ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2020

I fell hard for the Brandy Clark album late last year finally. “Apologies” is the keeper, with “Pawn Shop” another standout.

Nubya Garcia the only album from my ballot to place today. Great album, think I had it at number 5, very happy that it made it.
The Ulla, Run The Jewels & DJ Python albums were all ones that I considered at some point but didn't make my final cut. Didn't like the Moodymann album as much as I expected to but I'll probably go back to it.
Lots of things already that I've not heard and in some cases never heard of. It's going to be impossible for me to keep up with the whole thing in real time but I've listened to the Jeff Parker, most of the Kairon;IRSE and about half of the Selena Gomez and enjoyed them all a lot. Will give Charles Webster a shot next.

Interesting rollout so far. The things from my list that made it (Lido Pimienta and RTJ) feel right in their placement. Nubya Garcia, Ae's PLUS, Moodymann, Adrienne Lenker and DJ Python were all things I enjoyed this year, but not enough to put on my ballot. If anything, this year feels a bit weird with so many things showing up that I enjoyed and listened to more than once.

(no one has called the artist/album combo for #78 as of yet)

There's no way it's Bob Dylan, but that would be hilarious.

I have a hard time gauging just how popular Soccer Mommy is here, but that popped into my head as a #78 guess.

gonna be nigh-impossible to guess the 78 until more albums have placed, but this already feels high for lil uzi vert - eternal atake, so that'll be my revised guess.

my only guesses for tracks were preemptive self-pity, and I haven't hit that point yet in this rollout

I am totally overwhelmed by the amazing roll-out as I am pretty much disconnected from current music. The Nubya Garcia is the only one I would have voted for, my fave from that album is the title track, what a great dub jam.

Of the stuff I didn't know - almost all - I am totally blown away by the cosmic Ana Roxanne, phantastic out of the world stuff.

Besides that I am intrigued about the Charles Webster (not a lot happening in the first tracks but more than in Burial which I find boring), the Moodyman (great soul flowing nicely), the Autechre (there is a lot to chew there, my connection to sound sculptures is much stronger than to real sculptures) and the Brandy Clark which seems to be up my alley if she doesn't go too much into country territory. I also dug the Deftones and the Adrienne Lenker in small doses.

Great poll up till now, yes the first day of the album roll-out is always the best!

Alex, I have some bad news for you re: Brandy Clark

he Brandy Clark which seems to be up my alley if she doesn't go too much into country territory.

Brandy Clark does not sound like Morgan Wallen.

Who is Morgan Wallen?

I totally forgot about DJ Python, never heard of him before but besides the cover I like the quite open sounds of the first track, Descanse is very different but fine too. So much to listen to, thanks you all!

just put on the Ana Roxanne, good lord this is beautiful

ditto

"Suite Pour L'invisible" pushing my Grouper fanboy buttons

Jeff Parker: I probably would have voted for this if I noticed it on the doc, oops. I'm not great with most jazz but I enjoy what I've heard of Parker's stuff solo and with Isotope 217, etc.

Kairon; IRSE: Almost voted for this but it got bumped off, I like their previous albums but this one underwhelmed me aside from a couple of tracks.

Autechre: I'll never get Autechre. They're not bad, just don't get anything out of it.

Deftones: lol ok

Having picked through a few others that I haven't heard, it's obvious we collectively needed comforting vibes this year eh. I'll definitely be going back to Lidio Pimienta, Ana Roxanne and Moodymann.

xp totally, this is great

I regret not voting for the Ana Roxanne, I didn’t even see it in the noms and it’s probably one of my top 20 albums of the year. Glad it did made it either way. It’s seems like an appropriate time of the year to get into it.

#77: Selena Gomez - “Rare (Deluxe)” - 184 points - 8 votes
#76: Jeff Parker - “Suite for Max Brown” - 184 points - 10 votes
#75: Poppy - “I Disagree” - 187 points - 6 votes - 1 Nº1 vote
#74: Kairon; IRSE! - “Polysomn” - 188 points - 5 votes
#73: Deftones - “Ohms” - 188 points - 6 votes
#72: Nubya García - “Source” - 190 points - 5 votes
#71: Charles Webster - “Decision Time” - 190 points - 6 votes
#70: Ulla - “Tumbling Towards a Wall” - 190 points - 7 votes
#69: Ana Roxanne - “Because of a Flower” - 190 points - 7 votes - 1 Nº1 vote
#68: Moodymann - “Taken Away” - 192 points - 10 votes
#67: Perfume Genius - “Set My Heart on Fire Immediately” - 199 points - 8 votes
#66: Autechre - “Plus” - 200 points - 8 votes
#65: Adrianne Lenker - “Songs” - 200 points - 9 votes
#64: Run The Jewels - “RTJ4” - 204 points - 8 votes
#63: Lido Pimienta - “Miss Colombia” - 210 points - 6 votes
#62: DJ Python - “Mas Amable” - - 216 points - 7 votes
#61: Brandy Clark - “Your Life Is a Record” - 230 points - 10 votes

Heard 3, voted for 0, gonna check out 7

Kairon; IRSE!: this is one I never really listened to because it seemed so obviously up my alley that there was no point in listening to find out. Listening on Bandcamp (where the sound quality is obv reduced in the first place), the sound seems brickwalled in a way that makes it hard to hear but when I look past that, I can get swept away by the wash of noise and glide guitar. Soft vocals are nice too. Manages to sound like shoegaze and still sound fresh.

I never really listened to because it seemed so obviously up my alley that there was no point in listening to find out.

Huh? Unless you meant “not up my alley”, I’m completely baffled by this approach to music. “Seems like I might love this, better pass...”.

voted for poppy, charles webster and adrianne lenker. the charles webster album was a really late discovery thanks to brad's list, it's wonderful. i'm very surprised that adrianne lenker is so low, i thought that would have been a lock for top 20. it's not quite as good as her work with big thief but she's still a remarkably strong songwriter and it has some of the best acoustic guitar sounds i've ever heard, really wonderfully recorded.

i enjoyed the ana roxanne and perfume genius albums but not enough to make my ballot. i need to revisit the selena gomez one as i haven't heard it since it came out. the only albums i haven't heard at all here are the ulla and kairon albums, but the descriptions are intriguing so i'm looking forward to checking those out.

the sound seems brickwalled in a way that makes it hard to hear

maybe this is what I heard as "too loud"

Xps this happens to me sometimes. I put off listening to something because I know it's going to be slap bang in my wheelhouse and I'm either not ready to appreciate it yet, concerned it won't quite live up to the height, or irrationally worried that it will somehow attack my fragile ego by shining a light on it and speaking: "LOOK. THIS IS YOU. THIS IS WHAT YOU LIKE. YOU SIMPLE HUMAN OF LIMITED WORTH"

Crude and offensive categories ahoy!

- Pleasing, and was on ballot at some point and possibly still should have been when I submitted it: DJ Python, Ana Roxanne, Jeff Parker
- Kinda wish I liked this more than I actually do as the track nominated for the tracks poll was kinda extraordinary: Kairon; IRSE!
- I dig this and should have listened more - remedial study has been scheduled: Moodymann, Nubya Garcia, Charles Webster
- Never even heard of this but clearly should have, as I've listened to the whole thing twice already this morning: Lido Pimienta
- Voted for this, having found repeat listens rewarding: Ulla
- Listened a bit but seemingly semi-consciously took a break from artist this time around -- am prepared to believe that that may be revealed to be folly in the fullness of time: Autechre, Run the Jewels
- No palpable interest in listening in depth - if I've missed something extraordinary I think I can live with it for now: Brandy Clark, Adrianne Lenker, Perfume Genius, Deftones, Poppy, Selena Gomez

Huh? Unless you meant “not up my alley”, I’m completely baffled by this approach to music. “Seems like I might love this, better pass...”.

Yeah, with the vast glut of music out there that it's impossible to keep up with, things that are obviously designed to cater to my pre-existing preferences often go on the backburner (although, weirdly, usually not when they are by artists I already know and love). It's perverse.

Woo. Cool countdown so far. My timezone makes it hard to interact with the rollout, but glad to see three of my votes place early doors - Ulla, DJ Python and Ana Roxanne (a late inclusion). Jeff Parker just missed out.

Look forward to giving Charles Webster and Nubya Garcia a spin!

