Pop idols made huge inroads in getting their fanbases to vote in the 2020 presidential election, and drive-in theaters turned into the hottest new concert venues. With astonishing grace, Dua Lipa makes becoming a top-tier pop … Lovett swaps out basic synth loops for colorful keyboards, thick basslines, and a much more mature songwriting approach. Charli XCX made an electronic quarantine album that captures the intangible moodiness of what the first few months of quarantine felt like. “Somewhere between the demo / And the lonely public eye / So real, real famous / Without even knowing why,” sings Mandy Moore on the song “Fifteen”, a light acoustic number that references her time as a dance-pop starlet in the early-2000s boy-band rush. December 20, 2020 The Pop Topic You vs Yesterday released their first full-length album on Nov. 20, easily paving over the midwest music scene with a … © 1999-2021 PopMatters Media, Inc. All rights reserved. There are many reasons why Folklore deserves to be Album Of The Year, the most basic of... 2. 2 peak on the Top Latin Albums chart. Whatever the case is, Róisín Machine is a killer disco record. While the opening title track may be a disorienting cataclysm of too-many-ideas-at-once, Pure Luxury soon settles into a funky party groove that’s unafraid to embrace the campiness that was always lurking underneath NZCA Lines’ sound. Still, despite a devout following and even a Mercury Music Prize nomination to her name, she’s always been more of a cult sensation than a major cultural force. 16. 1. The year's top five best-selling artists were K-pop stars BTS, Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd and Billie Eilish. Their last record, 2017’s underrated Season High, flirted with alternative R&B and minimalist textures. What are your favorite pop albums of 2020? Beyoncé paired a trimmed-downLion King soundtrack with a new album-length film to create something genuinely dynamic, now streaming for your family on Disney+, one of the many new media services that grew as millions now found themselves staying at home. The echoing vocal stacks on “Easy Target” and reverb-drenched guitars on “When I Wasn’t Watching” sound like nothing else Moore has recorded before. Understated and self-referentially clever (So Real was the name of her 1999 debut per the above lyric), Silver Landings is easily the most mature record Moore has yet created. WJSN, Neverland While WJSN brought an alluring, summer pop experience with “Butterfly,” the shimmery lead single is... 3. Dua Lipa — Future Nostalgia. The Guardian. For New Me, Same Us, their sixth full-length proper, their songcraft draws heavily on funk and dub stylings, although filtered through their distinct pop perspective. Working again with producer/songwriter Mike Viola, her key collaborator on her cult classic 2009 record Amanda Leigh, Silver Landings ends up sounding more like a contemporary Laurel Canyon folk-pop journey than it does an actress vanity project. It endures ridicule, embraces camp, and — at its very best moments — changes the way we think about music in general. Best Power Pop Albums of 2020: 1. The 25 Best Punk Albums of 2020 By Paste Staff January 11, 2021 | 12:42pm The 15 Best Pop Albums of 2020 By Paste Staff December 31, 2020 | 2:30pm More from Best Albums At others, it engages in adrenaline-powered hyperdisco (the roaring closer “Jealousy”). Featuring some of the best pop hits of 2020, this list of recent pop albums includes the latest music from the biggest pop … View reviews, ratings, news & more regarding your favorite band. By Maura Johnston Globe correspondent, Updated December 24, 2020, 10:00 a.m. Embrace the catchy tunes, and enjoy the best new pop albums of 2020. The 25 Best Punk Albums of 2020 By Paste Staff January 11, 2021 | 12:42pm The 15 Best Pop Albums of 2020 By Paste Staff December 31, 2020 | 2:30pm More from Best Albums The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Beloved Irish disco oddball Róisín Murphy has garnered acclaim for her forward-thinking pop music. Still, no matter how he gets there, the result is undeniably satisfying. However, anyone who knows the band knows that they play by their own rules, bending their sound to the breaking point and constantly rewriting the concept of genre. In truth, Moore has been working as a serious performer and songwriter long before her acting career took off, and with Silver Landings, it feels like she’s finally come into her own as an artist. The choruses are huge, the melodies are catchy on first listen, and the lyrics touch on everything from his own cheating heart to comparing a relationship to a “poorly timed backflip.” At 17 tracks, Wherever I Go, I Want to Leave is a lot to take in at once, but when you’re penning skittering rock bangers at such a rapid pace, who are we to tell him to stop what he’s doing? Bandcamp generously waived its fees on certain Fridays to give back to musicians whose expected touring incomes had vanished, and artists of every genre made it known that Black Lives Matter and always will. He did it for years with his group the Wombats for a run of brilliant records, but now, under his new solo moniker Love Fame Tragedy, he continues to write excellent self-deprecating dance-rock songs. We round up the 70 best pop albums of 2020, from Kylie Minogue’s ‘DISCO’ to Taylor Swift’s ‘folklore.’ The 10 Best Indie Pop Albums of 2019 - PopMatters, The 10 Best Indie Pop Albums of 2020 - PopMatters, The 12 Best Pop Albums of 2019 - PopMatters, Darren Jessee Marches to His Own Beat on Dynamic New Solo Record, 30 Years of The Jesus Lizard’s Emotional, Meaningless ‘Goat’, Emily Kinney Writes Herself a Winning Role for ‘The Supporting Character’, Award-winning Actress Barbara Sukowa on Her Role in French Lesbian Love Story, ‘Two of Us’, Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points Find Solace in Open Space on ‘Promises’, Esther Rose Captures a Relationship’s Many Ups and Downs on ‘How Many Times’, Pushpin’s Experimental Pop Is Delightful on “Apples”, Nate Powell’s Graphic Non-Fiction ‘Save It for Later’ Urges Readers to Remember the Trump Era, Luminous Kid Taps Phoebe Bridgers for Poetry on “Mountain Crystals”, Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Klara and the Sun’ Is a Simple Story about Complicated Things, Nelson Angelo and Joyce’s 1972 Psych Folk Album Is a Spiritual Experience, Irreverent Power-Pop Legends Too Much Joy Roar Back to Life with ‘Mistakes Were Made’, Corb Lund Revisits ‘Agricultural Tragic’ with Bonus Tracks. Maybe it was the goodwill she gained after guesting on two tracks of DJ Koze’s 2018 masterpiece Knock Knock. Joe Giddings – Better From Here. The Forty-Five. Future Nostalgia came out in March, which was really only a few short months ago, but... 2. 59. Billie Eilish has won Best Pop Vocal Album for WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Love Fame Tragedy - Wherever I Go, I Want To Leave [Good Soldier] At some points, it’s hypnotically psychedelic (like on the eight-minute opener “Simulation”). Vote up your favorite full-length studio albums. The 50 Best Albums Of 2020: 50-41 / 40-31 / 30-21 / 20-11 / 10-1 -- G.F. 23. The biggest Western K-pop crossover in history transpired when BTS put out their first English language single, breaking down cultural barriers in the process. With Lovett now taking writing and producing primarily by himself, NZCA Lines’ third album, Pure Luxury, absolutely bursts with life and color. Update: Follow Ranker's official New Pop 2020 playlist on Spotify! Riddhi Chakraborty Dec 29, 2020. Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999. 2020 Pop album releases. In a career that’s careened from one critical high to another, Róisín Machine became her highest-charting album to date, proving that after all her years in Moloko and then as a solo artist, Róisín Murphy’s moment has finally arrived. Follow Ranker's official New Pop 2020 playlist on Spotify. Having formed close to a quarter-century ago, it’s fair to think that one of Sweden’s most beloved alternative-dance exports, Little Dragon, have explored the depths of their sound, frontward and backward, several times over by this point. See instructions. BoA, BETTER 2. Let’s celebrate those records that moved us, grooved us, and gave us glimmers of hope in what ended up being the most bizarre years in modern history. March 13, 2020 4:43 pm. Jan 26, 2020 - 3:51 pm. The Independent. Top 12 best pop albums of 2020. Maybe having another vehicle away from his main group is what he needed to reignite his creative muse. Pop music can make you sweat. In 2020, perhaps more than any other year in recent memory, pop music did all of those things and more, punching well above its weight as the world dealt with societal, systemic, and economic challenges. Better – BoA. Featuring some of the best pop hits of 2020, this list of recent pop albums includes the latest music from the biggest pop stars today, like Selena Gomez. (Find our 100 Best Songs of 2020 list here.) She was nominated for a total of six awards at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards, including Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist, among others. Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men – Downtime. The Weeknd — After Hours. View reviews, ratings, news & more regarding your favorite band. Brandy's 2020 album, "B7," is one of the year's best… The 15 best pop albums radiate with unstoppable playlist power and much-needed sweet escapism. Or maybe it was dropping an endlessly replayable dance record at the perfect moment in the middle of global quarantine. Find the best music on Album of the Year. Pantha Du Prince - Conference of Trees [Modern Recordings] We can’t go clubbing anymore, but that’s not stopping us from popping earbuds in and having a dance party on our own terms. By Paste Staff | December 31, 2020 | 2:30pm. This year was one of transformations, self-empowerment, a search for identity outside fame and a whole lot of magic. With Pure Luxury, NZCA Lines’ freak flag is flying high, and for a good reason: Lovett has just made his hands-down best record. For awhile, NZCA Lines’ Michael Lovett and his creative partner Charlie Alex March created some groovy neon synthpop that was catchy if somewhat fleeting. Best Albums of 2020 Isolation was unavoidable this year: Some albums embraced it, some raged against it, some tried to imagine a world without … Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion broke through to the pop mainstream without compromising their styles. Released in March, Colores won best urban album at the 2020 Latin Grammys, and scored the Colombian superstar a No. Which pop artist do you think will have the best pop album of 2020? Waylon Payne - Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, the Pusher & Me [Carnival Recording Company/Empire] Additionally, some of the most popular male pop stars, like Sam Smith and Charlie Puth, also have albums to be released in 2020. Wrapping their simple-but-syrupy grooves around a few prominent sci-fi themes, the group’s sound was immediate if also a bit emotionally cold. As the world adjusted to a new way of life amid the coronavirus pandemic, pop stars themselves had to think outside of the box, canceling tours of elaborate album cycle plans to go instead virtual — or delaying releases outright. Of all the Latin superstars wreaking havoc on the charts in 2020, Anuel AA lays claim to the best album. ... To determine the best pop albums of all time, 24/7 Tempo generated an index based on the album’s rankings on the Billboard 200 chart and lifetime album … Here are the 50 best albums of a year unlike any we can remember. Music Lists Best Albums. To see this page as it is meant to appear, please enable your Javascript! The moody strut of “Larsen” is the kind of song the NZCA Lines of old could never pull off, and the slinky synths on “Opening Night” emit dangerous sexual energy. The Best Pop Albums Of 2020 So Far 1. The Young Folks. GRAMMYs. It’s Karma It’s Cool – Woke Up in Hollywood. 1. A list of all music releases for 2020. The Best Albums of 2020 So Far ... here are the best albums of the year up to this point. 2020 was the year that pop music had to do a lot of emotional heavy lifting for us, and as these 15 records show, the best of it proved to be nothing short of transcendent. His influences move from Erasure and Depeche Mode to instead encompass his love of all things Prince, Beck, and Queen at their most egregiously ’80s. at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards. The Observer. Yukika, SOUL LADY Longing to be part of a bygone era felt fitting for a year like this, and Yukika’s SOUL LADY... 4. Vote up the best 2020 pop albums, and then check out which artists made it to the top 10 pop albums of 2019. 15. The Weeknd took pop in a bold new direction on his latest album… or rather, a … The Best Pop Albums Of 2020 1. The Line of Best Fit. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia. Buscabulla: Regresa. It’s relaxed and unpressured given that her Emmy-nominated work in This Is Us means that she doesn’t have to worry about chart success or making a hit single. The Best Pop Albums of 2020. Harry Styles finally shed his boy band past to score a psychedelic chart-topper. 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2020. The Telegraph. Update: Follow Ranker's official New Pop 2020 playlist on Spotify! Flutes and string sections accent deeply romantic grooves and Yukimi Nagano’s ever-flexible voice, which can be anything from a husky whisper (the dry closer “Water”) to a hushed falsetto (the minor-key pop miracle that is “Every Rain”). Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, the fifth studio album by Perfume Genius, boasts the best album title of 2020. For many of us, pop music has always been an escape, and in 2020, alone with our loved ones and connected by Ethernet cables, that escape has never been more vital. 2020 has been a ... 070 Shake: Modus Vivendi. HAIM collected two years of one-off singles into what may be their finest work yet. A nice Landing indeed. Dua Lipa — Future Nostalgia. Share this: 10. The 15 Best Pop Albums of 2020. 2. The Best Dream Pop Albums of 2020. Pop music can sometimes make you shed tears. “I feel good / My life is about to explode!” Nagano says at the start of “Kids”, and she’s right: her life — and your eardrums — are about to go incredible and unexpected places. Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men – Downtime. WithRóisín Machine, her fifth studio full-length proper, all of that has changed. Even the Pet Shop Boys, an older pop group, will be releasing what is sure to be one of the best pop albums of 2020. The greatest pop bands and artists in every conceivable sub-genre, ranked. Matthew “Murph” Murphy of the Wombats somehow finds time to eat and sleep, which is honestly amazing given that it appears he spends 24 hours a day writing self-deprecating dance-rock like his life depends on it. Featuring Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Chloe x Halle and more. Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! Taylor Swift — Folklore. Taylor Swift - folklore July 24, 2020 Critic Score 87 37 reviews … Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande dropped massive records with short notice. 3. It’s Karma It’s Cool – Woke Up in Hollywood. The Sydney Morning Herald. Pop music can change lexicons, unite fandoms, and even be a vehicle for change and progress. After all of that, it’s still unafraid to open up its frothy exterior to show a real, vulnerable heart beating underneath (like on the untouchable “Something More”). PopMatters is wholly independent, women-owned and operated. Embrace the catchy tunes, and enjoy the best new pop albums of 2020. 8 Great Electronic Dream Pop Albums From 2020 (So Far) ... the 23-year-old musician and producer behind Mura Masa whose 2017 self-titled debut LP was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album … Released in March as pandemic panic tightened its grip, this stellar pop album … Carly Rae Jepsen: Dedicated Side B. Charli XCX: how i’m feeling now. Creeper - Sex, Death & the Infinite Void July 31, 2020 Critic Score 89 11 reviews Amazon iTunes Music Spotify 2. You vs Yesterday released their first full-length and self-titled album in November, arguably becoming the strongest pop punk album release of 2020. List RulesVote up your favorite full-length studio albums. The Skinny.