Well, it’s been quite a year. I have to admit with the pandemic + election, I spent most of the year retreating to my musical comfort zone, listening to the familiar instead of seeking out new music (with a few exceptions for long-time favorites), and with that I didn’t make a single post in 2020 until now. In recent weeks though, I’ve been playing catch up and discovered a wealth of new music that I truly love, enough that I could create this list of favorites and feel like there was still much more I wish I could include.
I hope these albums and songs can bring you joy in these difficult times as well as in the (hopefully) better days to come. Click here to listen to my full 75-track Best Songs of 2020 playlist on Spotify (or Apple Music).
01. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
02. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is) / Untitled (Rise)
03. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
04. Taylor Swift - folklore / evermore
05. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
06. Caribou - Suddenly
07. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
08. Fleet Foxes - Shore
09. Run The Jewels - RTJ4
10. Destroyer - Have We Met
11. Soccer Mommy - color theory
12. Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
13. Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure
14. Andy Shauf - Neon Skyline
15. Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM
16. Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was
17. Helena Deland - Someone New
18. The Flaming Lips - American Head
19. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song
20. Hum - Inlet
21. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
22. Charli XCX - how i’m feeling now
23. The Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives
24. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
25. Adrienne Lenker - songs
26. TOPS - I Feel Alive
27. Bartees Strange - Live Forever
28. Tennis - Swimmer
29. Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
30. Nation of Language - Introduction, Presence
01. SAULT - Wildfires
02. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
03. Phoebe Bridgers - Kyoto
04. Perfume Genius - On The Floor
05. Bob Dylan - Murder Most Foul
06. Soccer Mommy - circle the drain
07. Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure?
08. Waxahatchee - Lilacs
09. Romy - Lifetime
10. Run The Jewels - walking in the snow
11. Fleet Foxes - Sunblind
12. U.S. Girls - 4 American Dollars
13. Caribou - Home
14. Taylor Swift - the last great american dynasty
15. Yves Tumor - Gospel For A New Century
16. Kelly Lee Owens - On
17. Tame Impala - Breathe Deeper
18. beabadoobee - Care
19. Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun
20. Charli XCX - forever
21. Jeff Rosenstock - N O D R E A M
22. TOPS - I Feel Alive
23. Andy Shauf - Neon Skyline
24. 070 Shake - Guilty Conscience
25. Bright Eyes - To Death’s Heart (In Three Parts)
26. Tennis - Tender as a Tomb
27. The Flaming Lips - Flowers of Neptune 6
28. Destroyer - Cue Synthesizer
29. Bartees Strange - Boomer
30. The Strokes - The Adults Are Talking
31. Fiona Apple - Shameika
32. Dua Lipa - Cool
33. Future Islands - For Sure
34. Helena Deland - Someone New
35. Caroline Rose - Feel The Way I Want
36. Matt Berninger - All For Nothing
37. Lianne La Havas - Bittersweet (Full Length)
38. Adrianne Lenker - anything
39. The Mountain Goats - Picture of My Dress
40. Jessey Lanza - Lick in Heaven
41. Nation of Language - On Division St.
42. Laura Marling - Held Down
43. The Weeknd - Blinding Lights (Chromatics Remix)
44. Hum - Step Into You
45. Thundercat - Dragonball Durag
46. Wolf Parade - Julia Take Your Man Home
47. I Break Horses - Neon Lights
48. Frances Quinlan - Your Reply
49. Dogleg - Kawasaki Backflip
50. Sylvan Esso - Ferris Wheel
