2020 Albums of the Year (NPR)

I realize that this is about 10 months late, but it was tucked away in my drafts and I figured I might as well let it see the light of day.

I love to find good new stuff through looking at these lists, but I also have to roll my eyes sometimes when I see the rankings.  Was hoping that NPR might hew to my tastes, but I'm afraid I made a major mistake.

1. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is).  Just the title of the album makes me cringe.  But now I get what they are selling, this is something that was made in response to and arising out of the BLM protests this year.  I've tried a few songs, and yeah, I get that this matches up to the importance of this movement.  Kinda funky, definitely an important message. If Erykah Badu and Janelle Monae aren't the voices on this one, then congrats to whoever this is (it is all uncredited and I couldn't figure it out after 20 seconds of searching).  I'm glad to find out about this one.  
2. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters.  Nah.  I tried to like this one.  I get that it was fun to have her come out of hiatus after many moons, but the critical slobbering about this one can't elevate it for me.  Not interested.  At least I've heard of this one!
3. Lido Pimienta - Miss Columbia.  This is where you know the people at NPR are getting cute.  The top song on this album has 1.9 million streams.  I'm sorry, but you're not telling me that this album has had any sort of large-scale "Album of the Year" type impact on a large swath of the populace with those kinds of numbers.  I know this isn't all about streaming numbers, but it's hard to imagine this being an album to offer into the pantheon of history when no one even cared about it when it came out.  Also, I don't know what she is singing about, so I'm just jealous.  Pretty voice though!
4. Pheobe Bridgers - Punisher.  YES!  I called it, that "serious" critics would be giving the love to this and the Bolt Cutters.  I liked this album (it's just dark all the time, at a time when I want something lighter).
5. Spillage Village - Spilligion.  I have no clue what I just typed.  But, just to be clear, NPR is claiming that this was the top rap/hip-hop album of 2020?  Bigger than RTJ4?  Bigger than Alfredo?  I don't know - I've never even heard of these cats, it just seems bold to throw that out there.  And, huh.  I'll buy in to it (not being better than those two just mentioned, but solid).  I already think that JID is cool, and same with EarthGang, and even though I don't know the other members of this "supergroup," I can dig the jam their mashing.
6. Thomas Ades - Ades Conducts Ades.  Mmmmkay.  This is a live album of classical music?  What are we doing here?  It is probably wonderful music and all, but the first song sounds like free-form jazzy piano weirdness with an orchestra assaulting the pianist here and there.  I just can't imagine that the actual number 6 album of the year would have less than 10k streams for almost all of its songs.  The top track has 25k streams, and this is a year after release!  This is just too cute for me.
7. Bad Bunny - YHLQMDLG.  Sure.  I guess this is important for some folks, and it very well may be good, but you're not going to get me to listen to Latin trap.  If I don't know what is going on in the song, I'm just not going to get into it.  I do like the "Girl from Ipanema" ripoff under the first song.
8. Nubya Garcia - Source.  Jazz saxophone?  Really?  Top song has 1.5 million, but most are in the 200k to 300k range.  Maybe NPR had a special, secret understanding of what the word "best" means to them.  I just let it roll while I worked and it was kinda good.  I'm sure this is beautiful to the folks who want to listen to some skeeboppin' jazzy freakout music and all, but I wouldn't go back again.
9. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake.  Again, really?  You're saying this is the second-best rap album of 2020?  I'd never even heard of it.  I also think Vert is terrible, so that makes sense, but still.  I looked around.  HipHopDx said Freddie Gibbs' Alfredo was the top rap album.  Brooklyn Vegan said the same.  The Grammy went to Nas for King's Disease (and this album wasn't even nominated).  Stereogum picked something called Boldy James and Sterling Toles.  Billboard said Lil Baby's My Turn.  Complex picked The Weeknd's After Hours.  Anyway, this thoroughly mediocre album should not be considered a top album of the year if it wasn't even widely recognized as the best rap album of the year.
10. Waylon Payne - Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me.  I take back everything bad I said about this list, as this album is really nice.  Good Americana and classic-sounding country can always find a slot in my heart.  And the confessional, deeply personal lyrics on this are also great.  I've kept this one spinning for two days now.  That being said, yet again, no one is listening to this album.  It's like NPR did their best to eliminate anything that might end up being popular from their list.