Sorry Sund4r, didn’t mean that to be as dickish as it came off, just not an approach I can relate to... if anything I end up giving too much time to something I expected to love due to the description, but only ended up kind of liking... if that makes sense.

I was the #1 voter for Ana Roxanne! Glad it made the cut.

Brandy Clark also on my list (though I'm not wild about this record's subdued strings & horns palette)

listening to the selena gomez album and it's clear why i didn't really come back to it. it's all very tasteful and decent enough but nothing at all has grabbed me either.

Semi-shameful admission, every time I read Kairon; IRSE!'s name I sing it in my head to the tune of that Mr. Mister song as "kay-ee-ron err-sea".

this charles webster album is breathtaking stuff.. how did the likes of pitchfork and resident advisor and all the other big publications not eat this thing up?? burial is on it!!

Semi-shameful admission, every time I read Kairon; IRSE!'s name I sing it in my head to the tune of that Mr. Mister song as "kay-ee-ron err-sea".

I can tell you that the name isn't very easy to parse even for a Finnish-speaker. "Kairon" is a word in Finnish, it means "of Cairo", so presumably that's what the first part comes from. But "IRSE" doesn't mean anything in Finnish, so is it an abbreviation of something? Why is there a semicolon between the words? And why the exclamation mark in the end? Due to all this, they're often mentioned when people make lists of the stupidest band names in Finland.

i really recommend the charles webster album to all the south african house fans ilm has too, he's currently based in south africa (he moved there many years ago after one of his 90s tracks was a hit there iirc) and the influence of the house scene comes through on a few tracks, with a few south african singers featured too

he's reportedly one of burial's favourite artists which is what lead to the collaboration. idk how it didn't get any coverage either, like you really would think 'burial is on it!' would have been enough for someone to take notice

really grateful to brad for putting it on my radar

Brilliant album, as is his previous one. (Brad got me into it as well)

Further appreciation for the Charles Webster, which I was totally unaware of - not least because it's so brilliant to see Shara Nelson on something new. Whole album is great

she's all over one of his previous albums too (Presence - All Systems Gone) which is also great

I loved the Presence album back in the day and had totally failed to keep track of anything he'd done since; as ever, lovely ILMpoll points the way

I wasn't aware of the Presence album. Listened to it last night and, in my head, a couple of the tracks bled perfectly into some of the recent Moodymann album.

For those enjoying Charles Webster's 2001 album I would also recommend Tom Middleton's Sound of the Cosmos three CD mix from around the same time, especially Disc Two

Very good first day! DJ Python was 9th on my ballot and Ulla 12th, although probably they should have bteen the other way around (certainly I listened to Ulla more) - both are albums I could listen to endlessly.

Charles Webster would have been there if I'd heard it in time (I only discovered it via Tim F's end of year list); Autechre and Adrianne Lenker both made the unranked part of my ballot although both were probably lucky to make it (if I was voting now they would both have dropped off).

Glad to see the Deftones and Jeff Parker albums place, I listened to both of them a few times although neither stuck.

Not my usual thing but I am enjoying the Webster! Just got to Secrets Held, which is probably the highlight so far

Listened to all of these yesterday evening and I adore the Poppy and the Charles Webster

How is Poppy not the biggest thing idgi this is fucking insane, Katamari Damacy plus Slipknot? I'm smitten

She's going to be huge. That kind of ADHD genresplicing pop* is going to be one of the major forces of this decade, duelling the more sedate doomer charms of yer Eilishes (who I still think can be convinced over to the Hyper Side)

*yes it's Been Done, but it can be done more and more successfully

Each time I listen to the Poppy album, I am newly taken aback by how beautiful it is, especially the proggy finale with all the reprises

And why the exclamation mark in the end?

for emphasis? i mean, what are exclamation points usually for?

who knows!

Here we go

https://i.imgur.com/aP8iDx1.jpg
#60: Pharaoh Overlord - “6” - 232 points - 7 votes

Circle :: what album is their best

https://pharaohoverlord.bandcamp.com/album/6

“Boldly unearthing the missing link between disco and death metal, Pharaoh Overlord deserve to be taken seriously – just don't call them a Circle side-project”
https://thequietus.com/articles/29254-pharaoh-overlord-6-review