No matter how often I listen to “My Love” by Florence + the Machine, my love for it (no pun intended) only grows stronger, and the gorgeous song maintains a firm grip on the #1 spot for a third week. Moving up two notches to #2 is “Chasing Trains” by London singer songwriter HULLAH, another beautiful song I never tire of hearing. In other notable chart movements, my favorite artist Two Feet jumps six spots to #6 with his darkly sexy “Tell Me The Truth”, and Ohio band Caamp leaps 10 spots with their lovely song “Believe”.
Three new songs make their debut this week: “About Damn Time” by Lizzo, her first ever appearance on my chart, enters at #26. I know she’s one of the most popular artists around today, but none of her previous songs have really appealed to me until “About Damn Time”, and I can’t resist its infectious 70s dance groove. At #29 is “Warning Signs” by the wonderful Band of Horses, whose songs never disappoint. And bringing up the rear is “Desperately Wanting”, a haunting collaboration by prolific and talented singer-songwriters BrianLambert and Marc Schuster.
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (1)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (4)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (2)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (5)
WILD – Spoon (6)
TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (12)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (3)
SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (9)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (7)
BLOODRUSH – The Amazons (11)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (8)
BELIEVE – Caamp (22)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (10)
A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (16)
2am – Foals (17)
SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS – Bastille (18)
SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (19)
THAT’S WHERE I AM – Maggie Rogers (20)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (13)
DISTANCE – Mount Famine (15)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (14)
CLOSER – The Frontier (24)
LONELY – Sea Girls (25)
BEDS ARE BURNING – AWOLNATION feat. Tim McIlrath (26)
THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY – My Chemical Romance (29)
ABOUT DAMN TIME – Lizzo (N)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (21)
IN THE MIRROR – The Interrupters (30)
WARNING SIGNS – Band of Horses (N)
DESPERATELY WANTING – Brian Lambert & Marc Schuster (N)
Florence + the Machine‘s cinematic “My Love” holds the #1 spot for a second week, while TheBlack Keys‘ “Wild Child” remains at #2. Brooklyn band Gooseberry climbs a notch to #3 with their wonderful “Sleep”, and London artist HULLAH moves up to #4 with his ethereal and moody “Chasing Trains”. British band The Amazons‘ “Bloodrush” climbs four spots to #11, Two Feet jumps seven spots to #12 with his smoldering “Tell Me The Truth”, and Caamp’s “Believe” leaps eight spots to #22. Two songs make their debut this week – the epic “The Foundations of Decay” by My Chemical Romance, their first new music in eight years, and the buoyant “In The Mirror” by Los Angeles ska punk band The Interrupters, entering at #29 and 30, respectively.
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (1)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (2)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (4)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (5)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (3)
WILD – Spoon (6)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (7)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (8)
SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (10)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (9)
BLOODRUSH – The Amazons (15)
TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (19)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (11)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (13)
DISTANCE – Mount Famine (14)
A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (17)
2am – Foals (18)
SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS – Bastille (20)
SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (21)
THAT’S WHERE I AM – Maggie Rogers (22)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (12)
BELIEVE – Caamp (30)
ANIMAL – Partisan (25)
CLOSER – The Frontier (27)
LONELY – Sea Girls (28)
BEDS ARE BURNING – AWOLNATION feat. Tim McIlrath (29)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (16)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (23)
THE FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY – My Chemical Romance (N)
I love the music of British band Florence + the Machine. Fronted by singer-songwriter Florence Welch, their sound is a glorious blend of indie rock, baroque pop, folk, art rock and soul. Their gorgeous song “My Love” takes over the #1 spot on my Weekly Top 30. The third single from their new album DanceFever, Welch told Rolling Stone that she initially envisioned the song as a “sad little poem” to be performed acoustically, but later transformed it into a number she describes as “Nick Cave at the club.” In an interview with BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, she commented “Sometimes the biggest dance songs, I think, have a really sad core to them.” The song was co-written by Glass Animals vocalist Dave Bayley, with whom she collaborated on Dance Fever along with Jack Antonoff. The video for “My Love” was directed by Autumn de Wilde, who also directed the videos for the previous two Florence + the Machine singles “King” and “Heaven Is Here”. In the video, Welch is shown performing a concert in a pretentious nightclub, where she hypnotizes and immobilizes people, then arranges them in dances. Very baroque and cinematic.
In other chart developments, the songs at #s 3-7 remain in their same positions, while two beautiful songs – “Virginia (Wind in the Night)” by The Head and the Heart and “Seventeen Going Under” by Sam Fender – enter the top 10. Debuting this week are “Beds Are Burning”, a terrific remake of the Midnight Oil classic by AWOLNATION, featuring guest vocals by Rise Against lead singer Tim McIlrath, and “Believe” by American folk band Caamp, making their first appearance on my Weekly Top 30.
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (2)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (1)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (3)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (4)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (5)
WILD – Spoon (6)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (7)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (10)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (11)
SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER – Sam Fender (12)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (13)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (8)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (14)
DISTANCE – Mount Famine (16)
BLOODRUSH – The Amazons (17)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (9)
A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (20)
2am – Foals (21)
TELL ME THE TRUTH – Two Feet (25)
SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS – Bastille (22)
SYNCHRONIZE – Milky Chance (23)
THAT’S WHERE I AM – Maggie Rogers (24)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (15)
BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlile (18)
ANIMAL – Partisan (28)
BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (19)
CLOSER – The Frontier (29)
LONELY – Sea Girls (30)
BEDS ARE BURNING – AWOLNATION feat. Tim McIlrath (N)
Not a lot of changes from last week on my latest Weekly Top 30. The Black Keys hold at #1 for a second week with their raucous “Wild Child”, while Florence + the Machine‘s “My Love” closes in at #2. British five-piece Chief Springs enter the top 10 with their lovely song “La Cienega”, named after the famous boulevard that runs through West Hollywood and Los Angeles. The lone new debut this week is “Lonely” by British band Sea Girls, who’ve been around since 2015, but I sadly didn’t learn about until a few weeks ago.
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (1)
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (3)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (2)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (6)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (7)
WILD – Spoon (8)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (5)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (4)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (10)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (13)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (16)
Though their latest album Dropout Boogie has gotten mixed reviews, I love The Black Keys‘ lead single “Wild Child”, which knocks Harry Styles’ “As It Was” from the #1 spot after a two-week run. The rousing stomper sees them going back to their blues rock roots, highlighted by Dan Auerbach’s gnarly guitars and Patrick Carney’s muscular drumbeats. Though the simple lyrics are directed to a woman the singer wants to love – “I just wanna hold you at the end of every day. Girl, I wanna please you, oh, I’m needing you to stay. The sun is gonna shine if you would just come out and play. Baby, won’t you show me your wild child ways” – the outrageous video portrays Auerbach and Carney as guys who show up for menial jobs at an out of control high school, then add to the ensuing mayhem.
In other chart news, Florence + the Machine‘s gorgeous “My Love” continues its march toward the top, climbing a notch to #3. “Sleep” by Brooklyn four-piece Gooseberry, “Chasing Trains” by British singer-songwriter HULLAH, and “Wild” by Spoon all climb three spots to #6, 7 and 8, respectively, and Fontaines D.C.’s haunting “I Love You” finally enters the top 10.
Three songs make their debut this week. The first is “Seventeen Going Under” by British singer-songwriter Sam Fender, which enters at #19. The beautiful song was released in July 2021, and I ranked it at #44 on my Top 100 Songs of 2021 list, so when it started getting a lot of airplay a few months ago, I resisted placing it on my Weekly Top 30. But now that’s it climbing up the Alternative charts, I’m compelled to add it to mine too. The other two debuts are “Tell Me The Truth” by my favorite artist Two Feet, who just dropped his fourth album Shape and Form, and “Closer” by another favorite artist of mine, singer-songwriter TheFrontier.
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (2)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (1)
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (4)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (3)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (5)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (9)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (10)
WILD – Spoon (11)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (6)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (14)
BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlile (8)
BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (7)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (15)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (16)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (17)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (18)
Some have asked me how I come up with my Weekly Top 30 lists – i.e., what my song rankings are based on, and how and why I include the songs that I do. Well, it’s simple: it’s basically a list of my 30 current favorite songs for each week. If I had my own radio station, these are the songs I’d play most, along with favorite older songs, of course. I’m a big fan of alternative rock, dream rock, pop-rock and synthpop, so my lists are strongly influenced by the Billboard Alternative and Adult Alternative Airplay charts. I also write about and like to promote indie artists as much as possible, many of whom are putting out outstanding music, so each week I try to include at least 10 songs I really like by indie artists and bands.
