I know this has been said many times, but this was a very strange year indeed. It was a tough one for many of us and I very much appreciated having music as my companion to get me through. Thankfully, our Canadian artists kept putting out albums for us to fall in love with this year. I am not sure what I would have done without them.
These are my favourite 50 albums of 2020. There are over 100 albums that I was considering and next week the list might look different but these are the 50 I ended up with for this post. They are the albums that caught my ear and held my attention. The ones that I got most excited about, the ones I kept going back to, or the ones that simply moved me the most. I am very much a feels person, the its got a good beat and I can dance to it kind of person. You will find a lot on the list that fit that bill but there are some that the lyrics got to me as well such as the storytelling and interesting characters on The Neon Skyline by Andy Shauf. There are some new albums by some of my old favourites such as Thin Mind by Wolf Parade and Deleter by Holy Fuck. And there are albums by new to me artists that I was excited about such as Pantayo and Crescent by Speaker Face. They are all full length albums except a couple EPs on the list that were at least 20 minutes, Glacial by Royal Canoe and FICTION by SUUNS.
Check out the list below and then take a listen to tracks from my fav albums of the year on Spotify or YouTube. The albums appear on the playlist in no particular order. What were your favourite albums of 2020?
THE LIST:
The Neon Skyline – Andy Shauf
The Sun And Her Scorch – Dizzy
Heavy Light – U.S. Girls
Self Help – Badge Époque Ensemble
Island – Owen Pallett
Crescent – Speaker Face
United States – Rich Aucoin
Bleached Wavves – Zoon
Suddenly – Caribou
Deleter – Holy Fuck
A Separation Of Being – JOYFULTALK
Philadelphia – Shabason, Krgovich & Harris
Pantayo – Pantayo
Shadow Offering – Braids
Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs – Klô Pelgag
Quand la nuit tombe – Louis-Jean Cormier
No Earthly Sound – Bruce Peninsula
Dreamweaver – Anachnid
DNA Activation – Witch Prophet
Are You Gone – Sarah Harmer
Total Freedom – Kathleen Edwards
Never Work – Areil Sharratt, Mathias Kom
Plastic Bouquet – Kacy & Clayton, Marlon Williams
Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs
Gospel First Nation – William Prince
Away Is Mine – Gord Downie
Have We Met – Destroyer
Sad Hunk – Bahamas
Aidan Knight – Aidan Knight
Without People – Donovan Woods
Less Rage More Tears – Hawksley Workman
Bobby Joe Hope – Jon McKiel
Sundry Rock Song Stock – Yves Jarvis
Pray For It – July Talk
Nunarjua Isulinginniani – Terry Uyarak
JUICE – Born Ruffians
The Jungle – Plants and Animals
Snapshot Of A Beginner – Nap Eyes
Thin Mind – Wolf Parade
Never Give Up – Partner
Worshiper – Peeling
Dead Broke – Like A Motorcycle
Atlas Vending – Metz
Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Original Score)
Nowhere, Middle Of – Michael Scott Dawson
Asterisms – Matthew Cardinal
Good Morning Hunter – Odario
War Club – DJ Shub
EPs
Glacial (Live) – Royal Canoe
FICTION – SUUNS
The Garrys didn’t have single tracks from the album on YouTube but you can see the whole film of Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages with The Garry’s soundtrack:
Or listen to a track on Bandcamp: https://thegarrys.bandcamp.com/track/underworld-overture
Good morning!