Yes, it’s awfully late. But to be fair, 2020 was one of the worst, most unpredictable years of our collective lifetime, so forgive my being tardy. As his been the case over the last few years, I’ve curated two long-play Spotify playlists representing the best “fast” and “slow” tracks of 2020. There is no intentional transition from song to song; rather, they’re simply alphabetized by artist. I should note, however, that the opening “instrumentals” on both playlists are intentionally placed, as I goddamn love an instrumental number at the start and end of a mix.
I listened to a shit-ton of music this year, as I’ve been working from home since March of 2020 (with zero intention of ever returning to my office). Initially, I was convinced that there wouldn’t be much music from which to parse, as how could there be with the pandemic?! In the end, though, bands/musicians did what bands/musicians do. Ultimately, I don’t know how many records came out in 2020 that I would consider “great” records, but there were certainly a few, particularly my number-one record of the year. Brilliant stuff.
With that, let’s get into it . . .
Album Cover of the Year:
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

Video of the Year:
Waxahatchee – “Lilacs”
Top 20 Records of 2020:
20. Sorespot – Gifts of Consciousness
19. Trace Mountains – Lost in the Country
18. Squirrel Flower – I Was Born Swimming
17. High Waisted – Sick of Saying Sorry
16. Cartalk – Pass Like Pollen
15. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
14. Mo Troper – Natural Beauty
13. Dehd – Flower of Devotion
12. Double Grave – Goodbye, Nowhere!
11. Beach Bunny – Honeymoon
10. Options – Wind’s Gonna Blow

