Consequence of Sound's Top 50 Albums of 2020

With a ceaseless, buoyant energy that swims across a candid narrative, Trifilio flexes her masterful songwriting on an album bound to win the hearts of emo-punks and TikTok girls alike.

For the first time in nearly two decades, they’ve rediscovered this winning formula. As a result, American Head stands alongside The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots as one of the very best records The Flaming Lips have recorded.

By consolidating the stylistic elements of her previous two works, Miss_Anthrop0cene lies at the intersections of Grimes’ past experiments while forging something entirely new to her discography.

Shamir is already known for thinking outside the box when it comes to genre. It’s a testament, then, that their new album not only remains fresh and invigorating, but that it does it in ways that feel deliberate and controlled.

The journey of Gaslighter is bolstered by the same strong group dynamic that put The Chicks on the map years ago, all through a lush but often dialed-back, new sound that ventures further into the pop realm.

If Letter to You was the swan song, if there were no more Springsteen albums after this one, this would be a mighty fine way to go out.

On Shore, Fleet Foxes have illuminated the sense of grace that can sometimes be found within certain darknesses, and that has made the listening experience feel both profoundly human and hopeful.

There’s a powerful cohesion to the collection that makes it feel greater than the sum of its parts, with several standout fusions of singing and instrumentation/production as only Lopatin could yield.

The singer-songwriter's eighth album cuts away the pop scaffolding for dark, dreamy contemplation.

Forgotten Days is arguably the best doom metal album of 2020 and an impressive label debut.

At its strongest, Ultra Mono offers a fresh set of urgent rallying cries for anyone interested in furthering workers’ rights, dismantling systemic racism, and knocking out a few Nazi teeth. The record’s missteps mostly come when Talbot finds himself on the defensive, a position that finds him turning out poison-pen responses to critics that probably felt better to sing than they do to hear.

Likewise is a gorgeous solo debut from a unique singing and writing voice, a record that quietly gets under your skin and stays there.

Fake it Flowers is more than a record: It’s an unveiling of true rising talent.

Rest assured, Jay Electronica earns his reputation as an elite rhymer-sayer on A Written Testimony.

He sounds alert, refreshed, and sometimes thrilled on Eternal Atake, shifting between cadences and registers with the manic dexterity of Sada Baby.

The Ascension is one of Sufjan Stevens’ grandest, most ambitious works yet, and that’s quite the feat considering he’s one of the most ambitious musicians in his genre.

Present and post-lockdown, how i’m feeling now will be a definitive album of its time.

While 20 tracks seems exhausting, to the contrary, he captures our attention throughout, especially with his clever zingers.

SAWAYAMA pushes the boundaries of what pop music can be, discussing complex and intimate topics with insight and freshness.

BTS are both the world’s biggest and most interesting act in pop music right now: 7 solidifies this position and smartly looks towards the future.

So much care goes into Gigaton, building nuance, establishing ethos, and creating a unifying vibe.

Gaga’s approach, taking thoughts and insecurities that feel personal and private ... and turning them into music to dance to turns our traditional expectations of introspection inside out, as so much good pop music often does.

Ohms breaks that trend, with more focused songs, and a renewed love of hard-rocking guitar riffs that may rekindle the band’s relationship with fans that jumped ship after White Pony.

She embraces the messiness of growing up and taking responsibility for one’s actions and composes the apex of everything she’s accomplished thus far. Saint Cloud offers us the best possible version of Crutchfield she could possibly give us.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. This is not an easy listen. Yet, for those willing to give it the attention it deserves, Bolt Cutters delivers a much-needed auditory exercise for the sequestered masses and surely one of the best albums to grace us in 2020.