Over the past weeks, we've been spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2020. Check out the Top 90.3 Albums of 2020, as voted on by our listeners, and check out more top albums from KEXP DJs here.
Favorite 'Pacific Notions' Albums of 2020 (Ambient, Neo-Classical, Instrumental)
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ana Roxanne | Because Of A Flower | Kranky |
| 2 | Hèlène Vogelsinger | Contemplation | Modularfield |
| 3 | Lemon Quartet | Crestless | Last Resort |
| 4 | Leo Takami | Felis Catus and Silence | Unseen Worlds |
| 5 | Loris S. Sarid | Music For Tomato Plants | Constellation Tatsu |
| 6 | Rebecca Foon | Waxing Moon | Constellation |
| 7 | Sea Oleena | Weaving A Basket | self-released |
| 8 | Spencer Zahn | Sunday Painter | Cascine |
| 9 | TENGGER | Nomad | Beyond Beyond Is Beyond |
| 10 | The Green Kingdom | Springhill | Hidden Vibes |
Favorite 'Expansions' Albums of 2020 (Electronic)
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andras | Joyful | Beats In Space |
| 2 | BOOF | Rebirth Of Gerberdaisy | BubbleTease Communications |
| 3 | Ghetto Kumbé | Ghetto Kumbé | ZZK |
| 4 | Hudson Mohawke | B.B.H.E. | Poom Gems | Airborne Lard | Warp |
| 5 | K-Lone | Cape Cira | Wisdom Teeth |
| 6 | Kareem Ali | Black Liberty | CosmoFlux Recordings |
| 7 | Machinedrum | A View Of U | Ninja Tune |
| 8 | Moodymann | Taken Away | KDJ |
| 9 | Oui Ennui | Sirius Bismuth | self-released |
| 10 | Xyla | Ways | Leaving |
Favorite Albums of 2020 (Variety)
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anjimile | Giver Taker | Father/Daughter |
| 2 | Babeheaven | Home For Now | AWAL |
| 3 | Caribou | Suddenly | Merge |
| 4 | Charli XCX | how i'm feeling now | Asylum |
| 5 | Jessie Ware | What's Your Pleasure? | PMR |
| 6 | Jim-E Stack | EPHEMERA | AWAL |
| 7 | The Leonard Simpson Duo | LSD | Jakarta |
| 8 | Perfume Genius | Set My Heart On Fire Immediately | Matador |
| 9 | Roddy Ricch | Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial | Atlantic |
| 10 | SAULT | Untitled (Black Is) | Untitled (Rise) | Forever Living Originals |
Favorite EPs of 2020 (All Genres)
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiiild | Synthetic Soul | Avant Garden |
| 2 | dijon | How Do You Feel About Getting Married? | R&R Digital/Warner |
| 3 | Dinner Party | Dinner Party | Sounds Of Crenshaw/EMPIRE |
| 4 | dj lostboi | THE BLUE STALLION | self-released |
| 5 | Househead Samira | Radio Safia | Moveltraxx |
| 6 | Lucy Gooch | Rushing | Past Inside The Present |
| 7 | Melanie Faye | Melanie Faye | self-released |
| 8 | Nailah Hunter | Spells | Leaving |
| 9 | Niecy Blues | CRY! | self-released |
| 10 | Wordcolour | Tell Me Something | Lapsus |
Favorite Singles of 2020
| rank | artist | Song | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Becky and the Birds | "Wondering" | 4AD |
| 2 | Caribou | "Never Come Back" | Merge |
| 3 | Christine and the Queens | "People, I've been sad" | Because Music |
| 4 | Lady Gaga | "Rain On Me (with Ariana Grande)" | Interscope |
| 5 | No Rome | "1:45AM (feat. Bearface)" | Dirty Hit |
| 6 | Perfume Genius | "On The Floor" | Matador |
| 7 | Porter Robinson | "Something Comforting" | Mom + Pop |
| 8 | SAULT | "Wildfires" | Forever Living Originals |
| 9 | Sufjan Stevens | "Run Away With Me" | Asthmatic Kitty |
| 10 | The Weekend | "Blinding Lights" | XO/Republic |
DJ Alex hosts Pacific Notions, on the air Sunday morning, 6 -9 AM PT. He also curates our Midnight in a Perfect World series, airing Sunday nights at midnight, and is one of the hosts of Expansions, on the air Sunday nights, 9 PM-midnight.
