according to Ryan Skotzke

As many of you have heard me say at some point, I’m not a very song-oriented music listener. I tend to listen to albums in full. Thus, making a list of my favorite songs gets very difficult, because I don’t always notice when a particular song stands out among a dozen or so others. This list would be boring if I just picked my favorite songs from my favorite albums, and it would also boring if I ignored singles that garnered some significant level of cultural spotlight. So I made a few rules for myself: one song per artist, weight influence over innovation, and try to separate the song from its album as much as possible. These were the tunes I kept coming back to, over and over again. And these were the tunes that I, and I suspect many others, will remember for years to come.

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#25

070 Shake

“Guilty Conscience”

Relatively unknown until her feature appearances on Kanye West’s Ye and Pusha T’s DAYTONA, 070 Shake released her debut album Modus Vivendi early in the year. “Guilty Conscience” is the best example of the album’s persona, an atmospheric pop/hip-hop crossover with gorgeous synth leads and a catchy hook. The song is riddled with irony: the narrator sheds her guilty conscience after catching her love in bed with another, after she herself has managed to keep her affairs secret. But the song’s strengths lie in its instrumentation and production. It bleeds into the emo-rap subgenre without being shallow and derivative, and given the emo-rap we’ve seen the last couple years, that’s quite an achievement. And hey, it even got a Tame Impala remix.

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#24

RMR

“RASCAL”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one meme song on this list… RMR’s “RASCAL” can safely be described as what the U.S. would submit if it were part of Eurovision. A hilarious mashup of trap rap lyrics with Rascal Flatts-inspired instrumentals (hence the title, “RASCAL”), the unexpected juxtaposition of these two themes is further enhanced in the viral music video. While RMR’s shtick didn’t exactly exactly last long (the quality of their later releases has been mediocre at best), the enduring power of wearing an assault rifle and a YSL bulletproof vest while singing over a lone piano about how “the bitches that broke my heart became hoes I scammed” will forever live on.

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#23

Jeff Rosenstock

“N O D R E A M”

While the sentiment that America is a dystopia and that capitalism is the root of all evil doesn’t exactly mesh with my own world view, I do have to give Jeff Rosenstock credit for turning such thoughts into a really fucking fun song. “N O D R E A M” begins with an almost comedic guitar riff and laments the brutality of the ruling class, and eventually speeds up to a breakneck pace and goes full hardcore punk. Rosenstock’s trademark angst morphs into rage in a way that’s very rewarding, and it’s a textbook example of what has made his music so timeless.

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#22

Harry Styles

“Watermelon Sugar”

Harry Styles’ solo career post-One Direction continues to be the only good thing to come out of One Direction…that’s my hot take and I’m sticking too it. While I wasn’t wowed by Fine Line as a whole album, “Watermelon Sugar” is a song that really grew on me as its popularity increased. Through two full-length solo records, Styles has continued to play around with his identity as a songwriter, and “Watermelon Sugar” is a real gem to come out of that experimentation. Plus, I like the TikTok trend where the song is mashed up with the little British boy greeting people on the sidewalk.

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#21

Fleet Foxes

“Can I Believe You”

Fleet Foxes returned in 2020 with Shore, a surprise follow-up to 2017’s Crack-Up. On this new release, they continued to make their sound lusher and fuller, adding rich background vocals and a healthy dose of reverb. “Can I Believe You” is the culmination of this sonic transformation. The song begins with vocals that fans on Instagram had recorded and sent to singer and chief songwriter Robin Pecknold, singing along to a riff he’d been toying with for many years before the song actually came together. In a year of isolation, these vocals and the song overall offer a warm hug of human connection. Fleet Foxes continue to do what they do best: write complex indie-folk with beautiful vocal harmonies and incredible production.

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#20

clipping.

“Say the Name”

clipping., the horrorcore project led by Hamilton-famous rapper & songwriter Daveed Diggs, is having a moment. Visions of Bodies Being Burned, the 2020 sequel to last year’s There Existed an Addiction to Blood, cemented clipping.’s place at the forefront of experiment, yet accessible, industrial hip-hop. That’s a particularly specific place to be, but Diggs’ starpower puts such music on the map. “Say the Name” is the first full song on Visions, and it plunges you into the album with a dark beat and clever compositional progression. Diggs’ rapping is as crisp as it has ever been, and while the rest of Visions is a bit underwhelming for me, this particular track reiterates why clipping.’s unique brand of hip-hop is important.

