In addition to all of our local favorites from the year, we quarantined with a quite a few 2020 albums that pushed boundaries in a time where artists had little risk for trying something out of the ordinary or building on their well-crafted sound. We also pick out our favorite songs of the year and some additional fun picks based on as Charli XCX puts it, “how i’m feeling now.”

Favorite Non-Local Albums of the Year

Haim, Women in Music Pt. III

Speaking about Young Thug’s 2019 album So Much Fun, Earl Sweatshirt once tweeted, “what did they put in [this], I cannot stop listening to it fr, help.” It’s a sentiment I keep coming back to when thinking about Haim’s third album, Women in Music Pt. III. There is an addictive quality to this record. It is engineered to hit every pop music pleasure center. Finally, all of the sisters’ influences—stadium rock, ’90s R&B, and singer-songwriter anthems—that may have gone under-explored in earlier releases are presented in full color on WIMPIII. It plays like flicking through FM radio or a greatest hits compilation. Anchored by lush production from contemporary masters Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij, everything hits just a bit harder. The songwriting is sharper, the bass is groovier, and the drums are fuller. Every time I return, I discover some new detail in the mix and some new truth in the lyrics. Its magnetism has pulled me in over and over to the point where nothing hits quite like it. I cannot stop listening to it fr. Help.

–Ben Bonadies

Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher

Since releasing her debut album in 2017, Phoebe Bridgers has been slowly taking over the world. Between her whip smart humor on her famous Twitter feed and her seemingly effortless approach to making music, she has captivated fans – and fellow artists – the world over. Returning this year with her second solo LP Punisher, Bridgers continues her domination. Featuring the same mournfully pensive storytelling that gained her initial acclaim, the platinum heartbreaker left room for some surprises. A jubilant “Kyoto” grabs the listeners’ attention early on and a show-stopping “I Know the End” will leave you breathless – literally. Bridgers is everything you look for in a multi-talented creative. She embodies the devastating and hilarious, poised and absurd, chill and endlessly hardworking. Having released two additional EPs this year, a smash hit cover of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls with Maggie Rogers and appearing on the new Kid Cudi and The 1975 albums, this has truly been the year of Phoebe.

–Andrew Bourque

Bad Bunny, YHLQMDLG / EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO

Ok so I cheated and picked two albums here, but including the compilation of previously unreleased tracks LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR, Bad Bunny technically released three albums this year. So I’m showing restraint. Towards the beginning of the year, he dropped the thrilling YHLQMDLG, a love letter to the reggaeton music that surrounded Bad Bunny growing up in Puerto Rico. The compilation came out in May (right before my birthday; thank you, rey). Just a few weeks ago, he added EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO to his catalogue, more inspired by rock, emo, and synthpop than his previous work, an unbelievable display of versatility that became the first album entirely in Spanish to debut at #1 on Billboard. Throughout the whole year, Bad Bunny’s star power continues to rise, and he’s earning his burgeoning position as international superstar. 

I was talking with a friend recently, someone I met in the second half of 2019, who I undoubtedly would have loved to continue to run into at dance clubs around town if 2020 had gone… fucking normally. We ended up talking about how deeply Bad Bunny impacted our respective years. Whenever things felt too overwhelming, we were turning to his music week after week. And that’s probably true for any music that you kept turning to throughout the year: it lifted, however briefly, the suffocating blanket of fear and anxiety that became unavoidable (if you actually have a working brain). As those dumbass celebrities proved with their misguided, wildly pitched cover of “Imagine,” music might not solve any concrete problems in the world. It can make us feel better, keep us going through tough times, leave us smiling and dancing. It’s simple, so I choose to worry less, and bump some pictures of Bad Bunny. 

–Harry Gustafson

Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Like Earth’s viewing of Halley’s comet, once every several years we are graced with a Fiona Apple album. And when those albums come, they make the world a little less “bullshit” than it was before. Suffice it to say, we needed it this year. Without even having to put an octopus on her head, (or any hype at all, really) Bolt Cutters was a success across the board. The album garnered a weighted average score of 98 out of 100 on Metacritic (at the time of this writing). It was also her third consecutive top 10 album on the Billboard 200. With a deconstructed piano rock album, Apple takes us through her weirdly joyful inner sanctum. Her unique palette includes innovative sampling, vocals that range from jazzy to Yoko, and the best use of a dog bark since Jane’s Addiction. It’s the songs though, the final product, that make this album an instant classic.

