BestOf

• Andrea - Ritorno (Ilian Tape)
• Daniel Avery & Alessandro Cortini - Illusion Of Time (Mute)
• Julianna Barwick - Healing Is A Miracle (Ninja Tune)
• Chouk Bwa & The Ångstromers - Vodou Alé (Bongo Joe)
• Cindy Lee - What's Tonight To Eternity (W.25th)
• Coldbeat - Mother (DFA)
• Cyril Cyril - Yallah Mickey Mouse (Born Bad)
• Das Das - S/T (Detriti)
• DNGDNGDNG - Continentes Perdidos (On The Corner)
• En Attendant Ana - Juillet (Trouble In Mind)
• Freak Heat Waves - Zap The Planet (Telephone Explosion)
• Lucy Gooch - Rushing (Past Inside The Present)
• The Green Child - Shimmering Basset (Upset The Rhythm)
• Group Rhoda - Passing Shades (Dark Entries)
• HHY & The Kampala Unit - Lithium Blast (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
• Kate Nv - Room For The Moon (Rvng Intl.)
• Loving - If I Am Only My Thoughts (Last Gang)
• Minae Minae - Flossensäume (Marionette)
• Mr. Elevator - Goodbye, Blue Sky (Castle Face)
• Naked Roomate - Do the Duvet (Trouble In Mind)
• Omni Gardens - Moss King (Moon Glyph)
• Peel Dream Magazine - Agitprop Alterna (Slumberland)
• Rejoicer - Spiritual Sleaze (Stones Throw)
• Repeated Measures - S/T (grn+gld)
• Sepehr - Shaytoon (Dark Entries)
• The Serfs - Sounds Of Serfdom (Detriti)
• Tornische - Interiorismo (Cititrax)
• Ulla - Tumbling Towards A Wall (Experiences Ltd.)
• Vague Imaginaires - L'île D'or (Not Not Fun)
• Katya Yonder - Multiply Intentions (Métron)
• Various Artists - Cherrystones Presents Critical Mass Vol. 2 'Hearts Of Champions'(Touch Sensitive)
• Various Artists - La Locura de Machuca 1975-1980 (Analog Africa)
• Various Artists - Tchic Tchic - French Bossa Nova - 1963​/​1974 (Born Bad)

• The Microphones - Microphones in 2020 (P.W. Elverum & Sun)
• Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now (Warner)
• Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador)
• Dorian Electra - My Agenda (S/R)
• Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Warp)
• Monolake - Archaeopteryx (imbalance computer music)
• Poppy - Music to Scream To (Sumerian)
• Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
• Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (4AD)
• Jeff Rosenstock - No Dream (Polyvinyl)
• Moses Sumney - grae (Jagjaguwar)
• Autechre - Sign (Warp)
• 100 gecs - 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues (Dog Show)
• Frances Quinlan - Likewise (Saddle Creek)
• Blu & Exile - Miles
• Arovane - Gestalt (Puremagnetik)

Honourable Mentions:

• Against All Logic - 2017 - 2019 (Other People)
• Poppy - I Disagree (Sumerian)
• Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm (Planet Mu)
• Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
• Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar (Domino)
• Food House - Food House (Dog Show)
• HMLTD - West of Eden (Lucky Number)
• Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
• Deerhoof - Future Teenage Cave Artists (Joyful Noise)
• Conway the Machine - From King to a GOD (Griselda/Drumwork/Empire)
• Ash Koosha - Bluud (Realms)
• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo (ESGN/ALC/Empire)
• Boldy James - The Price of Tea in China (Deluxe Edition) (ALC / Boldy James)
• Deerhoof - Love-Lore (Joyful Noise & Deerhoof)
• Carl Stone - Stolen Car (Electro-Acoustic Music (ASCAP))
• The Soft Pink truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? (Thrill Jockey)
• R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages (Ruby Yacht)
• Machine Girl - U-Void Synthesizer (S/R)

Favorite EPs:

• Jockstrap - Wicked City (Warp)
• Burial - Chemz (Hyperdub)
• Slauson Malone - Vergangenheitsbewaltigung (Crater Speak) (Grand Closing)
• JPEGMAFIA - EP! (EQT / Republic)
• Shygirl - Alias (Because Music)
• Fraxiom - Feeling Cool and Normal (SONG)
• Papaya & Friends - Szn 1 (AAAHH)
• Penelope Scott - Public Void (S/R)
• Machine Girl - Reporpoised Phantasies (S/R)
• OCD - Alignment (Aurawire)
• Folie - cortisol (Dog Show)

New Stuff

• The Beths-Jump Rope Gazers (Carpark)
• Boris-No (S/R)
• Chromatics-Closer To Grey (Italians Do It Better)
• Elizabeth Cook-Aftermath (Agent Love)
• Death Valley Girls-Under The Spell Of Joy (Suicide Queeze)
• Dave Douglas-Marching Music/Dizzy Atmosphere (Greenleaf Music)
• Bob Dylan-Rough And Rowdy Ways (Columbia)
• Roger Eno And Brian Eno-Mixing Colours/Luminous (Opal Music)
• The Flaming Lips-American Head (Warner)
• Eliza Gilkyson-2020 (Red House)
• Gnod & Joan Pais Filipe-Faca De Fogo (Rocket)
• Hawkwind Light Orchestra-Carnivorous (Cherry Red)
• Robyn Hitchcock-The Man Downstairs Demos & Rarities (Tiny Ghost)
• Hum-Inlet (Earth Analog)
• Metz-Atlas Vending (Sub Pop)
• The Pretty Things-Bare As Bone,Bright As Blood (Madfish)
• Rose City Band-Summerlong (Thrill Jockey)
• Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou-May Our Chambers Be Full/The Helm Of Sorrow (Sacred Bones)
• Emma Swift-Blonde On The Tracks (Tiny Ghost)
• VA-Habibi Funk Solidarity With Beirut (Habibi Funk)
• VA-Tonal Unity Volume 1 & 2 (Tonal Unity)
• VA- What is This That Stands Before Me (Sacred Bones)
• White Hills-Splintered Metal Sky (Heads On Fire)
• Sarah Willis-Mozart Mambo (Outthere)
• Wire-10:20 (Pinkflag)
• Yvonne And The No Regrets-World Of Women (S/R)

Ep's And Singles

• Carrie Elkin-Embroidery Star (S/R)
• Chester Hawkins-K516156/91044 (Intangible Arts)
• Robyn Hichcock-The Presdent (Tiny Ghost)
• Juana Molina-Forfun EP (Crammed Dics)
• The Notwist-Ship Ep (Morr Music)
• Ophelias-For Luck EP (S/R)
• Danny Schmidt-2020 EP (Live Once)
• Richard Thompson-Bloodly Noses EP (S/R)
• White Hills-Time Ep's 1-9 (S/R)

Old Stuff

• Arica Rhythm And Movement Band- Arica Heaven (Tidalwaves Music)
• B.C.Gilbert G.Lewis-3R4 (Superior Viaduct)
• Boris-Amplifier Worship (Third Man)
• Eastern Flower-S/T (Piano Piano)
• The EX-Disturbing Domestic Peace/History Is What's Happening (Superior Viaduct)
• Fredom Power-S/T (Sonor Music Editions)
• Mort Garson-Ataraxia The Unexplained Electronic Musical Impressions Of The Occult (Sacred Bones)
• Mort Garson-Didn't You Hear Soundtrack (Sacred Bones)
• Mort Garson- Lucifer Black Mass (Sacred Bones)
• Mort Garson-Music From Patch Cord Production (Sacred Bones)
• Groudhogs-Split (Fire)
• Jazz Sabbath-S/T (Black Lake)
• July-The Complete Recording (Grapefruit)
• King Crimson-The Complete 1969 Recordings (DGM)
• Joni Mitchell-Archives-Volume 1 The Early Years (1963-1967) (Rhino)
• Thelonious Monk-Palo Alto (Impulse!)
• Tangerine Dream-Thief Soundtrack (Mond)
• VA-Brown Acid:The Tenth/Eleventh Trip (Ridingeasy)
• VA-Funky Coup Korean Soul,Funk & Rare Groove Nuggets 1973-1980 Vol. 1 (Beatball)
• VA-Wamono A To Z Vol. 1 Japanese jazz Funk & Rare Groove 1968-1980 (180G)
• Neil Young-Archives Vol. 2 (Reprise)

Albums

• Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic)
• The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You (Modular) [“album of the year”]
• Bullion - We Had a Good Time (Deek)
• Destroyer - Have We Met (Merge)
• Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia)
• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo (ESGN)
• Hum - Inlet (Earth Analog)
• Kate NV - Room For the Moon (RVNG Intl.)
• KeiyaA - Forever, Ya Girl (Forever)
• Jessy Lanza - All the Time (Hyperdub)
• Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Warner UK)
• Material Girl - Tangram (No Agreements)
• Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Warp)
• Pa Salieu - Send Them to Coventry (Warner UK)
• Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Philadelphia (Idée Fixe)
• The Soft Pink Truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? (Thrill Jockey)
• Thaumiel Sonozaki - Amber Ethereal (Grimalkin)
• Steve Spacek - Houses (Black Focus)
• Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
• Westerman - Your Hero Is Not Dead (Partisan)

& some stray tracks

• Andrea - “Isabelle’s String” - Ritorno (Ilian Tape)
• Arca - “Time” - KiCk i (XL)
• Caribou - “You and I” - Suddenly (Merge)
• Disclosure - “Douha (Mali Mali)” - ENERGY (Island)
• Neil Frances - “Games (Sam Wilkes Remix)” - Remixed (Nettwerk)
• Georgia - “About Work the Dancefloor” - Seeking Thrills (Domino)
• HAIM - “Gasoline” - Women in Music Pt. III (Columbia)
• Hanna - “Spaceland” - Patchwork: Compiled by Sassy J (Rush Hour)
• Jon Hassell - “Fearless” - Seeing Through Sound: Pentimento Vol. 2 (Ndeya)
• James Holden & Waclaw Zimpel - “Saturday” - Long Weekend (Border Community)
• Jaga Jazzist - “Spiral Era” - Pyramid (Brainfeeder)
• Loraine James ft. Joannine - “Don’t You See It?” - Nothing (Hyperdub)
• Mildlife - “Memory Palace” - Automatic (Heavenly)
• Victoria Monét - “Dive” - Jaguar (Tribe)
• Nihiloxica - “Busoga” - Kaloli (Crammed Discs)
• Frank Ocean - “Dear April” - Dear April 7” (Blonded)
• Moses Sumney - “Gagarin” - græ (Jagjaguwar)
• Tame Impala - “Tomorrow’s Dust” - The Slow Rush (Modular)
• Yves Tumor - “Kerosene!” - Heaven To a Tortured Mind (Warp)
• U.S. Girls - “4 American Dollars” - Heavy Light (4AD)

Some Favourite Physical Releases, in alphabetical order

• Kristine Barrett - Unvisited Tombs: Mödrar (S/R)
• Blabbermouth vs. Lachlan Young - The Edge of Reason (S/R)
• Black Glass Ensemble - Arise from the Twilight (Omnempathy)
• Cinder Well - No Summer (Free Dirt)
• Shirley Collins - Heart’s Ease (Domino)
• Common Eider, King Eider and Cober Ord - Palimpsest (Cyclic Law)
• Thomas Dimuzio - Balance (Gench)
• Clara Engel - Hatching Under The Stars (S/R)
• Euphotic - Isopleths (Public Eyesore)
• Insect Ark - The Vanishing (Profound Lore)
• Susan Matthews - Fisher Of Men (Sirenwire)
• Matmos - The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form (Thrill Jockey)
• Lau Nau and Matti Bye - Signals (Time Released Sound)
• Maud the Moth - Orphne (Música Máxica)
• Mika Akim - Till Kroppen (Krumelur)
• My Heart, An Inverted Flame - Plague Notes, Unnames, Unknown, A Finger Dragged Through
• Dust (tUMULt / Zum)
• Old Million Eye - Now Land (S/R)
• The Prison Music Project - Long Time Gone (Righteous Babe)
• Paul Roland - Lair of the White Worm (Unifaun Productions)
• Colin Stetson - Color Out Of Space soundtrack (Milan)
• Sangre de Muérdago - Xuntas (Música Máxica)
• Skyminds - Shapes & Traces (Internal Rhythm)
• Soft Pink Truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Gracfe May Increase? (Thrill Jockey)
• David Tibet - Ferelith / Fontelautus (Cashen’s Gap)
• Emily Wells - In The Dark Moving (Thesis + Instinct)

Some Favourite Digital Releases, in alphabetical order

• Aho Ssan - Simulacrum (Subtext)
• Angel Archer - C4NM (Live - 2020) (S/R)
• Anoice - Invisible Wall (Ricco)
• Little Annie Anxiety & Hiro Kone - Repossessed (S/R)
• The Bim Prongs / Furchick - EC Split 15 (Hal McGee)
• Cedar Deamer - Solastalgia (S/R)
• W.A. Davison - RE/CYCLING series (S/R)
• Dust Bowl Faeries - The Plague Garden (S/R)
• Simon Finn - Be Here Then (EP) (10 to 1)
• Diamanda Galás - De-formation: Piano Variations (S/R)
• Paris Hurley - Monthly Moon Package series (S/R)
• irr. app. (ext.) - Vesicular Distributor series (errate in excelsis)
• irr. app. (ext.) - HCA (errata in excelsis)
• Chuck Johnson - Somewhere South (original soundtrack) (S/R)
• Julia Kent - Forsythia / Waverly / Drops / Clouds Light The Night (S/R)
• Storm Large - Crazy Weather (S/R)
• Mekons - EXQUISITE (S/R)
• Jessica Moss - Opened Ending (Constellation)
• Marissa Nadler - Moons (S/R)
• Old Lake Million Eyes - Old Lake Million Eyes (S/R)
• Josh Pollock - Music for Film and Theatre III (S/R)
• Tiger Lilles - COVID-19 vol. 1-2 / Lemonaki (Misery Guts)
• Transient and Darren Johnston - It Was Always Here (S/R)
• Norman Westberg - Short Songs for the Long Winter (S/R)
• Olga Wojciechowska - Unseen Places (A Strangely Isolated Place)

Some Favourite Benefit Compilations, in alphabetical order

• CosmoPraesidium (Eiderdown)
• Let It Come To You (Clatsop Animal Assistance)
• A Musical Benefit for the Yanomami (Orb Weaver Collective)
• Particle Count (Room40)
• Pattern Recognition (A Benefit for Collage Artist Bradley Kokay) (No Part Of It)
• Plague Song (for Médicins Sans Frontières) (Nick Gill)
• Remembrance Species 2020 (Remembrance Species)
• To NRDC With Love From Qvästlafve (Qvästlafve)

Some Favourite Reissues, in alphabetical order:

• Current 93 - Horsey / Sleep Has His House (HomAleph)
• Jo Quail - Five Incantations (Adderstone)
• Olga Wojciechowska - Maps and Mazes (Time Released Sound)

Good riddance to 2020. Here’s to 2021!

My Favorite Songs of 2020

Brandy – “(Wish You Was) Madball Baby” - The Gift Of Repetition (Total Punk Records)
ISS – “Too Punk For Heavy Metal” - 7” (Total Punk Records)
Dicklord – “Boring” - It’s Soooo Boring (Valve Records)
Moviestar – “Evel Knievel” - The Curse and The Currency of The Twenty-First Century (Bored Airline Music)
Illegal Visions – “Antifa” - South Bay Curse - The Lo-Fi Pandemic Sessions (S/R)
Cable Ties – “Tell Them Where To Go” - Far Enough (Merge Records)
Girl Friday - “Earthquake” - Androgynous Mary (Hardly Art)
MC16 – “Anti” (S/R)
Chemtrails – “Paranoiacs” - The Peculiar Smell Of The Inevitable (PNKSLM Recordings)
Powerslut - “Nostalgia” - Fun With Junk (S/R)

My Favorite Albums of 2020

Brandy – The Gift Of Repetition (Total Punk Records)
Kim Salmon and The Surrealists - Rantings From The Book Of Swamp (Kim Salmon)
Quintron and Miss Pussycat - Goblin Alert (Goner Records)
Flat Worms – Antartica (God?)
Mr. Wrong – Create A Place (Water Wing Records)
Gino and The Goons – Off The Rails (Big Neck Records)
Cool Greenhouse – Cool Greenhouse (Melodic Records)
Jackson Reid Briggs and The Heaters – Hammered (Grubby Publications)
All My Friends and Me - First Time (S/R)
Rubber Blanket - Our Album (Spacecase Records)

My favorite EPs of 2020

• Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice - While Aus Burns (S/R)
• Noxeema – Noxeema EP (dotx3)
• Kool and The Gang Bangers – Year Of The Kool Pt. 3 (S/R)
• CB Radio Gorgeous - EP (Thrilling Living)
• Buck Biloxi and The Fucks - Put You In The Gulag (Goodbye Boozy Records)
• Gee Tee – Atomic (Goodbye Boozy Records)
• Collective Hardcore/ Disco Junk - split (Goodbye Boozy Records)
• Names – Et Tu & The Warning (Misanthropic Agenda)
• Ray Gun - Lunkhead (It’s Trash!)
• Civic - “Radiant Eye b/w Making Time” (Flightless Records)

My Favorite Cover Songs of 2020

• Mattiel – “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun” - Double Cover (ATO Records)
• Munlet - “El Ser Que Quiero” - Ghost Highway Recordings (Music For Gloves)
• Itchy Kitty - “Psycho Killer” - Under The Covers (Corporat Records)
• G.T.R.R.C. - “Food Fight” - G.T.R.R.C. II (G.T.R.R.C.)
• Tropical Fuck Storm featuring Amy Taylor - “This Perfect Day” - Suburbiopia 7” (Joyful Noise Recordings)
• Billiam - “Agitated” (Billiams Fan Club)
• Superchunk - “Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing” - Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy (Good Music)
• Big Clown - “DDDDC” - Big Clown Big Mad (S/R)
• UK Gold - “Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot” - Be Gay, Do Crime! (Girlsville Records)
• Kiss Boom Bah - “Out Of Our Tree” - 7” (Sweet Time)

My Favorite Reissues of 2020

• El Pifco - “Meltdown b/w Bananas” - 7” (Metallic Rainforest)
• 14 th Wish - “I Gotta Get Rid Of You b/w 14th Wish” - 7” (Hozac Records)
• Ted Cassidy - “The Lurch/ Wesley” - 7” (Jackpot Records)
• The Generics - Cost Cutter EP (Feel It Records)
• The Prissteens – The Hound (Girlsville Rceords)
• Os Tartaros - The First Portuguese Surf​-​Garage Group 1964​-​1967 (Groovie Records)
• Whirlywirld - The Complete Studio Works 1978-80 (Hozac Records)
• The Zits - Back In Blackhead EP (Feel It Records)
• The Protagonists – 1983-1985 (Alona’s Dream Records)

My favorite Archival Realeases of 2020

• The Pathetx – 1981 LP (Third Man Records)
• Rebel Truce – The Lost Tapes EP (Green Recordings)
• Snot Puppies - TV Tantrum EP (No Matrix Records)
• Skinned Teen - Nancy Drew EP (Vague Absolutes)
• The Only Ones – Live In Chicago 1979 (Alona’s Dream Records)
• An Uneasy Peace - Speaking In Tongues EP (Dirt Cult Records)
• Red Lights - Red Lights 12” (In The Red Records)
• V/A - Brazilian Nuggets​: Back From The Jungle Vol 4 (Groovie Records)
• V/A - Days Of A Quiet Sun (Feel It Records)

My Favorite Compilation Albums of 2020

• V/A - There’s Gotta Be Hope, Right? (Billiam)
• V/A - G.T.T.R.C. II (G.T.T.R.C.)
• V/A - Be Gay, Do Crime! (Girlsville Records)
• V/A – Typical Girls Volume 5 (Emotional Response Records)
• V/A - Black Lives Matter (Yeah Right!)
• V/A – Killed By Boredom - 27 Songs By Lock-Down Survivors (One Chord Wonder)
• V/A - Quarantine Age Wasteland: A Benefit for Boston's Small Venues (Quarantine Age Wasteland)
• V/A - No Gigs Does Not Have To Mean No Music (Desert Highways)
• V/A - Protest & Survive (Protest & Survive)

My Favorite Live and Virtually Live Shows of 2020

• Kim Salmon and The Surrealists – live at Rolling Stock, June 13 & 14, 2020
• Gonerfest 17 - Memphis, TN and beyond, September 24-27, 2020
• Shimane Jett Fest - Japan, September 26, 2020
• Los Dug Dugs - Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA, January 30, 2020
• Steve Nieve and friends – live from his house in France, March through present, 2020
• Chemtrails record release - June 21, 2020
• The Archaeas – record release live from Goner Records, Memphis, TN, August 14, 2020
• Memorial Day Meltdown - various locations, May 24, 2020
• Doug and Jamin – live from The Rite Spot, San Francisco, multiple days 2020
• Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus - The Knockout, San Francisco, CA, February 21, 2020

MY FAVORITE SONGS TO CELEBRATE TRUMP’S LAST YEAR

• The Owen Guns – “The Ballad of Cheeto Hitler” - Violating Community Standards (Riot Records)
• Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric – “Vote That Fucker Out” (S/R)
• Hobocop – “I’m A Troll” - Hungry Freaks In The Data Mine (S/R)
• Xylitol – “(There’s Something In Your) Void” - I’m Pretty Sure I Would Know If Reality Were Fundamentally Different Than I Perceived It To Be EP (Thrilling Living Records)
• Paris – “Baby Man Hands” - Safe Space Invader (Guerrilla Funk Recordings)
• Idles – “Grounds” - Ultra Mono (Partisan Records)
• Public Enemy – “State Of The Union (STFU)” - What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down? (Enemy Records)
• Research Reactor Corp – “Big Baby” - The Collected Findings Of The Research Reactor Corporation (Erste Theke Tontraeger)
• Dick Move – “Ladies Night” - Chop! (Holiday Records)
• Psychedelic Furs – “Tiny Hands” - Made Of Rain (Cooking Vinyl)

• Brittney Howard - “13th Century Metal” - Jaime (ACO)
• Bad Moves - “Party With The Kids Who Wanna Party With You” - Untenable (Don Giovanni)
• Weye Oak - “AEIOU” - No Horizon (Merge)
• Alien Nosejob - “Pointed Shears” - Once Again The Present Becomes The Past (Iron Lung)
• Sakuran Zensen - “Taximan” - I Am Sakuran Zensen (たわしレコーズ)
• The Beths - “Dying To Believe” - Jump Rope Gazers (Carpark)
• Eri Yamamoto Trio - “Echo of Echo” - Gasho Ondo Suite (AUM)
• Pictish Trail - “Turning Back” - Thumb World (Fire Records)
• Ben Wendel - “Drawn Away” - High Heart (Edition Records)
• Dark Forest - “Relics” - Oak, Ash and Thorn (Cruz Del Sur)
• This Is The Kit - “Coming To Get You Nowhere” - Off Off On (Rough Trade)
• Snakefinger - “Man In The Dark Sedan” - Live in Melbourne, 1981 (Secret)
• Stick In The Wheel - “Villon Song” - HOLD FAST (From Here)
• Alice Clark - “I Keep It Hid” - Alice Clark (Mainstream Records)
• Dry Cleaning - “Traditional Fish” - Sweet Princess (It’s OK)
• The Smarts - “Smart Phone” - Who Needs Smarts, Anyway (Feel It)
• Chrome - “Fudge Bunny” - Tidal Forces/No Humans Allowed Pt. II (Secret)
• Mourn - “This Feeling Is Disgusting” - Self Worth (Captured Tracks)
• Cyril Cyril - “Les Gens” - Yallah Mickey Mouse (Born Bad)
• The Oh Hellos - “Lapis Lazuli” - Borealis (S/R)
• No Joy - “Nothing Will Hurt” - Motherhood (Joyful Noise)
• Christian Singles - “A Dream Ends Without Starting” - Maybe Another Time (Mt.St.Mtn)
• Naked Roommate - “Repeat” - Do The Duvet (Trouble In Mind)
• Deerhoof - “Damaged Eyes Squinting Into The Beautiful Overhot Sun” - Future Teenage Cave Artists (Joyful Noise)
• Bitch Falcon - “How Did I Know?” - Staring at Clocks (Small Pond)

Top 10 Debut Albums

• Bartees Strange - Live Forever (Memory Music)
• Cubby and the Gang - Speed Kills (Partisan)
• Gum Country - Somewhere (S/R)
• Park Hye Jin - How Can I (Ninja Tune)
• Ela Minus - Acts of Rebellion (Domino)
• Mamalarky - Mamalarky (Fire Talk)
• Pillow Queens - In Waiting (S/R)
• Alaska Reid - Big Bunny (Terrible Records)
• Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA (Dirty Hit)
• Samia - The Baby (Grand Jury)

Top 10 Local Releases

• Cocktails - Catastrophic Entertainment (Wizards & Potions)
• Quinn DeVeaux - Book of Soul (S/R)
• Elder Brother - I Won’t Fade on You (Pure Noise)
• Fantastic Negrito - Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? (S/R)
• Ismay - Songs of Sonoma Mountain (S/R)
• Madeline Kenney - Suckers Lunch (Carpark)
• Monophonics - It’s Only Us (Colemine)
• Low Praise - Tanning Beds (S/R)
• The Seshen - CYAN (Tru Thoughts)
• Unconditional Arms - Formation (Sell The Heart)

2020’s Top 10 Local Shows has been converted into the last live show I’m glad I witnessed
before the world paused: Unconditional Arms, Commissure, Reptoid at Elbo Room on 2/27/20

As in A Tale of Two Cities, it was the best of years, it was the worst of years

Best Singles

• Cormac Russell - “Lotus Train” (s/r)
• Dream Aria - “Fairy Dust” (s/r)
• Enzo Monk - “Ballad of George Floyd” (s/r)
• Lizki - “Press Rewind” (Seayou)
• Preach - “Likor” (Seayou)
• Rosa Rendl- “Opportunity Lover” (Seayou)
• Samantha Margret - “Emotional” (s/r)

Best Covers

• Juliana Hatfield - Sings The Police (American Laundromat)
• Khalia - “Hallelujah” (K-Licious)
• Robbie Quine - “Sugar Sugar” (s/r)

Best New Releases

• Klo Pelgag - Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs (Secret City)
• Jed’s A Millionaire - The Beautiful Ones - (Kona)
• Dylan Sherry - Western Sky - (s/r)
• Clown of God - Clown Times ep - (s/r)
• Various Artists - Tokyo Dreaming (WeWantSounds)

Best Re-releases

• Ammar el Sherei - Oriental Sounds (WeWantSounds)
• Omar Khorshid - With Love (WeWantSounds)

• Yppah - Sunset in the Deep End (Future Archive)
• Wajatta - Don't Let Get You Down (Brainfeeder)
• Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
• Sneaks - Happy Birthday (Merge)
• Romare - Home (Ninja Tune)
• Potatohead People - Mellow Fantasy (Bastard Jazz)
• Omar-S - You Want (FXHE)
• Moon Boots - Bimini Road (Remixed) (Anjunadeep)
• Jayda G - Both of Us / Are You Down (Ninja Tune)
• Emancipator - Mountain of Memory (Loci)

• Novelist - “Stay With Me” (S/R)
• Coby Sey - River (Curl)
• Krust - The Edge of Everything (Crosstown Rebels)
• Katya Yonder - Multiply Intentions (Métron Records)
• V/A - HOA010 & HOA011 (HAUS of ALTR)
• Parris - Polychrome Swim (The Trilogy Tapes)
• Parris - Terrapin (Wisdom Teeth)
• Josey Rebelle - Josey In Space (Beats In Space)
• EquiknoxxMusic - Equiknoxx Music in 2020(EquiknoxxMusic)
• Upsammy - Zoom (Delmantel)
• Nailah Hunter - Spells (Leaving Records)
• Good Bad Happy Sad - Shades (Textile Records)
• Beatrice Dillon - Workaround (Pan)
• Call Super - Every Mouth Teeth Missing (Incienso)
• Autechre - Sign (Warp Records)
• Nidia - Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes (Príncipe)
• Magnetizer - Soulseeker (S/R)
• Duval Timothy - Help (Carrying Colour)
• Laura Groves - A Private Road (Bella Union)
• Speaker Music - Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry (Planet Mu)
• Vague Imaginaires - L'Île Sous l'Eau (12th Isle)
• Actress - 88 (S/R)
• Actress - Karma & Desire (Ninja Tune)
• Actress - Unseen_Werk No.1 (Braindead)
• Lafawndah - The Fifth Season (Latency)
• LOG - LOG ET3RNAL (Experiences Ltd.)
• Klein -  Frozen (S/R)
• Overmono - Everything U Need (XL Recordings)
• Molero - Ficciones Del Trópico (Holuzam)
• Space Afrika - hybtwibt? (S/R)
• Niagara - Pais & Filhos (Príncipe)
• U - Lowlands (Where To Now?)
• Ulla - Tumbling Towards A Wall (Experiences Ltd.)
• CS + Kreme - Snoopy (The Trilogy Tapes)
• dBridge - Inhibited (Exit Records)
• KeiyaA - Forever, Ya Girl (Keiya)
• Jonnine - Blue Hills (Boomkat Editions)
• John Carroll Kirby - My Garden (Stones Throw Records)
• Minor Science - Second Language (Whities)
• Bullion - We Had A Good Time (Deek Recordings)
• Loraine James - Nothing (Hyperdub)
• Karl D’Silva - Disapear (S/R)
• Novelist - Quantum Leap (S/R)

The staggering volume of amazing music released in 2020 was the silver lining of one of the most challenging years of my adult life.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide (Rhymesayers)
• AJ Suede - Knowhatimean? (self-released)
• Al.Divino & Futurewave - Kataklizm (self-released)
• Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk - Ocean Bridges (Redefinition)
• Armand Hammer - Shrines (Backwoodz Studioz)
• Arms and Sleepers - Corpus Dei (Future Archive)
• Awol One - Tony the Walrus (Speakerface)
• Batsauce - Shelter Skelter (Full Plate)
• Blockhead - Quar and Peace (self-released)
• Blu & Exile - Miles: From An Interlude Called Life (Dirty Science)
• BlUu Edwards - All We Need Is Kill (Wrecking Crew)
• Boldy James - The Price of Tea In China (ALC)
• Buckwild - Music Is My Religion (Kurrup Money)
• Brzowski & C Money Burns - The Subjugation of Bread (Milled Pavement)
• Cargo Cults - Nihilist Millennial (Wrecking Crew)
• Chester Watson - A Japanese Horror Film (POW)
• Controller 7 - Exhale01 (self-released)
• Controller 7 & Buck 65 - Billy (self-released)
• Count Bass D - CBD (self-released)
• Day Tripper - Langford Landscapes (Full Plate)
• Dillon & Batsauce - Self Medicated EP (Full Plate)
• DJ Muggs & Al.Divino - Kilogram (Soul Assassins)
• DJ Scientist - The Artless Cuckoo Vol. II (self-released)
• Doseone - G Is For Job (self-released)
• Dr. Oop & Nada Clue - Essential Business Vol. 1 & 2 (self-released)
• Ear Dr.Umz - Mental Picture Show (self-released)
• Ecid - Post Euphoria Vol. 3 (Fill In the Breaks)
• 80's Babies - unLEARN (self-released)
• Escape Artists - Evergreen (Cathexis)
• Factor Chandelier - First Storm (Fake Four Inc)
• Factor Chandelier - Eastlake (Fake Four Inc)
• Fielded - Demisexual Lovelace (Backwoodz Studioz)
• 4-IZE - Look Into My IZE (Ultra Beast United)
• Gel Roc - Grandeur (Abolano)
• Googie & Henry Canyons - Hijinx (Backwoodz Studioz)
• Griff/Scorcese - Midnight Express (Insubordinate)
• Haphduzn - Visceral (self-released)
• Heliocentrics - Infinity of Now (Madlib Invazion)
• Henny L.O. & Ohbliv - Sages (Mutant Academy)
• Him Lo - Slapyagoddamnfaceoff (Grilchy Party)
• ialive - I'll Wait Forever (Cold Rhyme)
• Ill Scholars - Ill Scholars (self-released)
• Illogic - Autopilot (self-released)
• Junclassic - The Hope Business (self-released)
• Ka - Descendents of Cain (Iron Works)
• Kay the Aquanaut & Maki - The Nautical Blue (self-released)
• Kid Abstrakt & Emapea - Jazzy Vibes (self-released)
• LAPIS - Third Person You (Fresh Selects)
• lojii - lo&behold (self-released)
• Lt Headtrip - Dreamery (We Are the Karma Kids)
• Lydia Liza & Big Cats - Oh Boy (self-released)
• Mestizo & Controller 7 - Couch (self-released)
• MidaZ the Beast - Where the Sidewalk Ends (self-released)
• Moodie Black - F U Z Z (Fake Four Inc)
• Napoleon Da Legend & Ro Data - The Stuff of Legend (Chong Wizard)
• Nation GVNG - Nation GVNG (Insubordinate)
• Nolan the Ninja - Talk Soon (Sport Cast)
• Observe Since '98 - Royaume Du Sauvage (Loretta)
• Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma & Divorce (Auto Reverse
• Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin - FlySiifu's (Lex)
• Proe & MF Shalem B - Belove Below (Childproof)
• Pro Zay - Alley Muzik (self-released)
• Pseudo Intellectuals - A Late Stage Malaise (Lo Do)
• Ransom & Nicholas Craven - Director's Cut: Scene 2 & 3 (Chong Wizard)
• R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages (Ruby Yacht)
• Rasheed Chappell & Buckwild - Sinners and Saints (Get On Down)
• Rigz & Futurewave - Substance Abuse (self-released)
• Roughneck Jihad - The Red Sentence (Expanded-Art)
• Salami Rose Joe Louis - Chapters of Zdenka (Brainfeeder)
• Señor Kaos & Illastrate - Kings of Vice (Ultra Beast United)
• Serengeti - AJAI (Fake Four Inc)
• ShrapKnel - ShrapKnel (Backwoodz Studioz)
• Sons of the James - Everlasting (Fresh Selects)
• Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
• Ultra Beast - Rush the Court (Ultra Beast United)
• Verbal Kent & The Other Guys - Blade of the Short Cut (HiPNOTT)
• Vic Spencer - Psychological Cheat Sheet (Old Fart Luggage)
• Vitamin D - Flips Vol. 1 & 2 (self-released)
• WateRR - Workshop of the Mind (self-released)
• White Horse - White Horse (Uncommon)
• Wrecking Crew - Raheem's Lament (Wrecking Crew)
• Yppah - Sunset In the Deep End (Future Archive)
• Zilla Rocca & Chong Wizard - Midnight Sons (Chong Wizard)

Picking the very best of that bunch is difficult, but if I had to narrow it down to only 10 of those titles they most likely would be:

• Armand Hammer - Shrines (Backwoodz Studioz)
• BlUu Edwards - All We Need Is Kill (Wrecking Crew)
• Serengeti - AJAI (Fake Four Inc)
• Controller 7 & Buck 65 - Billy (self-released)
• Blu & Exile - Miles: From an Interlude Called Life (Dirty Science)
• 4-IZE - Look Into My IZE (Ultra Beast United)
• Ill Scholars - Ill Scholars (self-released)
• Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma & Divorce (Auto Reverse)
• Chester Watson - A Japanese Horror Film (POW)
• WateRR - Workshop of the Mind (self-released)

• Pinegrove - Marigold (Rough Trade)
• Fleet Foxes - Shore (ANTI-)
• Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (Dead Oceans)
• Purity Ring - WOMB (4AD)
• Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B (Schoolboy and Interscope)
• beabadoobee - Fake It Flowers (Dirty Hit)
• Frances Quinlan - Likewise (Saddle Creek)
• Into It Over It - Figures (Triple Crown)
• Standards - Fruit Island (Topshelf)
• Baths - Pop Music/False B Sides II (Basement's Basement)
• Liza Anne - Bad Vacation (Arts and Crafts)
• Field Medic - Floral Prince (Run For Cover)
• Starchild and the New Romantic - Forever (New Romantic World)
• Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences (Polyvinyl)
• The Japanese House - Chewing Cotton Wool (Dirty Hit)
• Braids - Shadow Offering (Secret City)
• The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers (Carpark)
• PUP - This Place Sucks Ass (Rise)
• Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
• Hayley Williams - Petals For Armor (Atlantic)
• HAIM - Women in Music Part III (Columbia)
• Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (Merge)
• The Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives (Merge)
• Dryjacket - Going Out Of Business (Lesser Matters)

FGW ♥ Reissues of 2020

• Hiroshi Yoshimura - GREEN (Light In The Attic)
• Admas - Sons of Ethiopia (Frederiksberg)
• Patrick Cowley - Some Funkettes (Dark Entries)
• Ranil - Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical (Analog Africa)
• Sharhabil Ahmed - The King of Sudanese Jazz (Habibi Funk)
• Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto (Impulse!)
• Elliott Smith - Live at Umbra Penumbra - September 17th, 1994 (KRS)
• The Heshoo Beshoo Group - Armitage Road (We Are Busy Bodies)

FGW ♥ Albums/EPs of 2020

• Moaning - Uneasy Laughter (Sub Pop)
• Against All Logic - 2017-2019 (Other People)
• Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador)
• SAULT - Untitled (Black Is) / Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals)
• Widowspeak - Plum (Captured Tracks)
• King Krule - Man Alive! (True Panther Sounds / Matador)
• Frankie Reyes - Originalitos (Stones Throw)
• Adrianne Lenker - songs / instrumentals (4AD)
• Fontaines D.C. - A Hero’s Death (Partisan)
• Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess (Jagjaguwar)
• JPEGMAFIA - EP! (EQT)
• Hama - Music From Saharan Whatsapp 08 (Sahel Sounds)
• Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross / Jon Batiste - Soul (OST) (Disney)
• Charli XCX - how i’m feeling now (Asylum)
• Candace - Ideal Corners (S/R)
• Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (Dead Oceans)
• Bosca Banks - Winner (S/R)
• Deeper - Auto-Pain (Fire Talk)
• Nicolás Jaar - Cenizas (Other People)
• Peel Dream Magazine - Agitprop Alterna (Slumberland)
• Duma - Duma (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
• Emily Montes - Emily Montes (S/R)
• Various - Care Not Cops (In This Together LA)
• Various - The Song is Coming from Inside the House (S/R)

FGW ♥ Singles of 2020

• Connan Mockasin - “I Want Troll With You (Gentle Dom Remix)” (Mexican Summer)
• Car Seat Headrest - “Can’t Cool Me Down” (Matador)
• Jamie xx - “Idontknow” (Young Turks)
• Burial, Four Tet & Thom Yorke - “Her Revolution” (XL)
• Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper & 9th Wonder - “Freeze Tag (feat. Phoelix)” (Sounds of Crenshaw / EMPIRE)
• Porridge Radio & Lala Lala - “Good For You” (Secretly Canadian / Hardly Art)
• RMR - “RASCAL” (CMNTY CULTURE)
• Dummy - “Pool Dizzy” (Born Yesterday)
• Aoife Nessa Frances - “Geranium” (Ba Da Bing!)
• Anderson .Paak - “Lockdown” (12Tones)
• Frank Ocean - “Cayendo (Side A - Acoustic)” (Blonded)
• Justin Bieber & benny blanco - “Lonely”
• Kurt Vile & John Prine - “How Lucky” (Matador)
• Whateverglades - “Don't Call Me Baby / I Watch Over Me” (No Egrets)
• Fenn Rosenthal - “Dinosaurs in Love (feat. Tom Rosenthal)” (Dinosaur)

1. En Attendant Ana - "Down The Hill" - Juillet (Trouble In Mind)
2. Jeanines - "Everyone Should Be Warned" - Things Change (wiaiwya)
3. Galore - "Silence" - S/T (Rocks In Your Head)
4. Melenas - "En Madrid" Dias Raros (Elsa)
5. Seablite - "High-Rise Mannequin" - High-Rise Mannequin (Emotional Response)
6. Potpourri - "Postcards" - First Dance (Bingo)
7. Nightshift - "Make Kin" - "Make Kin" (Trouble In Mind)
8. Gustaf - "Design" - S/T (Royal Mountain)
9. Lithics - "Hands" - Tower of Age (Trouble In Mind)
10. Shopping - "Follow Me" - All Or Nothing (FatCat)
11. Flowers - "Erik" - Erik (Slumberland)
12. Candace - "DM-100" - Ideal Corners (S/R)
13. Torrey - "Recording 119" - Recording 119 (S/R)
14. Radiator Hospital - "Summer Movie" - New Depression (S/R)
15. The Reds, Pinks and Purples - "I Should Have Helped You" - I Should Have Helped You (Burundi Cloud)
16. SOAR - "Corner of a Room" - Soft Dial Tone (Lost Sound Tapes)
17. Latitude - "I Love the Radio" - Mystic Hotline (Emotional Response)
18. Axolotes Mexicanos - "Te Quiero (...)" - Uwu (Elefant)
19. Habibi - "Angel Eyes" - Anywhere But Here (Muddguts)
20. Soft Palms - "Not Love" - S/T (Everloving)
21. Boyracer - "Girl in a Soul Band" - On a Promise (Emotional Response)
22. Parsnip - "Treacle Toffee World" - Adding Up (Anti Fade)
23. No se a quien matar - "Bacilococo" - Bacilococo (Casa Maracas)
24. Baby Shakes - "Really Really" - Sweet 'n' Sour (Dimple)
25. Ribbon Stage - "Favorite Girl" - My Favorite Shrine (S/R)
26. The Stroppies - "Burning Bright" - Look Alive (Tough Love)
27. Terry - "Take the Cellphone" - Take the Cellphone (Sub Pop)
28. Lisasinson - "Volverte A Enamorar" - Volverte A Enamorar (Elefant)
29. Brontez Purnell - "In Between" - White Boy Music (Post Present)
30. Neutrals - "Personal Computing" - Personal Computing (Slumberland)
31. Sweeping Promises - "Cross Me Out" - Hunger for a Way Out (Feel It)
32. Lewsberg - "Through the Garden" - In This House (S/R)
33. Cindy - "Falcon Heavy" - Free Advice (Mt.St.Mtn.)
34. Peel Dream Magazine - "Too Dumb" - Agitprop Alterna (Slumberland)
35. Virginia Wing - "I'm Holding Out For Something" - I'm Holding Out For Something (Fire)
36. Cold Beat - "Flat Earth" - Mother (DFA)
37. Primo! - "Love Days" - Sogni (Upset The Rhythm)
38. Suzie True - "Bailey" - Saddest Girl at the Party (Get Better)
39. Porridge Radio - "Circling" - Every Bad (Secretly Canadian)
40. Mitimitis - "Todas las Fiestas del Manana" - Terror en el Autocine (S/R)

7"

• Aladean Kheroufi - Sorry If I Hurt You (Kimberlite)
• CB Radio Gorgeous - EP (Thrilling Living)
• Lewsberg - Through the Garden (S/R)
• Neutrals - Personal Computing (Slumberland)
• Neutrals - Rent/Your House (Domestic Departure)
• Ribbon Stage - My Favorite Shrine (K)
• Romero - Honey (Cool Death)
• Shark Toys - Out of Time (Chunklet)
• Violent Change - S/T (Sloth Mate)

12"

• Astute Palate - S/T (Petty Bunco)
• Chronophage - Th' Pig Kiss'd Album ‎(Cleta Patra)
• The Cool Greenhouse - S/T (Melodic)
• Galore - S/T (Rocks in Your Head)
• Lithics - Tower of Age (Toruble in Mind)
• Sweeping Promises - Hunger For A Way Out (Feel It)

Cassettes, Demos, etc.

• Dummy - EP2  (Born Yesterday)
• Hits - Sediment Seen (Paisley Shirt)
• Modern Needs - Survey of the Animal Kingdom (S/R)
• Nape Neck - S/T (S/R)
• Permits - Time Permits (Tenth Court)
• Privay Issues - S/T (S/R)
• The Snogs - Boyfriend's Dead (Paisley Shirt)

• IDLES - Ultra Mono (Partisan)
• Klo Pelgag - Notre-Dame-Des-Sept-Douleurs (Secret City)
• Fiona Apple - Fetch the Boltcutters (Epic)
• Yelle - L’Ere du Berseau
• Alex the Astronaut - The Theory of Absolutely Nothing (Network)
• Buen Aurelio Malazar - pre.pro.post (Unknown Tone)
• U.S. Girls - Heavy Light (4AD)
• DakhaBrakha - Alambari (S/R)
• Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn - Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn (Smithsonian Folkways)
• The Architect - Une Plage Sur La Lune (Face B)

• Actress - Karma & Desire (Ninja Tune)
• Ammar 808 - Global Control / Invisible Invasion (Glitterbeat)
• Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic)
• William Basinski - Lamentations (Temporary Residence)
• Andrew Bird - Panthology Songs (S/R)
• Bo Ningen - Sudden Fiction (Alcopop!)
• Louise Bock - Abyss for Cello (Geographic North)
• Rose Bonica - Tears for The Tea Maker (Roses are Red)
• Café Ale - Third Age (Simballrec)
• Sonia Calico - Simulation of An Overloaded World (More Time)
• Clap Clap - Liquid Portraits (Black Acre)
• Cocina Povera - Tyyni (Night School)
• Cold Beat - Mother (DFA)
• Cornershop - England Is A Garden (Ample Play)
• Cults - Host (Sinderlyn)
• Philippe Doray & Les Asociaux Associes - Nouveaux Modes Industriels (Souffle Continu)
• Steve Earle - Ghosts Of West Virginia (New West)
• Matt Evans - New Topographics (Whatever's Clever)
• Fatwires - The Wicked Path (Depth of Field)
• Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans (Text)
• M. Geddes Gengras - Time Makes Nothing Happen (Hausu Mountin)
• Guedra Guedra - Sun of Son (On the Corner)
• Lilly Hiatt - Walking Proof (New West)
• Anna Homler - D? Ya Sa´ Di D? (A Sonic Geography) (Berlston)
• Boldy James/Sterling Toles - Manger on Mcnichols (Sector 7-G)
• Jiony - Sí Y No (Drosssel)
• Kaleema - Nómada (Tropical Twista)
• Faten Kanaan - A Mythology of Circles (Fire)
• Kassa Overall - I Think I’m Good (Brownswood)
• Madeline Kenney - Sucker's Lunch (Carpark)
• Mikado Koko - The Japanese Rimbaud (S/R)
• Various Artists - Komposisi Kompos (Divis162)
• Kraus - A Golden Brain (S/R)
• Sophia Loizou - Untold (Houndstooth)
• Loma - Don't Shy Away (Sub Pop)
• Mapache - From Liberty Street (Yep Roc)
• Ela Minus - Acts of Rebellions (Domino)
• Moodymann - Taken Away (KDJ)
• Moon Wiring Club - Tabitha Reverb (S/R)
• Mukdad Rothenberg Lankow - In the Wake Of Memories (Clermont Music)
• Sascha Muhr - Fuive Part 2 (S/R)
• Naked Roommate - Do the Duvet (Trouble in Mind)
• Nape Neck - Nape Neck (Gringo)
• Thiago Nassif - Mente (Gearbox)
• Nazar - End of Guerilla (S/R)
• North Americans - Roped In (Third Man)
• Novellor - Arrow (Ba Da Bing!)
• Agnes Obel - Myopia (Blue Note)
• Lawrence Pike - Prophecy (Leaf)
• Public Practice - Gentle Grip (Wharf Cat)
• Red Brut - Cloaked Travels (Ikuisuus)
• Lina Raül Refree - Lina Raül Refree (Glitterbeat)
• Romperayo - Uyuyuis (S/R)
• RVG - Feral (Fire)
• Sault - Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)
• Seabuckthorn - Through A Vulnerable Occur (Iikki)
• Sevdaliza - Shabrang (Twisted Elegance)
• Shabaka And the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (Impulse!)
• Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Sweeping Promises - (Feel It)
• Sylvan Esso - Free Love (Loma Vista)
• Tl0741 - Refractory (HC3)
• Terror/Cactus - Confluencia (S/R)
• Azu Tiwaline - Magnetic Service (Livity Sound)
• Yosuke Tokunaga - 13 Monotonousness (Audio Visual Atmosphere)
• David Toop - Apparition Paintings (Room40)
• Tvii Son - Tvii Son (Music Inspired)
• Melanie Velarde - Bez (Commend There)
• Winter - Endless Space (Between You & I) (Bar None)
• Women of The Pore - Folk Music (Orb Tapes)
• Woods - Strange to Explain (Woodsist)
• X - Alphabetland (Gat Possum)
• Y-Bayani & Baby Naa And the Band Of Enlightenment - Nsie Nsie (Philopon)
• Zenobia - Halek Halek (Crammed Discs)

~ Megasoup's 50 Favorite Albums (plus one fantastic compilation) from 2020 ~

• Ak'Chamel The Giver Of Illness - The Totemist (Akuphone)
• Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol.1 (International Anthem)
• Alicia Keys - Alicia (RCA / AKW)
• Andrea - Ritorno (Ilian Tape)
• Aril Brikha - Dance of a Trillion Stars (Mule Musiq)
• Aukai - Game Trails (aukaimusic)
• Awkward Corners - Dislocation Songs (Shapes of Rhythm)
• Azu Tiwaline - Draw Me A Silence (IOT)
• Babani Koné - Babani Koné (Discograph)
• Channelers - Isles Beyond (Inner Islands)
• Clap Clap - Liquid Portraits (Black Acre)
• Cleo Soul - Rose In The Dark (Forever Living Originals)
• CS + Kreme - Snoopy (The Trilogy Tapes)
• D.K. - Live At The Edge (12th Isle)
• Emily A Sprague - Hill, Flower, Fog (RVNG)
• Ezra Feinberg - Recumbent Speech (Related States)
• Flying Vipers - Cuttings (Jump Up!)
• Fools - Fools Harp Vol. 1 (Music From Memory)
• Golden Retriever and Chuck Johnson ‎– Rain Shadow (Thrill Jockey)
• Greg Foat - Symphonie Pacifique (Strut)
• Halftribe - Cloud Dreaming And Shadows (Shimmering Moods)
• Heliocentrics - Telemetric Sounds (Madlib Invazion)
• Huerta - Junipero (Voyage Recordings)
• Julianna Barwick - Healing Is A Miracle (Ninja Tune)
• Kenji Kihara - Slow Slope Sleeps (Inner Islands)
• Kiln - Astral Welder (Ghostly International)
• K-Lone - Cape Cira (Wisdom Teeth)
• Koyil - Healing Cycles (DIG)
• Kutiman - Wachaga (Siyal Music)
• Let It Come Down - Songs We Sang In Our Dreams (Joyful Noise)
• Luke Jenner - 1 (Manono)
• Martina Bertoni - All The Ghosts Are Gone (Karlrecords)
• Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders (Ghostly International)
• Matthew Halsall - Salute To The Sun (Gondwanna)
• Mourning [A] BLKstar - The Cycle (Don Giovanni)
• Nat Birchall Meets Al Breadwinner - Tradition Disc In Dub (Tradition Disc)
• Nihiloxica - Kaloli (Crammed Discs)
• Numün - Voyage Au Soleil (Musique Impossible)
• Ocoeur - Everything (n5MD)
• Plant Lab - Plant Lab (Crash Symbols)
• Run The Jewels - RTJ4 (BMG)
• Sault - Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals)
• Sarah Davachi - Cantus Descant (Late Music)
• Siti Muharam - Siti of Unguja: Romance Revolution on Zanzibar (On The Corner)
• Sven Wunder - Wabi Sabi (Piano Piano)
• The Sorcerers - In Search Of The Lost City Of The Monkey God (ATA)
• Vagues Imaginaires - L'île D'or (Not Not Fun)
• Vestals - Holy Origin (Dust Editions)
• Wanderwelle - A State of Decrepitude (A Strangely Isolated Place)
• X.Y.R. - Pilgrimage (Not Not Fun)
• V/A - A Little Night Music: Aural Apparitions from the Geographic North (Geographic North)

~ Megasoup's 10 Favorite EPs & 12" singles from 2020 ~

• Azu Tiwaline - Magnetic Service (Livity Sound)
• Dengue Dengue Dengue - Continentes Perdidos (On The Corner)
• Deradoorian - Cosmic Garden EP (Self Released)
• D.K. - The Ancient Kingdom (Good Morning Tapes)
• Green House - Six Songs For Invisible Gardens (Leaving)
• Nicola Cruz - Hybridism (Multi Culti)
• Penya Na Msafiri Zawose - Penya Safari E.P. (On The Corner)
• Planets Don't Last - Planets Don't Last (Aural Canyon)
• Sugarloaf Gangsters - Temarasa / Chor Gway (G.A.M.M.)
• V/A - Espectrum 2, Ep1 (AvantRoots)

~ Megasoup's 20 Favorite Reissues / Archival Releases from 2020 ~

• Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Just Coolin' (Blue Note)
• Brian Eno - Film Music 1976-2020 (UMe)
• Global Communication - Transmissions (Evolution)
• Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green (Light In The Attic)
• Intergalactic Federation - 1 / 2 (Fantasy Enhancing)
• Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry with Seskain Molenga & Kalo Kawongolo - Roots From The Congo (Planet Ilunga)
• OK Jazz - Pas Un Pas Sans (Planet Ilunga)
• Orchestra Baobab - Mouhamadou Bamba (Syllart)
• Orchestra Baobab - Viva Bawobab S1/Si Bou Odja (Syllart) 
• Prince - Sign O' The Times: Super Deluxe Edition (Warner)
• Priscilla Ermel - Origens Da Luz (Music From Memory)
• Ranil - Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical (Analog Africa)
• V/A - 12 Bombazos Bailables (Vampi Soul)
• V/A - Cadence Revolution: Disques Debs International Vol. 2 (Strut)
• V/A - Color De Tropico: Compiled by El Dragon Criollo & El Palmas (El Palmas)
• V/A - Excavated Shellac: An Alternate History Of The World's Music (Dust To Digital)
• V/A - Oriental Rare Groove: Rare Funky Songs From The Arabic World (Wagram)
• V/A - Guasa, Cununo y Marimba - Afro-Colombian Music From The Pacific Coast (Vampi Soul)
• V/A - The World Is A Cafeteria: American Soul Music (and one song from Ghana) 1955-1998 (Cairo)
• V/A - Time, Tone, & Texture (Invisible, Inc.)

I didn’t get to everything in 2020 but these 15 albums got to me:

• Martina Bertoni - All the Ghosts Are Gone (FALK)
• Aril Brikha - Dance of a Trillion Stars (Mule Musiq)
• Mettaverse - Light Forms (S/R)
• Ak’chamel, The Giver of Illness – The Totemist (Akuphone)
• Wanderwelle – A State of Decrepitude (A Strangely Isolated Place)
• Spirit Fest – Mirage Mirage (Morr Music)
• Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers – Vodou Alé (Bongo Joe)
• Raymond Richards – The Lost Art of Wandering (ESP Institute)
• Azu Tiwaline – Draw Me a Silence (IOT)
• Flock of Dimes – Like So Much Desire (Sub Pop)
• Greg Foat – Symphonie Pacifique (Strut)
• Skyminds – Shapes & Traces (Internal Rhythm)
• Let It Come Down – Songs We Sang in Our Dreams (Joyful Noise)
• Various Artists – Door to the Cosmos + Dancefloor Sampler (On the Corner)
• Kiln – Astral Welder (Ghostly International)

Plus Five Songs:

• Luke Jenner – “All My Love” – 1 (Manono)
• Wye Oak – “Sky Witness” – No Horizon (Merge)
• Torgeir Waldemar – “Black Ocean” – Love (Jansen)
• Julianna Barwick (ft. Mary Lattimore) – “Oh, Memory” – Healing is a Miracle (Ninja Tune)
• New London Drone Orchestra – “Antisocial Closeness” – Isolation/Collaboration (Enter the Circle)

• Cold Beat - Mother (DFA)
• En Attendant Ana - Juillet (Trouble in Mind)
• Galore - Galore (Rocks in Your Head)
• Jeanines - Things Change (Where It’s At Is Where You Are)
• Lithics - Tower of Age (Trouble in Mind)
• Melenas - Dias Raros (Trouble in Mind)
• Mr. Wrong - Create a Place (Water Wing)
• Naked Roommate - Do the Duvet (Trouble in Mind)
• Peel Dream Magazine - Agitprop Alterna (Slumberland)
• R. Aggs - Tape 1 (S/R)
• Sweeping Promises - Hunger For a Way Out (Feel It)

• Bye Bye Blackbirds - “Baby It’s Still You” - Boxer at Rest (Double Potions)
• Ela Minus - “Pocket Piano” - Acts of Rebellion (Domino)
• Julie Jacklin - “To Perth: Before the Border Closes” - To Perth: Before the Border Closes (SubPop)
• Latitude - “Tick Tock” - Mystic Hotline (Emotional Response)
• Leave Me Alones - “Stop You” - Race to the Bottom EP (S/R)
• Moodyman - “Do Wrong” - Taken Away (KDJ)
• Moore Brothers - “Just Cover Me in Leaves” - Autobiography (Unavailable)
• Sault - “Monsters” - Untitled(Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)
• Sleaford Mods - “Mork N Mindy” - Mork N Mindy (Rough Trade)
• Sneaks - “Scorpio on the Side” - Happy Birthday (Merge)

Smash Albums

• Lucrecia Dalt - No era sólida (RVING Intl.)
• Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood - Live (International Anthem)
• Faten Kanaan - A Mythology of Circles (Fire)
• Killah Priest - Rocket to Nebula (Proverbs)
• Liturgy - Origin of the Alimonies (YLYLCYN)
• Mamaleek - Come and See (The Flenser)
• Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders (Ghostly International)
• Meitei - Kofū (KITCHEN. LABEL)
• Neptunian Maximalism - Éons (I, Voidhanger)
• Quintron and Miss Pussycat - Goblin Alert (Goner)

