AMF Favorite Albums/Songs of 2020 - LIST THREAD

[andyd1010]

My policy re: Don't Start Now and other songs that placed in the 2019 poll is that I'll still tally the results as if they were eligible for the spreadsheet, but I won't include them in the final rollout. Substantially easier on my end to do it that way than the ask everyone to edit their lists.

I assume that goes for the remix too, so I lost it from my list and moved Levitating up in its place. Added Future Nostalgia to the end of the list and kept the rest of the order the same.

[Matski]

Matski's Top Fifty Albums of 2020:

01 | Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
02 | The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominiques Nosebleed
03 | Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
04 | The Microphones - Microphones in 2020
05 | 青葉市子 - アダンの風
06 | Adrianne Lenker - Songs
07 | Moor Mother & Billy Woods - Brass
08 | Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville
09 | Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone
10 | Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
11 | R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages
12 | Klô Pelgag - Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
13 | The Strokes - The New Abnormal
14 | Katie Gately - Loom
15 | Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
16 | Clipping - Visions of Bodies Being Burned
17 | Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
18 | Illuminati Hotties - FREE I​.​H: This Is Not the One You've Been Waiting For
19 | Fleet Foxes - Shore
20 | Sault - Untitled (Rise)
21 | Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You?
22 | BC Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff
23 | Lido Pimienta - Miss Colombia
24 | Run the Jewels - RTJ4
25 | Against All Logic - 2017 - 2019
26 | Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi
27 | Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Innocent Country 2
28 | Lauren Bousfield - Palimpsest
29 | Blu & Exile - Miles
30 | Moor Jewelry - True Opera
31 | Ka - Descendants of Cain
32 | Beatrice Dillon - Workaround
33 | Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo
34 | The Soft Pink Truth - Shall We Go on Sinning So That Grace May Increase?
35 | Sa-Roc - The Sharecropper's Daughter
36 | Chris Stapleton - Starting Over
37 | Backxwash - God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It
38 | María José Llergo - Sanación
39 | Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
40 | Porridge Radio - Every Bad
41 | Mac Miller - Circles
42 | Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders
43 | Jeff Rosenstock - No Dream
44 | Sevdaliza - Shabrang
45 | Zebra Katz - Less Is Moor
46 | Special Interest - The Passion Of
47 | Boldy James & Sterling Toles - Manger on McNichols
48 | Julianna Barwick - Healing Is a Miracle
49 | Conway the Machine - From King to a God
50 | Horse Lords - The Common Task


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EDIT 1 & 2: Updated List. EDIT 3: Removed 'Bubbling Under...' list.

[Greg]

Albums

1 | Adrianne Lenker | Songs
2 | Better Person | Something to Lose
3 | The Apartments | In and Out of the Light
4 | Bonny Light Horseman | s/t
5 | Annie | Dark Hearts
6 | Charley Crockett | Welcome to Hard Times
7 | DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ | Charmed
8 | Joachim Cooder | Over That Road I'm Bound: The Songs of Uncle Dave Macon
9 | Hum | Inlet
10 | Dan Mason | Forever Nothing
11 | Kacy Hill | Is It Selfish If We Talk About Me Again
12 | Kllo | Maybe We Could
13 | Rolling Blackouts C.F. | Sideways to New Italy
14 | Yumi Zouma | Truth or Consequences
15 | Deserta | Black Aura My Sun

Songs (Top 50, Ranked)

1 | Bonny Light Horseman | The Roving
2 | Adrianne Lenker | Anything
3 | The Apartments | What's Beauty to Do
4 | Allie X feat. Mitski | Susie Save Your Love
5 | Banoffee | Contagious
6 | Kllo | Still Here
7 | Better Person | True Love
8 | Better Person | Hearts on Fire
9 | Hannah Georgas | That Emotion
10 | Jam City | Cartwheel
11 | Midwife | S.W.I.M.
12 | Kacy Hill | Porsche
13 | Joachim Cooder | Come Along Buddy
14 | Charley Crockett | Heads You Win
15 | 070 Shake | Guilty Conscience
16 | Annie | The Streets Where I Belong
17 | Julie Byrne & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma | Love's Refrain
18 | Kate NV | Plans
19 | Bog Body | Bile Blossom
20 | Yumi Zouma | Cool for a Second
21 | Adrianne Lenker | Ingydar
22 | Deserta | Monica
23 | The 1975 | Me & You Together Song
24 | Yves Jarvis | Victim
25 | Dan Mason | Oh No (It's You)
26 | The Apartments | Where You Used to Be
27 | Hum | The Summoning
28 | 2nd Grade | Velodrome
29 | Ryan Adams | Dreaming You Backwards
30 | Gus Dapperton | First Aid
31 | Phoebe Bridgers | Garden Song
32 | Exploding Flowers | A Daunting Thought
33 | Samia | Big Wheel
34 | Molassess | The Devil Lives
35 | Blue Hawaii | I Felt Love
36 | Makaya McCraven / Gil Scott-Heron | I'm New Here
37 | Sébastien Tellier | Domestic Tasks
38 | Annie | Forever '92
39 | Secret Machines | Everything Starts
40 | Róisín Murphy | Something More
41 | Kacy Hill feat. Francis and the Lights | I Believe in You
42 | Hayley Williams | Why We Ever
43 | DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ | End of an Era
44 | Sunset Rollercoaster | Under the Skin
45 | Hum | Desert Rambler
46 | Loathe | Two-Way Mirror
47 | Gill Landry | The Wolf
48 | Annie | Miracle Mile
49 | Deserta | Be So Blue
50 | Ashley McBryde | Never Will

