What makes a great album?

Folklore is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was a surprise album, released on July 24, 2020, via Republic Records. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Swift cancelled the concert tour for her seventh studio album Lover (2019). During quarantine, she conceived Folklore as "a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness", and worked with producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff virtually, recording her vocals at an inbuilt studio in her Los Angeles residence, while Dessner and Antonoff operated from Hudson Valley and New York City, respectively.

Renaissance (also titled Act I: Renaissance) is the seventh studio album by American singer Beyoncé, released on July 29, 2022, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. Beyoncé conceived and recorded Renaissance during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to inspire joy and escapism in listeners who had experienced isolation and to celebrate a club era in which marginalized people sought liberation through dance music. With its songs seamlessly arranged like a DJ mix, the album blends post-1970s Black dance music styles such as disco and house and pays homage to the Black and queer pioneers of those genres. The album's lyrical content explores themes of escapism, hedonism, self-assurance and self-expression.

Ungodly Hour is the second studio album by American R&B duo Chloe x Halle. It was released through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records on June 12, 2020. Originally scheduled for June 5, the album's release was delayed as a gesture of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the global protests following the murder of George Floyd. The album was supported by the singles "Do It", "Catch Up", and "Forgive Me", the former of which became their most successful song to date. A reissue of the album entitled the "Chrome Edition" was released on February 26, 2021.

Disintegration is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 2 May 1989 by Fiction Records. The record marks a return to the introspective gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s.  

Born This Way is the second studio album by American singer Lady Gaga, released by Interscope Records on May 23, 2011. The music of Born This Way stems from the synth-pop and dance-pop styles of her previous material while incorporating different forms of instrumentation from that on her previous releases, such as electronic rock and techno. It features a broader range of genres, such as opera, heavy metal, disco, house, and rock and roll, while its lyrical topics include sexuality, religion, freedom, feminism, and individualism.

Return (also known as New Kids: Return) is the second studio album by South Korean male group iKON. It was released on January 25, 2018, and is the second of the group's four-part album series, The New Kids. iKON's leader B.I was credited as the only record producer of the album. The album contains 12 songs including the hit lead single "Love Scenario", all written or co-written by B.I.