It’s not often that a song that reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 also tops my chart, as a lot of them are crap, but every once in a while a great pop song comes along that I also love, such as last year’s “Drivers License”, “Levitating” and “Leave the Door Open”. Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” is another such hit song, now in its third week at #1 on the Hot 100, and #1 for a second week on my chart. TheBlack Keys‘ “Wild Child” closes in at #2, while Florence + the Machine‘s gorgeous “My Love” rises to #4. Entering the top 10 are songs by two indie artists I’ve come to really like: “Sleep” by Brooklyn four-piece Gooseberry, who just released their wonderful EP Broken Dance, and the achingly beautiful “Chasing Trains” by British singer-songwriter HULLAH. The lone debut this week is “Animal” by British rock group Partisan, a long-time favorite band of mine.
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (1)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (3)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (2)
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (6)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (5)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (4)
BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (7)
BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlile (8)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (11)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (12)
WILD – Spoon (13)
BROKEN HEARTS – Ships Have Sailed (9)
GIVE A LITTLE LOVIN’ – Jamie Alimorad (10)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (17)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (18)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (19)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (20)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (21)
DISTANCE – Mount Famine (22)
BLOODRUSH – The Amazons (23)
A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE – Weezer (24)
2am – Foals (25)
JUST LIKE ALWAYS – Oli Barton & the Movement with Maella (14)
Harry Styles‘ delightful synthpop song “As It Was” takes over the top spot on my latest Weekly Top 30. Though I was not a fan of the boy band One Direction, I think that most of its members are pretty talented singers in their own right. That said, Harry Styles stands head and shoulders above the rest, and I’ve really liked a lot of his music as a solo artist. “As It Was” is the lead single from his forthcoming album Harry’s House, to be released on May 20.
In other chart highlights, entering the top 10 are Florence + the Machine‘s gorgeous “My Love”, which climbs five spots to #6, and Brandi Carlisle‘s haunting “Broken Horses”, which moves up four notches to #8. Two songs make their debut this week: “Synchronize” by German duo Milky Chance, and “That’s Where I Am” by the amazing American singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (2)
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (1)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (4)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (3)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (6)
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (11)
BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (5)
BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlile (12)
BROKEN HEARTS – Ships Have Sailed (7)
GIVE A LITTLE LOVIN’ – Jamie Alimorad (10)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (14)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (15)
WILD – Spoon (16)
JUST LIKE ALWAYS – Oli Barton & the Movement & Maella (8)
I’LL CALL YOU MINE – girl in red (9)
CHEER UP BABY – Inhaler (13)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (19)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (20)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (21)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (22)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (23)
The mysterious and smoldering “Deception” by British singer-songwriter Hannah Reem, with stunning cinematic music by producer-composer Noodle Beard, is my favorite song for a second week. I think Hannah’s powerful, sultry vocals would hold their own up against many of today’s top-rated female singers. This song is so good – to my ears anyway – that I want it to keep going for nine or ten minutes. I guess I’ll just have to keep hitting replay!
Harry Styles jumps eight spots to #2 with his exuberant earworm “As It Was”. Though I was not a fan of One Direction (the boy band he was a member of in his teens, for those who are somehow unaware), I really like a lot of his music as a solo artist, and his latest single is terrific. According to an article in the webzine Stylecaster, though Styles hasn’t confirmed the song’s meaning, many believe it’s about his relationship with fame and how his life isn’t “the same as it was” since becoming a music star, expressed by the lyrics “In this world, it’s just us. You know it’s not the same as it was.” The song also alludes to his loneliness and concern from others as he isolates himself from the world, opening with a child’s voice (an actual phone recording of his goddaughter Ruby Winston) saying: “Come on, Harry, we wanna say goodnight to you,” and in the second verse Styles acknowledges “Answer the phone. ‘Harry, you’re no good alone. Why are you sitting at home on the floor? What kind of pills are you on?’”
Otherwise, just the typical chart movement this week as older songs slowly move down to make way for newer ones on their way up. The Black Keys‘ “Wild Child” climbs four spots to #4, as does Florence + the Machine‘s “My Love”, which moves up to #11. Yet again, I wanted to add at least five new songs to this list, but only had slots for two: Bastille‘s delightfully upbeat Calypso-infused “Shut Off the Lights”, and the mesmerizing “Miracle Mile” by Welsh electro-punk band Head Noise, which enter at #29 and #30 respectively. I love Bastille lead singer Dan Smith’s distinctive vocals, and am glad they’re still going strong after 10 years. And I’ve been following self-described oddball band Head Noise for a couple of years, and for me, the epic “Miracle Mile”, from their recently-released EP SCRAM, is their best song yet.
