Plagues, protests, politics...2020 was a trip.
If last year’s version of you could dream up something stressful (anything really), it likely happened during the past 12 months. Sadly, we probably haven’t helped things by announcing the end of the 24/7 opbmusic channel, which goes into effect on Dec. 11. But if there was one truly positive development during this awful year, it was the music we played throughout all of it. Thank goodness for that.
We asked opbmusic staff to compile their favorite albums of 2020 (each person got to select five). These are just a few of the records that helped us get through this strange period in time.
Arthur C. Lee, opbmusic DJ
M. Ward - “Migration Stories” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Califone - “Echo Mine” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Laura Veirs - “My Echo” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Bill Callahan - “Gold Record” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Stephen Malkmus - “Traditional Techniques” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Chance Solem-Pfeifer, opbmusic contributor and DJ
Phoebe Bridgers - “Punisher” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
John Moreland - “LP5″ [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Waxahatchee - “Saint Cloud” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Andy Shauf - “The Neon Skyline” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
MAITA - “Best Wishes” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Chris Spicer, opbmusic DJ
Beabadoobee -“Fake It Flowers” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Caroline Rose - “Superstar” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Jessie Ware - “What’s Your Pleasure” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Moses Sumney - “græ” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Christine and The Queens - “La vita nuova” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
David Christensen, opbmusic Program Director
Nana Adjoa - “Big Dreaming Ants” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Chicano Batman - “Invisible” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
MAITA - “Best Wishes” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Andy Shauf - “The Neon Skyline” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
SAULT - “Untitled (Black Is)” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Emily Reiling, opbmusic contributor and DJ
Fiona Apple - “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Fleet Foxes - “Shore” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Mac Miller - “Circles” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Waxahatchee - “Saint Cloud” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Moses Sumney - “græ” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Francis Storr, opbmusic DJ
Laura Marling - “Song For Our Daughter” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
I Like Trains - “Kompromat” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Katatonia - “City Burials” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
The Chicks - “Gaslighter” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Phantogram - “Ceremony” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Gerard O’Sullivan, opbmusic contributor
Bonny Light Horseman - “Bonny Light Horseman” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Dougie Poole - “The Freelancer’s Blues” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Phish - “Sigma Oasis” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Chicano Batman - “Invisible” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Andy Shauf - “The Neon Skyline” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Jerad Walker, opbmusic Music Director
Fleet Foxes - “Shore” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
SAULT - “Untitled (Black Is)” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Waxahatchee - “Saint Cloud” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Khruangbin - “Mordechai” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Chicano Batman - “Invisible” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Jonny Polivka, opbmusic DJ
Soccer Mommy - “Color Theory” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
SAULT - “Untitled (Black Is)” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Sylvan Esso - “Free Love” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Tame Impala - “The Slow Rush” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Caroline Rose - “Superstar” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
JT Griffith, opbmusic contributor and DJ
Phoebe Bridgers - “Punisher” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Margo Price - “That’s How Rumors Get Started” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Taylor Swift - “folklore” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Deep Sea Diver - “Impossible Weight” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Waxahatchee - “Saint Cloud” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Matthew Casebeer, opbmusic contributor and DJ
EOB - “Earth” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
SAULT - “Untitled (Black Is)” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Doves - “The Universal Want” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
The Strokes - “The New Abnormal” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Deep Sea Diver - “Impossible Weight” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Max Robinson, opbmusic contributor and DJ
Turtlenecked - “Kapow!” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
The Killers - “Imploding the Mirage” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Julianna Barwick - “Healing is a Miracle” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
The Milk Carton Kids - “Live from Lincoln Theatre” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Fleet Foxes - “Shore” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Nate Sjol, opbmusic videographer
Waxahatchee - “Saint Cloud” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Marlowe - “Marlowe 2″ [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Fiona Apple - “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Hum - “Inlet” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Phoebe Bridgers - “Punisher” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Ray Gill, Jr., opbmusic contributor and DJ
Sa-Roc - “The Sharecropper’s Daughter” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Black Pumas - “Black Pumas (Deluxe)” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Car Seat Headrest - “Making a Door Less Open” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Marlowe - “Marlowe 2″ [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Yves Tumor - “Heaven to a Tortured Mind” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Sarah Donofrio, opbmusic contributor and DJ
Caroline Rose - “Superstar” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Róisín Murphy - “Machine” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
The Strokes - “The New Abnormal” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
SAULT - “Untitled (Black Is)” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]
Fiona Apple - “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” [LISTEN: Apple Music | Spotify]