The Best Albums of 2020

Complex Original

Label: Forever Recordings

Released: March 27

Whoever said R&B is dead clearly doesn’t listen to the real shit. Handling the bulk of the production, KeiyaA delivered something special with Forever, Ya Girl. She managed to give us an underground R&B classic in 2020 that sounds like home. Her gritty, funkafied production often sounds like it's drowning in the distance somewhere as it leads you towards her soft, smoky voice. We’re going to be talking about the influence of this record for years to come, especially in the indie R&B scene. This is like the Marcberg of R&B albums. The genre is ready for another shift and I think KeiyaA is the person the game’s been missing. I don’t even want to single out a couple records because this whole tape is an experience. Do yourself a favor and listen to it now. —Angel Diaz

Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam

Released: September 4

The comparisons would be inevitable, but Detroit 2 isn’t the same album as Detroit. Big Sean is a totally different artist than the one who recorded the first edition, so why should we expect him to sound the same? Here, the beats are polished and epic in scope. Sean takes pride in his bars, and on this album, he sounds like someone wholly confident in their skillset. While this allows him to coast from time to time, it’s overall one of his best efforts, an engaging ode to his hometown and the people that shaped him. “Friday Night Cypher” is one of the album’s most thrilling moments, and it begs the question, who else but Sean could get all of Detroit’s biggest stars on the same track? The answer is nobody. —Will Schube

Label: Atlantic Records

Released: October 23

Ty Dolla Sign’s explanation for his new album title is rather simple. At first, he was going to title it Dream House, to neatly wrap up his Beach House series, but in the run up to its release, he had a revelation. Whenever a song features Ty Dolla Sign, he figured, people know it’s going to be a hit. So why not make an album full of songs that feature Ty Dolla Sign? It’s an interesting concept from one of rap’s strongest and most underrated crooners. People always seem to be talking about how brilliant Ty is, but still, the recognition is never enough. Throughout the album, Ty tries to establish his place within rap’s upper echelon, and he achieves this goal on track after track. Never mind that he gets guests like Kid Cudi, Post Malone, Kanye West, and more. Ty is a singular hit-maker and there’s a reason why so many artists go to him for features. His knack for hook-writing and aesthetics are top notch, and over the course of an album, these details can get lost in the fanfare, but Ty always puts his artistry front and center. —Will Schube

Label: Alamo/Geffen Records

Released: May 8

Lil Durk makes pain music. The Chicago rapper, who is one of the faces of the city’s post-drill movement raps from a traditional blueprint but does it with a specificity that separates him from the pack. On Just Cause Y’all Waited 2, he moves from tragedy to triumph, a phoenix-like rising from street hustles to gold records and an Alamo record deal. His story makes it easy to root for him, and the consistent quality of his music just seals the deal. —Will Schube

Label: Loma Vista Recordings

Released: September 25

Some things just work perfectly together. You’ve got your food staples like PB&J, your hybrids like whiskey and cold weather, and your musical pairs like Pusha-T and cocaine. I’d like to nominate Action Bronson and drums for this list, please. Bronsolino’s immediately recognizable voice floats over psychedelic, dusty beats like no one else’s in the game, and once you know what you’re good at, you’d be wise to stick to it. People haven’t tired of this approach from Bronson, and Only for Dolphins is another example of really good beats and really entertaining rhymes from Flushing’s favorite son. If Scorsese asked me to be in The Irishman, I’d quickly agree, fulfill my contract, and retire from all public activity in glee. Props to Bronson for not only reemerging after this star turn, but putting out a very good record to go alongside a discography full of them. —Will Schube

Album: HITCO

Released: November 20

When 2020 began, SAINt JHN had no plans to make While The World Was Burning. But, as he explained to Complex, the universe aligned in such a way that he ended up working with a star-studded cast of collaborators throughout the year. And when you have a collection of songs with artists like Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, JID, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, DaBaby, Uzi, Kehlani, and 6LACK, you can’t not put it out. As impressive as the names on the tracklist are, though, SAINt JHN’s own voice is the true star of the show. On the extremely viral Imanbek remix of “Roses,” his vocals were pitch-shifted nearly out of recognition, but throughout the 14-song tracklist of WTWWB, we’re reminded just how strong his natural voice is. On a song like “Freedom Is Priceless,” he floats over the throbbing production in a way that’s so effortless it would make his collaborator Beyoncé proud. It’s just one of many moments in which SAINt JHN pairs his fine-tuned ear for melody with sharp songwriting. Not bad for a project he had no intention of making. —Eric Skelton

Label: Mass Appeal Records

Released: August 21

Nas could never rap again and his legacy would be solidified, but he’s still outside. It seems he’s not content to simply live off album anniversaries and the 292,398th Jay-Nas debate. He’s always been in tune with the “now” in hip-hop, and he wants in. That’s why he linked with Hit-Boy and started off the producer’s stellar run in 2020 with King’s Disease, an album aimed to appease Nas fans of all ages and address the biggest criticism of his catalog: beat selection. Hit-Boy crafted a soundscape that fuses classic elements with fresh flourishes, strongly accompanying Nas’ still top-tier lyricism on tracks like “Car #85,” Firm reprisal ”Full Circle,” and “Spicy” with Fivio Foreign and ASAP Ferg. The album has a curious amount of smoke for women, especially in lieu of much criticism of men, but it’s overall a solid addendum to the Nas canon. —Andre Gee

Label: Dreamville/Interscope Records

Released: September 25

Long before EarthGang emerged in the mainstream consciousness, they had begun forming their own version of the Dungeon Family, a loose collective of like-minded MCs and singers that mirrored the hip-hop heavyweight collective of the 1990s. While EarthGang were making early efforts to break through, they established a group within their collective, called Spillage Village, which also included JID. This was around 2013. By 2015, 6LACK joined the crew. Say what you will about EarthGang, but their ability to spot talent makes even the best A&Rs around jealous. With the success of each various faction reaching new heights in the past few years, the group decided to reunite for Spilligion, which features far more starpower than the group was ever able to accrue during their first go-round. The album retains the roots of the group, offering Southern slabs of trippy melodies and heady bars. Guests include Ari Lennox, Chance the Rapper, and Buddy, but for fans of the old Spillage Village, the most fun moments of the record are when the OG wrecking crew unites to wreak havoc. —Will Schube

