My 10 Must-Hear Albums of 2020

It’s mid-December, and you know what that means – it’s time for every music journalist to unveil their Top 10 albums of the year!

My list is considerably different from many of the others you’ll see, in that I toss out all the albums I know you’ve heard, and instead give recognition to 10 of the incredible indie, and under the radar, releases of the past 12 months.

Can this still be a definitive Top 10 albums of 2020? Absolutely. In fact, it is for me! What’s more important than a ranking, however, is that these 10 albums are releases that I’d love more people to hear.

So without further delay, here are my 10 must-hear albums of 2020!

 

1. Larkin Poe – Self Made Man

 

I momentarily considered not putting this album first because it’s almost become cliche for me to write about how much I love blues rock sister duo Larkin Poe. They’ve now been in my year end Top 10 four of the past five years (the one year they weren’t on the list it was because they didn’t release an album), and they’ve been at #1 three of those times. Simply put, they’re the most consistently great act in music today, and if you don’t own their albums you’re really missing out.

 

 

2. Maggie Miles – Am I Drowning or Am I Just Learning How to Swim

 

One of my favorite musical discoveries of 2020, I saw Maggie Miles back in January at Mercury Lounge, and I, along with everyone else in attendance, was blown away by her performance. Her debut album, Am I Drowning or Am I Just Learning How to Swim, is equally great, and features some fantastic songs that will stick in your head for days. I can legitimately say I haven’t been this excited about a young alt-pop artist since I first heard Halsey back in 2015, and I think we all know how that turned out!

 

 

3. The Grahams – Kids Like Us

 

Kids Like Us is an album that was going to make my “Must-Hear” list last year, but a series of life events for The Grahams duo of Doug and Alyssa Graham – including the addition of a kiddo – pushed its release date to 2020. A fantastic indie alt-pop rock album with some old school influences, Kids Like Us not only survived the wait, the wait proved The Grahams aren’t just making great music, they’re making timeless music.

 

 

4. Lucy and the Rats – Got Lucky

 

There’s something about the vibe of Lucy and the Rats that I absolutely love. Maybe it’s because I was raised listening to the oldies station as well as Top 40 radio, but their sound, which has a healthy dose of classic pop and rock influences, manages to feel nostalgic, while still being modern. Got Lucky is the band’s second album, and second appearance in my year end Top 10 lists.

 

 

5. Reb Fountain – Reb Fountain

 

I’ve spun Reb Fountain’s self-titled album a bunch of times, and no single genre classification can come close to encapsulating the music, but I think a single word can – Wow! This is an album that immediately blows you away on your first listen, and somehow gets better with each subsequent listen. Her songwriting, and her voice, are really something special.

 

6. The Buckleys – Daydream

 

If any year has needed a feel-good palette cleanser it’s 2020. In the midst of the gloom and doom of a worldwide pandemic, riots in the streets, and social media turning into a battleground of vitriol and hate-speak, Australian “hippie country” family trio The Buckleys gave us a beautiful Daydream. A perfect panacea for these times, Daydream is an album that will brighten just about anyone’s mood.

 

 

7. Hey, Chels – Everything Goes

 

The first things that came to mind during my initial spins of Hey, Chels’ Everything Goes were 1. this band is really really good, and 2. frontwoman Jax Mendez has kind of a Go-Go’s era Belinda Carlisle type of vibe, which is freakin’ awesome. While you can definitely hear retro influences in Hey, Chels’ sound, they also have roots in Southern California’s DIY punk scene, so there are times they’ll inspire you to crank it up to eleven, and get a little crazy.

 

 

8. Answering Machine – Bad Luck

 

After listening to NYC-based indie rock band Answering Machine’s full length debut, Bad Luck, I immediately wanted to see them live. Of course, a certain global pandemic had other plans. Perhaps Bad Luck was an oddly appropriate name for the album. Argh! Regardless, I still look forward to eventually being able to check them out live. Until then I’ll continue to spin Bad Luck, which is one of my favorite indie rock releases of the year.

9. Alexandra Savior – The Archer

 

Imagine if Lana Del Rey and Mazzy Star had a musical baby, and you’ll start to get an idea of the sound of Alexandra Savior’s 2020 album The Archer. A beautiful, captivating album, The Archer never fails to hit the bullseye. It’s something you’ll want to listen to from start to finish, which is quite the accomplishment in an era of music that’s overly obsessed with singles and playlists.

 

 

10. Hazel English – Wake UP!

 

I feel like an unintentional theme of this year’s “Must-Hear” list has been music with decidedly retro vibes and/or influences. Maybe I was wistful for other eras, or maybe this was just the type of music I vibed with the most in 2020. Whatever the case may be, the theme continues with indie pop artist Hazel English’s Wake UP!. Retro pop with lyrical depth, the album certainly made me wake up to her talents.

 

 

Those are my 10 must-hear albums of 2020. Happy listening!