The Best Album of the 2020’s (So Far)

Consideration/Release Period: January 1, 2020 - April 1, 2025

Hold on, hold on - before you scroll down to see if YOUR favorite album of the 2020’s is the pick, consider this:

Obvious albums like Cowboy Carter by Beyonce or Mayhem by Lady Gaga could easily take this. No questions asked.

Beyhive, throw me off the cliff already, it's okay!

Hot takes like Noah Cyrus’ latest album, Silk Sonic's album, or Demi Lovato’s HOLY FVK could take it.

I know Smilers, in terms of family drama, we don't like Noah, but she's soo talented too!

Hell, the vastly underrated Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus could and maybe should take it.

However… There's an album that many won’t know unless you’ve been locked in for the last few years on a different frequency than the majority.

An album that matches EXCELLENTLY with one magical word…

activates Toni Storm voice

2:30

TIMELESS.

First, consider the album that broke my heart not to put at number one….

Runner-Up:

Plastic Hearts - Miley Cyrus

Release Date: November 27, 2020

This forever will be one of the most horrific rollouts I’ve ever seen for an album (@ RCA Records) and Miley’s greatest album ever (for now). 

I’d said it for years: Miley needs to do Rock. She BREATHES it just as much as she breathes every other genre. Then, as life would have it, a few things happened: she had to undergo life-saving surgery on her vocal chords, and as a result, her voice, including her singing voice, deepened and gained a raspiness to it that it never previously had. She got a divorce from a man she had been on-and-off with for 13 years. And on top of those two traumatic events alone, she’s stated that she’d never felt more raw than she did during this time. As a result, when you put all these circumstances and ingredients together, it explodes like putting the final ingredient in a magical potion to finalize it.  

It's too bad the best potions often have the worst ingredients.

The final product of this potion? Miley’s first grand masterpiece of an album: Plastic Hearts, her first (and hopefully not only) Rock album.

I don’t say “first grand masterpiece of an album” lightly. I’ve loved Miley (or as fans say, “been a Smiler”) since early-on Hannah Montana. Obviously Hannah Montana is iconic. Meet Miley Cyrus is fantastic. Breakout is great. Can’t Be Tamed is stellar. Bangerz is revolutionary. Dead Petz is therapeutic. Younger Now is phenomenal. Endless Summer Vacation is magnificent.

But nothing will beat the magic of Miley Cyrus and the music genre of Rock. 

I remember watching her perform her song “Good & Broken” live in 2008 and thinking “wow, she’s a rockstar!”. I felt it even more in that moment than I did watching Hannah Montana sing “Rockstar” (love you Hannah and you are a rockstar!).

So, we finally get Miley Cyrus in her element, more raw than ever, ready to fulfill her gift to the Rock Gods… and then her label RCA Records (and to be a bit fair, the COVID-19 pandemic) fucks it all up.

My biggest hope is down the road, people will realize how truly magical Plastic Hearts is. Plastic Hearts and the genre of Rock allow Miley Cyrus to explore her wounds, her dreams, her desires, and herself in ways no other genre does.

Because, even in a Rock album, she couldn’t even stick to one (1)  subgenre of Rock.

For example, possibly my favorite Miley Cyrus song ever is “Gimme What I Want”. Heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails, its poignant bass line, dark & daring percussion, and Miley’s sultry deep voice define it as Industrial Rock from the start.

At first listen, this is a song demanding dominance, control, and seduction- and it very much is this too - 

“Pleasure leads to pain, to me they’re both the same, 

sweat dripping down to the floor, bite marks like an animal…

I don’t need a future, I don’t need your past, I just need a lover, 

so gimme what I want or I’ll give it to myself.”

“Gimme What I Want”

But after multiple listens, you hear the layers in Miley’s voice and in the lyrics of the entire song, but especially the bridge:

“Give it to me babe, give it to me babe, give it to me and nobody else, babe”

And suddenly, there’s the real reality behind this track: the vulnerability, the panic, the desperation, the need for validation, the need to have someone else give you your worth…. Right there in how she dresses her sultry, dark, badass exterior with the scars, letters, and sounds of her suffering up until this point.

And while some songs allow Miley to disguise her pain and make us listeners dig for it, songs like Angels Like You force her to put her vulnerability directly on display in the bright wide-eyed sunlight. 