Label: The Conglomerate Entertainment

Released: March 27

When Roc Marciano spoke with Complex earlier this year, there was one artist he was dying to talk about: Stove God Cooks. Roc Marci met Cooks through Lord Jamar and Busta Rhymes, and decided to produce the entirety of Reasonable Drought. “I knew he was a talented dude. We just had to capture it. I had some production for the brother, and I knew that if he did what he was supposed to do, we would put him right on the fast track,” Roc told Complex. And he did. Reasonable Drought is the work of a rapper who, while inspired by Roc, is far from a clone. Stove God Cooks’ phrasing, his vocabulary, and his whole aesthetic is unique and compelling, even if the subject matter and some of the musical backdrops wouldn’t sound out of place on Marcberg or Reloaded. —Shawn Setaro

Label: Warner Records

Released: March 13

On “Industry Games,” CHIKA chides artists who make rap but lack a true passion for the music. Throughout the rest of her acclaimed EP, the rapper and singer showcases not just a deep reverence for the genre, but an ability to consistently excel on vastly different beats. “Designer” begins as a trap song with CHIKA rapping in pristine triplets, but a beat change creeps up, turning the track into a soul-sampling mission statement. “I’m over tip-toein’ around the problems, honey/I been steady cryin’ and dyin’, it ain't about the money,” she says. She further shows her versatility on “Crown,” which pairs a joyous gospel beat with hard-hitting lyrics about depression and self-doubt, as well as “Songs About You,” a breezy, neo soul-tinged record about manifestation and success. “I met Hov last week, that shit was hella cool/Diddy introduced me as the best of the new school,” she raps nonchalantly on the latter. After one listen to Industry Games, it’s clear why hip-hop legends are paying attention to CHIKA. —Grant Rindner

Label: Grade A Productions/Interscope Records

Released: July 10

Juice WRLD’s tragic death shaped much of rap music in 2020, and it served as an awful foreboding for what the year had in store for far too many hip-hop stars. His death in December of 2019 feels like a million years ago and yesterday at the same time, and while his departure is impossible to separate from Legends Never Die, it’s a testament to the team that put the album together that it stands on its own at all. The album is typical Juice WRLD fare, walking along the tightrope of emo and rap that he maneuvered so well. Pain is profitable in rap music, but few were able to make the feeling as tangible as Juice WRLD did. It’s why he was one of the most popular rappers on the planet when he died. His songs resonated in a way incalculable by streaming numbers or chart-toppers. It’s music that stays with you, which is a consolation prize none of us wanted. —Will Schube

Label: February 24

Released: RCA Records

“You motherfuckers don't understand where the fuck I'm coming from,” Young Nudy laments on “Understanding,” the opening track of Anyways. “So I had to explain to you motherf*ukers where the fuck I'm coming from.” He proceeds to spend the next hour getting listeners fully up to speed, holding court sans features atop a collection of cloudy, glitchy, and downright strange beats. Nudy has always been a natural collaborator—strong guest verses and an acclaimed mixtape with Pi’erre Bourne prove as much—but Anyways is the project that establishes him as a true solo star. “A Nudy Story” is a breathtaking, richly detailed autobiography in which he recalls meeting and making peace with his estranged father, and affirms his loyalty to those who’ve stuck with him this long. “That’s Why” is woozy and dreamy enough that Nudy’s threat of pulling a Freddie Kreuger lands especially hard. As crowded as the Atlanta A-list can feel, it needs to make room for Nudy. —Grant Rindner

Label: PH Recordings/Loma Vista Recordings

Released: February 6

Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats don’t waste a second on their joint EP, Unlocked, which functions as an 18-minute survey of rap sounds from ’00s West Coast (“Pyro”) to old school New York (“Take_it_Back_v2”) to gleefully demonic trap (“Lay_Up.m4a”). Both Curry and Kenny have proved themselves chameleonic in their careers thus far, and they consistently complement each other here. Denzel’s raspy flow adds intensity to the airy “So.Incredible.pkg” and switches pitches with abandon on “Track07,” while Kenny graces the project with some of his most unpredictable instrumentals. Last year, Denzel had one of the best episodes of Kenny’s The Cave freestyle show, and that chemistry carries over to Unlocked, a brief project that offers listeners a whole world to explore. —Grant Rindner

Label: CLBN/Republic Records

Released: August 7

After Portland’s greatest hope since Brandon Roy emerged in 2017 with Good For You, fans have been eagerly awaiting a follow-up. In a sense, his 2018 mixtape, OnePointFive, only stoked the fervor further. It was clearly an olive branch to fans, but they wanted the real thing. In 2020, he delivered. Limbo is Aminé’s ascension to the upper echelon of rap. He’s throwing his hat in the ring, and while he might not be considered by all to be in true A-list territory quite yet, his chapeau certainly ain’t getting stomped on. While Aminé has always proven himself to be a deft lyricist and great beat selector, the best part of Limbo is his selective yet powerful use of the guest verse. The album isn’t flooded with features, which gives Aminé plenty of room to roam, but when he invites a guest into the booth, it adds maximal impact. His track with Thug, “Compensating,” is one of the best on the album, and it occasionally seems like Aminé needs these guest contributions to keep himself from growing bored. You can only throw the ball against the wall so many times before you get sick of playing alone. On “Fetus,” which features Injury Reserve, he brings some of his best bars to the table, proving that he’s able to play up his strengths whenever duty calls. —Will Schube

