The albums that defined the COVID-19 pandemic

Musicians who created the work that helped us wade us through trying times

Image created by Suzanne Bahia

By Suzanne Bagia, Assistant Arts Editor

April 3, 2025

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the music industry ceased live performances, but musicians continued to create. Music became the comfort that helped us make sense of our emotions through finding joy and reflecting on the feelings we had yet to confront. As we entered a new decade, music was becoming a versatile landscape seeking to answer the social and emotional demands of the pandemic. The pandemic established the sound of music in the 2020s, holding music from its own definition, yet somehow still thrived in the public constrictions of the time. Though this list isn’t exhaustive, it highlights the albums critics and listeners had on repeat during the pandemic. R&B was thriving during this time, bringing glimmery yet deeply reflective lyrics on the state of relationships during the pandemic. Music was shifting into its dark pop era, a moody reflection of society’s emotional state. All the albums on this list encompass a state of introspection we couldn’t escape at home, but each album is its own world that allowed us to enter whichever universe we needed to cope during the pandemic. Here are the albums that defined the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“Heaux Tales”

Jazmin Sullivan

“Heaux Tales” is the journey through self-disrespect in the name of a relationship, to confidence and the breakpoint that pushes you to leave. The protagonist of “Heaux Tales” meets mentors along the way, like Ari Lennox, who provides insight into the consequences of putting lustful feelings before anything else. “Heaux Tales” was Sullivan’s successful return to music. Released in January 2021, the album came nearly a year into the pandemic. Sullivan said of the album, “‘Heaux Tales’ is about my observation of today’s women standing in their power and owning who they are — No longer is male patriarchy dictating what it means to be a ‘good girl.’” The album found itself forcing a confrontation about relationships in a time where people had decided to quarantine with partners or felt disconnected from dating.

“Folklore”

Taylor Swift

Announced only a day before its release, “Folklore” was a first for Taylor Swift in many ways. Diverging from a traditional pop performance she had embarked on only five years prior, “Folklore” roots itself in an indie music performance introducing first-time collaborations Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Both musicians have their own roles in defining the indie genre, and their appearance on “Folklore” showcased Swift’s intentionality in crafting a new world for her songwriting to exist. “Folklore” is undeniably some of Swift’s best songwriting in her discography. The album takes on the reflective atmosphere of the pandemic, allowing listeners to sit in a world of introspection. It considers the women in our lives, the could have been’s, personal shortcomings and the pursuit of living despite the ghosts that hold us down.

“It Was Good Until It Wasn’t”

Kehlani

Like her contemporary Jazmin Sullivan, Kehlani explores dependent relationships and how they emotionally shape the way women view themselves. “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t” goes the motions of trying to form an intimate connection with a partner who’s uninterested in such vulnerability (“Change Your Life”). It leaves the artist engaging in activities and behaviors that please their partner, though these activities contradict who the artist is at their heart (“Hate the Club”). Apple Music considers one of the album’s themes as the struggle between “need and want…the sentimental and carnal.” And you can imagine Kehlani contemplating and wrestling with which direction she should go in: invest in herself or try to make a difficult relationship work. There’s a sense of exhaustion but ecstasy on this album that is emphasized by vices that come in the form of substances of unhealthy behaviors. “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t” debuted at No. 2 on Billboard, marking Kehlani’s highest album entry on the chart. Though one of Kehlani’s most successful albums, she like many other artists in this list were snubbed at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Business Insider noted how Kehlani had crafted one of the most “compelling” albums of 2020 and was deserving of a nomination, especially in the R&B categories. Regardless of no Grammy recognition, Kehlani’s second studio album speaks to the truthful reflections about the interpersonal relationships we held onto prior to the pandemic. “I get real truthful when I’m alone” starts the album, tying to how our solitude during the period shifts the ways in which we articulated our selfhood to ourselves.

“Punisher”

Phoebe Bridgers

Bridgers is often unfairly essentialized to just being a “sad girl” musician. She hits the points of grief and its resounding effects into different moments of our lives, which is exactly what people were feeling during the pandemic. The multiplicity of grief during the pandemic captured the many different forms grief can take on. “Punisher” takes grief’s multiplicities and turns them into various vignettes. What’s interesting is that Bridgers hits an emotional pulse point and her lyrics draw out the pain to the excruciating manner in which the pain continues to linger. “Punisher” is Bridger’s second studio album, coming off of collaborations with boygenius (2018) and Conor Oberst (2019, “Better Oblivion Community”). The album’s sound, specifically Bridgers’ haunting dreamy vocals and melancholic lyrics, encapsulated the emotional landscape of the pandemic. Bridgers went on to be nominated for her first series of Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. Just as “Punisher” fulfilled an emotional outlet during the pandemic for an audience, it accelerated Bridger’s career and notoriety in music (including a feature on Kid Cudi’s 2020 album, also on this list).

“Manic”

Halsey

Written during a manic episode, Halsey’s “Manic” takes us into the inner workings of Halsey’s mind and the worlds she traverses. Every song is a different clip of insight, the album culminating into a portrait. We go through the highs and lows of emotional pulse points, at times sitting on the edge of lyrical emotions though the rhythms keep us at bay. What Halsey does well in her third studio album is re-creating the moments of sitting on the edge and the free-flow joy. The unrestrictive creative approach that allows Halsey to feel comfortable in inhabiting on “Manic” is a refreshingly authentic image of the musician’s artistry. “Manic” truly feels like the beginnings of Halsey breaking away from the pop thematics that can restrain her songwriting. Halsey utilized a range of genre approaches in her production, from 90s alternative, country music and rock, giving her songs their own sonic world. Unfortunately, like Kehlani, Halsey also found herself snubbed at the 2021 Grammys.

“Man on the Moon III: The Chosen”

Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi had multiple moments of success during the pandemic. From collaborating with Eminem and Travis Scott, he was prepping to release past singles and EPs that had yet to be released on streaming services. What he did end up releasing exceeded what audiences expected from him. In 2009, Cudi debuted his album, “The Man on the Moon: The End of Day.” The critically acclaimed and genre-defining piece of work, Kid Cudi’s role in late 2000s music layed the groundwork for contemporary rappers like Travis Scott and Juice WRLD, and hip-hop’s shift into more meditative lyricism in the 2010s. Cudi’s debut album became installments throughout the years. The second installment, “The Man on the Moon: The Legend of Mr. Rager” was released in 2010. The back-to-back releases of the “Man on Moon” predicted a trajectory of another follow-up in the series, but it took over a decade to hear back from the Man on the Moon. In December 2020, “The Man on the Moon: The Chosen” completed the Man on the Moon trilogy. “Can’t lose I’m in the third act,” he raps on the album, signifying his determination to slay the vices and demons that have chased him since his debut album. Cudi brings together rapping with psychedelic production to weave dreamy sonic landscapes that traverse the final act of the Man on the Moon’s universe. Though Cudi sings on a couple of the songs, the melodies pair themselves closer to hip-hop rather than standing singing delivery. But what Cudi delivers on the album that left audiences with a sense of ease on the pandemic was his signature hum. The tranquil hum that Cudi utilizes in all his music that leaves you nearly levitating was a comfort from an artist that has never steered away from honesty about his mental health struggles. In a time where mental health issues were on the rise, Cudi’s return to the Man on the Moon reminded us that we weren’t alone.

“El Último Tour Del Mundo”

Bad Bunny

In 2020, Bad Bunny released two albums: “YHLQMDLG (Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana)” and “El Último Tour Del Mundo” at the beginning and end of the year. After becoming introduced to mainstream American audiences through his collaboration with Drake, these two albums established new historical benchmarks for Latin music, specifically reggaeton in the United States. “El Último Tour Del Mundo” is a concept album that focuses on the ending point of concerts during the pandemic. Bad Bunny sought to imagine what his last concert would sound like in the midst of a time without live music. The album conceives the futurity of music in a time when its essential operations cease to operate. The album went No. 1 on Billboard, something no Latin album had done before, setting the stage for the success of “Un Verano Sin Ti” in 2023.

“Women in Music Part III”

HAIM

“Women in Music Part III” opens with an ode to Los Angeles, the hometown of the Haim sisters. Their lead single from the album “Summer Girl” was released in July 2019, months before the pandemic. Despite the album preluding itself in the brightness and rhythms of summer, “Women in Music Part III” became HAIM’s most critically acclaimed album during the pandemic, earning an Album of the Year nomination at the 2021 Grammys. The summery nature of Haim’s music seems essential to their work, that even a pandemic couldn’t take away. Summer becomes a memory that’s hoped for in the ways that we hoped for the return to gatherings and life no longer confined to our homes. Haim’s third album profiles their lives, navigating both their personal lives and being women in the music industry. The group sought to intertwine vulnerability into the album in a way they hadn’t before, giving their listeners an opportunity to confront their unprocessed emotions during quarantine.

“After Hours”

The Weeknd

The pop artist that we couldn’t escape during the pandemic was The Weeknd. Dropping a front-facing RnB approach, “After Hours” shifts The Weeknd into a pop and hip-hop sound. The singles were earworms that were danceable, crafting an energizing atmosphere during the pandemic. Despite breaking records carrying cultural impact during the pandemic, the album was snubbed with zero nominations for the 2021 Grammys. This marked a noticeable flaw in the Grammys, an institution that was already losing its relevance among younger people. Alongside being the album of the pandemic, “After Hours” initiated a new era in the music industry, which intently scrutinized the validity of the Recording Academy

Other impactful albums of the pandemic:

“Circles” by Mac Miller