When crafting our Best of 2020 lists, it was difficult to find commonalities, from hyper pop to rock and heart wrenching to spiritual. However, one thing dominated. Female soloists!

2020 will be remembered in a lot of ways, many of them pretty horrible. But, if there’s one bright light in this dark year, it’s been the female artists. Over the year, women have particularly taken over hyper pop and rock through their experimentation and record-breaking albums that honor the styles and lyricism that come with both genres. And do so in ways that are easy for people to connect with as they plug in with current social and political problems. If one good thing has come out of 2020, it’s all of the badass records from women. As such, EMMIE is comfortable and proud to present the following information as this year’s best works.

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How I’m Feeling Now

“Charli XCX graced us with How I’m Feeling Now in May of this year. Created entirely during quarantine, this album allowed me to escape from reality for 37 minutes. Charli XCX pushes the boundaries of modern day pop and creates catchy tracks with clashing instrumentations. What I love most about this album is how glamorous it is. I’m trying to fixate on one track that is glamorous, but the truth is that each song is. Everything fits together so well to form an album that can turn any living room to a dance floor and any sidewalk into a runway. My favorite song at the moment is “party 4 u.” The track describes how Charli XCX threw a party for a special someone, full of pink balloons, champagne and dancing. With the pandemic inserting itself into every aspect of life, large social gatherings are impossible and thus I can’t live out the story Charli XCX sings. One day I’ll be able to throw a party for a special someone, I’ll buy pink balloons, champagne, a disco ball and fancy invitations. Until then, I’ll just spin How I’m Feeling Now and go on a walk.”

— Izzi Bavis, Editor-In-Chief

“Released on May 15, Charli XCX’s How I’m Feeling Now is a perfect encapsulation of the overwhelming feelings experienced at the beginning of this pandemic. The album tells the relatable story of isolation and yearning through the same bubblegum pop sound that Charli is known and loved for. While the feelings expressed on How I’m Feeling Now may not feel as poignant now as they did at the time of its release, the impressive production of every song has guaranteed this album the credit it deserves, even months later. This album is both a continuation of and improvement upon the sound that was solidified with the release of Charli in 2019. Given the unusual circumstances surrounding the creation of this album and the effort to engage fans in the process, How I’m Feeling Now is Charli’s most personal and raw work yet. It’s a love letter, a diary entry and a scream into the void.”

— Bailey Griffin, Social Media Director

Punisher

“Phoebe Bridgers’ sophomore album Punisher rounds out her already impressive discography with a project that is packed start to finish with intense, palpable emotion. Bridgers’ lyricism in Punisher is unmatched. Each line feels equally as raw and thoughtful as the last—something that I feel is rare to come across in music today. I find something new to value and appreciate every time I go back to listen to this album. The emotion that courses through the veins of Punisher has not been lost on the masses, either. Punisher marks a monumental point in Bridgers’ musical career, as the album gained almost immediate praise and popularity that is more than well-deserved. Phoebe Bridgers continues to exceed my expectations with every new release: she wrote my top album of 2020 and I wouldn’t be surprised if she is already working on my top album of 2021.”

— Morgan Dooley, Albums Editor

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

“Every song on Fetch the Bolt Cutters is an explosion of feelings and an examination of the ways rage can be repressed, funneled and unleashed. The album’s message is overwhelmingly liberationist as Apple magnifies her internal landscape. She fearlessly reckons with childhood bullies, sexual assault and the trials of fame with a wicked wit. Like many of Apple’s studio albums, Fetch The Bolt Cutters speaks truth to male power and trauma with eloquence, force and perspective, and is spookily prescient about the mood of our current stay-at-home culture. Brilliantly recorded almost entirely at home over five years, the album’s beating heart formed of the rattling of everyday objects, barking dogs and battering on the walls is what makes this album one of the most innovative and ambitious records I’ve ever heard. It’s simple. I feel inspired and free when I listen to this album since the collaborators were comfortable taking risks and trying new, unconventional music-making methods. You can hear on the record that it's in-process, an experiment that’s not super polished, which is what makes this album a bold show of unprettiness. It’s clear Apple’s wisdom and the emotional weight of her lyrics is unmatched. I just hope we don’t have to wait another eight years for her next album.”

— Rebecca Perla, Webmaster

SAWAYAMA

“SAWAYAMA is a genre-bending mix of emotions. Rina Sawayama is daring and bold as she shapeshifts between genres throughout the album — from spunky pop tunes to 80s-esque R&B and rage-filled nu-metal. The album is packed with Sawayama’s experiences with racism, anti-queerness, sexism and familial hardships. She captures an intense sense of intimacy and vulnerability and she offers insight into her own anger, sorrow, nostalgia and pride that comes from her experiences being Japanese, feminine and queer. SAWAYAMA is eye-opening, yet relatable. I have felt connected to the album as I have reached new emotional highs and lows in 2020. The mixed bag of genres and emotions is fitting for a year that has challenged us all to be a little bit tougher but also more empathetic. The album ends with “Snakeskin” and ode accepting the past and moving into the new. Sawaya explains the album is her snakeskin. It is her way of processing her trauma but ultimately letting it go. SAWAYAMA as a whole encapsulates the observant, emotional, ethereal bad bitch that is Rina Sawayama.”