Label: Republic Records

Released: October 30

Ariana Grande’s ability to channel her personal experiences of love and heartbreak and package it into compelling moments reached new heights with the one-two punch of Sweetener and thank u, next. Her latest album, positions, continues to shine on a light on this, but less so than its predecessors. Ariana delivers bedroom bops that blend R&B and pop with trap-leaning backdrops, with her lyrical approach—likely influenced by a new relationship—ranging from being playfully dirty (“34+35”) to highlighting the vulnerability that comes with opening yourself up to someone new (“Safety Net,” “Off the Table”). Throughout, Ariana is discovering another level of comfort with herself, a sign of growth she will no doubt apply with future releases. There are no true standout tracks here, or an anthemic performance that sets the tone (think “No Tears Left to Cry" or “Thank U, Next”). And while not as good as her previous two albums, positions still offers enough quality and depth that makes Ariana Grande one of the leading pop acts of our generation. —Edwin Ortiz

Label: Winners Circle/EMPIRE

Released: May 15

Sheff G may be the closest thing to a traditionalist to emerge from Brooklyn’s burgeoning drill scene. One and Only, though, is only nominally a drill album. While there are moments like the menacing “No Suburban, Pt. 2,” elsewhere, the Flatbush native switches modes, turning introspective over more conventional production on songs like “Fear Over Love” and “Once I’m Gone,” as he experiments with deliveries. Throughout the project, Sheff shows that he has the technical acumen to transcend the subgenre he helped establish. Time will tell if he needs to. —Lucas Wisenthal

Label: Warner Records

Released: March 27

Dua Lipa, whose momentum feels like a freight train that hasn’t slowed for a second since 2017’s “New Rules,” dropped off the year’s best example of escapism pop music with Future Nostalgia. An international sensation turned stateside star, Dua occupied radio waves with 3x platinum “Don’t Start Now.” She interpolated the Olivia Newton-John classic “Physical” for her own song of the same name, a reminder of the not-so-subtle disco and synth-pop influences the entire project stems from. Like so many other projects we’ve received this year, it’s incredibly frustrating we couldn’t enjoy this album on roofs and dance floors. Funny enough, it was the former pop powerhouse Katy Perry who eased Dua’s fears about dropping this kind of album when we’re all at the crib: “These songs are going to have legs after the quarantine,” Katy told Dua, according to the New York Times. An album this infectious and this exemplary of what successful pop music is in 2020, Katy isn’t wrong. —Waiss Aramesh

Label: Dirty Hit/Polydor Records/Interscope Records

Released: May 22

Many have deemed Notes On a Conditional Form The 1975’s grand maximalist statement, but Matt Healy is no stranger to doing the most. A 20+ track, 80-minute hodgepodge of every genre the band has dabbled in before was inevitable. The excess only really works against them in comparison to their past work, though. Healy has a special gift for making saccharine earnestness soar, for making sonic interpolations and influences seem genuine instead of vulture-y, and for making even the band’s wildest experiments at least respectable in their effort. What a long album sacrifices in cohesion it makes up for with variety. Notes has small ballads with incisive writing and rich scene-setting like “The Birthday Party,” as well as requisite big pop tracks. But nothing about this group is formulaic. Healy’s penchant for experimentation is often a criticism when it should be heralded as a thrill—“If You’re Too Shy” is a romcom music supervisor’s wet dream and stealth Prince homage. “Me & You Together Song” is ‘90s Freddie Prinze, Jr. music, sitting right beside a singular alt-R&B fusion like “Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy).” The album may be a season finale of sorts to the bands “Music for Cars” era (IYKYK), but ending on “Guys,” a “me and the boys” meme writ large, feels like it’s heralding a long break. Hopefully they don’t sit the game out for too long, because even at this excess, I can’t wait to see what they try next. Healy once tweeted “Young Thug.” Imagine that? —Frazier Tharpe

Label: Marci/Art That Kills

Released: November 16

What a beautiful record this is. Beautiful is really the only adjective I can think of when I talk about Mt. Marci. I didn’t know what to expect once I hit play, but I didn’t expect the sound to be as varied as it is. For every vintage Marci track like “Steel Vagina,” you have tracks like “Covid Cough” featuring Schoolboy Q and “Wicked Days” featuring Trent Truth that sound like nothing Roc has ever produced before. There’s even a Kool Keith feature on here. On top of Mt. Marci is a temple where rapper/producers go to become legends, and Roc is the teacher. Come for the bars, stay for visions the beats provide. —Angel Diaz

Label: Atlantic Records

Released: September 11

What makes YoungBoy Never Broke Again such a force in rap is his ability to touch the streets no matter how big he gets. Top, YoungBoy’s second release of the year, is a gritty project that finds the Baton Rouge rapper delivering melodic, high energy flows over throbbing beats. His temperamental nature shines through as he teeters between flashing his luxurious lifestyle and his violent tendencies on songs like “Dead Trollz.” While YoungBoy’s paranoia and mistrust of outsiders is present all throughout the album, Top also shows inklings that the 21-year-old rapper wants to change his circumstances. In a year in which he released four solo projects, Top is his best. —Jessica McKinney

Label: 300 Entertainment/1501 Certified Ent.

Released: November 20

This year has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for Megan Thee Stallion, but she was able to turn the attention back to her music with the release of her debut studio album in late November. Good News is a fun project, chock full of twerkable anthems, Southern influences, and vintage samples. While Megan uses the opening record, “Shots Fired,” to address the shooting allegations against Tory Lanez, she quickly shifts the focus to lighter topics and vibrant beats. Throughout the project, Megan’s skills as an MC never falter. She can flat-out rap, and she’s just as vicious and precise as she was a year ago. After a year of ups and downs, it’s nice to hear her end on a triumphant note. —Jessica McKinney

Label: 4PF/CMG

Released: March 27

Lil Baby’s My Turn deserves to be anointed as the crowning achievement it is, but I’d like to use this space to give 42 Dugg an honorary shout-out for his work on Baby’s breakthrough. Sure, Dugg has an advantage, seeing that he’s signed to Baby’s 4PF label, but when he’s given a chance on album cut “Grace” and deluxe edition highlight “We Paid,” he steals the show. Dugg is part of a wildly diverse crop of Detroit MCs who are quietly dominating the rap landscape, and Young & Turnt 2 is a welcomed introduction to those who may have missed the first edition in March 2019. Dugg uses AutoTune less as a tool than as a sidekick, tapping into the warbly effect to give his bars a gauzy, distanced feeling. Most impressive, though, is how Dugg reps for Detroit while finding a home on an Atlanta label and having his music heard across the country. 42 Dugg is a man of the people, and though he broke through during someone else’s turn, his shot isn’t far off. —Will Schube

