Best Music of 2020

wokeupnew said:
New Bright Eyes is really boring. Maybe I'm just over Conor Oberst's voice... or this album is just very "samey" I still love a lot of early Bright Eyes albums this one is just monotonous. And it doesn't need to be 50+ minutes, that's for sure.
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I like all the singles. Is there somewhere to hear the whole thing?
 
This year-end list is gonna be a hard one. I feel like last year, I knew pretty much what would be at the top and it was more or less just figuring out the order for most of the list but there's been a handful of albums this year I absolutely love to the point that trying to organize them into a list is going to be super difficult.
 
gaporter said:
This year-end list is gonna be a hard one. I feel like last year, I knew pretty much what would be at the top and it was more or less just figuring out the order for most of the list but there's been a handful of albums this year I absolutely love to the point that trying to organize them into a list is going to be super difficult.
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It's been an odd year for sure. Surprise albums, Surprisingly good albums, Surprisingly bad albums......I think my top 5 has changed 20 times this year. I don't even know what my top 10 of the year looks like right now. I have a couple albums that I know will make it, but the rest is up in the air.

A week after Fetch the Boltcutters dropped I thought it would be top 2 for sure. Now, I'm not sure it's top 5. Maybe sitting at home changes the music I want to hear. I know Boltcutters was a revelation for a couple weeks, but now I am just mostly melancholy when I hear it. I do know that RTJ4 will probably remain my #1. Unless Kendrick or Portugal. the Man drop the "surprise albums" that have been rumored since last year, and those albums are phenomenal, it'll stay up there.
 
Skeletonframes said:
It's been an odd year for sure. Surprise albums, Surprisingly good albums, Surprisingly bad albums......I think my top 5 has changed 20 times this year. I don't even know what my top 10 of the year looks like right now. I have a couple albums that I know will make it, but the rest is up in the air.

A week after Fetch the Boltcutters dropped I thought it would be top 2 for sure. Now, I'm not sure it's top 5. Maybe sitting at home changes the music I want to hear. I know Boltcutters was a revelation for a couple weeks, but now I am just mostly melancholy when I hear it. I do know that RTJ4 will probably remain my #1. Unless Kendrick or Portugal. the Man drop the "surprise albums" that have been rumored since last year, and those albums are phenomenal, it'll stay up there.
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Yeah I have an ongoing list of albums that are absolutely going to be on my year-end list, and the only thing that could knock most of them down is if the next four months ends up being a historic string of nonstop incredible albums. Part of me feels like there's still some big surprises coming this year, but I also think a lot of artists who were planning on releasing big projects in 2020 (like Kendrick) prior to the outbreak have had to put things on the backburner for now. So who knows what the rest of the year will hold? *shrug*

I just want new Death Grips. 😭
 
wokeupnew said:
New Bright Eyes is really boring. Maybe I'm just over Conor Oberst's voice... or this album is just very "samey" I still love a lot of early Bright Eyes albums this one is just monotonous. And it doesn't need to be 50+ minutes, that's for sure.
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That makes me sad to hear. I have only listened to two of the singles and liked them both well enough. But I gotta remember that I didn't care for the last Bright Eyes album much at all. I am still holding out hope I enjoy it. But Bright Eyes for me is such a wildly nostalgic band. I love most of their albums, but definitely as time went on I think I liked the albums less and less, especially The People's Key which just felt like a shrug. Happy to see they are back, but I gotta put it in perspective of their discography. I've liked his solo stuff, but it's also been hit or miss for me. Better Oblivion Community Center though? That ruled.
 
Really excited about the new Bully album but I was kinda thinking of waiting for my signed vinyl to come in...

I did catch the live show she did where she played the entire new album solo and I loved the songs.

Anyway, still no shipping info on the record yet. Also still don't have my copy of the new Bright Eyes yet. But I did stream it. Cannot say how I feel after one listen. Definitely gotta give it more before I know how I feel. Some songs stood out with that initial listen though.
 
I really like this Bright Eyes album actually. Although some of it lyrically doesn't at this point in my listening feel quite on par with past work, and that was something I felt I always could rely on with Oberst. This is just some initial thinking at this time, but I could see myself going back on that statement. But like listening to older Bright Eyes albums lately, there just isn't that kind of lyrical poetry on this album really. Musically, it's pretty interesting once you dig a bit deeper into it.

Some of the more subtle, sorta out place-ish songs are my favorite, like Hot Car In The Sun. It's just over 2 minutes, barely does anything musically, but it cuts right into me. That's one where the lyrics shine.
 
Holy shit! This new Kelly Lee Owens' album is fucking brilliant 👏 👌 🙌 😍 A celestial 🌌🚀journey of epic proportion with introspective songwriting, light thundering techno, and immersive synth-scapes verging on dream-pop, while also stretching into new territory. Inner Song is everything I hoped for and then some...
 
