I’ve been a little slower than normal slapping together my Favorite Songs of the Year list. I can just #Blame2020 and leave it at that. I will also add that I’m having a devil of a time picking my favorite song of 2020, which I kind of need to do in order to complete the list.

But I’m working on it, and in hopes of ensuring I complete this year’s list over the next week, I’ll go ahead and share my standard prelude.

Here is my list of my favorite song of each year going back to 2004. I offer it with the standard disclaimer that I do not adjust these over time. If I were to re-do any of these annual lists, there would no doubt be adjustments. But I want this list to always be a snapshot of what I was thinking in each particular year.

Happy listening!

2004: “Float On” – Modest Mouse
2005: “Going Missing” – Maximo Park
2006: “Star Witness” – Neko Case
2007: “Intervention” – Arcade Fire
2008: “The Modern Leper” – Frightened Rabbit*
2009: “Whirring” – The Joy Formidable
2010: “FootShooter” – Frightened Rabbit
2011: “He Gets Me High” – Dum Dum Girls
2012: “The House That Heaven Built” – Japandroids
2013: “Holy” – Frightened Rabbit
2014: “Red Eyes” – The War on Drugs*
2015: “California Nights” – Best Coast
2016: “To Know You” – Wild Nothing
2017: “Pain” – The War on Drugs / “Strangest Thing” – The War on Drugs
2018: “Night Shift” – Lucy Dacus
2019: “Weird Ways” – Strand of Oaks

Asterisk indicates Favorite Song of the Decade