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#19

BENEE

“Supalonely”

The early pandemic feels like a fever dream at this point. We’ve pretty much learned to live with it; no longer does a simple trip through the Chick-fil-a drive thru feel like a risky endeavor. While “Supalonely” was a pre-pandemic song, it effortlessly captures the feeling of those early stages of isolation. We were all lonely bitches at that time, and greeting that reality with a silly dance and a sense of humor was better than wallowing in our grief. Of the many songs that rose during the TikTok boom, “Supalonely” remains one of the catchiest, and the feelings it laments won’t end with the pandemic. We’ll always have time to sit at home and drink and think about what could have been.

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#18

Car Seat Headrest

“Weightlifters”

While Car Seat Headrest’s Making A Door Less Open felt like a step back for the inventive and versatile indie rock band, the opening track “Weightlifters” stands out like a diamond in the rough. The song actually dates back to 2015, and after a few live performances here and there and never sounding exactly the same each time, we finally get an official studio version. Like many of CSH’s best works, the song features frontman Will Toledo dealing with his identify and place in the universe. The way he approaches introspection is never self-aggrandizing or unrelatable, as its usually presented with an appreciable bit of sarcasm. We all careen back and forth between wanted to be liked by everyone and not caring what people think of us, and Toledo knows better than anyone how that can affect how one views their own self.

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#17

The Strokes

“At The Door“

Whenever I think about the Strokes I think about the old videos of their performances where Julian Casablancas is just fucking piss drunk and stumbling across the stage like a dumbass, yet still belting out flawless vocal performances. Now, the Strokes are just kinda old, and probably a bit less alcohol-dependent. And God, their music is just so clean. “At The Door” is just everything a well-written indie rock should be, and it reminds you why every indie rock band from the mid-to-late 2000s wanted to be The Strokes. While it is a bit more synth-y than the Strokes classics from almost 20 years ago, it still has the same bite, catching your attention from the first moment.

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#16

Rina Sawayama

“XS”

Rina Sawayama made me realize something: pop music is moodier than it used to be. Whether that mood is being sad, angry, horny, or some combination thereof, there is less of the glitz and glamour that the pop stars of years past carried. “XS” is a glorious 2000’s arena pop pastiche, resurrecting the extravagant showmanship of people like Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and the fleet-footed boy bands. Money may not buy happiness, but it can sure as hell buy things that make sadness a little more comfortable. “Gimme just a little bit more,” Sawayama repeats over and over again. She isn’t entirely serious about her greed, but one has to admit that being able to get whatever we want with the snap of a finger doesn’t sound so bad every once in a while.

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#15

Beach Bunny

“Promises”

I don’t really have anything pithy to say about this one. It’s just an indie rock song you put on and sing along to and dance to and enjoy. And when you do it enough times you just have to put it on a list.

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#14

Dua Lipa

“Hallucinate”

I always feel like a contrarian when I insist that the best song on a major pop album is one of the deep cuts. While “Don’t Start Now” and “Break My Heart” were played on the radio no less than 100 million billion times this year, “Hallucinate” was the song off Future Nostalgia that I came back to again and again. It is the fastest and most frantic song on the album, and every time I hear it it makes my heart beat a little faster, in a good way. Dua Lipa has referred to it as her “festival song,” a song that is sure to get people dancing and having a good time, and it’s easy to see why.

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#13

The Garden

“Kiss My Super Bowl Ring”

What do you get when you take a Venetian Snares-type drum beat, jazzy guitars, a little bit of screaming, and a nonchalant “fuck you” attitude? Apparently, this. Easily the most head-scratching “why do I like this” song on this year’s list, “Kiss My Super Bowl Ring” is all the catchiness of a pop song mixed with all the dissonance and weirdness of two guys who understand that creating a sort of “rock music Frankenstein’s monster” can actually turn out really great if you do it right.