Label: OVO/Republic Records

Released: May 1

Dark Lane Demo Tapes is a warmup. Hours before releasing the 14-song project, Drake urged everyone not to think of it as an album. “My brothers Oliver El Khatib and OVO Noel put together a lot of the songs people have been asking for (some leaks and some joints from SoundCloud and some new vibes),” he wrote on Instagram. Just like that, he lowered the stakes and gave himself a chance to share some ideas that wouldn’t have made sense on a conventional “album.” We hear Drake playing around with SoundCloud-era sounds (“From Florida With Love,” “Pain 1993”), drill (“Demons,” “War”), introspective raps (“Losses,” “Chicago Freestyle”), and dance records (“Toosie Slide”) on the same project. There’s no cohesion here and no obvious summer anthem, but there doesn’t need to be. This is Mixtape Drake, throwing songs at a wall and seeing what sticks. What he ended up with was another No. 1 hit (“Toosie”), hundreds of millions of streams, and a handful of standout gems that’ll hold us over until his self-proclaimed “lucky number” sixth studio album drops. Not bad for an appetizer. —Eric Skelton

Label: Epic Records

Released: April 17

Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters has all the joy, chaos, and warped edges of a truly homemade product, but her songwriting ensures everyone will see themselves reflected in the music. From the perverse feeling of being praised by a bully (“Shameika”) to the weight of depression (“Heavy Balloon”) to the cyclical nature of pain and hurt (“Relay”) and even the sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh (“For Her”), Fetch the Bolt Cutters grapples with all the messiness of life today. Though the songs all share a cacophonic quality that has long been part of Apple’s sound, each feels wholly its own. Apple’s wildly expressive voice remains one of the most unique tools in modern music. She can wring every ounce of meaning from phrases like “I would beg to disagree/But begging disagrees with me,” and can take the listener on a full emotional arc just by changing her inflection. We likely won’t be getting another Fiona Apple album for a long time, but Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the kind of record that will feel as vital and urgent a decade from now as it did the day it was released. —Grant Rindner

Label: Lost Kids

Released: February 7

Fuck the World wastes no time. With 10 tracks, Brent Faiyaz presents a concise body of work that depicts a world with loose rules. He’s ruthless on songs like “Rehab (Winter in Paris)” and “Fuck the World (Summer in London),” which illustrate his detachment in romantic flings, but he’s gentle and soothing on ethereal records like “Clouded.” On F*ck the World, Brent Faiyaz continues to push the boundaries of what R&B in 2020 can sound like, and we love what we hear. Lost Kids has only grown on us with every new spin since it was released back in February. —Jessica McKinney

Label: Jewel Runners LLC

Released: June 3

The dynasty continues. Run the Jewels are a factory, churning out variations of one overarching sound. You know exactly what you’re gonna get with Run the Jewels, and on the fourth installment of the project, El-P and Killer Mike have turned in a monumental fuck you to oppressors, haters, and anyone with the bullshit. RTJ have always made revolutionary, prescient music, but the release of RTJ4 feels especially prescient. In the middle of a nationwide awakening, El and Mike decided to push up the release of their album to mirror the mighty stand of Black people against police brutality and racism. On the stellar Gangsta Boo-assisted “Walking in the Snow,” Killer Mike raps, “You so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me/ Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, ‘I can't breathe’/And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV/The most you give is a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy." Talk is no longer enough. Being an ally only works when you’re in the street, alongside those being systematically targeted by violent cops. RTJ4 is also the most sonically daring project they’ve released, moving from noisy experimental beats to a futuristic take on new jack swing. It’s easy to hear how comfortable El and Mike are with each other, but also how willing they are to take chances now that they’ve established themselves as a force within mainstream rap. It’s quietly experimental while still unequivocally remaining a Run the Jewels album. —Will Schube

Label: ALC/Boldy James

Released: February 7

The old saying about making your work universal by being specific may have been beaten into the ground by lazy creative writing teachers, but Boldy James proves the truth of that dictum. On The Price of Tea in China, the Detroit rapper doesn’t just talk about drug dealing and street life in the abstract. It’s about deaths in his family and the never-ending beefs they inspire. It’s dumping a particular make of gun “with the barrel smoking.” It’s worries that his time on the wrong side of the law will make “my son think that I don’t love him.” And all of this is set to ominous Alchemist beats that perfectly match the mood of each track. Even the producer’s interludes are well-thought-out, as they move us smoothly from one track to another. By the time Boldy makes a Coming to America joke on “Speed Demon Freestyle,” it’s a rare and well-needed moment of levity. The singularity of the mood, the detail in the writing, and the coherence and beauty of the sound make this not only Boldy’s strongest release to date, but one of the best rap albums of the year, period. —Shawn Setaro

Label: TSNMI/Atlantic

Released: May 8

A lot has happened in Kehlani’s life since the release of her debut album back in January 2017: the birth of her daughter Adeya, a critically-acclaimed mixtape While We Wait, platinum single “Nights Like This” with close friend Ty Dolla $ign, and more. Now, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t tells all aspects of a relationship’s highs and lows, as well as the contradictions that come in between. Kehlani’s internal debate on love is no better reflected than on the James Blake-assisted “Grieving,” where she mourns the conclusion of a relationship she understands had to end. “The option was to stay and ride/Or to let it die/I picked a side, now I’m just grieving.” Don’t get it twisted, though. Kehlani didn’t follow up an album called SexySweetSavage with a project of sad songs pining over a man. This thing has an abundance of bad-bitch energy, with a Megan Thee Stallion-assisted “Real Hot Girl Skit, a long-awaited Jhene Aiko collaboration “Change Your Life,” and more. Across IWGUIW, Kehlani also confronts the harsh realities that come with being honest with yourself through a breakup. “I get real accountable when I’m alone/I get real about it all when I’m alone,” she muses on album standout “Toxic.” The album shines brightest when these reflections manifest themselves into Kehlani’s silky vocals over dark, moody, sultry beats. —Waiss Aramesh