I will forever note that Angels Like You was the original “It’s not you, it’s me” “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me”, but in ballad format:

Miley prepping for her Super Bowl Tailgate show with "Angels Like You". You'll never doubt her vocals after this.

“I know that you're wrong for me

Gonna wish we never met on the day I leave

I brought you down to your knees

'Cause they say that misery loves company

It's not your fault I ruin everything

And it's not your fault I can't be what you need

Baby, angels like you can't fly down hell with me”

“Angels Like You”

And that’s only the chorus. Imagine trying to cut those lyrics down for this article; I cannot cut them any further. 

Meanwhile, “WTF Do I Know” puts her pain on full display through anger and, quite frankly, it is a BANGER way to start the album. And yet, it’s another clever disguise from Miley, because I think so many people expected this from Miley: the anger, the fuck it all attitude, the guess I’ll just do me at everyone’s expense attitude… ya know, what we knew from the Bangerz era (and absolutely NO judgement to her other than, yup, early 20’s babyyyyy).

She’s angry, she’s like fuck it all I’ve tried i’m done, and if you only listened to this track (since it’s Track 1 on the album), you might think that’s all there is to this album and stop listening. But as I indicated before… that is one of the worst ways you could fall for one of Miley’s disguises or misdirections. Don’t let her catch you out as every other listener, as every other general person who assumes and generalizes people, including her. Be the person who sees the layers she offers in all tracks. Particularly, considering most of the ballads are the last few tracks of the album.

(also, if you think angry Miley is “all there is”, you are sadly mistaken, and ps Angry Miley is badass as fuck so please take a number out of here)

And yet, in true Miley fashion, there has to be room for the other side of her misery - the growth, the confidence, and the celebration of herself through and on the other side of pain. In Midnight Sky, Miley celebrates herself and not needing others:

“See my lips, on her mouth, everybody’s talking now baby

Ohh, you know it’s true, yeahh

That I was born to run I don’t belong to anyone, oh no

I don’t need to be loved by you”

“Midnight Sky”

On looks alone, you might think this was her Bangerz era

Even with this originally new era of Plastic Hearts, Miley refused to disparage her past self, and she uses that to reaffirm that she is allowed her own path through the “Midnight Sky” and that she doesn’t need anyone’s love or approval. Even after all these other dark, vulnerable af tracks, she still maintains she knows herself, her worth, and she’s willing to share that anthem with all of us.

And don’t worry, if you are a general pop fan that wants Miley pop, “Prisoner” with Dua Lipa gives you that - and go watch the music video, because it's fun and hot as hell!

Plastic Hearts is the triumph Miley needed- and the triumph that was taken from her by RCA Records and the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, I will maintain the hope that she will return to Rock again- especially after hearing her latest songs from her upcoming album “Something Beautiful”... it seems she has already, even if in different ways.

Strongest track(s): Tracks 1-8

Weakest track(s): Tracks 9-12 (Though I do have a personal liking to “Never Be Me” and “Bad Karma” Ft. Joan Jett)

Nice Inclusion Track: “Zombie” cover Live 

Underrated Track: “Edge of Midnight” Collab with Stevie Nicks (Why does nobody talk about how Miley and Stevie did a track together????)

Prepare for more Miley Cyrus with her newest songs, "Prelude", “Something Beautiful” and “End of the World”

Will “Something Beautiful” become my new favorite Miley album and new favorite album of the 2020’s? Well, let’s see what else it’s up against…

And now, without further ado, The Best Album of the 2020’s (So Far):

A Touch of The Beat Gets You On Your Feet Gets You Out And Then Into The Sun - Aly & AJ

IT TOOK TOO LONG, IT TOOK TOO LONG FOR YOU TO KNOW ALY & AJ! 

Aly & AJ are a music duo comprised of two sisters who yes, just so happened to get their start with Disney too! You probably know them from their biggest hit “Potential Break-Up Song” or other hits like “Like Whoa”, “No One”, “Rush”, and “Chemicals React”.

(Starts at 0:55, first is Pretty Places)

But did you know in 2021 they came back together with an album for the first time in years? 

Did you know that these two sisters are pure magic, together, apart, but especially together?

