While the impulse is to banish this year to the history books immediately… It is worth taking a moment and remembering that good things happened in 2020. LA erupted into joy when the Lakers won the NBA Championship, and the Dodgers finally won The World Series! And speaking of the world, we can’t discount the fact that the biggest cheering section by far spanned nations as countless hearts poured out in admiration for the health care workers who are working so hard to ease our collective pain.
So, thank goodness for all the stellar music in a year in which we really needed it.
And as our team of DJ’s began compiling this year’s KCRW’s Best Of 2020, we realized even more how much we were affected by the music and lyrics of these incredible artists. I heard music differently this year. Old songs sounded new and context changed everything.
Our Best Of Music 2020 list says a lot about everything that we’ve lived through in recent memory. From work built to further engage us in challenging conversations, to pure sonic euphoria, and everything in between. It is truly my honor to present you with KCRW’s Best Of Music, 2020 edition. — Anne Litt, KCRW Program Director of Music
Top 10 Albums – Top 15 Songs – Best New Artist – Best of Today's Top Tune – KCRW DJ Favorites
10 ALBUMS THAT SHINED IN A WTF YEAR
Intimate chamber pieces circle and spiral into majestic anthems. These albums found their way into our hearts and have permanently set up camp — so much so that we had no choice but to honor a tie at number 1.
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Sault - “Untitled (Rise)” and “Untitled (Black Is)”
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Fiona Apple - “Fetch The Bolt Cutters”
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Gabriel Garzón Montano - “Agüita”
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Run The Jewels - “RTJ4”
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Lianne La Havas - “Lianne La Havas”
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Mac Miller - “Circles”
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Tame Impala - “The Slow Rush”
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St. Panther - “These Days”
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Little Dragon - “New Me, Same Us”
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Peter CottonTale - “Catch”
Quick peek behind the curtain for you. Each KCRW DJ presented a list of the 10 Best Songs of the year. Out of all of them, these 15 came up the most often in equal numbers. So we present them here to you, alphabetically.
“Look Over Your Shoulder” - (Featuring Kendrick Lamar) - Busta Rhymes
“The Good Life” - Devon Gilfillian
“Brasil” - EOB
“Shameika” - Fiona Apple
“In Loving Memory” - Gabriels
“Love And Hate In A Different Time” - Gabriels
“SULA (Paperback)” - Jamila Woods
“Wolves” - Jensen McRae
“Remember Where You Are” - Jessie Ware
“Grey Skies” - Kate Bollinger
“Time (You and I)” - Khruangbin
“Good News” - Mac Miller
“Virile” - Moses Sumney
“Buenos Aires” - Nathy Peluso
“Real Magic” - Ricky Reed