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem and Noodle Beard (1)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (10)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (2)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (8)
BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (6)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (7)
BROKEN HEARTS – Ships Have Sailed (4)
JUST LIKE ALWAYS – Oli Barton & the Movement & Maella (3)
I’LL CALL YOU MINE – girl in red (5)
GIVE A LITTLE LOVIN’ – Jamie Alimorad (9)
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (15)
BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlisle (11)
CHEER UP BABY – Inhaler (14)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (16)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (17)
WILD – Spoon (18)
CAVIAR – Two Feet (12)
THE ONLY HEARTBREAKER – Mitski (13)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (19)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (22)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (23)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (24)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (25)
This is my first post in a week, the longest stretch I’ve gone without writing a post in my blog’s nearly seven-year history, as I’ve been hit with another crippling bout of writer’s block. But I cannot miss sharing my latest Weekly Top 30, and this week brings a few exciting new developments. First of all, “Deception”, the stunning collaboration between soulful-voiced British singer-songwriter Hannah Reem and producer-composer Noodle Beard, takes over the top spot. The dramatic song is a dark and twisted love story about infidelity and the complexities surrounding painful choices, set to a smoldering, cinematic trip hop soundscape. Hannah explained her inspiration for writing the song: “I’ve felt fury and been forced to lose, I’ve been homeless and broke, felt like a joke, and cheated on by those that I choose. But I’ll get through.” As I’ve mentioned on previous posts, “Deception” would make a great James Bond theme song, and even after having it on repeat for the past month and a half, it still has the power to cover me with chills. It’s an incredible song that deserves to be a huge worldwide hit.
In other chart highlights this week, The Black Keys‘ “Wild Child” leaps eight spots to #8, and the hauntingly beautiful “My Love” by Florence + the Machine jumps seven spots to #15. As always, there’s so much great music out now, with about 10 songs I wanted to add to my list. Alas, I had room for only three new ones: Harry Styles‘ delightful “As It Was” enters high up the chart at #10 (it debuted at #1 last week on the Billboard Hot 100), while Weezer‘s “A Little Bit of Love” and Foals‘ “2am” enter at #29 and #30.
DECEPTION – Hannah Reem & Noodle Beard (3)
WHAT, ME WORRY? – Portugal. The Man (1)
JUST LIKE ALWAYS – Oli Barton & the Movement with Maella (2)
BROKEN HEARTS – Ships Have Sailed (5)
I’LL CALL YOU MINE – girl in red (4)
BLACK SUMMER – Red Hot Chili Peppers (8)
LOVE BRAND NEW – Bob Moses (9)
WILD CHILD – The Black Keys (16)
GIVE A LITTLE LOVIN’ – Jamie Alimorad (10)
AS IT WAS – Harry Styles (N)
BROKEN HORSES – Brandi Carlisle (12)
CAVIAR – Two Feet (6)
THE ONLY HEARTBREAKER – Mitski (7)
CHEER UP BABY – Inhaler (14)
MY LOVE – Florence + the Machine (22)
SLEEP – Gooseberry (17)
CHASING TRAINS – HULLAH (18)
WILD – Spoon (21)
I LOVE YOU – Fontaines D.C. (15)
B-SIDE – Khruangbin & Leon Bridges (11)
REDCHURCH STREET BLUES – Philip Morgan Lewis (13)
LA CIENEGA – Chief Springs (25)
ON MY KNEES – RÜFÜS DU SOL (26)
THE HURT WITHIN – Holy Coves (27)
VIRGINIA (WIND IN THE NIGHT) – The Head and the Heart (28)
It goes without saying that 2020 turned out to be a year for the record books on so many levels. It started out well enough, but quickly went to hell beginning in March as the Covid-19 virus spread throughout the world, causing a global pandemic that resulted in a shut down of many countries’ economies, and nearly 1.8 million deaths as I write this at the end of the year. One of the hardest-hit sectors has been the music industry, particularly live music, which in these days of unlimited streaming, most musicians count on to make a living and promote their music. On the plus side – if there was one – many musicians had more time to write and record new music, blessing us with some really stellar works. The Rolling Stones used the lockdown to put out their previously-written but timely “Living in a Ghost Town”, their first new single in four years, while AC/DC thrilled fans with their surprise release of Power Up, their first new album in six years. The Pretenders, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney also released new albums.