Favorite Reissues
Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Transmissions: The Music Of Beverly Glenn-Copeland (Transgressive)
Hiroshi Yoshimura - GREEN (Light In The Attic)
Lotte Kærså & Græsrødderne - Jubiiilæum (Tartelet)
Nina Simone - Fodder On My Wings (Verve)
Yumiko Morioka - Resonance (Métron)
Favorite Albums: Honorable Mentions (Variety)
Amaarae - THE ANGEL YOU DON'T KNOW (Platoon)
Aminé - Limbo (Republic)
Angelica Garcia - Cha Cha Palace (Spacebomb)
Cassowary - Cassowary (Fat Possum)
Daniel Blumberg - On&On (Mute)
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Warner)
DUCKWRTH - SuperGood (Republic)
Duval Timothy - Help (Carrying Colour)
Eartheater - Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin (PAN)
Ela Minus - acts of rebellion (Domino)
Eyeliner - Drop Shadow (Orange Milk)
Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans (Text)
Heavy-K - Khusta (DrumbossMusik)
Il Quadro di Troisi - Il Quadro di Troisi (raster)
Jessy Lanza - All The Time (Hyperdub)
keiyaA - Forever, Ya Girl (Forever Recordings)
Kllo - Maybe We Could (Ghostly International)
LA Priest - GENE (Domino)
Las Kellies - Suck This Tangerine (Fire)
Maajo - Kuru Kuru (Queen Nanny)
Mk.gee - A Museum Of Contradiction (IAMSOUND/Interscope)
Moses Boyd - Dark Matter (Exodus)
Oklou - Galore (True Panther)
OTTO - Clam Day (PLZ Make It Ruins)
Pantayo - Pantayo (Telephone Explosion)
Peggy Sue - Vices (French Exit)
Salaam Remi - Black On Purpose (Louder Than Life)
Sevdaliza - Shabrang (Twisted Elegance)
Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (Impulse!)
Space Afrika - hybtwibt? (self-released)
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty)
Sweeping Promises - Hunger For A Way Out (Feel It)
The 1975 - Notes On An Unconditional Form (Dirty Hit)
The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You (Astralwerks)
The Microphones - Microphones In 2020 (P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd.)
Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)
TOPS - I Feel Alive (Musique TOPS)
Westerman - Your Hero Is Not Dead (Partisan)
Woods - Strange To Explain (Woodsist)
Zora Jones - Ten Billion Angels (Fractal Fantasy)
Favorite EPs: Honorable Mentions (Variety)
Baronhawk Poitier - Temperado Tornado (Honey Soundsystem)
Bullion - We Had A Good Time (Deek Recordings) | Heaven Is Over (Friends Of/Jagjaguwar)
Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats - Unlocked (Loma Vista Recordings)
Dianna Lopez - Shapeshifting (La Luna Recordings)
Galdre Visions - Galdre Vision (Leaving)
Guedra Guedra - Son Of Sun (On The Corner)
Klein Zage - Tip Me Baby One More Time (Orphan.)
Love Mansuy - (món swee) side A | (món swee) side B (Love & Company)
Stas THEE Boss - Sang Stasia! (LucidHaus)
Yawning Portal - Heart & Earth (PLZ Make It Ruins)
Favorite 'Pacific Notions' Albums: Honorable Mentions
Alexia Avina - Unearth (Topshelf)
Andrew Tuttle - Alexandra (Room40)
awakened souls - how we heal (Stereoscenic)
Bibio - Sleep On The Wing (Warp)
City Of Dawn - Desirdium (self-released)
Cory Wong & Jon Batiste - Meditations (self-released)
Denis Stelmakh - Children Of Abandoned Nests, Vol. 1 (self-released)
Emily A. Sprague - Hill, Flower, Fog (RVNG Intl.)
Ezra Feinberg - Recumbent Speech (Related States)
From Overseas - Home (Past Inside The Present)
Gastón Arévalo - Terrain (A Strangely Isolated Place)
Gia Margaret - Mia Gargaret (Orindal)
Glowworm - Midnight Intervals (Post Dog Productions)
Hamish Lang - For Baxter (self-released)
IKSRE - Intermission (self-released)
Inventions - Continuous Portrait (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
Julianna Barwick - Healing Is A Miracle (Ninja Tune)
Jusell, Prymek, Sage, Shiroishi - Fuubutsushi (風物詩) (Cached Media)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Mosaic Of Transformation (Ghostly International)
KMRU - Jar (Seil) | Peel (Editions Mego)
Laraaji - The Piano Trilogy (All Saints)
Levi Patel - A Shifting Lightness (self-released)
Library Tapes - The Quiet City (1631 Recordings)
Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders (Ghostly International)
Mat Eric Hart - Spirits & Reflections (Aural Canyon)
North Americans - Roped In (Third Man)
Noveller - Arrow (Ba Da Bing!)