— Hayley Snell, Marketing Director

EP!

“Whoa, what a year. There’s no way for me to objectively pick a favorite album, I just haven’t listened to enough. But I can say jpegmafia’s singles dropped throughout the year have been almost a companion through all the twists and turns this year had to offer. Chaotic music for a chaotic time, right?

All My Heroes Are Cornballs was a weird choice for one of my top 5 albums of 2019, as I’m much more of a folk/indie-head, but it caught me off guard with its versatility, with Peggy's complete devotion to the project, with the sheer insanity of the production. Since that release, though, jpegmafia has only increasingly become a master of his craft without sacrificing his music being as him as possible.

The past five years has seen a rising tide of artists who write, produce, and mix their own work as a way to preserve the lucidity between the artist and the art created. Peggy has been riding that wave since the start and it’s allowed him to be uncompromising. And with these new tracks, he’s made leaps and bounds in versatility and experimentation all while somehow making his music more palatable. On “COVERED IN MONEY,” he declares loudly “fuck the underground, I’m going pop.” He’s not tempering his music for mass appeal, instead he’s working to make his sound so well executed it can’t be ignored by anybody.

I should mention I felt indifferent to many of these tracks as they came out one after the other but after they reappeared on my shuffle a couple times, they grew on me like Cornballs had. They all work from different angles, different levels of intimacy, and jesus christ there’s such a ridiculous versatility of textures and small details I can’t even begin to do them justice. They all sound like jpeg challenging himself creatively, to go places he hadn’t ever before.”

— Griffin Blue Emerson, Staff Writer

Staff Spotify Wrapped Fun Fact & Top 10 Albums of 2020:

Izzi Bavis, Editor-In-Chief: My top artist was Sufjan Stevens for the third year in a row.

How I’m Feeling Now - Charli XCX
It Is What It Is - Thundercat
Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
Collector - Disq
Love Is The King - Jeff Tweedy
Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple
Watch This Liquid Pour Itself - Okay Kaya
Nightmare Vacation - Rico Nasty
My Agenda - Dorian Electra
Moveys - Slow Pulp

Bailey Griffin, Social Media Director: I was in the top 0.1% of Charli XCX listeners this year.

How I’m Feeling Now - Charli XCX
Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple
SAWAYAMA - Rina Sawayama
Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
Women in Music Pt. III - Haim
Heaven to a Tortured Mind - Yvez Tumor
Superstar - Caroline Rose
Collector - Disq
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately - Perfume Genius
Moveys - Slow Pulp

Morgan Dooley, Albums Editor: My friend Emma’s #1 was Skepta.

Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
ho, why is you here ? - Flo Milli
How I’m Feeling Now - Charli XCX
Nightmare Vacation - Rico Nasty
Kiss My Super Bowl Ring - The Garden
Starz - Yung Lean
Hold Space For Me - Orion Sun
Color Theory - Soccer Mommy
Moveys - Slow Pulp
Let’s Skip To The Wedding - Eyedress

Rebecca Perla, Webmaster: I was in the top 0.5% of Phony Ppl listeners for two years in a row.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple
Untitled (Black Is) - SAULT
Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
SAWAYAMA - Rina Sawayama
How I’m Feeling Now - Charli XCX
Women in Music Pt III - Haim
Miss Anthropocene - Grimes
A Written Testimony - Jay Electronica
Set My Heart to Fire Immediately - Perfume Genius
Color Theory - Soccer Mommy

Hayley Snell, Marketing Director: My top artist of the year was Ashnikko.

SAWAYAMA - Rina Sawayama
Color Theory - Soccer Mommy
Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple
Hold Space For Me - Orion Sun
græ - Moses Sumney
Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers
ho, why is you here? - Flo Milli
It Is what It Is - Thundercat
Saint Cloud - Waxahatchee
K.G. - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Griffin Blue Emerson, Staff Writer: I listened to almost 3,000 minutes of Animal Collective this year, almost entirely over the summer.

EP! - Jpegmafia
songs - Adrianne Lenker
We Will Always Love You - The Avalanches
Women in Music pt. III - Haim
Windswept Adan - Ichiko Adan
Giver Taker - Anjimile
incentivize unpaid overtime - ceo@business.net
Shore - Fleet Foxes
Superstar - Caroline Rose
Miles - Blu & Exile