diff --git a/beets/plugins.py b/beets/plugins.py
index b31c55482..9b966cc19 100644
--- a/beets/plugins.py
+++ b/beets/plugins.py
@@ -733,9 +733,9 @@ class MetadataSourcePlugin(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
         results = self._search_api(query_type='album', filters=query_filters)
         if results is not None:
             albums = [self.album_for_id(album_id=r['id']) for r in results]
+            return [a for a in albums if a is not None]
         else:
-            albums = None
-        return [a for a in albums if a is not None]
+            return None
 
     def item_candidates(self, item, artist, title):
         """Returns a list of TrackInfo objects for Search API results