[Moonbeam]

I didn't realize "Blinding Lights" was eligible, so I've added it to my list at #32 and moved everything else down a slot.

[Jackson]

My policy re: Don't Start Now and other songs that placed in the 2019 poll is that I'll still tally the results as if they were eligible for the spreadsheet, but I won't include them in the final rollout. Substantially easier on my end to do it that way than the ask everyone to edit their lists.

I assume that goes for the remix too, so I lost it from my list and moved Levitating up in its place. Added Future Nostalgia to the end of the list and kept the rest of the order the same.

I hope other Don't Start Now fans take your lead and sub in Levitating!

[Moonbeam]

My policy re: Don't Start Now and other songs that placed in the 2019 poll is that I'll still tally the results as if they were eligible for the spreadsheet, but I won't include them in the final rollout. Substantially easier on my end to do it that way than the ask everyone to edit their lists.

I assume that goes for the remix too, so I lost it from my list and moved Levitating up in its place. Added Future Nostalgia to the end of the list and kept the rest of the order the same.

I hope other Don't Start Now fans take your lead and sub in Levitating!

Hear, hear!

[Holden]

A reminder that album lists will be accepted up until the end of the rollout of songs. The day that the #1 song is revealed will be the last day I accept lists, as ideally I will start my rollout the next day!

[Nick]

My policy re: Don't Start Now and other songs that placed in the 2019 poll is that I'll still tally the results as if they were eligible for the spreadsheet, but I won't include them in the final rollout. Substantially easier on my end to do it that way than the ask everyone to edit their lists.

I assume that goes for the remix too, so I lost it from my list and moved Levitating up in its place. Added Future Nostalgia to the end of the list and kept the rest of the order the same.

I hope other Don't Start Now fans take your lead and sub in Levitating!

Or the superior Future Nostalgia single: Break My Heart.

[acroamor]

Alright everyone, voting for the songs poll is now closed! I'll be commencing the rollout in a few hours!

[Jackson]

Before the last set of lists I was pretty sure WAP wouldn't even make our top 50, and maybe even the top 100. After a bunch of placements on page 4 of the thread, I assume it'll be somewhere in the 20-30 range.

[Holden]

Before the last set of lists I was pretty sure WAP wouldn't even make our top 50, and maybe even the top 100. After a bunch of placements on page 4 of the thread, I assume it'll be somewhere in the 20-30 range.

If people enjoy the song, more power to them, but to me it feels like it lacks staying power. I expect it to be replaced on AM as song of the year (likely by I Know The End, if I had to bet) when the mid-decade lists start popping up. I feel like it’s a lot like Fuck You! by CeeLo Green, a fun song that lacks the imagination and innovation to stay on top for long. Again, if you enjoy it, that’s great! This is just my prediction.

[panam]

Alright everyone, voting for the songs poll is now closed! I'll be commencing the rollout in a few hours!

[Rob]

Before the last set of lists I was pretty sure WAP wouldn't even make our top 50, and maybe even the top 100. After a bunch of placements on page 4 of the thread, I assume it'll be somewhere in the 20-30 range.

If people enjoy the song, more power to them, but to me it feels like it lacks staying power. I expect it to be replaced on AM as song of the year (likely by I Know The End, if I had to bet) when the mid-decade lists start popping up. I feel like it’s a lot like Fuck You! by CeeLo Green, a fun song that lacks the imagination and innovation to stay on top for long. Again, if you enjoy it, that’s great! This is just my prediction.