Hit Singles

• Gaye Su Akyol - "İsyan Manifestosu" - Yort Savul: İSYAN MANİFESTOSU(Glitterbeat)
• Body Double – "Head Axe" - Milk Fed (ZUM)
• Damu the Fudgemunk, Archie Shepp & Raw Poetic - "Moving Maps" - Ocean Bridges (Redefinition)
• IDLES - "War" - Ultra Mono (Partisan)
• L.E.S. Douze - "Gone Daddy Gone" - Le String Noise (Nouveau Electric)
• Man Man - "Future Peg" - Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between (Sub Pop)
• 79rs Gang - "79rs Bout to Blow" - Expect the Unexpected (Sinking City)
• SPAZA – "The Black Consciousness Movement" – UPRIZE! (Mushroom Hour Half Hour)
• Special Interest - "Street Pulse Beat" - Passion Of (Thrilling Living)
• Tobacco - "Hungry Eyes" (Ghostly International)

• Ghostpoet - I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep (Play It Again Sam)
• Michael Gordon; The Crossing - Anonymous Man (Cantaloupe)
• Tristan Perich - Drift Multiply (Nonesuch)
• ORA - Thomas Tallis: Spem in Alium; James Macmillan: Vidi Aquam (Harmonia Mundi)
• Jimmy Heath - Love Letter (Verve)
• Julianna Barwick - Healing Is a Miracle (Ninja Tune)
• Run the Jewels - RTJ4 (BMG)
• Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You? (International Anthem)
• Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind (Warp)
• Bob Dylan  - Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia)
• Bob Mould  - Blue Hearts (Merge)
• Avishai Cohen - Big Vicious (ECM)
• Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (Interscope)
• Damu The Fudgemunk - Ocean Bridges (Redefinition)
• Soccer Mommy - color theory (Loma Vista)
• Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure? (EMI)
• Angel Olsen  - Whole New Mess (Jagjaguwar)
• Kandace Springs - The Women Who Raised Me (Universal)
• Yelle - L’ere du Verseau (Recreation Center)
• Sunny Jain - Wild Wild East (Smithsonian Folkways)
• I Break Horses - Warnings (Bella Union)
• Wire - Mind Hive (Pink Flag)
• Katie Gately - Loom (Houndstooth)
• Epiphoni Consort / Tim Reader - When Love Speaks: Choral Music by Owain Park (Delphian)
• Kurt Elling - Secrets Are the Best Stories (Edition)
• Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine (Skint)
• Sault - Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals)
• Makaya Mccraven - Universal Beings E&F Sides (International Anthem)
• Prince Royce - Alter Ego (Sony)
• Christian McBride - The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons (Mack Avenue)
• Rina Sawayama - Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
• Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas (Warner Brothers)
• Maria Schneider Orchestra - Data Lords (Artistshare)
• Joel Harrison - America At War (Sunnyside)
• Shabaka & the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here by History (Impulse!)
• AC/DC  - Power Up (Columbia)
• Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony (Roc Nation)
• Ambrose Akinmusire - On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note)
• Gregg August - Dialogues On Race, Vol. 1 (Gregg August)
• BC Camplight  - Shortly After Takeoff (Bella Union)
• Deftones - Ohms (Reprise)
• Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Warner Brothers)
• Kylie Minogue  - DISCO (BMG)
• Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador)
• Gregory Porter - All Rise (Blue Note)
• Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio - Angels Around (Heartcore)
• Joel Ross - Who Are You? (Blue Note)
• Christian Sands - Be Water (Mack Avenue)
• Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Reunions (Southeastern)
• Hayey Williams - Petals for Armor (Atlantic)

CLASSICAL

• Bertrand Chamayou - Good Night! (Erato)
• Vox Clamantis & Jaan-Eik Tulve - Cyrillius Kreek: The Suspended Harp of Babel (ECM)
• Eric Whitacre - The Sacred Veil (Signum)
• JACK Quartet - Lines Made by Walking (Cold Blue)
• Maria Schneider - Data Lords: The Digital World/Our Natural World (ArtistShare)
• Patrick Yim - Memory: Works for Solo Violin (Navona)
• Sarah Davachi - Cantus, Descant (LATE)
• Tristan Perich & Douglas Perkins - Drift Multiply (New Amsterdam)
• Vikingur Olafsson - Debussy – Rameau (Deutsche Grammophon)

SOUNDTRACK

• William Tyler - Music from film First Cow (Merge)

COMPS

• Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T-Rex (BMG)
• Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987 (Captured Tracks)

RE-ISSUES & RETROSPECTIVES

• Maggi Payne  - Ahh-Ahh (Root Strata)
• Ryuichi Sakamoto - Hidari Ude No Yume [Left Handed Dream 1981] (WeWantSounds)
• Ella Fitzgerald - Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes (Live) 1962 (Verve)
• Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland (Transgressive)

JAZZ/CREATIVE MUSIC

• Alabaster Deplume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals, Vol. 1 (International Anthem)
• Anna Hogberg Attack - Lena (Omlott)
• Bill Frisell - Valentine (Blue Note)
• Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard & Steve Swallow - Life Goes On (ECM)
• Eric Revis - Slipknot Through a Looking Glass (Pyroclastic)
• Fred Hersch - Songs from Home (Palmetto)
• Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown (International Anthem)
• Junk Magic - Compass Confusion (Pyroclastic)
• Lafayette Gilchrest - Now (Lafayette Music)
• Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl - Artlessly Falling (Firehouse 12)
• Moses Boyd - Dark Matter (Exodus)
• Nels Cline Singers - Share the Wealth (Blue Note)
• Quin Kirchner - The Shadows and The Light (Astral Spirits)
• Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra - Dimensional Stardust  (Nonesuch)
• Susan Alcorn Quintet - Pedernal (Relative Pitch)
• The Ed Palermo Big Band - The Great Un-American Songbook, Vol. III: Run For Your Life (Sky Cat)
• Hugh Masekela & Tony Allen - Rejoice (World Circuit)

OTHER MUSIC WITH NO WORDS

• Ana Roxanne - Because of a Flower (Kranky)
• Kim Myhr - You Me (Hubro)
• Grand Veymont - Persistance & Changement (Objet Disque)
• Rival Consoles - Articulation (Erased Tapes)
• Hoshina Anniversary - Odoriko (Alien Jams)
• Nihiloxica - Kaloli (Crammed Discs)
• Sam Prekop - Comma (Thrill Jockey)

THE REST

• Adrienne Lenker - Songs & Instrumentals (4AD)
• Aoife Nessa Frances - Land of No Junction (Basin Rock)
• Deftones - Ohms (Reprise)
• Einsturzende Neubauten - Alles in Allem (Potomak)
• Fleet Foxes - Shore (Anti-)
• Fontaines DC - A Hero’s Death (Partisan)
• Frank Bey - All My Dues Are Paid (Nola Blue)
• Frank Ene - No Longer (Empty Cellar)
• Haley Williams - Petals for Armor I and II Eps (Atlantic)
• Jackie Lynn - Jacqueline (Drag City)
• Jeff Tweedy - Love Is The King (dBpm)
• Jennifer Castle  - Monarch Season (Paradise of Bachelors)
• Kacy & Clayton & Marlon Williams - Plastic Bouquet (New West)
• Kate NV - Room for the Moon (RVNG INTL.)
• Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song (Smalltown Supersound)
• Leyla McCalla - Vari-colored songs: Tribute to Langston Hughes (Smithsonian Folkways)
• Mary Chapin Carpenter - The Dirt and the Stars (Lambent Light)
• Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives (Merge)
• Nicole Atkins - Italian Ice (Single Lock)
• Ohmme - Fantasize Your Ghost  (Joyful Noise)
• Owen Pallett - Island (Domino)
• Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador)
• Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today (Domino)
• Sam Amidon  - Sam Amidon (Nonesuch)
• The Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives (Merge)
• This is the Kit - Off Off ON (Rough Trade)
• U.S. Girls - Heavy Light (4AD)
• Wire - Mind Hive (Pink Flag)
• Woods - Strange to Explain (Woodsist)
• Wye Oak - No Horizon (Merge)

• Sam Burton - I Can Go With You (Tompkins Square)
• Frank Ene - No Longer (Empty Cellar)
• Green-House - Six Songs For Invisible Gardens (Leaving)
• Kacey Johansing - No Better Time (Night Bloom)
• The Moore Brothers - Autobiography (Unavailable)
• Numün - Voyage Au Soleil (Musique Impossible)
• Klaus Schønning - Lydglimt (Frederiksberg)
• Wasnt Wisnt- In Stasis (self-released)
• Chip Wickham - Blue To Red (Lovemonk)
• Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green (Light In The Attic)