–Dan Moffat

Owen Pallett, Island

With more time to sit alone with my own thoughts and reflections this year, I’ve increasingly drifted toward the quieter and more meditative releases from 2020. And Owen Pallett’s corresponding shift into more muted, inward-looking territory on Island is a perfect corollary for the trajectory this year took. Mostly eschewing the grand orchestral loops of their earlier albums, the prolific Toronto violinist takes an entirely new approach to their fifth album with arrangements primarily centered around acoustic guitar and piano. Mirroring this shift in arrangement is how Pallett uses previous concept record Heartland as a metacognitive jumping-off point to interrogate themes of identity, self-destruction, the subjectivity of creation, and reconciliation. Even for listeners unfamiliar with Owen Pallett’s earlier releases, Island’s relatively plainspoken lyricism and cuttingly direct instrumentation makes it a sublimely poignant entry in their catalogue, an introspective epic to accompany our own moments of pensive existentialism.

–Nat Marlin

Jeff Rosenstock, NO DREAM

Jeff Rosenstock, one of the nicest boys in music, rewarded our patience during quarantine with a surprise new album that’s also one of his best in any capacity. NO DREAM harkens back to his BTMI! days with its rough edges, manic pace and somber ballads. Rosenstock is meaner on this record, having no patience for the dreamers, though it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek. Still, “Scram!” is the most urgent he has sounded in years, a healthy mix of anger and fun. Rosenstock’s standard nostalgia eschews his normally downtrodden attitude on “***BNB” in favor of mean comedy. What has stayed consistent is his ability to write a surprisingly effective ballad, this time in closer “Ohio Tpke.” Whenever the world seems the most unsure or you’re feeling the most paranoid, there’s always a Jeff Rosenstock album there to back you up. And this just happens to be his best one in years!

–Andrew McNally

Kali Uchis, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)

After Selena was released on Netflix, I’ve been thinking about all the dreamy Latinx artists whose voices are at the fore. Seeing these artists in the top charts beyond Daddy Yankee (although “Con Calma” is one of my picks) finally represents a semblance of America’s melting pot. Uchis embraces her Colombian roots with this Spanish release Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) (there’s some Spanglish in there too) Close your eyes and swing the hips to Uchis’ sweet candy Latin incantations with y2k pop aesthetics.

–Mira Kaplan

Rina Sawayama, SAWAYAMA

Rina Sawayama’s SAWAYAMA is the non-stop dance party we so sorely need in 2020. For now, it will have to be alone in your apartment, but come some time in 2021, I’ll see you on the Royale dance floor in glitter ready to party along to these high-key bangers. Listening to SAWAYAMA has me nostalgic for the first time I heard Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster, another album filled with the same style of dance hits with a bit of darkness and edge to them. 

–Christine Varriale

Jessie Ware, What’s Your Pleasure?

Yup, a modern-day disco album is my #1 pick of albums released during this globally traumatizing year. Jessie Ware’s breathy, Mariah-Carey-esque voice absolutely has the power to transport listeners to a pandemic-less reality, where the only things that matter are which acid-green mesh top to throw on and figuring out which shimmering metallic cutie to boogie with. The power of the Pleasure time machine is apparent within the first 40, hazy seconds of the opening track “Spotlight,” on through to the pulsing backbones of “Save Me a Kiss” and the elegantly auto-tuned “Adore You.” Dear Lord, the bass lines alone are award-worthy. Then the soulful closer “Remember Where You Are” serves as a gentle landing back down to earth. In the end, What’s Your Pleasure? was the Italo disco album we all needed. It allowed us to close our eyes, pretend we’re dancing in the dark among strangers and strobing lights, without a care in the world. And I’m looking forward to doing that with y’all in 2021.

–Jackie Swisshelm

Special Interest, The Passion Of

Blending noise, techno, and punk into a caustic, but affecting maelstrom, New Orleans quartet Special Interest broke down doors with their raw and seething sophomore full length, The Passion Of. While defiantly queer by nature, Special Interest build a big, furious tent for everyone burned by capitalism. In a year that saw plenty of punk and dance music grapple with societal ills, The Passion Of’s potent attack of the systems of oppression grinding down on marginalized people felt especially vital as we watched governments worldwide turn their backs on the working class. Let’s hope the back half of 2021 sees them loudly take that fight on the road.

–Dillon Riley

Sufjan Stevens, The Ascension

The Ascension draws from each of Stevens’ previous albums, in concept and in style. It is sprawling and at times hard to get though. It is also perhaps the closest we’ll get to his now infamous “50 States Project” (where he promised a concept album based on each of the U.S.’s 50 states). The Ascension is an exhausting admonishment of the United States of America. With hopelessness and writhing wit, Stevens distills what could have taken him 50 albums to say: America is a bad place, and it is okay to lose faith. As he sings on the closing track, “I have loved you, I have grieved. I’m ashamed to admit I no longer believe”

–Joey DelPonte

Felix Rabito, No Me Llores

Making music out of Louisiana, Felix Rabito incorporates traditional indie rock and authentic New Orleans jazz with a twist in his latest EP. The heavy guitar riffs, sensual trumpet, and the introduction of old-timey piano interludes on this EP will undoubtedly make you want to take a trip down to The Big Easy just to see him perform live (post-COVID, of course).

–Allyssa DelVecchio

Favorite Songs of the Year

Car Seat Headrest, “Martin”

Will Toledo spends “Martin” in a one-sided correspondence with a figure known only as Justin. Toledo’s narrator finds meaning in this Justin. He lights a fire in him. He turns his eyes to starlight. But even this devotion can’t change the conclusion he reaches: “In the end I know there is no answer.” He sounds alone, armed only with an acoustic guitar and skittering drum machine like David Byrne in the opening minutes of Stop Making Sense. Even as he invites a triumphant horn section to join him, he’s still without his muse: “Stars turn in place, I still can see your face.” In a year of isolation, this paean to a connection that can overcome any distance rings truer than ever.

–Ben Bonadies

HAIM, “The Steps”

Right away, a kicking drum beat permeates the air on HAIM’s masterful single “The Steps,” a sucker-punch breakup anthem off of their most recent (and best) album Women in Music Pt. III. The track plays as a quasi-sequel to the trio’s smash hit 2013 single “The Wire,” only with less of the sugar-coating. Here we see the three sisters, Este, Danielle and Alana doing what they do best: coming together to create a song that is both undeniably fun and filled with raw heartache. “We wanted to write something we could really perform — something up-tempo that felt like a karate kick to the face,” says Danielle Haim to Entertainment Weekly. Director Paul Thomas Anderson returned to shoot the video, a simple montage of the sisters tearing around a house in LA, washing down toothpaste with whiskey and plunging headfirst into an ice cold pool. It’s dirty, ferocious and above all, a wicked good time.

–Andrew Bourque

Bad Bunny, “Safaera”

This song is so sick. It samples “Get Ur Freak On” among a bunch of other tracks. I’ve got no constructive commentary here; this just bangs. I was torn as to which Bad Bunny song I should choose: “Si Veo a Tu Mamá” because of the casiotone sample of “Girl From Ipanema;” “Yo Perreo Sola” because of being an anthem for the ladies and Benito’s turn in drag for the video; “25/8” OR “P FKN R” because they absolutely bang; “Dakiti,” which will hopefully reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart if we live in a just world; and a few other solid contenders. In an effort to actually make a damn decision, I went with “Safaera.”

–Harry Gustafson

Burial, Four Tet, & Thom Yorke, “Her Revolution”

Perhaps a companion piece to Sparklehorse’s brilliant “It’s A Wonderful Life” from 2001, Yorke and co.’s “Her Revolution” also take us on a tapey journey to another dimension. “Revolution,” however, unlike “Wonderful,” doesn’t feel tethered by human needs such as a “chorus” or a “verse.” It’s more adventurous than that.

To be honest, compared to many music lovers, I mostly ignored Yorke before 2020. Then I began reading his biography from this year, This Isn’t Happening. I learned that as an artist, Thom Yorke took an enormous risk in convincing his band to drop the brit-pop act and instead embrace electronic music a la Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada.

With this newfound respect, I listened to his latest track with an open mind. And I’m glad I did. With faraway stringed instruments and Stranger Things synths, “Her Revolution” is a stellar and chill brain bath that you should take.

–Dan Moffat

NNAMDÏ, “Semantics”

Even within an album that nimbly moves between genres from song to song, it’s staggering to hear just how many ideas Chicago multi-instrumentalist Nnamdi Ogbonnaya crams into Brat’s climactic track “Semantics” alone. Centered around Ogbonnaya taking stock of the relationships in his life, the track quickly sets the listener’s expectations for the song’s structure in its opening moments, before playing with those expectations just as quickly as they’re established and gradually shifting with each subsequent moment. Vocal inflections begin switching off with every word, and he jams more words into each bar, lyrics become enjambed and spill a single sentiment across multiple lines. By the end of the song, Ogbonnaya’s vocals match the song’s crumbling composure, screaming out the chorus to express the growing exasperation swallowing the whole track. It’s a flooring high-wire act of a song, and one of the most exhilarating pieces of music I’ve heard in a long time.

