Year in Review: The Best 10 Albums of 2020

In a year unlike any in our lifetimes, full of chaos and deep loss, music served as an escape, with musicians releasing a tsunami of excellent albums. Many established stars released career highlights, while other newcomers burst on the scene. Some albums were made during quarantine, others were made a year or so ago but became a refuge for dark times. Despite how bad 2020 got, the music that came out this year might become hugely influential as we enter a new decade. Below is a breakdown of the 10 best albums (along with some honorable mentions).

10. The Killers - "Imploding the Mirage"

On their sixth album, "Imploding the Mirage," the Killers home in on what they do best: Interpolate their idols to make some of the biggest anthem-sized rock American rock tunes today. Like on past albums, the Las Vegas band, led by Brandon Flowers, serves us a little bit of Springsteen, Dylan, Bowie, and New Order. The new album consists of 10 cohesive and solid songs, full of bangers and a step way above their last few albums. They enlist k.d. lang on the sprawling "Lightening Fields" and Weyes Blood on "My God." Songs like "Fire and Bone" and "Caution" rank among some of the band's best songs to date, proving that despite being around for nearly two decades, the Killers are still here to rock your world.

09. Destroyer - "Have We Met"

Canadian musician Dan Bejar's band Destroyer found new heights in the past decade, and their 12th album, "Have We Met," is another great entry into his career. On the album, Bejar digs deeper into his smoky and existential lounge music. For anyone who is familiar with Destroyer's music it's a familiar album, but one executed at a high level. Songs like "Cue Synthesizer" and "Crimson Tide" soar with Bejar's signature husky vocals, and "Have We Met" results in one of his band's most satisfying albums.

08. The Weeknd - "After Hours"

Since crossing over and becoming a pop star with his "first" official album "Kiss Land" in 2013, Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd, has been better known as a singles artist. His albums have been spotty at best, despite having songs that explode on the charts, where he fuses Michael Jackson, Daft Punk, and other dance elements with his lyrics about drug use and wild nights. But that's changed on his fourth studio album, "After Hours," a considered and cohesive effort and his best since his mixtape days early in his career. He gets help from all-time producer Max Martin on "Blinding Lights," a Billboard No. 1 hit that continues to dominate streaming. What sends "After Hours" over the top isn't its glossiness. Here, Tesfaye leans into his bad boy persona; he's meta and knowingly playing pop music's cheesy evil villain. But the new album, where he weaves hip hop, disco, synthpop, and the cinematic elegance of Chromatics, is so good you can't help but root for the bad guy.

07. HAIM - "Women in Music Pt. III"

Last year, HAIM, the California-based trio of sisters (Danielle, Alana and Este Haim), released a string of singles, including a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." But it wasn't until their second single of 2020, "I Know Alone," did the band click into something interesting. It's one of the most complex songs they've made (its theme is about being lonely in quarantine) – and that's saying something, considering the multi-instrumentalists weave Fleetwood Mac-esque harmonies within pop music structures. Their third album, "Women in Music Pt. III," is easily the band's best, finding the trio bouncing from genre to genre (and micro-genre to micro-genre). Sometimes they sound like Joni Mitchell ("Man from the Magazine"), other times they sound like Bob Dylan ("I've Been Down"), and some songs sound like TLC ("3 AM"). "WIMPIII" is an accomplished album, finding HAIM in a new mode that fans haven't heard before.

06. Bad Bunny - "El �ltimo Tour Del Mundo"

On his second album of 2020, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny envisions his final tour and what his music will sound like in 2032. "El �ltimo Tour Del Mundo," which translates to "The Last Tour of the World," finds Bad Bunny trying out new styles, like alternative rock, most notably on his single "Yo Visto As�," a grunge-inspired banger. "Dakiti," featuring Puerto Rican rapper Jhay Cortez, has dark synths before reggaeton beats kick in. Though reggaeton and Latin trap are still prominent on "El �ltimo Tour Del Mundo," it marks a bit of a departure for Spotify's most-streamed artist, but it's an exciting sound he's leaning in to.

