Every January, I list my favorite songs of the previous year and, every January, I include the same disclaimer. My favorite songs are not necessarily the favorite songs of any of the other writers here at the Shattered Lens.
With that in mind, here are my favorite songs of 2021! Also be sure to check out my favorite songs of 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011!
10) It’s All Happening by Saint Motel
9) U Are My High by DJ Snake x Future
8) Cry About It Later by Katy Perry
7) Traps by Bloc Party
6) It Gets Better by Swedish House Mafia
5) Hypnocurrency by Deadmau5 & REZZ
4) The Darkness That You Fear by The Chemical Brothers
Every January, I list my favorite songs of the previous year and, every January, I include the same disclaimer. My favorite songs are not necessarily the favorite songs of any of the other writers here at the Shattered Lens. We are a large and diverse group of people and, as such, we all have our own individual tastes.
If you ever visited the TSL Bunker, you would be shocked by the different music coming out of each office. You would hear everything from opera to death metal to the best of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. And then, of course, you would reach my office and you would discover that my taste in music pretty much runs the gamut from EDM to More EDM.
Now, usually, I do try to listen to a variety of music. You can go to my Song of the Day site — Lisa Marie’s Song of the Day — and see that I do occasionally listen to other types of music. But, I have to be honest. 2020 was not a year that inspired me to really leave me comfort zone. If anything, music provided me with some much needed consistency in an otherwise chaotic year. 2020 was a year that made me want to dance until it was all over and, for the most part, my favorite songs of the year reflect that fact.
Before I list my songs, I should make something else very clear. These are my favorite songs of 2020. I’m not saying that they’re necessarily the best songs of 2020. I’ll leave that debate for others. Instead, there are the songs that I found myself listening to over and over again. These are the songs made me dance. These are the songs that made me sing. A few of these songs relaxed me when I needed to be relaxed. These are songs that I liked.
You might like them.
Or you might not.
That’s the beautiful thing about art. Everyone experiences it in their own individual way. For instance, if you want to see an example of the different tastes of music that you’ll find here at TSL, be sure to check out Necromoonyeti’s top albums of 2020. And also go to Days Without Incident and check out some of the songs that Leonard has posted. To quote my friend Shirley Loh, “we all like different things.”
Here are my favorite songs of 2020:
20) No Sleep by Jessie Frye
19) Ghost In These Streets by Kate Vogel
18) Matches by Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys
17) You Do you by Dillon Francis and BabyJake
16) Into the Abyss by Zeds Dead x REZZ
15) Teacher by Chromatics
14) Stardew by Purity Ring
13) Everybody Here Hates You by Courtney Barnett
12) Swimming in the Stars by Britney Spears
11) Don’t Wanna by Haim
10) Preach by Saint Motel
9) Famous Monsters by Chromatics
8) Break my Heart by Dua Lipa
7) Feel Something by Armin van Buuren feat. Duncan Laurence
6) Dance Again by Selena Gomez
5) Phobos by Space 92
4) Pomegranate by deadmau5 & The Neptunes
3) Castles In The Sky by i_o
2) The Steps by Haim
1) A Good Song Never Dies by Saint Motel
Finally, allow me to offer up two honorable mentions to my favorite cinematic musical moments of the year. From Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga:
I’m a Texas girl so I guess it’s kind of inevitable that I would love this video (not to mention the song!). I’ve spent some time in the desert though I haven’t spent as much time on the back of a horse as some members of my family. Some of that’s because, one of the few times that I did ride a horse, we ended up running straight through a giant spider web. Fortunately, the spider wasn’t home at the time but that still didn’t keep me from screaming all the way from Benavides to San Antonio.
I know that non-Texans tend to assume that everyone down here owns a horse and wears a cowboy hat but that’s not really true. That said, a Texas horse is still better than every other horse in every other state of the union.
Hi! Lisa here, with today’s music video of the day!
Life as a ghost isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and if you needed proof, just check out this otherworldly music video. The video mixes spirits with a good beat, so you know there’s no way that I’d be able to resist it.
This one was filmed in Toronto and it was directed by Colin O’Toole.