–Nat Marlin

Bully, “Where to Start”

The quarrels of quarantine have caused a lot of disruptions in bands, but Alicia Bognanno’s decision to transform Bully into a solo project came more from relationship trouble and inner turmoil. It’s apparent all across SUGAREGG, her best album yet, but especially so on “Where to Start.” The song’s basic grunge rhythm serves as a mere background to Bognanno’s lyrics and vocals. This isn’t a song meant for our ears, it’s a direct message to someone at the other end of a demanding relationship. It’s just a privacy we’re allowed into. Vocally, Bognanno has never sounded stronger. It’s not unlike some Hole songs where Courtney Love sounded like she was singing to survive; there’s a certain, very loud catharsis happening here, and despite the personal message, it’s a feeling we can all revel in.

–Andrew McNally

Kevin Morby, “Campfire”

“oh my my oh I guess…” “Campfire” was my repeat song. Over and over and over again. oh my lord oh my god. It’s like three songs in one, opening up with Morby’s sultry storytelling, transitioning with Waxahatchee telling us to “stay calm, stay calm,” and culminating in an urgent chapter with a visit by the devil and the angel. Morby’s whole album Sundowner is laden with this same darkness, depth, and harsh beauty. oh my lord oh my god, are you a sundowner too?

–Mira Kaplan

100 gecs, “hand crushed by a mallet remix [feat. Fall Out Boy, Craig Owens, Nicole Dollanganger]”

I listened to wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too much Fall Out Boy in middle school and high school. I thought I could escape it, but that ever-present pop punk past comes creeping on, so haunting every time. When 100 gecs released their remix album 1000 gecs and The Tree of Clues this summer, there were collaborations I expected like Charli XCX who has worked with Dylan Brady previously on her own music. Fall Out Boy, Craig Owens, and Nicole Dollanganger appeared out of left field, and I became increasingly curious as to what the hell this remix will sound like. “hand crushed by a mallet” wasn’t necessarily in my top tracks from last year’s 1000 gecs, but this remix made me love the song so much more. The layers of guitars and pairing of Craig Owens and Patrick Stump’s incredible vocal ranges really amp this song up, and this chaotic skramz wet dream does everything wrong and everything right simultaneously.

–Christine Varriale

The Beths, “Jump Rope Gazers”

If there’s one thing we needed to latch onto this year, it was hope. The single and title track from Jump Rope Gazers, the sophomore LP by New Zealand indie rockers The Beths, gave us that. It’s a standout on the album—it’s a romantic ballad. Vocalist Elizabeth Stokes weaves in her familiar, wryly-written lines right from the start, and just like how a secret crush can simmer, so does “Jump Rope Gazers,” with the help of melodic ooo’s and aaa’s and a building sense of falling head over heels. By the time we hit the chorus, it’s over. We’re in love. “Oh I, I think I love you, and I think that I loved you the whole time. How did this happen? We were jump rope gazers in the middle of the night.”

What’s a jump rope gazer, you might ask? During interviews, Stokes herself has been hesitant to explain, but she said, “At the core of it, I was picturing the kind of skipping rope where there are two people, one on each end. I think it evokes a distance and hints at being connected and being separated as well.”

Yeah, that feeling? That’s hope. And that’s why it’s my favorite song of 2020.

–Jackie Swisshelm

RMR, “Rascal”

Anonymously balaclava’d singer/rapper RMR’s star-making flip of Rascal Flatts is the perfect song to encapsulate this hellish year: a streetwise tale as funny as it is poignant. That the song is a hybrid country ballad uniquely suited for an era that has seen nationwide protest against police brutality only further strengthens its seemingly out-of-nowhere ubiquity. “Rascal” is the rare “meme song” that actually rewards repeated listens, gaining more meaning with each viewing of its perfectly unadorned video. Interested parties may also consider it a tacit endorsement of the real boys in blue: the USPS.

–Dillon Riley

Halsey, “You Should Be Sad”

Halsey has such a knack for writing songs that open up the floodgates, purge the negativity from the past, and inspire such a formidable force inside you. God, the first time I listened to this song, I got chills. I can’t imagine anyone listening to this song and not immediately having the urge to sing this at the top of their lungs as a cathartic way to cope with the collective emotional baggage of past relationships.

–Allyssa DelVecchio

Additional Jawn

Best Album with “Folk” in its Title: Myrkur, Folkesange

There has never been a time more in need of escapism than right now: trapped indoors, hiding from the news and itching for a release. Luckily we were gifted the latest album, Folkesange, by Danish black metal band Myrkur on March 20 – just as the world shut down. Led by singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Amalie Bruun, Myrkur made a tectonic shift from their trademark black metal sound to the realm of serene folktales. A massive departure from previous releases, Folkesange is also a return to Bruun’s traditional Scandinavian roots. Consisting of a mixture of both modern interpretations of classic folk songs and inspired original compositions by Bruun herself, the album will immediately transport you to the Danish countryside as her crisp vocal lifts you into the clouds. Lead single “Ella” might just be one of the most beautiful songs of the year, showcasing Amalie’s power and immediately creating the atmosphere sustained throughout the rest of the album.

–Andrew Bourque

Best Photos of Bad Bunny from 2020

–Harry Gustafson

Best Song About Food: CHAI, “Donuts Mind If I Do”

Sub Pop’s recent signee, Japanese band CHAI, fits the legendary Seattle record label’s punk ethos, if not style per se. “Donuts Mind If I Do” is as subversive as it is catchy. You’ll find yourself nodding your head to the lyrics that might actually be about donuts. “Hello, hello, would you like any donuts, honey? … It makes my body better, keep going on.”

Former Sub Pop member Kurt Cobain said he didn’t care about lyrics. As long as everything about the song works, who cares about the words? Here we have a similar instance; the subject doesn’t seem to matter since the tune slaps.

With those pesky lyrics out of the way, we’re left to focus even more so on the strengths of the song. Their passionate singing is a masterclass in pop hooks, which unravel one after another. In the backdrop, fantastical production abounds as ’70s cop show synths mix with gleaming beats. Play it again? Donut Mind If I Do.

–Dan Moffat

Song Most Likely to Play on Loop in an Allston Pudding Writer’s Head as They Draft at 3 A.M.: illuminati hotties, “content//bedtime”

When I find myself in times of trouble
Sarah Tudzin comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom:
“content
bedtime
e-motivational deadline”

–Nat Marlin

Best Combination of Trap, Black Metal, and Hand Drums: Duma, “Lionsblood”

Okay *maybe* this was not a competitive category and I just wanted an excuse to write in AP about the African industrial grindcore hybrid Duma? Was that obvious? Duma’s excellent debut album is an absolute endurance test, centered on grindcore but incorporating influences from hip-hop, black metal, industrial and world music. The best track, “Lionsblood,” utilizes hand drums played at a speed well beyond humanly possible and shrieking vocals that are downright terrifying. Despite not sounding like something made for humans, it’s the most listenable song on the record! “Lionsblood” lands safely in the camp of “not to everyone’s tastes” but it also promises at a growing African metal scene, and it’s one of the most chaotic, eclectic and grueling songs I heard all year. Duma are raw, aggressive, sinister and completely boundary-pushing.

–Andrew McNally

Best Song While Watching YouTube Tutorials of How to Whine: Daddy Yankee, “Con Calma”

<3

–Mira Kaplan

Best Horny Song to Forget You’re Alone in Quarantine: Ariana Grande, “34+35”

34+35=69. Ariana Grande is a cancer, whose symbol is represented by a 69. Coincidence? I think not.

–Christine Varriale

Biggest Resurgence in Popularity in 2020: Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream”

What more can I say? It’s the perfect song, and I’m glad it’s back. It’s been the feel-good soundtrack to a feel-bad year.

–Jackie Swisshelm

Best Mashup So Good I Can’t Believe It’s Not the Original Track: Charli XCX, “Unlock It X Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone (RH Edit)”

While plenty has been (rightfully) written about Charli XCX and her impressive quarantine mania-induced album how i’m feeling now, Charli baby™’s greatest cultural contribution in 2020 may very well be a mashup she didn’t make, but graciously endorsed. Taking off on TikTok before untold amounts of bootlegs popped up on Soundcloud, the pairing of one of Pop 2’s most beloved bops with a sacred ‘90s trance text like Alice Deejay’s “Better Off Alone” felt so uncannily natural, it’s difficult to separate the two after repeated listens. Those in search of nostalgic gold should head straight to the original mashup, released at the very start of a long year.

–Dillon Riley

Best Song You Want to Dance to When You Wanna Pretend You’re in a Club Again: Pitbull, “Que Rica (Tocame)”

Listen, we all have our guilty pleasures and this one’s mine. This song really sounds good when you put on music-activated LED lights, have a glass of wine (or two…or three….I’m not judging) and dance in your bedroom like you’re at The Model again.

–Allyssa DelVecchio