Label: N/A

Released: April 15

Kenny Mason may not be exactly what you might expect from Atlanta’s rap scene right now, but he’s a rising star who is bringing a fresh new energy to the city. Angelic Hoodrat is an experimental project that combines Kenny’s many musical inspirations and tastes. He moves freely from alt-rock sounds on “Metal Wings” to soaring melodies on “Anti-Gravity” to pure rap flows on “HIT.” Combining so many genres and sounds on a 14-track project could be chaotic, but he never loses focus here. Angelic Hoodrat is an exceptionally compelling listen, with no skips. Kenny is still a mystery to much of the rap world, but his debut album makes one hell of an introduction, foreshadowing a long, successful career ahead. —Jessica McKinney

Label: Gamebread, LLC/Def Jam Recordings

Released: November 13

When scholars look back on 2 Chainz’s career hundreds of years from now, there’s bound to be a chapter on So Help Me God! So many of 2 Chainz’s albums have revolved around world-beating singles, and rightfully so, considering how impactful and club-ready they often are. But in the past few years, 2 Chainz has leaned more heavily on concepts to fuel his albums, and the results have been spectacular. Between Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, Rap or Go to the League, and SHMG!, I’d say our main man formerly known as Tity Boi has given us one of the best second acts in recent memory. On SHMG!, Chainz gives us some of his funniest lines to date, but there are also heartfelt bars about going to his daughter’s ballet recital. Because 2 Chainz didn’t truly break through to the mainstream until 2012, we’re just now witnessing when most rappers would enter their peak. At 43 years old, he’s more representative of an older generation, but his wide-eyed approach to the game is as fresh as it was when he first began. —Will Schube

Label: RCA Records

Released: July 24

Few saw Flo Milli coming, and that made the success of Ho, Why Is You Here? even sweeter when it arrived in July. From the very first listen, it was clear the Alabama rapper had technical skill. But what stands out most about Flo Milli’s debut tape is her unshakable attitude. She’s cocky and rude in the best way possible on records like “In the Party” and “Like That Bitch.” And despite being only 19 at the time of the project’s release, she carries herself as though she’s been around for a while, sharing the lessons learned from past relationships. She’s not afraid to put people (especially men) in their place, either. Flo Milli is still figuring out her place in the industry, but Ho, Why Is You Here? is a great introduction to what she has to offer. —Jessica McKinney

Label: Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records

Released: February 7

Less than two weeks before his tragic death, Pop Smoke released Meet the Woo 2, a project that showcased his endless potential and proved he had plenty more to offer after the breakout success of “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior.” His hauntingly low register anchored the project, as he effortlessly rapped over gliding-bass-heavy production in a way that couldn’t be duplicated, even while a growing number of mainstream artists were attempting to ride the wave of Brooklyn’s exploding drill scene. Pop built on his signature sound on songs like “Invincible” and “Christopher Walking,” but he also made time to flex his diverse skill set throughout the rest of the 13-song tracklist. On standouts like “Element” and “Like Me,” he showed his versatility, introducing R&B-inspired bars and playing around with different flows, while staying true to his winning formula. The project solidified Pop Smoke’s place as the clear leader of Brooklyn’s drill movement and the city’s most exciting new artist. On “Christopher Walking,” he makes a point of uttering the phrase “King of New York,” which was beginning to feel like a realistic title when Meet the Woo 2 arrived. Pop Smoke was only just getting started. —Jessica McKinney

Label: Roc Nation

Released: March 13

The enigma that is Jay Electronica will always keep folks interested. The fact that he delivered an album as good as A Written Testimony after a decade of pump fakes only adds to his legend. Like most of his catalog, this album will age well, and considering the state America is in 2020, it already has. The unrest happening this year is a theme Jay Elec has weaved into his music since he blew the doors off the industry with “Exhibit C.” Farrakhan speeches, surahs from the Qur’an, and Black Power raps is what one would expect from Mr. Flowers. And the fact he brought Jigga along for the ride made this project well worth the wait. From jump, the album pulls you into the mind of one of rap’s most mythical figures, who handled the brunt of the production, and still, it’s Jay-Z’s voice you hear first. Operating more as a collab album than a solo debut, it reminded me of Ghost and Rae on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and the two Jays have almost as much chemistry as their Wu counterparts. Jay Electronica gets vulnerable on here, too, an underrated quality of his, as he touches on his reluctance to climb the mighty high ladder he built for himself. Bars like, “Sometimes I was held down by the gravity of my pen/Sometimes I was held down by the gravity of my sin/Sometimes, like Santiago, at crucial points of my novel/My only logical option was to transform into the wind,” try to explain why this took so long. While “The Ghost of Soulja Slim” might be my favorite song on the album, it’s “Ezekiel's Wheel” that remains A Written Testimony’s thesis. Let’s just hope Jay Electronica sticks around this time. We need him now more than ever. —Angel Diaz

Label: OVO Sound/Warner Records

Released: April 17

After releasing two albums that showcased their take on alternative R&B with a throwback feel, Dvsn expanded their sound with A Muse in Her Feelings. “The last couple of albums were a little bit more consistent in whatever that feeling was being the majority of the album,” producer Nineteen85 told Complex Canada. “This one has so many different feelings.” The approach paid off, as the OVO Sound duo scale across club-ready performances (“No Cryin”), dancehall-tinged backdrops (“So What”), and soaring ballads (“... Again”) that fit into the sequencing of the project. The run from “Dangerous City” to “‘Flawless' Do It Well Pt. 3” is particularly great, each track’s ending offering an interlude-like build into the next record. Singer-songwriter Daniel Daley captures the emotion and vulnerability of working on relationship woes throughout, with “No Good” and “For Us” reinforcing what’s made Dvsn a standout act. The majority of the guest list also works in their favor (they previously featured a total of zero artists on Sept. 5th and Morning After), as the likes of Future, Snoh Aalegra, Popcaan, and Summer Walker blend into the narrative seamlessly. With A Muse in Her Feelings, Dvsn push the future of R&B forward. —Edwin Ortiz

