Throwback (Musical) Thursday – Top Fifty (One)

Posted by SaraG on January 7, 2021

Music

As promised, I am giving you my favorite fifty (one) songs of 2020 today. But before I get into the actual songs, there are few things I want to layout in terms of process, why I pull the list together, and what I get out of it. Let’s be clear, I know that this isn’t some earth-shattering, Billboard top 100, and I want to make sure that it’s understood that this list is a snapshot in time. There are easily another 50-75 different songs that I weeded through to get to this list that could have very easily replaced something had I been crafting on a different day. I listen to a LOT of music and I am very full of love for a LOT of songs.

One of the reasons I like to make a top fifty list is to grab that snapshot in time and be able to examine it in later years. I like to see where I was in my musical journey five years back and figure out if I could be concert buddies with the me of yesteryear. Surprise surprise, sometimes that’s a mixed bag. Some of my tastes run a bit dated. I am a child of the nineties and it’s very obvious when we take a look at my fashion choices and musical proclivities.

I also like to take my little list and compare it to the lists other folks make – smart folks who write for big websites and magazines – to see how my tastes match up to the rest of the world for the year and to figure out if I’m grabbing all of the music that might interest me. These lists are a great source of new music. People more in the know than me are a useful tool for finding someone I might love next year. And even more fun, I like to compare my list to those of my friends and compatriots. It’s always a delight to see where we overlap and where we diverge. I’ve got a pretty good ear for my friend’s tastes, but sometimes I’m surprised to see what bubbles to the top and what doesn’t quite make the cut. A trend that I notice year after year is that we love a lot of the same artists, but not all of the same songs. It’s common to see different tracks from the same releases sprinkled throughout our top fifties. While I love one B-Side, someone else might be completely moved by another. And then there are the songs that show up on everyone’s list. That’s just magic. Imagine having the talent and ability to craft a song that makes it to the best of the best for such a diverse listenership.

And finally, process. I think I talked about this in last year’s post, but I have a specific process for how I craft this top list every year. During the first week of the year I create my Top 50 playlist for that yearpH-1

in iTunes. As music that piques my interest is released, I add it to the list and I lean on that list when I need something to listen to that I KNOW will satisfy me. Typically, by the time I’m ready to narrow it down to my final version, I have around 150 or so songs, so I make rules to help a girl out. I only allow myself one song per artist (features are allowed). I think carefully if I’m including a song because I love it or because I love the artist. I determine if I’m including a song because I love it or because a friend loves it and I want to make them happy. And with a little self-reflection, I decide if I’m including a song because it makes me look cool or because it really does speak to me.

I recognize that sometimes a group or artist is so wonderful that rightfully I could have multiple tracks on my list from throughout their year of comebacks. That maybe my list isn’t quite my top fifty because I artificially weeded something out for a little diversity. But for me personally, having a variety of artists is much more representative of my taste than having a ton by a single group.

Anyway, many of the tracks on my list have been written about in various posts over the year, so I will stick with my lazy track record and just list them here and give you the link to the playlist on YouTube rather than put in a separate link for each MV. I will leave that kind of perfection to Stephanie. I’ll just link to what we all had to say about the various tracks so you can take a deep dive.

So in no particular order, I give you:

2020 SG Favs (Some of Them)