2020 in Music: Mid-Year Review

Compared to other arms of the entertainment industry, the effects of the pandemic haven't really been felt on the studio output side of the music business. New records and singles have been trickling out with only slightly less regularity than normal, which has been great for the artists that were excited to get their stuff out there in 2020 and the fans that were eagerly awaiting the release of said new material. While that's not likely to be the case after the next 3-4 months of backlogged material that was recorded pre-COVID-19, this small slice of vintage normalcy has been nice to experience during a time where day-to-day life has changed so dramatically so quickly.

That relatively unchanged release chain has thankfully resulted in a lot of exciting, important and addictive material that is greatly needed right now. Rising pop superstars took big steps forward (Halsey, Dua Lipa), metal veterans continued to build upon their legacies of consistency (The Black Dahlia Murder, August Burns Red, Lamb of God), Kali Uchis flexed her rare talent level by cutting a self-recorded 4-track EP (To Feel Alive) in 2 days that's more polished than most people's years-in-development projects, the bittersweet posthumous LP from a beloved artist (Mac Miller) garnered a stirring emotional response and the latest string of horrific police brutality incidents have provided a wave of potent, incendiary protest songs (Anderson. Paak's "Lockdown", Lil Baby's "The Bigger Picture", the Terrace Martin/Denzel Curry/Kamasi Washington/Daylyt/G Perico posse cut "Pig Feet") that capture the feelings of the moment in a way that only art can. As we shift into the second half of this unbelievably shitty year, let's hope that whatever music does come out is as bold, interesting and generally satisfying as what's been released over the past six months. Below, you'll find a ranking of every LP and EP I've heard from worst to best, my picks for the top 50 songs and some miscellaneous awards for the musical year thus far. Hope you enjoy and I encourage you to share your own favorites in the comment section below.

EP's:

8.Incubus-Trust Fall (Side B)(C)

7.Crossfaith-Species (C+)

6.Tove Lo-Bikini Porn (B)

5.Flatbush Zombies-Now, More than Ever (B)

4.Hayley Williams-Petals for Armor I (B)

3.RMR-Drug Dealing is a Lost Art (B)

2.Megan Thee Stallion-Suga (B)

1.Kali Uchis-To Feel Alive (A-)

LP's:
50.Poppy-I Disagree (D+)

49.Selena Gomez-Rare (D+)

48.BackxWash-God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It (C-)

47.Chloe x Halle-Ungodly Hour (C)

46.Lady Gaga-Chromatica (C)

45.Fiona Apple-Fetch the Bolt Cutters (C)

44.Tennis-Swimmer (C+)

43.Afterbirth-Four Dimensional Flesh (C+) 

42.$ucideboy$-Stop Staring at the Shadows (C+)

41.Purity Ring-Womb (B-)

40.Emmure-Hindsight (B-)

39.Various Artists-Birds of Prey: The Album (B-)

38.Drake-Dark Lane Demo Tapes (B-)

37.Lil Yachty-Lil Boat 3  (B-)

36.Lil Uzi Vert-Eternal Atake (B-)

35.Invent,Animate-Greyview (B)

34.Body Count-Carnivore (B)

33.Aeternam-Al Qassam (B)

32.Loathe-I Let It In and It Took Everything (B)

31.Make Them Suffer-How to Survive a Funeral (B)

30.Rotting Out-Ronin (B)

29.Future-High Off Life (B)

28.Sylosis-Cycle of Suffering (B)

27.Dogleg-Melee (B)

26.Beneath the Massacre-Fearmonger (B)

25.Carly Rae Jepsen-Dedicated Side B (B)

24.Umbra Vitae-Shadow of Life (B)

23.Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist-Alfredo (B)

22.Don Toliver-Heaven or Hell (B)

21.Lil Uzi Vert-Lil Uzi Vs. the World 2 (B)

20.Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats-Unlocked (B)

19.Dance Gavin Dance-Afterburner (B)

18.Hayley Williams-Petals for Armor (B)

