The 40 Best Albums of 2020

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 24, 2020

Above is Metacritic's list of the 40 best-reviewed albums of 2020, ranked by Metascore. This list only includes new albums receiving at least 15 reviews from professional critics (though you'll find a quick list of the top albums with a smaller number of reviews at the end of the gallery.)

Otherwise, all full-length studio albums (or mixtapes) released between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 are eligible, though reissues, live albums, box sets and other compilations are excluded. Albums are ranked by Metascore prior to rounding based on scores as of December 23, 2020.

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BONUS: Lowest-scoring albums

While most out-and-out terrible albums don't get enough reviews to obtain a Metascore (if they even get reviewed at all), here are 2020's worst-reviewed albums receiving a minimum of 7 reviews from professional critics:

(#1)
46 Chapter 1: Snake Oil by Diplo [as Thomas Wesley]

(#2)
57 Changes by Justin Bieber

(#3)
58 Smile by Katy Perry

(#4)
59 The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City by Beach Slang

(#5)
59 Bigger Love by John Legend

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