Let’s be real. 2020 was a bad year for everyone, but at least some decent music also went viral!

Too soon?

Anyways, Billboard released its top five albums of the year featuring big names artists Post Malone, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift. Creativity was flowing through through the veins of these music artists and gave listeners a reason to smile in such a rough year.

Placed in the fifth ranking, Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” album stunned fans by breaking out some alternative and indie hits contrary to her previous pop albums. “Folklore,” produced in the first few months of the global pandemic, was a surprise album that came out only 11 months after Swift’s previous album, “Lover.” The album features soft and calming tunes that make up a series of fascinating connected short stories.

Album number four was an album that was nothing short of incredible by artist Harry Styles, “Fine Line.” The album, which was inspired by Style’s exploration of his identity, was playing on almost every radio station throughout 2020. “Fine Line” entailed a variety of songs ranging from majestic upbeat pop to tear-jerking and emotional tunes.

Coming in number three is an album released in 2019, Roddy Ricch’s, “Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial,” a hip-hop rap-based album. As someone who did not grow up with much money but eventually becoming a millionaire, Ricch tells people his album is not just rapping, but talking for people in the same situation he once faced. Although released in 2019, the album managed to work its may to the top and produce some huge hits including “The Box” and “High Fashion (feat. Mustard).”

Billboard’s number two album of the year, “My Turn,” by Lil Baby pumps out some hit hip-hop rap songs like Ricch’s. An album written and produced during the COVID pandemic even features the song “Social Distancing,” a perfect song for the times it was released. Lil Baby claimed he will sit on the throne of the hip-hop genre and the “My Turn” album certainly gave him a boost.

With no surprise, the album Billboard placed at the top album of the year is Post Malone’s “Hollywood’s Bleeding.” Another hip-hop rap album released in late 2019 that people continued listening to throughout 2020 with Malone’s mesmerizing lyrics and melodies, the album went viral especially for its hit song “Circles” that flooded radios and was streamed endlessly across the nation.

Although 2020 was filled with horrific events and a global pandemic, music did not take a “coronacation”, and in fact, it came back better than ever for the year. These big name artists came through for the year and promoted themes of self-discovery and even created top-tier music that gave everyone a sense of hope to get through the year.