It's hard to say, but the song has an advantage over Fuck You in that it is also seen as part of a current female empowerment movement. Such a social relevancy can actually help keep it prominent in lists later on.

[Nick]

Before the last set of lists I was pretty sure WAP wouldn't even make our top 50, and maybe even the top 100. After a bunch of placements on page 4 of the thread, I assume it'll be somewhere in the 20-30 range.

If people enjoy the song, more power to them, but to me it feels like it lacks staying power. I expect it to be replaced on AM as song of the year (likely by I Know The End, if I had to bet) when the mid-decade lists start popping up. I feel like it’s a lot like Fuck You! by CeeLo Green, a fun song that lacks the imagination and innovation to stay on top for long. Again, if you enjoy it, that’s great! This is just my prediction.

I don’t even dislike the song (it’s about a 5/10 for me), but “WAP” is the pinnacle of “this song is only acclaimed because it was a cultural phenomenon”. Typically I hate it when people say “this song/album/artist is only acclaimed because of reasons unrelated to the music itself”, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who love the song for reasons other than the spectacle of it all. But with that being said I really can’t see how the bulk of its acclaim ISN’T from the spectacle.

[Nick]

Like, in an alternate reality where “WAP” wasn’t by two famous rappers, and had stalled out at the bottom of the Hot 100 instead of hitting #1, and didn’t have a meme-ready music video, but somehow was still known to just as many critics, I’m sure it would be only 1/10th as acclaimed as it is now.

[Nick]

FWIW I think the best counterfactual to the acclaim of “WAP” is the acclaim (or lack thereof) of Cupcakke, a black woman rapper who makes music just as raunchy as the aforementioned song, yet has never experienced the same levels of critical adulation.

[Rob]

Anyway, I didn't make a list this year. 2020 was a bit of a lost year in music for me, as I spend a lot of time listening to other stuff, like going through End-of-Decade albums of the 2010's I had missed, re-listening to old favorites for our album poll and things like Moderately Acclaimed. I just never really caught up. So I haven't even heard albums by old favorites like The Microphones, Fleet Foxes, Sufjan Stevens, U.S. Girls, Matt Berninger, Jeff Rosenstock and Idles, nor did I get around critical favorites from Run the Jewels, Perfume Genius (despite my best friend recommending this at every opportunity), Sault, Waxahatchee, Yves Tumor, Fontaines D.C. or any of the disco revival acts (although there I'm only interested in the one by Dua Lipa; the singles by Jessie Ware, Charlie XCX and Roisin Murphy did nothing for me). Some other old favorites only got one spin by me: Bruce Springsteen, Adrianna Lenker and Kelly Lee Owens. I liked them, but one listen is not enough for ranking. This also goes for the surprisingly good albums by Taylor Swift and Khruangbin. Good, but I didn't hear enough to make a real call.

Then there are three old favorites that released albums that I have listened to more times and I thought were solid yet not spectacular: Laura Marling, The Beths and Angel Olsen. They have previous works I like far more.

That leaves only a small group of albums that I have listened to a lot and have embraced:

- Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters. If I made a true EOY-list this would be the first time my #1 would match the critics. This one deserved all the hype and none of the backlash. Full of strange rhythms to dance away deep trauma's. It really feels like a purge for dark feelings, mixed with strange hope. Very powerful.
- Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher. I do not love this as much as Stranger in the Alps, but only because Stranger is a top 25 album of all time for me and rather close to the bone, so to speak. This is still stunning though, making me feel oddly proud of being an early fan. Finally I can say that I have seen a major artist when she was still playing in the smallest venue in Nijmegen of all places. It just makes me happy somehow that she has been more broadly embraced in 2020. The music is once again beautiful and her singing voice just does something with me.
- Eefje de Visser - Bitterzoet. My addition to Moderately Acclaimed of 2020. I came rather late to this, but by now it's smooth synths and sweet voice have really become engrained in my mind. You'll miss it when you don't speak Dutch, but her lyrics have a kind of every day off-hand way about them that I find in more Dutch artists and which usually grate on me, but work wonders here.
- Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways. Never did it take this long for a Dylan album to grow on me, but eventually it did. I'm glad I stuck with it as I finally got into these ramshackle, stream-of-conscious visions after I noticed Dylan isn't just stuck in a past before even he was born, but that he uses this to reflect on the now.