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#12

Paysage d’Hiver

“Stimmen Im Wald”

The mysterious Paysage d’Hiver’s behemoth 2020 album Im Wald is a journey through a dark, freezing, and desolate forest. And the center of the journey, when the trees are tallest and tower menacingly over you, voices begin to call out in a soul-stirring chant. “Stimmen Im Wald” (literally, “Voices in the Forest”) is one of the most striking black metal tracks I have heard in many years. After the voices repeat their chant a half dozen times or so, the simultaneous entrance of the drums, guitars, and singer/instrumentalist Wintherr’s blood curdling-shriek completely envelop the listener. The incredibly memorable riff pummels you for nearly 10 minutes, before the noise ceases and you are returned to the quiet winder winds that connect each track on the album. Rarely does a single black metal song carry its own weight so forcefully.

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#11

SLIFT

“Ummon”

Do you fucking love reverb? Then do I have a song for you! SLIFT take psychedelic rock to a whole new level on the title track and opener to their third full-length album. Featuring an unstoppably energetic drum beat and some of the best guitar work on any album this year, “Ummon” is carried by an excellent structure and unintelligible lyrics that perfectly add to the track’s huge sound. The guitar solo during the bridge really pushes the song from great to incredible, and remains one of my favorite music moments of the year.

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#10

Sufjan Stevens

“Tell Me You Love Me”

There are anywhere from 5 to 10 tracks I could have chosen off of Sufjan Stevens’ The Ascension, as each track fits so well into the album and impeccably showcases his recent foray into electronic music. I decided to go with “Tell Me You Love Me” because it’s the track that had the biggest impact on me on the first listen. The song grows and grows and reaches a climax better than any other song on the album, and that moment where all the instrumentation finally enters in unison is so rewarding. Not to mention, Sufjan’s vocal performance on this track is especially lush and emotional.

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#9

Doja Cat

“Say So”

TikTok’s influence on popular music supplied us with a treasure trove of catchy songs in 2020, and I’m not at all ashamed to admit that “Say So” is the crown jewel. How could you possibly listen to this song and not feel slightly better afterwards? We all needed a bit of cheering up in the early days of the pandemic, and “Say So” was just the right medicine. That, and Doja Cat wearing medieval chainmail while reading Roddy Ricch lyrics on Instagram Live.

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#8

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#7

#6

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#5

#4

Gupi & Fraxiom

“Thos Moser”

Is this song stupid? Yes, very much so. But goddamn is it fun.

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#3

Lido Pimienta

“Eso Que Tu Haces”

In what is simultaneously one of the best hooks and one of the most incredible vocal performances of the year, Canadian-Colombian singer Lido Pimienta sings (in Spanish) “That thing you do is not love.” She wholeheartedly asserts herself, and the music behind her calls back to her afro-indigenous roots. I just love how effortlessly she belts out the refrain, while drums and saxophones pulsate underneath. While my spanish-language education did not really flourish into fluency, or last long enough to make it useful (my own fault, really), Lido Pimienta’s music transcends the need to understand the lyrics, as all great music does.

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#2

Taylor Swift

“betty”

In the final chapter of the love triangle that appears throughout folklore, Taylor Swift offers a heartfelt and sincere apology from the point of view of the cheater, James. Her lyrics transform a humdrum folk rock instrumental into a gut-wrenching song, making us recall all the times we’ve ever fucked up in our relationships, and making us try to make peace with them. The way Taylor brings to life the fruitlessness of teenage love and the sheer stupidity we possess at such an age is just so poignant. That fucking key change in the final refrain and the echo back to “cardigan” just gets me every single time, and it helps make “betty” one of Taylor’s best songs ever.

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#1

Phoebe Bridgers

“I Know The End”

At some point in 2020, we’ve all just wanted to scream. And no scream hits quite like Phoebe Bridgers’ scream at near the end of the final track on her fantastic sophomore album Punisher. Bridgers packs a symphony’s worth of ideas into 6 minutes, as a simple folk ballad slowly builds into all-out madness. The screams, the horns, the screeching guitars, and the sheer panic of being trapped in the mundanity of life and barreling toward one’s inevitable death…it all amounts to one incredible moment of emotion and release. When so many albums begin with promotional singles and end with useless deep cuts, the treasure of having such an incredibly written song finish an album and wrap everything into nice fat knot cannot be understated. And that’s why “I Know The End” stands high above everything else.

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If you would like to listen to these songs, check out the playlist below: