doom (“A Long Way Past the Past”).
6. Tennis, ‘Swimmer’
No one does more convincing throwbacks than Tennis, who sound as if they were plucked straight from Fleetwood Mac circa 1977. We dare you to find a dreamier run of songs this year than “Need Your Love,” “How to Forgive” and “Runner.”
5. La Roux, ‘Supervision’
Our Spotify top songs list was entirely comprised of “Supervision” this year, and for good reason: It's breezy, toe-tapping synth-pop that also knocks you off your feet with keen observations about anxiety, independence and letting go.
4. Ariana Grande, ‘Positions’
If Grande's “Thank U, Next” was a young woman's chronicle of heartache and healing, “Positions” would be that girl's slightly wiser but still learning older sister. For all its flirty, innuendo-filled lyrics, “Positions” is about how selfdoubt and fear can creep into even the healthiest relationships, and a comforting reminder to just let your hair down sometimes.
3. Jessie Ware, ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’
Disco returned in a big way in 2020, thanks in part to Dua Lipa (“Future Nostalgia”), Kylie Minogue (“Disco”), Róisín Murphy (“Róisín Machine”) and Lady Gaga (“Chromatica”). But the undisputed queen of the dance floor is still Ware, whose scintillating, sensual fourth album showed a captivating new side of the British torch singer.
2. Rina Sawayama, ‘Sawayama’
Not since Billie Eilish's arrival some four years ago has a pop artist emerged with a sound as distinctive and fully realized as Sawayama's debut. The genre-smashing newcomer throws a grenade into early 2000s pop, gleefully pulling elements of nu metal, electro house and arena rock from the glittercovered rubble.
1. Taylor Swift, ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ (tie)
Just as we were about to hit publish on our “best albums” list with “Folklore” at No. 1, Swift went and surprised us with “Evermore,” its sweeping and even more adventurous companion. Like, say, invisible string, the albums are tied together by their cottagecore aesthetic, shared producers (Jack Antonoff, Aaron
Dessner), and evocative tales of searching for and surrendering to love, however maddening or melancholy it may be. While “Folklore” finds Swift going deep into the woods and her own heart, she emerges on “Evermore” with renewed confidence and clarity, having mined myths and tragedies to convey relatable personal stories.
And that's the magic of both these albums: By stripping away all the usual bells and whistles expected of major pop releases, Swift places her unparalleled songwriting firmly front and center, crafting lyrics that reveal themselves in astonishing new ways with each listen. With “Folklore” and “Evermore,” she's created introspective music that meets us how and where we are – small triumphs from music's biggest hearted storyteller.