Saturday 19 December 2020

Best Of 2020

It's not easy to use "best of" and "2020" in the same sentence, but for the sake of tradition we will. For all the downsides that came with it, this year did bring a plethora of amazing music to the table, with so many albums being the only thing that made it semi-bearable. Below is a list of a few albums that definitely had that impact on me. Keep in mind this is not a definitive "best of" ranking, rather a purely personal "favourites" list. This is just a loose ranking based on relative enjoyment, not a concrete "4 is better than 5" type listing, if that makes any sense at all. Basically, take all this with a grain of salt. Formatting for this is a little different than previous years, as the old ones looked fine on desktops but a nightmare to view on mobile. A Spotify playlist is also available at the end if that's of interest to you.

Please feel free to let me know what albums stuck out to you most this year, or if there's anything wrong with mine. I've got a few more posts to go before the end of the year, and then I'll see you in 2021. Enjoy.

Honourable Mentions

Seahaven - Halo Of Hurt
I'm Glad It's You - Every Sun, Every Moon
Viva Belgrado - Bellavista
I Love Your Lifestyle - No Driver
Laura Jane Grace - Stay Alive

50. Frail Hands - parted/departed/apart


49. Caustic Wound - Death Posture

48. METZ - Atlas Vending


47. Envy - The Fallen Crimson


46. Gulfer - Gulfer


45. Exhalants - Atonement


44. Dropdead - Dropdead 2020


43. Stormlight - Natoma


42. Frances Quinlan - Likewise


41. Stay Inside - Viewing


40. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20


39. The Strokes - The New Abnormal


38. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene


37. Duma - Duma


36. Drain - California Cursed


35. Code Orange - Underneath


34. Dehd - Flower Of Devotion


33. Nuvolascura - As We Suffer From Memory And Imagination


32. No Note - If this is the future then I'm in the dark


31. the Mountain Goats - Songs For Pierre Chuvin


30. Nø Man - Erase


29. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension


28. Young Jesus - Welcome To Conceptual Beach


27. The Microphones - Microphones in 2020


26. Gulch - Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress


25. The Weeknd - After Hours


24. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter


23. Matt Berninger - Serpentine Prison


22. Taylor Swift - folklore


21. Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide


20. Owen - The Avalanche


19. Record Setter - I Owe You Nothing


18. Jeff Rosenstock - No Dream


17. Respire - Black Line


16. Idles - Ultra Mono


15. Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was


14. Backxwash - God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It


13. Infant Island - Beneath


12. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud


11. Fleet Foxes - Shore


10. Bartees Strange - Live Forever


9. Touché Amoré - Lament


8. Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately


7. clipping. - Visions Of Bodies Being Burned


6. Dogleg - Melee


5. Run The Jewels - RTJ4


4. Brian Fallon - Local Honey


3. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters


2. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher


1. Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone



As a quick note, the songs chosen for the second play aren't necessarily my favourite from each, just tracks I thought would be good representations of their respective albums. There are also two albums in the top 50 not on Spotify, which are available here and here.

So that's it. Again, thank you for the continued interest in this blog, and I'm glad it's still kicking around. Please do let me know what your favourites from this year were, as I'm sure there's a ton that I completely missed or overlooked. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year (though I'll see you before then) and thanks again.

17 comments:

  1. Best page ever, thanks. I would suggest you to check out Elephant Brain's latest album, I love it

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  2. Make it a Spotify Playlist PLEASE!

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    Replies
    1. Ask and ye shall receive: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2WaWD2fbyuv556lf3495Iq

      It's just missing two albums not on Spotify, which are here:
      https://backxwash.bandcamp.com/album/god-has-nothing-to-do-with-this-leave-him-out-of-it
      https://pwelverumandsun.bandcamp.com/album/microphones-in-2020

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  3. Great list, albums that I think you'd like aswell :

    Melted Bodies - Enjoy Yourself
    Sir Chloe - Party Favors
    SValbard - When I die, Will I Get Better?
    Porridge Radio - Every Bad
    Nothing - The Great Dismal

    Love the blog, has made me discover so many great bands, thank yo so much!

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    Replies
    1. I agree, I loved that Svalbard album, is amazing

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  4. great list as always!!!

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  5. Thnx for the list! Boneflower's armour is also a nice one from 2020

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  6. Hey the first album of FORGIVE(france) is missing on the top list
    https://forgivemhxc.bandcamp.com/album/mirrors

    check this
    thanx for the blog!!!

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  7. I've been following your blog for the last few years and always look forward to your top albums of the year. Thanks for sharing your great taste in music and discoveries!

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  8. I appreciate the effort of keeping the blog alive. I've always come back to this site for some awesome gems.

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  9. Thanks for the blog. Been following for many years and truly apperciate it.

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  10. Awesome list! Gave me a lot of new things to listen to. Hope you keep this blog going for a long time.

    One rec that might be interesting if you haven't already heard 'em before:
    Bagdadski Vor - Колхида

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  11. only complaint is that loathe is missing! new envy album was fantastic, wish i pickedup the record when i saw it in stores

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  12. Awesome list, as always...I love your blog, thanks for another great year!!
    My 2020-favourite is not an album, but I was so happy about the new Arab Strap EP...can't wait until the new LP comes out in 2021.
    Greetings from Germany
    Andreas

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  13. Always my most anticipated music post of the year. Please check out Badly Buried Love by Crossed. I think you’ll like it since you listed Stormlight and Nuvolascura :) thanks for all you do, happy new year.

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  14. I would recommend Ulcerate "Stare into death and be still".. No record have impressed me that way in a long time

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  15. Can you do "a minor forest" by any chance??

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