Label: Rimas Entertainment LLC

Released: February 29

Bad Bunny always tries to work with everybody in his lane, whether it be veterans in the genre like Ñengo Flow and Daddy Yankee or peers like Sech and Myke Towers. Puerto Rico is like Atlanta that way. Most of the rappers in those areas collaborate often, resulting in much better music. Bunny’s sophomore album was supposed to run the summer in terms of sound, even more so because it bridges the gap between the old and the new. He already had very little to prove, yet continued to push the sound of reggaeton further than anybody before him. “Yo Perreo Sola” was ready to take off before COVID hit, relegating everyone to dance in their houses. Whether it’s in his music, or interesting music videos like the one he made for “Yo Perreo Sola,” Bunny knows how to make himself the topic of conversation, and he has handled his new-found stardom with grace so far. When the world opens back up again in full, YHLQMDLG will have its day, but for now we’ll have to settle for dancing alone. —Angel Diaz

Label: Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records

Released: June 12

Many fans got acquainted with sister duo Chloe x Halle through their YouTube videos (or more recently, their recurring appearances on grown-ish). While that youthful light that attracted fans years ago is still present, their second studio album shows growth, both in lyrical content and sound. Ungodly Hour is a mature body of work that finds two young women navigating relationships and other adversities. Songs like “Do It,” “Forgive Me,” and the album’s title track are dreamy and invigorating, with ornate harmonies that rest on intricate and vibrant beats. As individuals, Chloe and Halle are undoubtedly forces within R&B, but their deep sisterhood is where they find their strength. As a result, Ungodly Hour is a chillingly beautiful second project. —Jessica McKinney

Label: YSL Records/300 Entertainment

Released: May 22

It’s still hysterical that Gunna thought to call his new album Wunna. Even more so that it’s a shoddily constructed acronym that the rapper put together while stoned. But Gunna just likes having fun, and Wunna is an extremely good time. It’s a relaxed album, and Gunna doesn’t tread too far from his signature territory. He just talks, describing his life like a documentary narrator, viewing his exploits from his own POV and relaying the tales to his eager audience. It’s his first chart-topping LP, and deservedly so. It features Thug and Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch, but the features don’t seem like grabs for streaming numbers. His work with Lil Baby is impeachable, and Young Thug is his musical dad. Roddy kills his verse, and Gunna stands in the background throughout it all, smiling, totally unsurprised that he’s on top of the world. —Will Schube

Label: Republic Records

Date: September 24

On the morning of July 23, Taylor Swift, having spent the majority of her career as meticulous and calculated as possible, seemingly pulled her eighth studio album Folklore out of thin air. “Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen,” she wrote on Instagram. “And that thing is my 8th studio album, folklore. Surprise.” An understatement. The almost-casual announcement (albeit followed by an extensive first-week sales plan) set the tone for a project that avoids feeling like too little and doesn’t try to be too much. It’s just Taylor, with the help of her trusted collaborator Jack Antonoff and her musical hero Aaron Dessner, spinning narratives and forging plots with astute lyricism. “Exile” is a heartbreaking duet with Bon Iver about the vitriol a pair of exes have for one another. “Mad Woman” is a thinly-veiled but passionate retort at those who see her rebuttals to Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta as hysterical. “Cardigan,” “August,” and “Betty” are all about the same made-up love story about two teenagers who face a summer of long distance, infidelity, and high school drama. On the last song of the trifecta, Taylor Swift sings from the perspective of the 17-year-old boy James: “If I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself or lead me to the garden?” Oh yeah, there’s f-bombs, just another first for Taylor. Gone are the big stadium anthems and the heavy synths. Instead, America’s biggest and perhaps most polarizing pop star wipes her slate clean. In a year when Twitter is obsessed with finding cultural resets, Taylor offers her fans a musical one, punctuated by the strongest songwriting of her career. —Waiss Aramesh

Label: Griselda Records/Drumwork/EMPIRE

Released: September 11

For an imprint that floods the streets on the regular, it’s still amazing to hear Conway say that From King to a GOD is his debut studio album. Facts are facts, but damn. Like much of Griselda’s 2020, you can feel the growth. Maybe that’s why we’re just getting that debut studio now; who knows what this project would have sounded like years back. Just hearing DeJ Loaf on that “Fear Of God” hook, over those crispy Hit-Boy drums? Method Man throwing the ski mask on to show folks that his pen still works extremely well on “Lemon”? Premier’s soulful stylings allow Conway’s dark truths to shine bright, and throughout this album, Conway is in his entire bag. That’s best showcased in the second half of “Dough & Damani,” after Bishop lets you know why he has to hold the gun. “I see their lists and I personally get offended/‘Cause very single verse is a verse of the year contender.” All facts, but putting this familiar heat next to his excursions into different vibes and sounds, while calling on some of the game’s finest to help him express this chapter of his career? GOD level movements, ya dig? —khal

Label: Columbia Records

Released: May 15

With a title like The GOAT, it was imperative that Polo G bring his A-game. It was an ambitious and bold claim for a new artist, but he was prepared to back up the assertion with witty wordplay, harrowing storytelling, and youthful enthusiasm. Polo’s music isn’t for the weak-hearted. The album oozes pain as he recites agonizing stories about his fallen friends, including the late Juice WRLD. But amid the challenges, there is a sense of hope that prevails as he looks to his newfound lifestyle among the palm trees in California. Shortly after the album dropped, Polo G told Complex that he believed The GOAT should be in the conversation about the very best releases of 2020. “I feel like it’s up there with some of the top dogs who just released projects,” he explained. “I feel like I expressed myself in a unique way.” He was right. The GOAT confirms the fact that Polo G has firmly arrived as one of rap’s best new artists. —Jessica McKinney

