My Favorite and Least Favorite Albums of 2020: Pt. 1
My Favorite and Least Favorite Albums of 2020
12/17/20
DISCLAIMER: This is going to be in a more Fanboy Roundup-style progression, with the four paragraphs being completely separate. In each, I will go over my revised thoughts on each of my top 3 favorite albums and 1 of my least favorites this year. The overall essay will also be a lot more pronoun-geared, seeing as this is a favorites list instead of a more convincing opinions list. Instead of an introduction, we have this explaining what the hell I'm up to. Also, one quick note, due to a recent shift of plans, I will now have to start focusing a lot more energy on my upcoming EP. This means a consistent blogpost schedule may be put on the back burner for a bit. So, if you don't see a blogpost technically out by the 21st, this is the reason why. Everything I've missed at the end of this year will be eventually made up and dated for their correctly-intended publishing dates. Finally, this might get a second part before the Fanboy Roundup on the 24th, but I'm still unsure.
My 3rd Favorite Album: Bright Eyes - "Down in the Weeds Where the World Once Was"
When I first heard word of Bright Eyes' return after their nine-year group hiatus, I was very excited. A new installment in the band's catalogue was a tall order to fill, and going into some of the sub-par singles, I began to fear. However, when the album released, I was honestly very surprised at how well it lived up to those better singles. Like any album, it had its downsides, and many have been ones I've found after reviewing it, but it has too many upsides to not put it on this list. Firstly, the album's is some of the most immersing work I've heard all year. An eerie atmosphere that traps every track and its moods really puts everything in this album into one specific theme. This album also utilizes some darker other musical elements to portray that emotion and style the Bright Eyes band was founded upon. My one main downside in hindsight of my review was that each track never really captured the sheer sadness and pain of the band's older work. Taking debatably their best album, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" as an example, this new LP never hit the emotional highs and lows of this predecessor. The acoustic chords layered over vocal melodies worked so well as a formula with other elements sprinkled in rather than setting an arguably over-produced standard. Not to say this new album is too over-produced, because its production fits its style very well, but because the band may have used this new production style to branch off too far from what the Bright Eyes name really is. Due to this new realization, I've bumped my score down to an 8/10 to an 8.5/10, but this is not to shit on any of the other wonderful parts this amazing album offers.
My 2nd Favorite Album: Westside Gunn - "WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE"
The majority of music connoisseurs find Westside Gunn's style and genre to be somewhat like Hack-N-Slash video games. They find these albums somewhat repetitive and at its core uninteresting, but it can be spiced up to no end and make for an amazing piece of art. Before I dive into this mini-review, I want to preface this by saying that, like my thoughts on the Hack-N-Slash genre, I absolutely love this style to death and have never gotten tired of it. That being said, I think this album has made its way into the spot of being one of my favorite rap albums this year. It may not bring a whole lot of fresh ideas to the genre's table, which is my only stylistic fault with this album, but it improves upon those old ideas in fresh and exciting ways. The instrumentals are topped with some great verses and a diverse array of talented rappers and singers performing their best. The flows and vibes they give off have great execution throughout, and it makes for an overall great experience. Referring back to my initial review a couple of months ago, the album's main downside is the fact that it's under the "album" name. As Westside Gunn's debut, it sounds a lot like his mixtapes, and doesn't really back a cohesive progression and emotion to it all. Though, the mixtapes' style is so refined here, that it's truly hard to complain at all about this amazing rap masterpiece.
My Least Favorite Album: Selena Gomez - "Rare"
My hope for this new 2010s style of synth-pop revival dwindles by every new release. Though, this year we've seen some genuinely awesome releases like Halsey's "Manic", and many artists, take Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus for instance, are completely rebranding. They're taking their music in different directions and focusing in more on, it seems, what expresses their emotions best. This is what I hoped for in the case of Selena Gomez on January 10th when her latest shit-storm "Rare" first raped my ears. As a musician myself, I couldn't live with putting out a work of art that I thought was truly bad. Though, through all of the market testers this project must have gone through, it's absolutely shocking that not one of them felt uncomfortable about hindering the morality of the music climate so heavily. The fact that making such a detrimental impact with such a shitty cash-grab did not phase these people's feeble minds as a bad thing to do is absolutely appalling. The only decent track on here is "Lose You to Love Me", and while by no means a perfect song, I would still rank it on the upper half of my scale. The rest of this album, however, is unlistenable, and should have all physical copies, and somehow all digital copies, be buried underground to rot for a thousand years. Selena Gomez just fed us maggot food, so now, I ask you to please feed it all to the real maggots, and if she doesn't come back with a decent follow up, cram her career in the pit as well.
My 1st Favorite Album: Phoebe Bridgers - "Punisher"
In sharp contrast to the last album I've just talked about, I thought Phoebe Bridgers just put out the best album this year. This can, of course, be disputed, and I'm fine if you disagree, but it's undoubtably my personal favorite. All who read my review of this album back from July when it first released might be confused that I'm putting this album above Bright Eyes, seeing as I only gave this one a 7.5/10. Though, one day was not nearly enough time for me to fully realize an album and my thoughts about it. This album is absolutely stunning and bursting at the seams with thought-provoking themes and an eerily beautiful tone all executed in the best way it could have been. My main flaw from my initial review was about this album's style getting repetitive. Though, after more time with the album and a few long car rides with its beautiful melodies entrancing me and occasionally soothing me to sleep, I've realized how unique each track, its lyrics, instrumentals, and themes are. For any other clarification and intricate wording about how wonderful this album is, completely ignore anything bad I may have said in my official review, and read through. Those are my thoughts come five months later.
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