Like with every year, in 2020 we had to say goodbye to far too many legendary musicians – something that seems to be happening with greater frequency as music icons we grew up with pass away primarily due to having reached old age. Some of the notable passings included Bill Withers, Little Richard, Peter Green, Eddie Van Halen, Spencer Davis, Neil Peart, Kenny Rogers, Helen Reddy, Bonnie Pointer, Mac Davis, Ennio Morricone, Johnny Nash, Jerry Jeff Walker and Chad Stuart (of Chad & Jeremy). Sadly, we also lost John Prine, Charley Pride and Trini Lopez due to complications from Covid-19.
As a music blogger, I receive a lot of submissions from artists, PR reps and labels wanting me to review their music. I also follow a large number of music blogs, where I learn about music, and as a result, end up listening to a tremendous amount of new music over the course of a year. That said, I know I’ve heard only a fraction of all the singles and albums released in 2020. Some of the standout albums I had the pleasure of hearing were Taylor Swift’s Folklore, Run the Jewels’ RTJ4, Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters, The Killers’ Imploding the Mirage, Tame Impala’s Slow Rush, Fontaines D.C.’s A Hero’s Death, Fleet Foxes’ Shore, Two Feet’s Pink, Haim’s Women in Music Pt. III, Bryde’s The Volume of Things, Kidsmoke’s A Vision in the Dark, Surrija’s brilliant eponymous album Surrija, and MISSIO’s Can You Feel the Sun. (The albums I reviewed are highlighted in blue,and if you click on those titles it will take you to my review.)
One of my favorite music genres is Dream Pop & Rock, which seems to be undergoing a major surge in recent years. The genre was well-represented in 2020 by numerous stellar songs, including “Are You Bored Yet?” by Wallows ft. Clairo, “Can I Call You Tonight?” by Dayglow, “White Lies & Palm Trees” by The Lovepools, “Lost in Yesterday” and “Is It True” by Tame Impala, “Can I Believe You” by Fleet Foxes, “Downs” by Roadkeeper, “Fire For You” by Cannons, and the entire aforementioned album by Kidsmoke.
Obviously, my list of the Top 100 Songs of 2020 includes only songs I know. I’m certain there are likely other great ones that should be on this list, except that I’ve never heard them. Still, among the thousands of songs I did hear in 2020, there were many outstanding ones, and it frustrates me to have to cull my favorites down to only 100, omitting scores of tracks I really like and wanted to include. Furthermore, a song at #40 isn’t necessarily better than one at #60, but I had to rank them somehow.
Our music tastes are very subjective, so it’s guaranteed that not a single person reading this will agree with my song choices or their rankings. My list contains my favorite songs of the year, not necessarily songs that were ‘popular’ or influential. I’m now late middle-aged, so my song picks are going to reflect that, though I do still have my guilty pleasures.
Many bloggers and critics list songs in the year they were released, while Billboard and other charts generally place them in the year they were ‘hits,’ which is what I prefer. Many of the songs on this list were released in 2020, however, a number of them were released in 2019. Absofacto’s “Dissolve” was originally released in 2015, but didn’t chart until 2019. Because there are always a few songs that overlap from one year to the next, like Billboard, I include those songs on lists for both years if they spent enough time on the charts in each year. I always wrestle with how to rank them, as well as whether to list them in only one year or two. For example, Two Feet’s “You?” was #1 during the final week of 2019, and the first four weeks of 2020, so it would seem only fair to include it on the lists for both years. That song ranked #18 on my Top 100 of 2019, and ranks #3 on this year’s list. I suppose that at the end of the day it’s all silliness, but this is the way I choose to do it. The songs in this Top 100 that also appeared in my Top 100 Songs of 2019 are indicated with an asterisk *.
For previous years’ Top 100 lists, I wrote little pieces for each of the top 20 songs, as well as embedded their YouTube videos, then simply listed the remaining 80. That always left me feeling a little bad for those 80 songs, as it made them seem like afterthoughts, which was certainly not the case. For this year’s list, partly out of fairness, and partly to save myself huge amounts of time, effort and stress, I’ve decided to forego with the individual descriptions and videos, and simply list the entire 100 songs.
As always, I’ve created a Spotify playlist for this list, which is included at the end of the post. Hopefully you’ll find some of your own personal favorites on it. Let me know what songs were your favorites of 2020.
