Top 10 Worst Rock Albums of 2020

2020 wasn't exactly a year for subtlety. The world was on fire, literally and figuratively, and somehow rock music decided to throw a few gallons of lukewarm tap water into the blaze and call it a day. You got albums from major names that sounded like they were made under duress or by a malfunctioning AI trained on 2000s radio hits. Other records felt like the result of midlife crises set to guitar solos. Some albums tried to be edgy, some tried to be deep, but a lot just ended up being loud, messy, and weirdly self-important.

You might've expected some of these bands to evolve. Or at least try. Instead, you got songs that sound like contractual obligations, lyrics that read like Facebook rants, and production choices that suggest someone dared them to make the worst snare sound possible. Some albums tried to "save rock," but mostly ended up giving it a flat tire.

This list is for the flops, the disappointments, the "what were they thinking" moments of the year in rock. Vote for the ones that annoyed you most, baffled your ears, or just had you reaching for the skip button three tracks in. Or scroll through to see which albums other people thought totally missed the point in 2020.

The Top Ten

Father of All... - Green Day

I'm a big fan of Green Day. This is not a very good album, though. They didn't put a lot of effort into this one. You can tell because it's less than 30 minutes and it's pretty generic. I'm not sure how I feel about the autotune. I kind of like the title track, though.
At least it's a short album. This is definitely their weakest album. But hey, there's always another album. It will probably be better. The trilogy wasn't good either, but Revolution Radio was released after that and it's a great album to me. 4/10

This album is a massive epic fail that fell flat on its face. Some of the worst songwriting, vocals, and overall sounds Green Day has to offer. The same band that made American Idiot and Dookie made something this atrocious.
It's a shame too because the covers that were released after this album came out sound more like Green Day than this album. It's an album so devoid of creativity and energy that it's insufferable.
F8 - Five Finger Death Punch

If you've heard a Five Finger Death Punch album, you already know what you're getting yourself into. This album has their trademark clichés multiplied by a thousand or more. Ivan Moody tries really hard to convince you that he could beat you up after school, which comes off as laughable.
It's no surprise why this album is on this list. The energy drink-chugging douchebags themselves have proven time and time again that they refuse to adapt and change. More power to them, I suppose.

The biggest problem with 5FDP is that Ivan Moody is a half-trick pony. His lyrics about begging for attention on how much of a man he is, followed by "I'm all alone..." type material, are sad. The musicians behind him have lost any passion, and it shows on F8.
2020 - Bon Jovi

Overall, this album is a cheesefest from start to finish and sounds like a Jon Bon Jovi solo album (case in point, it's just him on the cover). It also tries too hard to be political or humanitarian, but Jon Bon Jovi is definitely no Bruce Springsteen and he still doesn't seem to get it.
Jon's vocals sound like he's 80 years old. You can feel that they have been damaged by many years of touring, considering that most of Bon Jovi's songs hit high notes. It's also a sign that Bon Jovi should consider retiring because they may not have a lot of staying power left.

Bon Jovi does what they do best: cheesy vocals, uninteresting riffs, and rather stagnant lyrics. If you do like this band, more power to you. I personally can't get behind the vocals, production, and overall sound that plagues it. It's a cheese-fest that's just kind of boring to sit through, like most Bon Jovi albums, I might add.
Torch the Faith - Psychosexual

This "band" was formed by a former drummer of FFDP. If that isn't a sign of how bad this album is, then oh boy, you're in for a hell of a treat. Not only does this album have misogyny that would rival Theory of a Deadman and Hinder, but it also has terrible vocals, unsurprisingly. I'm convinced that no effort was put into this album at all.

"Psychosexual" sounds like if Slipknot and Blood on the Dance Floor had a baby.
Gigaton - Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam has always been a grunge band I was never particularly fond of. Listening to this, though, cements my distaste for them more. Eddie Vedder's voice sounds very strained and unimpressive here, to say the least. An album that's tedious, dull, and downright groan-worthy.

Believe it or not, this is Pearl Jam's third-best album, behind Ten and Lightning Bolt. This isn't saying much, though, because their entire discography is filled with snooze-fests with only one highlight on each album. Gigaton has at least two semi-decent tracks.
Say Nothing - Theory of a Deadman

The only reason why this is lower compared to other albums is that calling it rock is somewhat debatable. It's terribly written "pop-rock" without any soul or emotion at all.
Tyler Connolly tries to speak about political issues but offers very uninspired answers to said problems, which makes this album boring to sit through.

In what universe are Gigaton, F8, and even Father of All... worse than this? Did the person who made this list just click on Google, search "rock albums from 2020," and put the very first results they found? This is way worse than all of those albums.
Aurora - Breaking Benjamin

I don't particularly care for Breaking Benjamin all that much, but this is probably the least terrible album out of all the other choices here. It's mostly just ballad acoustic renditions of their previous material with a few guest collaborators. It's still bland and uninteresting to hear, though.
Project: Regeneration Vol. 1 - Static-X
A Celebration of Endings - Biffy Clyro
The Universal Want - Doves