Hollywood said:
Holy shit! This new Kelly Lee Owens' album is fucking brilliant 👏 👌 🙌 😍 A celestial 🌌🚀journey of epic proportion with introspective songwriting, light thundering techno, and immersive synth-scapes verging on dream-pop, while also stretching into new territory. Inner Song is everything I hoped for and then some...
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High praise! I gotta check this out now!
 
Hollywood said:
Holy shit! This new Kelly Lee Owens' album is fucking brilliant 👏 👌 🙌 😍 A celestial 🌌🚀journey of epic proportion with introspective songwriting, light thundering techno, and immersive synth-scapes verging on dream-pop, while also stretching into new territory. Inner Song is everything I hoped for and then some...
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Thank you for bringing this release to my attention.
 
Before we get to the back quarter of the year, here’s what I got as my top albums thus far:

Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Freddie Gibbs - Alfredo
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Maria José Llergo - Sanacion
Nubya Garcia - Source
Myrkur- Folkesange
Aoife O’Donovan - Bullfrog Croons
Katie Pruitt - Expectations
Waxahatchee- Saint Cloud
Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure
Jason Isbell - Reunions
Bonny Light Horsemen
HAIM - Women in Music III
Tkay Maidza - Last Year was Weird, Vol. 2
US Girls - Heavy Light
Country Westerns
Beatrice Dillon - Workaround
Nicole Atkins - Italian Ice
Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
 
After the first few listens of this new Fontaines DC album, I was a little bummed it was not as punk and aggressive as their first record. However, I now think this new one is even better. Strong Billy Bragg vibes on a lot of the songs and I've started to think of it as a post-punk album. Perspective of what to expect makes it so much better.
 
wokeupnew said:
Update!

new additions in bold
  1. Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences
  2. Tops - I Feel Alive
  3. Caroline Rose - Superstar
  4. Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline
  5. Pinegrove - Marigold
  6. Hazel English - Wake Up!
  7. Nap Eyes - Snapshot of a Beginner
  8. The Mountain Goats - Songs for Pierre Chuvin
  9. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
  10. Anna Burch - If You're Dreaming
  11. Nadia Reid - Out of My Province
  12. Ratboys - Printer's Devil
  13. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter
  14. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
  15. Caribou - Suddenly
  16. I Break Horses - Warnings
  17. Låpsley - Through Water
  18. Tennis - Swimmer
  19. M. Ward - Migration Stories
  20. Beach Bunny - Honeymoon
  21. Snarls - Burst
  22. Half Waif - The Caretaker
  23. Real Estate - The Main Thing
  24. Torres - Silver Tongue
  25. Peach Pit - You and Your Friends
  26. Moses Sumney - græ
  27. U.S. Girls - Heavy Light
  28. Roger Eno and Brian Eno - Mixing Colours
Bad
  • Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
  • Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open
  • The Strokes - The New Abnormal

Still need more listens of:
  • Perfume Genius
  • Diet Cig
  • Agnes Obel
  • Choir Boy
  • Yves Tumor
  • Fiona Apple
  • Trace Mountains
  • Childish Gambino
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I haven't done an update in a while.

new additions in bold
  1. Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences*
  2. Owen Pallett - Island
  3. Tops - I Feel Alive*
  4. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher*
  5. Caroline Rose - Superstar
  6. Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline
  7. Pinegrove - Marigold
  8. Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today
  9. Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death
  10. Nap Eyes - Snapshot of a Beginner
  11. Hazel English - Wake Up!*
  12. Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers*
  13. Julianna Barwick - Healing is a Miracle*
  14. Anna Burch - If You're Dreaming*
  15. Nadia Reid - Out of My Province*
  16. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately*
  17. Ratboys - Printer's Devil
  18. Pausal - Melatonia*
  19. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory*
  20. The Mountain Goats - Songs for Pierre Chuvin*
  21. Bully - Suggaregg*
  22. Tennis - Swimmer
  23. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter
  24. Nation of Language - Introduction, Presence
  25. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud*
  26. Caribou - Suddenly
  27. I Break Horses - Warnings
  28. Land of Talk - Indistinct Conversations*
  29. Låpsley - Through Water
  30. Hum - Inlet
  31. M. Ward - Migration Stories
  32. Beach Bunny - Honeymoon
  33. Dream Wife - So When You Gonna...
  34. Snarls - Burst
  35. Half Waif - The Caretaker
  36. Real Estate - The Main Thing*
  37. Torres - Silver Tongue
  38. Peach Pit - You and Your Friends
  39. Moses Sumney - græ
  40. Cloud Nothings - The Black Hole Understands
  41. Bright Eyes - Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was
  42. U.S. Girls - Heavy Light
  43. Roger Eno and Brian Eno - Mixing Colours
Bad
  • Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
  • Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open
  • The Strokes - The New Abnormal
*= own on vinyl (mostly for my own records)
 
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