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The 15 Best Pop Albums of 2020

The 15 best pop albums radiate with unstoppable playlist power and much-needed sweet escapism.

                                      
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Recent

Music

On Black Girl Magic and Georgia Anne Muldrow's Latest, 'Overload'

It's tempting to proclaim this moment in black pop as something akin to 2018's political Year of the Woman -- Year of the Sista, if you will. But today's unapologetically progressive female black pop artists stand on the shoulders of a most impressive cohort from the '90s and early '00s.

Books

'Black Lives Matter and Music': From a Movement That's Only Beginning to Find Its Voice

Scholars share their initial thoughts on the musical reactions to the burgeoning social movement, Black Lives Matter, in this anthology from Indiana University Press.

Music

The Best Pop Singles of 2016

Celebrating the songs this year that operated within the constraints of "radio music", truly a genre all its own, and produced excellent results.

Music

Form Follows Function: 'The Life of Pablo' and 'Blonde' Challenge the Notion of an Album

Kanye West and Frank Ocean have created imperfect perfect albums which invert our notions of flaws and challenge our perception of the album as an art form.

Music

Nicolas Jaar: Sirens

Sirens is a masterpiece. Melding pop and experimental music, it reflects the uneasiness of our difficult times.

Music

Beyoncé - "Hold Up" (Singles Going Steady)

"Hold Up" is a slice of art that engages the senses of sight and sound, and it's beautiful.

Music

Beyoncé's 'Lemonade

Lemonade is that rare work where you will remember exactly where you were and exactly who you were with the first time you hear it.

Games

Hope and Despair in Video Games

There are moments in games that capture the feud waged in ourselves between hope and despair.

Music

Beyoncé - "Formation" (Singles Going Steady)

Beyoncé's "Formation" is Black Pride incarnate, and it’s exactly what we needed to hear right now.

Music

Beyoncé and When Music Writing Becomes Activism

The overall response to Beyoncé's "Formation" has been startlingly positive, but mostly for reasons attached to political agendas. It's time to investigate this trend.

Sports

Was Super Bowl 50 a Golden Bowl?

A pop culture play-by-play of the biggest TV event of the year.

Music

PopTalk: The Poptimism and Rockism Debate

In 2015, the "poptimism vs. rockism" debate has inspired a rash of thinkpieces and Twitter arguments. Is this debate actually saying anything, though?

Brice Ezell, Evan Sawdey, Nathan Stevens

Music

Made in America Festival 2015

Even though it is on Labor Day and it is called “Made in America", this fest has nothing to do with manufacturing jobs. Instead, this is Jay Z’s vision of a new – or renewed – sense of patriotism.

Music

PopTalk: The 2015 Grammys, "True Artistry", and Meme Culture

The latest PopTalk podcast takes a look at whether or not, as Kanye West suggests, the Grammys and awards culture in general can or should care about "true artistry".

Evan Sawdey and Brice Ezell

Music

How We All Survived the Astoundingly Morose 57th Annual Grammy Awards

AC/DC opened the telecast with a song called "Rock or Bust", a prophetic ultimatum that was answered all too quickly by a cavalcade of performers who seemed to be tripping over themselves to see who could be the most uninspiring of them all.

Music

Guessing the 2015 Grammys

PopMatters predicts a night of newcomers, huge sweeps, and some love for two theme songs from 2013.

Music

Pop Unmuted Podcast: Feminism in 2014's Pop Music

On Episode 7 of Pop Unmuted, we talk about women in pop music in 2014, covering Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and some of our personal favorite moments.

Music

This Is How It's Gonna Be Now: Beyoncé, U2, Thom Yorke, and Surprise Album Releases

For artists a big as Beyonce, U2, and Thom Yorke, the surprise album release model offers minimal risk and maximal reward. It's a paradigm that's sure to be replicated by others going forward.

Emma Phipps

Music

How Women Dominated Pop Music in the '00s

We owe it to ourselves to recognize the many women in pop music that made an undeniable impact on popular culture and the world at large.

Music

Sofia - "Partition (Beyoncé Cover)" (audio) (Premiere)

The talented London-born, NYC-based Sofia has offers up a sparse, Auto-Tune accented acoustic cover of Beyoncé's "Partition".

Music

Beyoncé: Beyoncé

It's her most honest album. It's a surprise. It's dirty as hell. It's the fantastic pop album we waited for all year. Happy New Year.

Sports

Bowled Away: Super Bowl XLVII

Despite billions of dollars worth of half-time and commercial hype, the most interesting part of the show was the game.

Technology

Cell Phones and the 'Entourage' Effect

Celebrities aren’t the only ones with an entourage, anymore. Anyone with a cellphone has his or her own entourage, too.

Music

Generation X Wants Its MTV, But It’s a VEVO World Now

Gen X’ers may still want their MTV, but the version they loved is as distant a memory as Valley Girl speak, parachute pants, and leg warmers. Wake up and smell the VEVO.

Music

In Defense of Jay-Z as the Most Important Person in Hip-Hop History

In light of Jay-Z being named executive producer of the NBA2K video game franchise, we look at just how far Mr. Carter has taken the boundaries of hip-hop and success.

Music

A Million and One Questions: Jay-Z and the B-Word

Could a “hot 16” change black fatherhood for generations to come? If that is the thought, than we’ve forgotten what hip-hop does best: It reflects and narrates.