Five songs that stood out to me, four of which that were ignored on pretty much all the lists:

- Eefje de Visser - De Parade. A very sweet love song with beautiful, plain-spoken imagery and a great melody.
- I Know the End. Cool that this one ended up doing so well, as I was initially surprised that early reviews barely mentioned it. I think the haunting music video did help a lot. And it is a haunting song too, with great lyrics.
- Bright Eyes - Dance and Sing. Sometimes I just wonder how a great song can be overlooked by so many, even though most outfits reviewed the very album this was on. Not only does it have a great, sprightly melody and some funny lines ("I read God is dad and shed some tears for him/ But I swear on his grave I'll never do it again"), but with more listens I noticed deeper layers. I think this is about the false sexual assault accusations that Conor Oberst faced years ago. The lyrics are basically an ironic version of the movie Jagten (or The Hunt for English speakers).
- Fiona Apple - Relay. Another overlooked song from an acclaimed album, this take on how evil works as a downward spiral catches the grinning despair of the album like no other.
- Hayley Williams - Dead Horse. It was a good year for catchy songs about trauma I guess. This is real pop music, but luckily with a lot of meaning behind it. Why do I like it more if does? There is just something about dancing of bad times that works for me.

In 2021 I think I'll keep up better. As for the missed 2020 albums, I hope I'll catch up with them over time.

[Moonbeam]

I assume that goes for the remix too, so I lost it from my list and moved Levitating up in its place. Added Future Nostalgia to the end of the list and kept the rest of the order the same.

I hope other Don't Start Now fans take your lead and sub in Levitating!

Or the superior Future Nostalgia single: Break My Heart.

Now, now. Let's not commit Dua-on-Dua crime here (unless it's to castigate the awful "Good in Bed"). Both songs are well worth a high placement.

[jamieW]

I hope other Don't Start Now fans take your lead and sub in Levitating!

Or the superior Future Nostalgia single: Break My Heart.

Now, now. Let's not commit Dua-on-Dua crime here (unless it's to castigate the awful "Good in Bed"). Both songs are well worth a high placement.

LOL, that's the song that nearly ruined the album for me! (Fortunately, the greatness of "Love Again," "Levitating," "Break My Heart," and "Don't Start Now" won out in the end.)

[Moonbeam]

Or the superior Future Nostalgia single: Break My Heart.

Now, now. Let's not commit Dua-on-Dua crime here (unless it's to castigate the awful "Good in Bed"). Both songs are well worth a high placement.

LOL, that's the song that nearly ruined the album for me! (Fortunately, the greatness of "Love Again," "Levitating," "Break My Heart," and "Don't Start Now" won out in the end.)

Yeah, it was shocking. The first 9 songs are all sublime and have a great cohesiveness. Then in lumps this Lily Allen-sounding reject with such horrors as "Plee-ee-ee-ee-eaze" and "me-ee-ee-ee-ee". Ugh. "Boys Will Be Boys" is also off-theme but it at least is a good song, IMO. There are plenty of Future Nostalgia outtakes that fit the theme and are fine songs, FWIW. I'm partial to "Ball and Chain" and "25/8".

[prosecutorgodot]

Or the superior Future Nostalgia single: Break My Heart.

Now, now. Let's not commit Dua-on-Dua crime here (unless it's to castigate the awful "Good in Bed"). Both songs are well worth a high placement.

LOL, that's the song that nearly ruined the album for me! (Fortunately, the greatness of "Love Again," "Levitating," "Break My Heart," and "Don't Start Now" won out in the end.)

Maybe we're starting to talk about Dua in excess.

[Holden]

It’s looking like the songs rollout is going to finish Sunday (Feb 21) so that will the last day for edits/new lists!

[Brad]

Now, now. Let's not commit Dua-on-Dua crime here (unless it's to castigate the awful "Good in Bed"). Both songs are well worth a high placement.

LOL, that's the song that nearly ruined the album for me! (Fortunately, the greatness of "Love Again," "Levitating," "Break My Heart," and "Don't Start Now" won out in the end.)

Yeah, it was shocking. The first 9 songs are all sublime and have a great cohesiveness. Then in lumps this Lily Allen-sounding reject with such horrors as "Plee-ee-ee-ee-eaze" and "me-ee-ee-ee-ee". Ugh. "Boys Will Be Boys" is also off-theme but it at least is a good song, IMO. There are plenty of Future Nostalgia outtakes that fit the theme and are fine songs, FWIW. I'm partial to "Ball and Chain" and "25/8".

Good In Bed is my favorite song on the album, lol (even I realize it's bad!)... but I'm cool with Lily Allen too so maybe that's it (and maybe the rest of the album is off-theme! ).

[Holden]

The last day for album lists/edits!