If I may, I request that, if possible, you listen to this while driving or being driven around on a sunny day, or a cool calm evening, with the windows rolled down, because-

“A Touch Of The Beat” is best heard when you are in a safe space to access your emotions and humanity. It’s not a touch of emotion; it’s all the emotion, heart, and humanity two human hearts can pour. 

This album is one of the most cohesive albums I’ve ever listened to, from start to finish. I have this album and Aly & AJ to thank for getting into Vinyl. Why? I’ll give you some reasons why:

“I’ll go anywhere, let’s go right now, 

I’ll go anywhere, doesn’t matter how far,

I’ll go anywhere, all I need is you, 

I’ll go anywhere, all we got is us now”

“Pretty Places”

A Touch of the Beat starts off with “Pretty Places”. “Pretty Places” is possibly the most beautiful opening track I’ve ever heard on an album. Instantly, the track makes you feel like you are on the most thoughtful, poignant, yet relaxing journey. And honestly? Back in 2021, we needed this feeling; and now? We also need this feeling more than ever.

Funny enough, the following track “Lost Cause” allows Aly & AJ and us to embrace the fact that sometimes, no matter how much you reach for someone or something, it’s just a lost cause. A feeling that, while we didn’t “need” it, so many of us felt then and still feel today, whether it’s in our own personal lives, families, work, relationships, or the greater world around us in general.

Songs like “Slow Dancing” “Paradise” and “Symptom of Your Touch” allow us to sink into our relationships and those we love, those we feel we need- and in all different ways. 

“I want you to know

I don't need anything fancy

I just need me and you slow dancing

Hell's bending, keeping me captive (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)

Heaven's here, it's right where you're standing (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)

Slow dancing (slow dancing)

With you”

“Slow Dancing”

Songs like “Break Yourself” and “Listen!!!” encourage all of us to break free, speak up, and advocate for ourselves and with much more honesty than many offer:

“I tried to empathize

But you're so dismissive

Night after night

I express what I feared from the start

That your heart would never listen

I'm feelin' like I'm a hostage here

It's clear something went missing (missing)

I might be lost but I know my way out”

“Listen”

(That final line is one of my favorites, offering hope and power even in moments and times of powerlessness and defeat.)

“Stomach” is easily my favorite ballad of Aly & AJ’s; arguably, it has the most raw emotion from them in any song yet, which is fascinating considering it was the first track they wrote for the album:

“I'm holding on to both sides of a raft

That just keeps on sinking

It feels like nothing and it makes me sick

I can't run from it, so I run with it

It hurts my stomach, cuts me like a knife

All these memories, they don't feel like mine

I just can't stomach being your ex-wife

All these memories, they don't feel like mine

Nothing I do makes it better, nothing I do makes it better”

“Stomach”

The repeated “nothing I do makes it better” absolutely destroys me. It sounds exactly like my inner thoughts when I begin spiraling; when my anxieties, fears, and sadness are finally starting to win.

That’s part of the magic of Aly & AJ too; their insight, awareness, and advocacy around mental health, gun violence, and other important things in our world influences their music in the most beautiful ways.

"Sirens" Single about gun violence, based on a real event Aly & AJ experienced. Not on this album, but had to include it in this discussion!

The spectrum of emotions throughout this album is tremendous even without going through all the tracks, and yet, it all flows together so.. Naturally. 

A Touch Of The Beat is a perfect personification of how ever-flowing and changing human emotions are and yet how it all comes together in the most beautiful and imperfect way.

All of these themes and emotions are, you guessed it, TIMELESS. 

And the fact that there are SO many live instruments on this album??? That you play on stage?? I CRY THINKING ABOUT IT!!  

Check out that sax around 2:43 of “Break Yourself”!! And those live drums?? Eargasm alert!!

Truly, I don’t know what other words I can use to convince how timeless and magical A Touch of the Beat is and how magical and timeless Aly & AJ are.

(Now if I could just get them and Miley to make music together, whew, make room, list!!)

Strongest track(s): Tracks 1-8, 10-12, 13-16 (Deluxe Edition)

Weakest track(s): Track 9

Nice Inclusion Track: “Dead On The Beach” - Song AJ wrote about nearly drowning on the beach

Underrated Track: Stomach - Regular Edition; Way Way Back (Deluxe Edition)

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