2020 was the year that I made the transition from buying CDs (I've bought two this year) to listening to music almost exclusively via streaming. It's scrambled my brain a bit, to be honest. I've had to force myself to dedicate time to listening to full albums, because it's so enticing to come up with another playlist; another quest for the perfect segue between songs. There are albums on the list below where I can't remember a single song. That's not great, obviously - so for my 2021 sidebar list, I'm going to include only those albums that truly sunk in, that I've gone back to on a regular basis.
The 2020 list:
- Starting Over - Chris Stapleton
- Generations - Will Butler
- Hey Clockface - Elvis Costello
- Love is the King - Jeff Tweedy
- Uncivil War - Shemekia Copeland
- On My Own - Lera Lynn
- Letter to You - Bruce Springsteen
- Serpentine Prison - Matt Berninger
- Cuttin' Grass, Vol. 1 - Sturgill Simpson
- Speed, Sound, Lonely kv (EP) - Kurt Vile
- Good Luck With Whatever - Dawes
- As Long As You Are - Future Islands
- Alone Together Sessions - Hayes Carll
- The New OK - Drive-By Truckers
- What Is There - Delta Spirit
- Aftermath - Elizabeth Cook
- Hearts Town - The War and Treaty
- Daughter - Lydia Loveless
- The Ascension - Sufjan Stevens
- Shore - Fleet Foxes
- Long Violent History - Tyler Childers
- Shallow Graves - India Ramey
- Blackbirds - Bettye Lavette
- Die Midwestern - Arlo McKinney
- The Beautiful Madness - Jerry Joseph
- Twelfth - Old 97's
- Total Freedom - Kathleen Edwards
- Xoxo - The Jayhawks
- The Dirt and the Stars - Mary Chapin Carpenter
- Such Pretty Forks in the Road - Alanis Morrisette
- Made of Rain - The Psychedelic Furs
- The Balladeer - Lori McKenna
- Old Flowers - Courtney Marie Andrews
- folklore - Taylor Swift
- Hate for Sale - Pretenders
- The Waterfall II - My Morning Jacket
- Gaslighter - The Chicks
- All the Good Times - Gillian Welch, David Rawlings
- That's How Rumors Get Started - Margo Price
- What's Your Pleasure? - Jessie Ware
- On the Road: A Tribute to John Hartford
- Women in Music Part III - HAIM
- No Dream - Jeff Rosenstock
- Homegrown - Neil Young
- Rough and Rowdy Ways - Bob Dylan
- Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
- Built to Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston
- Self Made Man - Larkin Poe
- Introduction, Presence - Nation of Language
- All Visible Objects - Moby
- World on the Ground - Sarah Jarosz
- Dreaming Again - Lizzy Long
- RTJ4 - Run the Jewels
- Spider Tales - Jake Blount
- Folk 'n Roll Vol. 1 - J.S. Ondara
- A Different War - Daniela Cotton and the Church Boys
- Danzig Sings Elvis
- Neon Cross - Jaime Wyatt
- Tessy Lou Williams
- Dedicated Side B - Carly Rae Jepsen
- Chromatica - Lady Gaga
- Cold Water - Medhane
- Copy That - Sara Evans
- how i'm feeling now - Charli XCX
- Going to the Movies - Mark Fredson
- Reunions - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
- Beautiful and Strange - Chelsea Williams
- Bad Luck - Sylvia Rose Novak
- The Way It Feels - Maddie & Tae
- Invisible People - Chicano Batman
- We Still Go to Rodeos - Whitney Rose
- Alphabetland - X
- Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa
- Lamentations - American Aquarium
- Walking Proof - Lilly Hiatt
- Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple
- The New Abnormal - The Strokes
- Mama's Biscuits - Kirby Heard
- Never Will - Ashley McBryde
- The Family Songbook - The Haden Triplets
- Saint Cloud - Waxahatchee
- Gigaton - Pearl Jam
- Anybody Out There - Sadler Vaden
- Your Life is a Record - Brandy Clark
- Expectations - Katie Pruitt
- The Dream - Hailey Whitters
- Saturn Return - The Secret Sisters
- Honeymoon - Beach Bunny
- color theory - Soccer Mommy
- Open Book - Kalie Shorr
- Miss Anthropocene - Grimes
- The Unraveling - Drive-By Truckers
- County Squire - Tyler Childers