BLINDING LIGHTS – The Weeknd
LEVEL OF CONCERN – twenty øne piløts
YOU? – Two Feet *
CAUTION – The Killers
HALLUCINOGENICS – Matt Maeson
FEEL YOU – My Morning Jacket
EVERYTHING I WANTED – Billie Eilish
HELL N BACK – Bakar
DON’T START NOW – Dua Lipa
MARIA – Two Feet
BLACK & WHITE LOVE – Beating Hearts Club
MIGHT BE RIGHT – White Reaper *
ARE YOU BORED YET? – Wallows featuring Clairo
IS IT TRUE – Tame Impala
DOWNS – Roadkeeper
HOW WILL I REST IN PEACE IF I’M BURIED BY A HIGHWAY?// – Kenny Hoopla
CAN I CALL YOU TONIGHT? – Dayglow
WHITE LIES & PALM TREES – The Lovepools *
MY OWN SOUL’S WARNING – The Killers
IF NOT FOR THE FIRE – The Million Reasons
IT’S YOU – The Frontier
LOST IN YESTERDAY – Tame Impala
MARIPOSA – Peach Tree Rascals
CAN I BELIEVE YOU – Fleet Foxes
MONSTERS – All Time Low featuring blackbear
BLOODY VALENTINE – Machine Gun Kelly
NOVOCAINE – The Unlikely Candidates *
BLACK MADONNA – Cage the Elephant
USED TO LIKE – Neon Trees
WARS – Of Monsters and Men
CARDIGAN – Taylor Swift
ORPHANS – Coldplay
LEMON DROP – Absofacto
THE BEST – AWOLNATION
DISSOLVE – Absofacto *
HONEYBEE – The Head and the Heart
ADORE YOU – Harry Styles
YOUR LOVE (DÉJÀ VU) – Glass Animals
VISITOR – Of Monsters and Men
MOOD – 24kGoldn featuring iann dior
DELETER – Grouplove
PSYCH FILM – Strangely Alright
SOMEONE ELSE – Rezz & Grabbitz
A HERO’S DEATH – Fontaines D.C.
DANCE OF THE CLAIRVOYANTS – Pearl Jam
BAD DECISIONS – The Strokes
LOVE YOU FOR A LONG TIME – Maggie Rogers
THE RUNNER – Foals
VIRUS – Vanity Fear
REWARD – Paul Iwan *
THINK I’M CRAZY – Two Feet
SHINE A LITTLE LIGHT – Black Keys
2ALL – Catfish and the Bottlemen
VAN HORN – Saint Motel
LIFE IN THE CITY – The Lumineers
IDENTICAL – Phoenix
GIANTS – Dermot Kennedy
FIRE – Black Pumas
LAY YOUR HEAD ON ME – Major Lazer featuring Marcus Mumford & Diplo
OH YEAH! – Green Day
UNEVENTFUL DAYS – Beck
COME & GO – Juice WRLD & Marshmello
BLIND LEADING THE BLIND – Mumford & Sons
HOODIE UP – MISSIO
HERO – Michael Kiwanuka
PARADISE – Creeper
WATERMELON SUGAR – Harry Styles
UNCHAINED – Devon Gilfillian
EXPECTATIONS – Katie Pruitt
FIRE FOR YOU – Cannons
HEAVEN IS HEART – Jaded Jane
TEXAS SUN – Khruangbin featuring Leon Bridges
OVER AND OVER – Amongst Liars
HONEY – King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
LIVING IN A GHOST TOWN – The Rolling Stones
HOW WE LIVE – Mandalan featuring Cadence XYZ
MY FUTURE – Billie Eilish
STRANGERS – Mt. Joy
NOT OK! – Chaz Cardigan
MARINERS APARTMENT COMPLEX – Lana Del Rey
LETTER TO YOU – Bruce Springsteen
HOLD ON – Noah Reid
BE AFRAID – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
FAULT LINES – Callum Pitt
LET’S FALL IN LOVE FOR THE NIGHT – FINNEAS
ME & YOU TOGETHER SONG – The 1975
HALF YOUR AGE – Joywave
SERAFINA – BAMBARA
COLORS – Black Pumas
THE LET GO – Elle King
SWIMMING CLOSER – HAZY
REAL LONG TIME – White Reaper
NOTHING LOVE – Surrija, Albert Chiang, Christine Tavolacci & Matt Chamberlain
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 