Label: Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records

Released: July 3

Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon album was only partially finished at the time of his tragic death, but it still managed to show a full scope of the Brooklyn giant’s skillset. 50 Cent served as a co-executive producer on the project, which is fitting because Pop was frequently compared to him as a mesh of New York bravado and melody. And Pop’s performance on the project showed why he was set to rival 50 culturally, if not commercially. He’s talking to the ladies on standouts like “For The Night,” “Mood Swings,” and “The Woo,” but shows his brute force on tracks like “44 Bulldog,” “Snitchin,” and “Got It On Me.” He came up through drill, but he was primed to transcend the subgenre, while entrenching himself as a quintessential rap star: an inimitable figure that people of every identity can relate to. —Andre Gee

Label: Griselda Records

Released: April 17

The Griselda crew has been on an incredible run for the last half-decade or so, and Westside Gunn is a big reason why. Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher had both been trying to make a go of things for years, but it took Gunn’s vision to really make things happen. That vision, from the beginning, has involved mixing high and low culture. Pray for Paris, inspired by Gunn attending Virgil Abloh’s January 2020 Off-White show in Paris, provides a perfect canvas for these obsessions. On the very first song, following an art-auction intro, Gunn raps about having “bulletproof Bentleys parked outside the Whitney,” and the dichotomies keep going from there. The rapping is excellent, and the beats (from the likes of Premier, Alchemist, Muggs, longtime associates Camoflauge Monk and Daringer, and even Tyler, the Creator) are lush. But more importantly, Gunn, a reluctant rapper from the beginning who makes constant threats of retirement, plays a curatorial role as well, bringing in just the right guest voice at the perfect moment—including a standout rap verse from Tyler. With projects this high-quality and well thought out, there’s no need to pray for anyone. Westside Gunn’s got everything under control. —Shawn Setaro

Label: Warner Records

Released: January 17

“Some people say they want to live forever,” Mac Miller sings on “Complicated.” “And that’s way too long.” Miller’s posthumous album, completed by Jon Brion, is a wonderful and sad addition to Mac’s discography. It’s hardly a rap album at all—more of a singer-songwriter record with some great rapping sprinkled in at key points. Miller sounds incredibly confident in his lyrics, melodies, and, more importantly, his ability to express emotion and meaning through his singing. He lets his voice carry the record, even at moments when he’s at the very top of his vocal range. There’s a waltz, a bass guitar solo, and arrangements that are complicated and lively without being busy or overbearing. “Why can’t it be easy?” Miller wonders on “Good News.” Life may have been difficult for Mac Miller, but he left this album behind to make it a little bit easier for all of us. —Shawn Setaro

Label: Modular/Island Australia

Released: February 14

By now, we know what Kevin Parker is capable of, but there’s still an added thrill whenever a long-anticipated album exceeds expectations. It’s been five years since Tame Impala’s psychedelic funk-rock-alt sounds exploded in a particle accelerator and gave us Currents, which spawned sold-out stadium tours, festivals, Rihanna covers, and Travis Scott collaborations. This year, after the turn of a new decade and a few false starts (which still gave us incredible loosies like the aptly named “Patience”), Parker came back with a record strong enough to keep us fed for another five years. On The Slow Rush, Parker, now older and married, puts that incisiveness to work on themes of millennial angst. The album begins with “One More Year,” espousing all the vibes of January 1-type empty resolutions, false optimism, and self-deception. Six tracks later, on Slow Rush’s centerpiece “On Track,” it’s “nearly August” and the knife has firmly twisted. “Strictly speaking, I’m still on track, so tell everyone I’ll be alright/’Cause strictly speaking, I’ve got my whole life.” It’s the soundtrack of convincing yourself as much as you’re trying to convince others. Still, ennui has never sounded so groovy. Songs like “Breathe Deeper” use funk for encouragement, and the calming odyssey of “Tomorrow’s Dust” espouses “kill the past” energy. Even the bass-heavy furor of “Posthumous Forgiveness” eventually crescendos to soothing synths of catharsis. By the album’s end, time has elapsed from a year to an hour. Grim prospects, but not before the penultimate track allows a glimmer of hope. There’s always another year to “roll” your aspirations over into like vacation days. Until there isn’t. —Frazier Tharpe

Label: Slaughter Boomin/Epic/Boominati/Republic

Released: October 2

21 Savage and Metro Boomin didn’t attempt to replicate 2016’s Savage Mode when they cooked up the sequel. Instead, they understood they had each reached new stages of their careers, and made the wise decision to execute everything on a much grander scale. Where the original Savage Mode was a minimalist affair with a stripped-back aesthetic and a single guest feature, 2020’s follow-up takes full advantage of all the resources they had at their disposal this time around. If you have the budget to hire Morgan Freeman to narrate your album, why not do it? If you have the relationships to get Drake and Young Thug to contribute verses, why not make those calls? Understanding the power of restraint, though, Savage and Metro figured out ways to fold these bells and whistles into a cohesive album that played to each of their strengths. Savage is still delivering icy raps laced with an understated sense of humor, and Metro is still making hard-hitting beats that wouldn’t sound out of place on a horror film soundtrack. In the four years between the two albums, it’s clear each of them fine-tuned their skills and were able to pull off the kind of project that may not have been possible in 2016. On the outro of “Runnin,” Morgan Freeman questioned, “Are things better or worse the second time around? Can we really do anything more than once?” When it comes to Savage Mode II, the answer is an emphatic yes. —Eric Skelton