05. Lady Gaga - "Chromatica"

Lady Gaga's highly anticipated sixth album, "Chromatica," was worth its long wait. On it, Gaga returns to the dance floor roots that launched her career with "The Fame" and "The Fame Monster," which spawned career-defining singles "Paparazzi" and "Bad Romance," respectively. But "Chromatica" isn't a retread where she puts out clever pop tunes. Here, Gaga is at her most personal and vulnerable, sharing about her personal trauma ("Rain on Me," featuring Ariana Grande – a singer who has undergone trauma in the public eye), while creating vibrant and pulsating music that is ultimately uplifting and spiritual. "Chromatica" is her best work in years, a signal that Gaga may be entering a new phase of her career but is transforming into a better artist.

04. Taylor Swift - "folklore" & "evermore

Leave it to Taylor Swift to make the most noise in 2020. She surprised release two albums this year "folklore" and its sister album "evermore," working with Aaron Dessner of the indie band the National and her longtime collaborator, the producer Jack Antonoff. Swift's production choices – just like the name of her album and its black-and-white imagery – are pointed. "folklore" isn't really an indie-sounding album, however. Here, Swift, a gifted songwriter, sounds more like Sarah McLachlan who touches on sounds from '10 indie artists, like Sufjan Stevens ("seven"), Arcade Fire ("this is me trying"), Beach House ("mirror ball") and more (and of course the National and Bon Iver). Not only does Swift wink back to songs from her previous albums, "folklore" is a cinematic record with Swift telling stories from different perspectives. The same goes for "evermore," an album that turns down the production even more and finds Swift at her rawest. The pair of albums mark a major shift for the pop star, signaling a more mature and confident next phase of her career.

03. R�is�n Murphy - "R�is�n Machine"

Pop music has welcomed a disco revival every now and then, but something seems different about this latest trend. The freeing and euphoric sounds of disco hit harder than ever during a time when people – especially queer people – can't go to safe spaces to be themselves. There's no album that's come out in 2020 that urges listeners to get to the club more than Murphy's "R�is�n Machine." It's a sprawling 10-track album that clocks in at 54 minutes, full of '70s disco pastiche that's rooted in Black and queer culture and sounds. It's a celebration of nightclubs and club kids that begs to be blasted on a dancefloor. It's an album that would sound best being played as you boogie down next to a bunch of half-dressed, sweaty queers. But, like the best disco music, there is also something a bit tragic in the lyrics of Murphy's new music.

02. Kali Uchis - "Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ?"

Cuban-American Kali Uchis' sophomore album "Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ?" (or, "Without Fear (of Love and Other Demons) ?") is her first Spanish-language album, and an absolutely stunning effort. It's a genre-jumping album where Uchis blends pop music, pop take on the boleros, reggaet�n, and Latin soul. Uchis, who has never sounded better, is confident and sexy here, especially on "Aqui Yo Mando," featuring rapper Rico Nasty. As Pitchfork notes, the album's opener, "la luna enamorada," is an update of a 1960s bolero popularized by the Cuban doo-wop group Los Zafiros. It's a beautiful track that sounds at home in a Pedro Almodovar film (as does "que te pedi//"). On "Sin Miedo," Uchis comes into her own, creating a beautiful piece of music.

01. Charli XCX - "how I'm feeling now"

Charli XCX's latest album, "how I'm feeling now," marks a turning point for the musician. She was once set on a path to be in the same conversation as Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa. But she chose a different, and ten times more interesting, route. Instead of going big, she stayed online and, under lockdown earlier this year, she created her best album to date. "HIFN" is raw and emotional, with some of the most interesting production of the last few years. She reunites with A.G. Cook, the ringleader of the music group/label PC Music, as well as 100 gecs (the logical progression of PC Music) and BJ Burton. The result is a complex album where Charli soars and pushes herself as an artist, uniting all of her ideas into a tight, 37-minute album that nears perfection.