9. Pool Holograph – Love Touched Time and Time Began to Sweat

8. Bartees Strange – Live Forever

7. Dan Deacon – Mystic Familiar

6. Tenci – My Heart Is an Open Field

5. Lomelda – Hannah

4. Taylor Swift – folklore

3. Gia Margaret – Mia Gargaret

2. En Attendant Ana – Juillet

1. Waxahatchee– Saint Cloud

Saint Cloud was released roughly two weeks into my self-imposed lockdown, with “Fire” being the record’s first single. I was stunned. I must have listened to it four or five times in a row. Here, after all, was Katie Crutchfield, a musician I’ve come to adore over the past decade, somehow reinventing herself. All of the articles and reviews that followed Saint Cloud‘s release delved into its origin stories, most notably Crutchfield’s newfound sobriety. This revelation pours through the album not only lyrically, but sonically. It feels “cleaner.” It feels stripped of effects and instead sounds like a singer/songwriter purging herself, making honest music, making amends. The record’s first four tracks–“Oxbow,” “Can’t Do Much,” “Fire” and “Lilacs”–are a four-song stretch as captivating as any I’ve heard in a long, long while. What’s more, it’s the first record she’s done without the involvement of her twin sister, Allison Crutchfield. “Hell” and “War” on side 2 are equally outstanding. This isn’t a record; it’s an American(a) experience. What a goddamn delight in a year of such terror and horror.
Again, there are no CDs (hard copies) this year. Your best bets are to A) listen to the Spotify playlist, or B) curate the playlists yourself in Apple Music, Spotify, or some other type of music app.
With that, I give you the 100 songs that comprise my 2020 playlists . . .
Fuck! (The Best “Fast” Tracks of 2020):
1. Dan Deacon – “Become a Mountain” (Mystic Familiar)
2. Alright – “Scraps” (I’m Doing This to Myself)
3. Archers of Loaf – “Raleigh Days” (single)
4. Bartees Strange – “Mustang” (Live Forever)
5. Beach Bunny – “Promises” (Honeymoon)
6. The Beths – “Don’t Go Away” (Jump Rope Gazers)
7. Bryde – “Hand It Over” (The Volume of Things)
8. Cartalk – “Wrestling” (Pass Like Pollen)
9. Country Westerns – “Anytime” (Country Westerns)
10. Dehd- “Flying” (Flower of Devotion)
11. Diet Cig – “Flash Flood” (Do You Wonder About Me?)
12. Disheveled Cuss – “She Don’t Want” (Disheveled Cuss)
13. Double Grave – “Whatever” (Goodbye, Nowhere!)
14. En Attendant Ana – “Do You Understand?” (Juillet)
15. Fenne Lily – “Alapathy” (BREACH)
16. Floating Room – “Held Open Door” (Tired and True)
17. Gladie – “When You Leave the Sun” (Safe Sins)
18. Grass Jaw – “The Garage” (Germs)
19. Guided By Voices – “Cul-De-Sac Kids” (Surrender Your Poppy Field)
20. Gulfer – “Nature Kids” (Gulfer)
21. Heart Bones – “This Time It’s Different” (Hot Dish)
22. High Waisted – “Modern Love” (Sick of Saying Sorry)
23. Hinds – “Riding Solo” (The Prettiest Curse)
24. Jeff Rosenstock – “Old Crap” (NO DREAM)
25. Land of Talk – “Look to You” (Indistinct Conversations)
26. Laura Jane Grace – “So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Fuck Off” (Stay Alive)
27. Lomelda – “Wonder” (Hannah)
28. Mamalarky – “Fury” (Mamalarky)
29. Melkbelly – “THC” (PITH)
30. Mo Troper – “Jas From Australia” (Natural Beauty)
31. Mourn – “Stay There” (Self Worth)
32. Muzz – “Knuckleduster” (Muzz)
33. No Age – “Agitating Moss” (Goons Be Gone)
34. Ohmme – “Selling Candy” (Fantasize Your Ghost)
35. Options – “Faster” (Wind’s Gonna Blow)
36. Phoebe Bridgers – “Kyoto” (Punisher)
37. Pool Holograph – “Deliverance” (Love Touched Time and Time Began to Sweat)
38. PUP – “Anaphylaxis” (This Place Sucks Ass EP)
39. Retirement Party – “Fire Blanket” (Runaway Dog)
40. Sorespot – “Potential for Growth” (Gifts of Consciousness)
41. Surfer Blood – “Unconditional” (Carefree Theatre)
42. Taylor Swift – “willow” (evermore)
43. Tetchy – “The Fool” (Hounds EP)
44. THICK – “Can’t Be Friends” (5 Years Behind)
45. Tosser – “Wishful Thinking” (Total Restraint)
46. Trace Mountains – “Cooper’s Dream” (Lost in the Country)
47. Waxahatchee – “War” (Saint Cloud)
48. Wolf Parade – “Under Glass” (Thin Mind)
49. Worriers – “What Comes Next?” (You or Someone You Know)
50. Caribou – “Home” (Suddenly)
Fuck. (The Best “Slow” Tracks of 2020):
1. Dan Deacon – “Weeping Birch” (Mystic Familiar)
2. Addy – “Eclipse” (Eclipse)
3. Anna Burch – “Can’t Sleep” (If You’re Dreaming)
4. Bartees Strange – “Far” (Live Forever)
5. Beach Bunny – “Rearview” (Honeymoon)
6. The Big Moon – “It’s Easy Then” (Walking Like We Do)
7. Cartalk – “Las Manos” (Pass Like Pollen)
8. Damien Jurado – “Birds Tricked into the Trees” (What’s New, Tomboy?)
9. A Deer A Horse – “What If I Was” (single)
10. Dehd- “Desire” (Flower of Devotion)
11. Diet Cig – “Stare into the Sun” (Do You Wonder About Me?)
12. Double Grave – “Slime” (Goodbye, Nowhere!)
13. En Attendant Ana – “The Light That Slept Inside” (Juillet)
14. Fenne Lily – “I, Neitzsche” (BREACH)
15. Floating Room – “Dancer” (Tired and True)
16. Frances Quinlan – “Your Reply” (Likewise)
17. Galore – “Silence” (Galore)
18. Grass Jaw – “Mistakes” (Germs)
19. High Waisted – “Burdens” (Sick of Saying Sorry)
20. illuminati hotties – “free dumb” (FREE I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For)
21. Inventions – “Saw You in a Movie” (Continuous Portrait)
22. Jess Cornelius – “No Difference” (Distance)
23. Julianna Barwick – “Oh, Memory” (Healing Is a Miracle)
24. Katie Von Schleicher – “You Remind Me” (Consummation)
25. Knot – “Space and Time” (Knot)
26. Land of Talk – “Diaphanous” (Indistinct Conversations)
27. Laura Jane Grace – “Icbre Cream Song” (Stay Alive)
28. Lily Konigsberg – “At Best” (It’s Just Like All the Clouds)
29. Lomelda – “It’s Lomelda” (Hannah)
30. Mo Troper – “I Eat” (Natural Beauty)
31. Muzz – “Red Western Sky” (Muzz)
32. Nothing – “Catch a Fade” (The Great Dismal)
33. Ohmme – “Flood Your Gut” (Fantasize Your Ghost)
34. Options – “Born” (Wind’s Gonna Blow)
35. Phoebe Bridgers – “I Know the End” (Punisher)
36. Pool Holograph – “Stranger” (Love Touched Time and Time Began to Sweat)
37. Ratboys – “Victorian Sunshine” (Printer’s Devil)
38. Retirement Party – “Old Age” (Runaway Dog)
39. Skullcrusher – “Places/Plan” (Skullcrusher EP)
40. somegirlnamedanna – “hello i am” (twenty one, twenty two)
41. Sorespot – “Economy Doors” (Gifts of Consciousness)
42. Squirrel Flower – “Red Shoulder” (I Was Born Swimming)
43. Surfer Blood – “Dewar” (Carefree Theatre)
44. Taylor Swift – “seven” (folklore)
45. Tenci – “My Heart Is an Open Field” (My Heart Is an Open Field)
46. Tetchy – “The World” (Hounds EP)
47. Trace Mountains – “Turn to Blue” (Lost in the Country)
48. Wares – “Tall Girl” (Survival)
49.Waxahatchee – “Fire” (Saint Cloud)
50. Gia Margaret – “body” (Mia Gargaret)
Well, that’ll do it for 2020. With that, I now ask that you do the following four things:
- In the comments section, let me know your picks for the best songs, records, and anything else music of 2020. What did I miss? What do you violently disagree with? What are you wholeheartedly in agreement with? What the hell else?
- Should you choose to (or if you have already) put together a Best of 2020 playlist of your own, by all means send me a copy, or at the very least a track listing. I’ll do my best to post them on my blog.
- If you’re feeling nostalgic, go back and check out my Best of… mixes from years’ past. There’s a shit-ton of them.
- You’ve got Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and 7 billion other social media outlets at your disposal. Share this with the world, even if you only have two Twitter followers (and one of them is me).
Until the Best of 2021, have at it, you vultures!
BD