Sylvio Lynch III

Music

A Joy to Experience: Neo-Soul Singer Bilal Oliver

Bilal Oliver belongs to an elite class of late '90s Neo-Soul singers, but his guest appearances may be the true gems of his career.

Music

The Most Disappointing Albums of 2011

The selections on this list aren't necessarily bad albums -- some actually happen to be among the most critically acclaimed of this year. In some cases, it's just that the albums weren't what fans were expecting, and in others, they were exactly what they were expecting.

Enio Chiola

Music

Beyoncé: 4

Good riddance, Sasha Fierce. Welcome back, Beyoncé.

Television

The Year In TV: November 2010

Continuing our look at the year’s most notable television events, here’s what happened in November 2010.

Music

The Year in Music: November 2010

November 2010, the subject of our latest look at the year’s biggest events in music, was a month full of new releases, award shows, and artist recognition.

Events

Guessing the Grammys

Predictions on who will win what in the biggest categories, based on industry hype and a little guessing about the academy’s voters.

Music

The Year in Music: January 2010

Let’s single out the biggest events that happened in the world of music one month at a time, starting with January 2010.

Features

20 Jazz Albums You Might Have Missed in 2020

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Reviews

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The 15 best pop albums radiate with unstoppable playlist power and much-needed sweet escapism.

It's tempting to proclaim this moment in black pop as something akin to 2018's political Year of the Woman -- Year of the Sista, if you will. But today's unapologetically progressive female black pop artists stand on the shoulders of a most impressive cohort from the '90s and early '00s.

Scholars share their initial thoughts on the musical reactions to the burgeoning social movement, Black Lives Matter, in this anthology from Indiana University Press.

Celebrating the songs this year that operated within the constraints of "radio music", truly a genre all its own, and produced excellent results.

Dropping unexpected albums is a growing trend and one that should be done away with.

Kanye West and Frank Ocean have created imperfect perfect albums which invert our notions of flaws and challenge our perception of the album as an art form.

Sirens is a masterpiece. Melding pop and experimental music, it reflects the uneasiness of our difficult times.

"Hold Up" is a slice of art that engages the senses of sight and sound, and it's beautiful.

Lemonade is that rare work where you will remember exactly where you were and exactly who you were with the first time you hear it.

There are moments in games that capture the feud waged in ourselves between hope and despair.

Beyoncé's "Formation" is Black Pride incarnate, and it’s exactly what we needed to hear right now.

The overall response to Beyoncé's "Formation" has been startlingly positive, but mostly for reasons attached to political agendas. It's time to investigate this trend.

A pop culture play-by-play of the biggest TV event of the year.

In 2015, the "poptimism vs. rockism" debate has inspired a rash of thinkpieces and Twitter arguments. Is this debate actually saying anything, though?

Even though it is on Labor Day and it is called “Made in America", this fest has nothing to do with manufacturing jobs. Instead, this is Jay Z’s vision of a new – or renewed – sense of patriotism.

The latest PopTalk podcast takes a look at whether or not, as Kanye West suggests, the Grammys and awards culture in general can or should care about "true artistry".

AC/DC opened the telecast with a song called "Rock or Bust", a prophetic ultimatum that was answered all too quickly by a cavalcade of performers who seemed to be tripping over themselves to see who could be the most uninspiring of them all.

PopMatters predicts a night of newcomers, huge sweeps, and some love for two theme songs from 2013.

On Episode 7 of Pop Unmuted, we talk about women in pop music in 2014, covering Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and some of our personal favorite moments.

For artists a big as Beyonce, U2, and Thom Yorke, the surprise album release model offers minimal risk and maximal reward. It's a paradigm that's sure to be replicated by others going forward.

We owe it to ourselves to recognize the many women in pop music that made an undeniable impact on popular culture and the world at large.

The talented London-born, NYC-based Sofia has offers up a sparse, Auto-Tune accented acoustic cover of Beyoncé's "Partition".

After the surprise release of quite possibly her best album to date, it's time to have a look at the tracks that propelled this R&B darling into super-stardom.

It's her most honest album. It's a surprise. It's dirty as hell. It's the fantastic pop album we waited for all year. Happy New Year.

Despite billions of dollars worth of half-time and commercial hype, the most interesting part of the show was the game.

Celebrities aren’t the only ones with an entourage, anymore. Anyone with a cellphone has his or her own entourage, too.

Gen X’ers may still want their MTV, but the version they loved is as distant a memory as Valley Girl speak, parachute pants, and leg warmers. Wake up and smell the VEVO.

In light of Jay-Z being named executive producer of the NBA2K video game franchise, we look at just how far Mr. Carter has taken the boundaries of hip-hop and success.

Could a “hot 16” change black fatherhood for generations to come? If that is the thought, than we’ve forgotten what hip-hop does best: It reflects and narrates.

Bilal Oliver belongs to an elite class of late '90s Neo-Soul singers, but his guest appearances may be the true gems of his career.

The selections on this list aren't necessarily bad albums -- some actually happen to be among the most critically acclaimed of this year. In some cases, it's just that the albums weren't what fans were expecting, and in others, they were exactly what they were expecting.

Good riddance, Sasha Fierce. Welcome back, Beyoncé.

Continuing our look at the year’s most notable television events, here’s what happened in November 2010.

November 2010, the subject of our latest look at the year’s biggest events in music, was a month full of new releases, award shows, and artist recognition.

Predictions on who will win what in the biggest categories, based on industry hype and a little guessing about the academy’s voters.

Let’s single out the biggest events that happened in the world of music one month at a time, starting with January 2010.