Offthesky & The Humble Bee - We Were The Hum Of Dreams (LAAPS)
Okkyoung Lee - Yeo-Neun (Shelter Press)
Ólafur Arnalds - some kind of peace (Mercury KX)
Party Store - Party Store (self-released)
Rhian Sheehan - Recollections, Vol. 1 & 2 (LOOP Recordings)
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Philadelphia (Ideé Fixe)
Sven Laux - Home Diaries 025 (Whitelabrecs)
TALsounds - Acquiesce (NNA Tapes)
The Green Kingdom - Residence On Earth (Past Inside The Present)
Vaotihkuu - Winter Lullabies (Wind In The Willows)
WMD - Saudade (self-released)
Yamaneko - Spa Commissions 2 (Local Action)
zakè - Orchestral Studies Collectanea (Past Inside The Present)
Favorite Singles, #11-#100
11. Dinner Party - "Freeze Tag (feat. Phoelix)"
12. Charli XCX - "enemy"
13. Jai Wolf - "Moon Rider (feat. Wrabel)"
14. Dua Lipa - "Cool"
15. The 1975 - "Me & You Together Song"
16. Jessie Ware - "Soul Control"
17. Mat Zo - "Colours (feat. Olan)"
18. Lil Uzi Vert - "Futsal Shuffle 2020"
19. The Knocks - "Bodies (feat. MUNA)"
20. Naeem - "Stone Harbor"
21. Romy - "Lifetime"
22. Ariana Grande - "positions"
23. Jessy Lanza - "Lick In Heaven"
24. Tame Impala - "Breathe Deeper"
25. Arlo Parks - "Green Eyes"
26. Q - "Take Me Where Your Heart Is"
27. Jayda G - "Both Of Us"
28. Sun-El Musician - "Ubomi Abumanga (feat. Msaki)"
29. Drake - "Laugh Now Cry Later (feat. Lil Durk)"
30. Moodymann - "Do Wrong"
31. Roddy Ricch - "Roll The Dice"
32. Jónsi - "Cannibal (with Elzabeth Fraser)"
33. H.E.R. - "Damage"
34. Jim-E Stack - "Can We (with Kacy Hill)"
35. Gabriels - "Love and Hate in a Different Time"
36. Thundercat - "Fair Chance (feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Lil B)"
37. Anderson .Paak - "Lockdown"
38. Erika de Casier - "No Butterflies, No Nothing"
39. Quinton Brock - "To The Moon"
40. Eyeliner - "Los Angeles"
41. Rod Wave - "Thief In The Night"
42. Bartees Strange - "Flagey God"
43. Actress - "Walking Flames (feat. Sampha)"
44. Roosevelt - "Sign"
45. Tinashe & MAKJ - "Save Room For Us"
46. A$AP Nast & D33J - "Designer Boi"
47. Roísín Murphy - "Murphy's Law"
48. Tierra Whack - "Dora"
49. Zaia - "VERY ALONE"
50. Mura Masa - "Live Like We're Dancing (feat. Georgia)"
51. Nilüfer Yanya - "Crash"
52. Affectionately - "prettiest part of me"
53. Remi Wolf - "Photo ID"
54. ML Buch - "Touching Screens"
55. Groove Armada - "Lover 4 Now (feat. Todd Edwards)"
56. Love Mansuy - "Calm Me Down"
57. DaBaby - "ROCKSTAR (feat. Roddy Ricch)"
58. Phony Ppl - "Fkn Around (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)"
59. Real Lies - "Boss Trick"
60. Kareem Ali - "In My Spaceship"
61. Lil Mosey - "Bands Out Tha Roof"
62. Melanie Faye - "It's A Moot Point"
63. Vlossom - "Missing You"
64. Blue Hawaii - "No Drama"
65. Waxahatchee - "Can't Do Much"
66. Rina Sawayama - "Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)"
67. Miloe - "Winona"
68. Video Age - "Aerostar"
69. SONIKKU - "X Hopeless Romantic (feat. Little Boots)"
70. Nasty Cherry - "Better Run"
71. Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - "Last 100"
72. Oklou - "another night"
73. Burial - "Chemz"
74. Real Tears - "Need U"
75. Trace Mountains - "Lost In The Country"
76. Little Dragon - "Hold On"
77. Noname - "Song 33"
78. Omar Apollo - "Imagine U"
79. Khruangbin - "Time (You and I)"
80. Amaarae - "JUMPING SHIP (feat. Kojey Radical & Cruel Santino)"
81. DUCKWRTH - "World On Wheels (feat. Kyle Dixon)"
82. Jess Williamson - "Infinite Scroll"
83. Luh Kel - "Y.O.U."
84. Heavy-K - "Uyeke (feat. Natalia Mabaso)"
85. Fabiana Palladino - "Waiting"
86. Kllo - "Still Here"
87. Breakbot - "Be Mine Tonight (feat. Delafleur)"
88. N.A.O. Quelly - "O.S.S."
89. Empress Of - "Give Me Another Chance"
90. DJDS - "Simple Things (feat. Tory Lanez & Rema)"
91. SZA - "Hit Different (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)"
92. The Avalanches - "The Divine Chord (feat. MGMT & Johnny Marr)"
93. Ian Daniel Kehoe - "There With You"
94. Pop Smoke - "Something Special"
95. Caroline Rose - "Feel The Way I Want"
96. Planet 1999 - "Party"
97. Pa Salieu - "More Paper (feat. Eight9FLY)"
98. Daniel Blumberg - "Bound"
99. Photay - "The People"
100. India Jordan - "For You"