Label: Griselda Records/EMPIRE

Released: October 16

“Last year was about branding, this one’s about expanding” is one of the best lines to open an album with, especially when you realize how Griselda has moved over the years. Benny’s second studio project, produced entirely by Hit-Boy, is the Big Gold Belt you’re awarded after defeating all competition. Take “Timeless,” one of the more star-studded cuts on the album. You could sit here and debate who had the best verse out of Benny, Lil Wayne, and Big Sean, but it’s that “what’s a king to a God” in the hook for me. It’s Benny sounding just as comfortable with Rick Ross on “Where Would I Go” as he does with Queen Naija on the thoughtful “Thank God I Made It.” It’s the way we’re able to see a 35-year-old rapper only now start to get the accolades that he’s deserved. Don’t forget, Benny’s been spitting, but with each release, the improvements are crystal clear. More important, the jewels he placed throughout his bars come from living life. Burden of Proof is a textbook for block boys who know that there’s a better life for them, but can’t see the forest for the trees. With each Griselda project, legacy is being formed, brick by brick. It just so happens that Burden of Proof is made out of solid gold. —khal

Label: ESGN/ALC/EMPIRE

Released: May 29

Coke rap is revolutionary. Elitists may scoff at the idea, but consider the power of Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist’s Alfredo. In a vacuum, it’s an immaculate body of work, and that alone warrants its place on this list. Freddie Gibbs’ harmonious flows and natural wit are at home on Alchemist’s sparse production that ranges from the sinister “Frank Lucas” with Benny The Butcher to the soulful “God Is Perfect” and “Scottie Beam” featuring Rick Ross. Gibbs and ALC’s chemistry is a result of Gibbs’ devotion to eschewing industry pressures to conform. He stuck to his script for years, refusing to waste his time appeasing demographics that diluted his product, and hit a creative zenith on an album that got the Grammy nomination he predicted earlier this year. The Grammy committee often rewards chart-toppers in lieu of rugged like Gibbs, but Alfredo transcended the norm. Sales figures be damned, Alfredo is so potent that they, like us, had to commend it as a top five rap release of the year. —Andre Gee

Label: Generation Now/Atlantic Records

Released: March 6

Lil Uzi Vert told everyone he was going to treat 2020 like it was 2016 and make up for the musical hiatus he took while dealing with label drama. And he told no lies. Over the past 12 months, we were blessed with a staggering amount of new music from Uzi, highlighted by an album that somehow lived up to impossibly high expectations: Eternal Atake. As if to prove he hadn’t lost a step during his quiet stretch, Uzi came out swinging on the very first song, “Baby Pluto.” Rapping his ass off over hard-hitting drums, he acknowledged, “I ain’t fuck a bitch in so long, I’d do it in a Honda Accord,” and you get the feeling he felt the same way about making music after such a long break. We might never hear Uzi sound as hungry as he does on Eternal Atake. Layering over-the-top flexes about money, fashion, and girls over storylines about alien abductions and intergalactic adventures, he created an album that doesn’t sound like anything else happening in rap right now. As he taunts on “You Better Move,” Uzi “lives life like a cartoon,” and throughout EA, he delights in the fact that he operates on a completely different wavelength than anyone else on the planet. What other rapper would even think to write a line like, “I’m like Mother Goose, if I say shoot, they gonna shoot”? Uzi shows a lot of range on this album. He leaves room for a healthy sampling of breezy, melodic moments on the tracklist, including “Celebration Station,” an intoxicating summer anthem that includes EA’s most memorable Uzi-ism: “I can’t do my dance ’cause my pants leather, they from France.” But he also makes sure to pack in as many stop-you-in-your-tracks bars as he can. On the blistering Supah Mario-produced “Silly Watch,” he nimbly cartwheels his way through a round of hilarious shots directed at brands like Baccarat, Crocs, and Fashion Nova, all while finding the time for hilarious one-liners like, “I’m a hare all on my bike, bitch, I bunny hop/Hugh Hefner died, so I can’t get bunny top.” No one on Earth (or in outer space) raps like Lil Uzi Vert. —Eric Skelton

Label: Capitol Records/Motown/Wolfpack Music Group/Quality Control Music

Released: February 28

Without a doubt, 2020 has been Lil Baby’s year. Not only did he drop two different versions of this album with one of the best songs of the year in “We Paid” attached, he also provided people with a soundtrack with “The Bigger Picture,” and that right there deserves a Grammy in and of itself. There isn’t a skip for me on this project. It’s the type of album to ride around to all day, which gives it lots of replay value. My Turn will be remembered as the album that finally placed Lil Baby at the top of rap’s elite. He did it by fitting an impressive amount of great songs on one tracklist. How many bangers are on here out of 20 tracks? About 10 or 11? And that’s not even counting the tracks he added to the deluxe. It’s always dope to watch a young rapper turn into a bona fide star. Lil Baby’s My Turn is the Rap Album of the Year. —Angel Diaz

Label: XO/Republic

Released: March 20

After Hours was released less than nine months ago, but in many ways, it’s already withstood the test of time. When Abel Tesfaye recorded these songs, the world was very different than it was when he actually released them. As the story goes, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down just weeks before the album’s scheduled release date, Abel was advised to push it back, but he chose to put it out anyway. And despite everything being in upheaval, the music immediately connected with fans. It doesn’t matter what time period or physical setting you consume After Hours in—it’ll still resonate. This is timeless pop music, and with every listen it sounds better, which is why you may have noticed it jumped up three places from its position on our midyear list (and we expect to look back on it just as fondly a decade from now). Abel was able to accomplish this by seamlessly blending the best he’s had to offer from each stylistic era of his career. He pulls from his brooding, early-era mixtape aesthetic on songs like “Snowchild” and “Escape From LA” while also reaching for the mountaintop of pop success with radio-friendly anthems like “Blinding Lights,” “Heartless,” and “In Your Eyes.” Somehow, he’s able to successfully scale his Trilogy-era sound up to an arena-size capacity by doubling down on his favorite tropes—overindulgence, toxic relationships, and drugs—in a more refined way than he’s ever pulled off. The songwriting is tighter, the production is more dynamic, and his worldview has grown a little more mature. A beautifully sequenced body of work, After Hours flows from one song to the next with no skips, as Abel shows off his knack for world-building. Without question, it’s the very best album of 2020. —Eric Skelton