Many of the best albums from the first half of the 2020s have similar origin stories.

There are two basic plot lines you’ll see repeatedly on this list, the most common of which is the COVID pandemic, which looms large over a majority of these records. Just like the rest of the world, most of our most famous musicians spent big chunks of two years locked down, unable to tour or easily collaborate with their bandmates.

The recording and/or release of many of these albums were delayed or altered by this worldwide health crisis. AC/DC’s Power Up sat finished on a shelf for over two years. “You start wondering, is it going to see the light of day this year?,” engineer Mike Fraser confessed.

Read More: The 20 Best Songs of 2020-2025 Ranked

Perhaps more importantly, the isolation and losses caused by the pandemic can be heard all over the lyrics in many of these albums. Bonnie Raitt’s 2022 release Just Like That… found her grappling with the loss of friends, particularly fellow singer-songwriter John Prine, who died after battling COVID in 2020.

Many of these albums also mark triumphant returns from an exceedingly long absence. Songs of a Lost World was the first new album released by the Cure in 16 years, which seems impressive until you learn that Hackney Diamonds was the Rolling Stones’ first collection of all-new material in 18 years.

Even that was only good enough for silver, as 21 years passed between Peter Gabriel’s Up and 2023’s I/O. Tears for Fears and Black Crowes fans also would have been able to give birth to and raise a teenager in the time it took those bands to release their latest albums. Luckily, in all of these cases, the long waits were more than fairly rewarded.

As ranked by the UCR staff, here are the 20 Best Rock Albums of the Half Decade: 2020-2025.