Best Albums Of 2020…So Far

Artwork by Anthony Bauer

So we’re now way past the halfway point of 2020, a year that somehow simultaneously feels never-ending yet still seems to be flying on by. Although this year has been one that we’d like to forget, the lone bright spot has been new music. From where we stand, this year has been incredibly strong so far, and we still got plenty of year left (though, I guess this isn’t necessarily a good thing).

I took my sweet time (as usual) and created a list of my favorite 50 albums so far during the first half of this calendar year. This list contains only album releases between January and June of 2020, so if you’re wondering where your favorite July albums are, that’s the reason.

It’s July so the final list that shows up at the end of the year may look very different, or very close to the same. I have no idea, I suppose that’s the whole fun of list-making?

Without further ado, here are my favorite 50 albums of 2020 so far. Please stay safe, keep wearing your masks and stay home as much as you can. Take care of yourself and one another.

50. Sports Team – Deep Down Happy

49. Blake Mills – Mutable Set

48. Owen Pallett – Island

47. Pure X – Pure X

46. Leah Senior – The Passing Scene

45. Ratboys – Printer’s Devil

44. Squirrel Flower – I Was Born Swimming

43. Hazel English – Wake Up!

42. Westerman – Your Hero Is Not Dead

41. Khruangbin – Mordechai

40. Bambara – Stray

39. Sorry – 925

38. The Wants – Container

37. Bombay Bicycle Club – Everything Else Has Gone Wrong

36. Beach Bunny – Honeymoon

35. Caribou – Suddenly

34. U.S. Girls – Heavy Light

33. Disq – Collector

32. Car Seat Headrest – Making a Door Less Open

31. Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways

30. Pearl Jam – Gigaton

29. Wolf Parade – Thin Mind

28. Real Estate – The Main Thing

27. Frances Quinlan – Likewise

26. Childish Gambino – 3.15.20

25. Caroline Rose – Superstar

24. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions

23. Christian Lee Hutson – Beginners

22. Mystery Jets – A Billion Heartbeats

21. Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony

20. Pinegrove – Marigold

19. Hamilton Leithauser – The Loves Of Your Life

18. Destroyer – Have We Met

17. Alexandra Savior – The Archer

16. Sault – UNTITLED (Black Is)

15. Nadia Reid – Out of My Province

14. The Strokes – The New Abnormal

13. Moses Sumney – græ

12. Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter

11. Soccer Mommy – Color Theory

10. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo

9. Porridge Radio – Every Bad

8. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately

7. Hum – Inlet

6. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud

5. Andy Shauf – The Neon Skyline

4. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways To New Italy

3. Run the Jewels – RTJ4

2. Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters

1. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

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