My Favorite Music of 2020

One of the great side benefits of my day job is that I get to listen to music for a large chunk of every day. That’s actually increased in the past 9 months as I — and, I suspect, many of you — found myself at home virtually all the time.

Below are my favorite albums of 2020. I don’t purport to argue they are the “best” albums of the year because who the hell knows what “best” actually means when it comes to music? These are just the albums that I listened to the most or impacted me the most — or both.

They’re in no particular order outside of my favorite album, which is…..

• Phoebe Bridgers, “Punisher”: “Someday I’m gonna live in your house up on the hill/And when your skinhead neighbor goes missing/I’ll plant a garden in the yard.” I mean, so good. This is the album I listened to most this year and the one that felt, for me, captured 2020 best.

Now, the rest of the stuff I liked:

• Taylor Swift, “folklore”: I was already a Taylor fan before “folklore.” But, this album was by far my favorite thing she’s done. It had a “stay in” vibe that fit 2020. And, “Exile” with Bon Iver is absolutely incredible.
• Blu & Exile, “Miles”: This was my favorite hip hop album of the year. The production, the lyricism, the beats. All terrific. And, “The Feeling” may be the single best song of the year.
• Gia Margaret, “Mia Gargaret”: Gia Margaret lost her voice in 2019 . The (mostly) ambient music she produced amid that struggle was absolutely stunning. It’s a remarkable 27 minutes of listening.
• Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, “Reunions”: Another terrific album from my favorite working musician. I am sort of surprised this didn’t make more “best of 2020" lists. I thought songs like “St. Peter’s Autograph” and “Only Children” were up there with some of the best stuff he’s written.
• Old 97s, “Twelfth”: All Rhett Miller and his bandmates do is write incredibly catchy tunes. I dare you to listen to “Diamonds on Neptune” and not get it stuck in your head. We all need some of that sort of music — now more than ever.
• Open Mike Eagle, “Anime, Trauma and Divorce”: I was a big fan of “Brick Body Kids Still Daydream,” which OME released in 2017 because it felt more real than most of the hip hop out at the time. This new release does the same. While some rappers are still talking about money, cars and girls, OME is writing rhymes about anxiety, divorce and, well, real life.
• Bob Dylan, “Rough and Rowdy Ways”: Remember when we thought that “Modern Times” would be the last meaningful album of news music Dylan would make? That was almost 15(!) years ago. I love all of the genre shifting Dylan does in “Rough and Rowdy Ways” but it’s still Dylan as weird historian — on the epic “Murder Most Foul” — that keeps bringing me back.
• Olafur Arnalds, “some kind of peace”: Arnalds is an Icelandic composer best known for the soundtrack of the “Broadchurch” TV series. He makes incredible — and incredibly moving — ambient music. And the addition of the voice of German musician Josin on “The Bottom Line” is A+.
• Waxahatchee, “St. Cloud”: This album has been lauded by almost everyone who makes “best of” list. And rightly so. Katie Crutchfield’s voice is mesmerizing and her song-writing is equally so. Also, do yourself a favor: Watch this “Tiny Desk Concert” with Waxahatchee and Kevin Morby.
• Adrianne Lenker, “Songs”: Talk about an album that fit the moment. This one, by the Big Thief lead singer, didn’t do anything special — spare arrangements that allowed Lenker’s ethereal voice to stand out. Also: “Anything” is just an incredible song.
• Nils Frahm, “Empty”: Eight songs with no singing and only piano? Sound boring? You haven’t heard German composer Nils Frahm then.
• Matt Berninger, “Serpentine Prison”: I just love Berninger’s voice. It’s unlike anything else in music. (Berninger is the front man of The National.). This was his first solo release and, while it lacked some of the musical depth of The National’s best stuff, I still really enjoyed it. Especially “One More Second” and “Silver Springs.”