17.Four Year Strong-Brain Pain (B)

16.Tame Impala-The Slow Rush (B)

15.Mac Miller-Circles (B)

14.Lamb of God-Lamb of God (B+)

13.August Burns Red-Guardians (B+)

12.The Ghost Inside-The Ghost Inside (B+)

11.END-Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face (B+)

10.Gunna-WUNNA (B+)

9.Intronaut-Fluid Existential Inversions (B+)

8.Protest the Hero-Palimpsest (B+)

7.Dua Lipa-Future Nostalgia (B+)

6.The Black Dahlia Murder-Verminous (B+)

5.Kvelertak-Splid (B+)

4.Halsey-Manic (B+)

3.Rina Sawayama-Sawayama  (A-)

2.Run the Jewels-RTJ4 (A)

1.The Weekend-After Hours (A) 

Top 50 Songs (in alphabetical order):
Allegaeon-Roundabout (Yes cover) 

Anderson. Paak-Lockdown

August Burns Red-Extinct by Instinct

Black Crown Initiate-Invatation

Black Crown Initiate-Sun of War

Dance Gavin Dance-Calisto Global

Doja Cat-Boss Bitch

Don Toliver-Cardigan 

Dua Lipa-Hallucinate

Dua Lipa-Levitating 

Four Year Strong-Crazy Pills

Future-Solitaries (feat. Travis Scott)

Gunna-ARGENTINA

Gunna-ROCKSTAR BIKERS AND CHAINS

Halsey-3 AM

Halsey-Experiment on Me

Halsey-Still Learning

Hayley Williams-Over Yet

Hayley Williams-Pure Love

Intronaut-Check Your Misfortune

Intronaut-Tripolar

Kali Uchis-angel

Kali Uchis-honey baby (spoiled!)

Kali Uchis-i want war (but I need peace)

Kali Uchis-to feel alive

Kvelertak-Crack of Doom (feat. Troy Sanders)

Kvelertak-Discord

Kvelertak-Fanden ta Dette Hull!

Kvelertak-Uglas Hegemoni

Lil Baby-The Bigger Picture

Lil Uzi Vert-Yessirski (feat. 21 Savage)

Mac Miller-I Can See

Protest the Hero-All Hands

Rina Sawayama-Paradisin

Rina Sawayama-Who's Gonna Save U Now

Rina Sawayama-XS

RMR-Dealer

Rosalia and Travis Scott-TKN

Run the Jewels-Ju$t (feat. Pharrell and Zack de la Roacha) 

Run the Jewels-Out of Sight (feat. 2 Chainz)

Run the Jewels-The Ground Below

Run the Jewels-Walking in the Snow (feat. Gangsta Boo)

Tame Impala-Lost in Yesterday

The Black Dahlia Murder-The Leather Apron's Scorn

The Black Dahlia Murder-The Wereworm's Feast

The Weeknd-After Hours

The Weeknd-Hardest to Love

The Weeknd-In Your Eyes

The Weeknd-Save Your Tears

The Weeknd-Too Late

Mid-Year Awards:
Song of the Year: The Weeknd-"After Hours"
Top Discovery: Rina Sawayama
Best Comeback: Kvelertak
Biggest Surprise: Kvelertak-Splid
Biggest Letdown: Don Toliver-Heaven or Hell
Biggest Step Up from Past Album: Halsey-Manic
Biggest Step Down from Past Album: Dance Gavin Dance-Afterburner
Best Debut: Rina Sawayama-Sawayama 
Biggest Grower: Rina Sawayama-Sawayama
Biggest Slide After Initial Listen: Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats-Unlocked
Most Likely to Rise Upon Subsequent Listens: Protest the Hero-Palimpsest 
Most Likely to Slip Upon Subsequent Listens: Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist-Alfredo
Best 2019 Songs to Gain Notoriety in 2020: Doja Cat-"Say So"
Album I'm Most Excited to (Hopefully): Lana Del Rey-Chemtrails Over the Country Club