Aside from repetitive listening of a few major releases (Taylor Swift, Fiona Apple, and all 63 of the vault tracks on the Super Deluxe reissue of Prince's Sign O' The Times), most of my time in 2020 was spent laser-focused on the local community in Minneapolis and St. Paul. And not just the work people were producing, but the way that artists were rallying together to provide mutual aid and support in the wake of George Floyd's murder, and bravely pushing the conversation forward about racism and abuse within our own industry.

Assembled into a list, these 20 songs provide a living history and a narrative of grief, rage, separation, and healing, told from a uniquely Twin Cities perspective. Even as the live music scene faced unprecedented challenges, the artists among us, ever resourceful and resilient, pivoted to recording from home and documenting – sometimes in real time – the events that were unfolding around them. In this season of gratitude, I am so thankful for them.

To read about The Current's top 20 Minnesota albums of 2020, click here.

Top 20 Songs of 2020

Nur-D – "8:46"
Longshot – "I'm Saying"
Maria Isa – "Como Duele (Bomba 4 Big Floyd)"
Freaque – "My Anger is a Sun"
D Mills – "What Gets Ignored"
Bob Mould – "American Crisis"
Seaberg – "Pandemonium (feat. Kory LaQuess)"
Dua Saleh – "body cast"
UPRISING – "Are You Really Down?"
Psalm One X OPTIKS – "WHAT I GET FOR BEING BRILLIANT (feat. Emma Jayne)"
Sounds of Blackness – "Sick & Tired (feat. HSRA)"
Chastity Brown – "Golden"
FPA – "Untitled"
Ashley DuBose – "Love Tingz"
Dizzy Fae – "I'm Good"
Javier Santiago – "Are You There? (feat. Taylor Johnson and Miguel Hurtado)"
Humbird – "On the Day We Are Together Again"
r0 – "Sides to Lonely"
Kiss the Tiger – "Motel Room"
Mixtape for the Milky Way – "In Your Arms"

Listening Links

Once you've made your own list, vote in The Current's Top 89 poll, and we'll count down our listeners' Top 89 of 2020 on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.