The Top 10 Albums of 2020

With the “unprecedented” nature of this year, anybody would have given musicians a pass on releasing a great pack of tracks. Luckily for us, that was not the case!

So many times reading through a “best of” list at the end of the year I find myself thinking, HOW did this get on there?; Why the HECK is that ranked above that?!?; Was this just a personal opinion or did popularity with industry friends bump this up the rankings? It’s super frustrating.

Now look, I know it’s nearly impossible to be completely unbiased ranking art - especially music - because it is so personal. But there’s gotta be some way to add transparency or qualifications to a selection on these lists. So The L Street Journal has unleashed an inside look at our ranking algorithm for the very first time. That way if you’ve got an issue with a miss or inclusion, at least you know a bit more about why. These picks are based on: Forward Thinking, No Skips, Replayability and Classicness. Check out our new section called Inside the Algorithm on every pick.

Without further ado, here’s The L Street Journal’s Top 10 Albums of 2020…

10. GANG - Headie One, Fred again..

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 8/10; No Skips 7/10; Replayability 7/10; Classicness 6/10

Top Tracks to Attack: Know Me, Told, Judge Me (Interlude w FKA Twigs)

9. What Kinda Music - Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 7/10; No Skips 7/10; Replayability 7/10; Classicness 8/10

Top Tracks to Attack: Last 100, Nightrider, Tidal Wave

8. Look for the Good — Jason Mraz

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 6/10; No Skips 8/10; Replayability 9/10; Classicness 8/10

Top Tracks to Attack: Take the Music, My Kind, DJ FM AM JJason

7. Petals For Armor — Hayley Williams

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 7/10; No Skips 7/10; Replayability 7/10; Classicness 7/10

Top Tracks to Attack: Dead Horse, Sudden Desire, Simmer

6. King’s Disease — Nas

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 6/10; No Skips 7/10; Replayability 8/10; Classicness 8/10

Tracks to Attack: Car # 85, 27 Summers, Till The War Is Won

5. Dinner Party: Dessert — Dinner Party

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 8/10; No Skips 10/10; Replayability 9/10; Classicness 8/10

Tracks to Attack: LUV U, Freeze Tag, From My Heart & My Soul

4. RTJ4 — Run The Jewels

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 7/10; No Skips 8/10; Replayability 8/10; Classicness 8/10

Tracks to Attack: yankee and the brave (ep. 4), JU$T, a few words for the firing squad (radiation)

3. Twice As Tall — Burna Boy

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 10/10; No Skips 6/10; Replayability 8/10; Classicness 8/10

Tracks to Attack: Bank on It, 23, Real Life

2. No Pressure — Logic

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 7/10; No Skips 8/10; Replayability 10/10; Classicness 10/10

Tracks to Attack: man i is, Dark Place, Open Mic\\Aquarious III

1. Women in Music Pt. III — HAIM

Inside the Algorithm: Forward Thinking 8/10; No Skips 9/10; Replayability 10/10; Classicness 10/10

Tracks to Attack: Gasoline, 3AM, Los Angeles

What’s a top list without some honorable mentions?

• Very Alone — Zaia
• Brightest Blue — Ellie Goulding
• Idols — Katori Walker
• Future Nostalgia — Dua Lipa
• Black Habits — D Smoke

Looking for more depth? Catch the full Top 10 Albums of 2020 video breakdown from The L Street Journal Pod on YouTube: