Only one newly released classic-rock album made 2020’s Top 200 Billboard chart: Ordinary Man, Ozzy Osbourne‘s 12th studio LP, which came out last February.
Squeezed in at No. 199, Ordinary Man just made the list, while many other noted classic-rock artists who released albums last year were noticeably absent. Bob Dylan‘s Rough And Rowdy Ways, AC/DC‘s Power Up, Bruce Springsteen‘s Letter To You and Paul McCartney‘s McCartney III are all missing from the Top 200. (For the record, Springsteen, AC/DC and McCartney’s albums came out during the last two months of the year.)
Rock albums overall seemed to take a backseat on the year’s list, with the majority of slots filled by rap, pop and R&B records. Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding took the No. 1 spot; the only 2020 “rock” LP that made an appearance came from Machine Gun Kelly’s pop-punk Tickets to My Downfall, which landed at No. 154.
But the list does include several classic-rock albums from past years and even previous decades, like Queen‘s Greatest Hits (the highest charting, at No. 25), Elton John‘s Diamonds, Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours, Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits from Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Beatles‘ Abbey Road, Journey‘s Greatest Hits, the Beatles’ 1, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits, Back in Black by AC/DC, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) from Eagles, The Essential Billy Joel, Nirvana‘s Nevermind, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band’s Greatest Hits, The Essential Elvis Presley, The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates, Bon Jovi‘s Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection, Guns N’ Roses‘ Appetite for Destruction, Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s All Time Greatest Hits and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Greatest Hits.
But as for new rock records, Osbourne was the only artist with a fully original album from 2020 to make the chart. “It was so fucking good to be doing something,” he said about making Ordinary Man after a year of health issues.
“There’s so much joy in it. And it picked me up out of my blues, definitely. We’ve captured the essence of fun. And it felt good to achieve something. It’s like swimming from one side of the world to the other and you go, ‘There’s land!’ It made me think, ‘I’m not fucking done yet!'”
Ozzy Osbourne Albums Ranked