The end of the year is upon us, and that means it's time to reflect on your favorite music of 2020! Here are Kelsey's favorite songs of the year. Once you've made your own list, vote in The Current's Top 89 poll, and we'll count down our listeners' Top 89 of 2020 on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Top 10 Albums of 2020
1. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic)
2. SAULT – UNTITLED (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)
3. Deep Sea Diver – Impossible Weight (High Beam Records)
4. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher (Dead Oceans)
5. Shamir – Shamir (self-released)
6. Run the Jewels – RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG)
7. Porridge Radio – Every Bad (Secretly Canadian)
8. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud (Merge Records)
9. Bully – Sugar Egg (Sub Pop)
10. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador Records)
Top 25 Songs of 2020
(Songs that appear on albums above are excluded)
1. Torres – "Dressing America" (Silver Tongue, Merge Records)
2. Car Seat Headrest – "Martin" (Making a Door Less Open, Matador Records)
3. Disclosure – "ENERGY" (Energy, Island Records)
4. Moses Sumney – "jill/jack (feat. Jill Scott)" (græ, Jagjaguwar)
5. Viagra Boys – "Ain't Nice" (Welfare Jazz, YEAR0001 – coming January 2021!)
6. Holy Motors – "Endless Night" (Endless Night, Wharf Cat Records)
7. Andrew Broder, Denzel Curry, Dua Saleh & Haleek Maul – "Bloodrush" (single, Lex Records)
8. Gully Boys – "New Song No. 2" (Phony, self-released)
9. Heartless Bastards – "Revolution" (single, Spaceflight Records)
10. clipping. – "Say the Name" (Say the Name, Sub Pop)
11. Cartalk – "Noonday Devil" (Pass Like Pollen, self-released)
12. Kurt Vile – "How Lucky (feat. John Prine)" (Speed, Sound, Lonely KV EP, Matador Records)
13. AURORA – "Exist for Love" (single, Decca)
14. Jealous of the Birds – "Young Neanderthal" (Peninsula, Atlantic Records)
15. Christine and the Queens – "I Disappear in Your Arms" (La vita nuova EP, Because Music)
16. Mdou Moctar – "Chismiten" (single, Matador Records – album coming 2021!)
17. Mourn – "Stay There" (Self Worth, Captured Tracks)
18. Jamila Woods – "SULA (Hardcover)" (single, Closed Sessions/Jagjaguwar)
19. Nilüfer Yanya – "Crash" (Feeling Lucky?, ATO Records)
20. Margo Price – "Stone Me" (That's How Rumors Get Started, Loma Vista Recordings)
21. Julien Baker – "Faith Healer" (Little Oblivions, Matador Records – coming February 2021!)
22. Fontaines D.C. – "Televised Mind" (A Hero's Death, Partisan Records)
23. Songhoy Blues – "Worry" (Optimisme, Transgressive Records)
24. Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine – "No Time for Love Like Now" (single, 37d03d)
25. Erasure – "Nerves of Steel" (The Neon, Mute Records)