Best Records of the 2020's (So Far)
Best Records of the 2020's (So Far)
This was originally posted on the One Band, 5 Songs Patreon on October 9, 2024.
Recently Pitchfork released The 100 Best Albums of the 2020s So Far, which I heard about from Indiecast because I don’t keep up with shit. This got me thinking about what my favorite records of this decade have been so far. Actually, this isn’t the first time I’ve contemplated the topic. Back on January 6th, I put together my Best of the 2020’s So Far list in my Favorite Records by Year Goggle Doc. This is the document I created to list my favorite records released each year I’ve been alive. Yes, I’m that much of a nerd. Shut up.
Looking back at that list, I don’t think my opinions have changed in the last nine months. Obviously, this list doesn’t include any releases from 2024. At this point, I’m still not sure what my year-end list will look like, so I figured I’d go with the list as it stands.
So, for whatever it’s worth, here are my favorite records of the 2020’s so far.
FTHC (Deluxe) by Frank Turner (2022)
Bless My Psyche by Sincere Engineer (2021)
Refuse To Lose by Sam Russo (2021)
To Hell with the Smiles by Don't Make Ghosts (2020)
Cheap Grills by Sincere Engineer (2023)
Quarter Life Crisis by Baby Queen (2023)
Back to the Party by Sam Russo (2020)
One.Kingdom.Animal by A Vulture Wake (2022)
The Yearbook by Baby Queen (2021)
Tim (Let It Bleed Edition) by The Replacements (2023)
Drive It Like It's Stolen by Dave Hause (2023)
While putting this all together, I thought it would be interesting to compare the list above to the albums that I have listened to the most this decade. To find this information, I went to the Top Albums section of my Last.fm profile and adjusted the Date Range to January 1, 2020 to October 6, 2024 (that was the evening that I collected the data). The list itself included records not released in the 2020’s, so I went through and put together the following. This list is the 25 records from the 2020’s that I have listened to the most. I have also included each record’s complete rank in parentheses.
FTHC (Deluxe) by Frank Turner (# 1; 2022)
Bless My Psyche by Sincere Engineer (# 6; 2021)
Tace by Jon Snodgrass (# 13; 2020)
Drive It Like It's Stolen by Dave Hause (# 18; 2023)
Undefeated by Frank Turner (# 23; 2024)
Refuse To Lose by Sam Russo (# 24; 2021)
Quarter Life Crisis (Deluxe) by Baby Queen (# 26; 2023)
Rebel Songs by Nathan Gray & The Iron Roses (# 29; 2021)
Blood Harmony by Dave Hause (# 33; 2021)
Summer, Slowly by Benchmarks (# 37; 2020)
Cheap Grills by Sincere Engineer (# 51; 2023)
When God Was Great by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (# 52; 2021)
The Yearbook by Baby Queen (# 62; 2021)
To Hell with the Smiles by Don't Make Ghosts (# 63; 2020)
Kingdom by A Vulture Wake (# 74; 2022)*
Tim (Let It Bleed Edition) by The Replacements (# 85; 2023)
Paddy by Dave Hause (# 93; 2020)
Visitor by John Moreland (# 114; 2024)
Going to Hell by Lande Hekt (# 120; 2021)
Beg A Promise by New Junk City (# 123; 2022)
Some Of It Was True by The Menzingers (# 125; 2023)
Raise Hell by Fresh (# 128; 2022)
Local Honey by Brian Fallon (# 140; 2020)
Versus by Dave Hause (# 145; 2024)
Ten Stories High by The Bouncing Souls (# 149; 2023)
It will be interesting when 2029 rolls around to compare this list to whatever list I come up with then.
*One.Kingdom.Animal by A Vulture Wake was originally released as two EPs–Kindom and Animal.
References:
Pitchfork - The 100 Best Albums of the 2020s So Far: https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-100-best-albums-of-the-2020s-so-far/
Oklahoma Lefty - Top 40 Records of 2020: 10-1: https://oklahomalefty.blogspot.com/2020/12/top-40-records-of-2020-10-1.html
Oklahoma Lefty - Top 30 Records of 2021: 10-1: https://oklahomalefty.blogspot.com/2021/12/top-30-records-of-2021-10-1.html
Oklahoma Lefty - Top 30 Records of 2022: 10-1: https://oklahomalefty.blogspot.com/2022/12/top-30-records-of-2022-10-1.html
Oklahoma Lefty - Top 30 Records of 2023: 10-1: https://oklahomalefty.blogspot.com/2023/12/top-30-records-of-2023-10-1.html