KGNU’s Top 100 albums of the year, ranked by how many spins each record received. Considering the variety of music programs in our schedule and the sheer number of DJ’s (100+) doing them, it’s no surprise that this is a diverse list. Thanks for listening with open minds and ears. It’s a credit to you, the listeners, that KGNU has been able to offer a true musical alternative for nearly 40 years. You can always check our Top 30 charts as well.
Top 100 Albums on KGNU in 2020
1
Artist: Lucinda Williams
Album: Good Souls Better Angels
Label: Highway 20 Records
2
Artist: Cary Morin
Album: Dockside Saints
Label: Self Produced
3
Artist: The James Hunter Six
Album: Nick Of Time
Label: Daptone
4
Artist: Khruangbin
Album: Mordechai
Label: Dead Oceans
5
Artist: Laurie Lewis
Album: And Laurie Lewis
Label: Spruce and Maple Music
6
Artist: Cindy Cashdollar
Album: Waltz For Abilene
Label: Silver Shot Records
7
Artist: Pokey LaFarge
Album: Rock Bottom Rhapsody
Label: New West Records
8
Artist: Maceo Parker
Album: Soul Food: Cooking With Maceo
Label: The Funk Garage
9
Artist: Sault
Album: Untitled (Black Is)
Label: Forever Living Originals
10
Artist: Chicano Batman
Album: Invisible People
Label: ATO Records
11
Artist: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Album: All The Good Times
Label: Acony Records
12
Artist: Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience
Album: To Know Without Knowing
Label: Agogo
13
Artist: Onipa
Album: We No Be Machine
Label: Strut Records
14
Artist: Run The Jewels
Album: RTJ4
Label: BMG Rights Management
15
Artist: Various
Album: The Rough Guide to Blues Divas
Label: World Music Network
16
Artist: Laura Marling
Album: Song For Our Daughter
Label: Chrysalis Records
17
Artist: Bab L’ Bluz
Album: Nayda!
Label: Real World Records
18
Artist: Sonny Landreth
Album: Blacktop Run
Label: Provogue
19
Artist: Bill Frisell
Album: Valentine
Label: Bill Frisell
20
Artist: Only The Righteous
Album: Anchovies & Ice Cream
Label: Budo Kiba
21
Artist: Della Mae
Album: Headlight
Label: Rounder Records
22
Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Rough and Rowdy Ways
Label: Columbia
23
Artist: Fontaines D.C.
Album: A Hero’s Death
Label: Partisan’s Records
24
Artist: Khruangbin & Leon Bridges
Album: Texas Sun – EP
Label: Dead Oceans
25
Artist: Ghetto Kumbé
Album: Ghetto Kumbé
Label: ZZK Records
26
Artist: Various
Album: A Guide to the Birdsong of México, Central América & the Caribbean
Label: Shika Shika
27
Artist: Caribou
Album: Suddenly
Label: Merge Records
28
Artist: Kimmy Gold
Album: Black Woman’s Glory
Label: Duke Production
29
Artist: DakhaBrakha
Album: Alambari
Label: Self Produced
30
Artist: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Album: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Rendition Was In)
Label: Daptone Records
31
Artist: Molly Tuttle
Album: …but I’d Rather Be With You
Label: Compass Records
32
Artist: Gillian Welch
Album: Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 1
Label: Acony Records
33
Artist: DON BRYANT
Album: You Make Me Feel
Label: Fat Possum
34
Artist: Sarah Jarosz
Album: World On The Ground
Label: Rounder
35
Artist: Fiona Apple
Album: Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Label: Epic
36
Artist: Danny Barnes
Album: Man On Fire
Label: ATO Records
37
Artist: Jah9
Album: Note To Self
Label: VP Records
38
Artist: Natalie Slade
Album: Control
Label: Eglo Records UK
39
Artist: Captain Planet & Alsarah
Album: No Visa
Label: Bastard Jazz
40
Artist: Dan Deacon
Album: Mystic Familiar
Label: Domino
41
Artist: The Jayhawks
Album: Xoxo
Label: Sham
42
Artist: Siti Muharam
Album: Siti Of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar)
Label: On The Corner
43
Artist: Various
Album: Take Me Back to the Range: Selections from Western Jubilee Recording Company
Label: Jubilee Record Company
44
Artist: The SteelDrivers
Album: Bad For You
Label: Rounder Records
45
Artist: James Taylor
Album: American Standard
Label: Fantasy Records
46
Artist: Bowregard
Album: Arrows
Label: Self Produced
47
Artist: Norah Jones
Album: Pick Me Up Off The Floor
Label: Blue Note
48
Artist: Afel Bocoum
Album: Lindé
Label: World Circuit
49
Artist: Tamikrest
Album: Tamotaït
Label: Glitterbeat
50
Artist: Antibalas
Album: Fu Chronicles
Label: Daptone
51
Artist: Gasoline Lollipops
Album: All the Misery Money Can Buy
Label: Self Produced
52
Artist: Etienne de la Sayette
Album: Kobugi
Label: Muju Records
53
Artist: Robert Cray
Album: That’s What I Heard
Label: Nozzle Records
54
Artist: Buscabulla
Album: Regresa
Label: Ribbon Music
55
Artist: Wood Belly
Album: Man On The Radio
Label: Self Produced
56
Artist: The Haden Triplets
Album: The Family Songbook
Label: Trimeter Records
57
Artist: Lianne La Havas
Album: Lianne La Havas
Label: Nonesuch
58
Artist: Skinshape
Album: Umoja
Label: Lewis
59
Artist: The Bahama Soul Club
Album: Bohemia After Dawn
Label: Buyu Records
60
Artist: The Allergies
Album: Say the Word
Label: Jalapeno Records
61
Artist: Bronwynne Brent
Album: Undercover
Label: Self Produced
62
Artist: Jade Hairpins
Album: Harmony Avenue
Label: Merge Records
63
Artist: Various
Album: Africa Airways Six (Mile High Funk 1974 – 81)
Label: Africa Seven
64
Artist: Gretchen Peters
Album: The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury
Label: Scarlet Letter Records
65
Artist: Patty Larkin
Album: Bird in a Cage
Label: Road Narrows Records
66
Artist: Shabaka And The Ancestors
Album: We Are Sent Here By History
Label: Impulse!
67
Artist: Numa Gama
Album: Me Redesenho
Label: VOODOOHOP
68
Artist: Special Consensus
Album: Chicago Barn Dance
Label: Compass Records
69
Artist: Joni Mitchell
Album: Joni Mitchell Archives – Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967)
Label: Rhino
70
Artist: Free Radicals
Album: White Power Outage, Vol. 1
Label: RWE
71
Artist: Fantastic Negrito
Album: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Label: Cooking Vinyl Limited
72
Artist: Various
Album: Record Kicks Chartbusters
Label: Record Kicks
73
Artist: PAINT
Album: Spiritual Vegas
Label: Mexican Summer
74
Artist: Céu
Album: APKÁ!
Label: Six Degrees Records
75
Artist: Various
Album: Record Kicks Funk Soul Sisters
Label: Record Kicks
76
Artist: Jake Blount
Album: Spider Tales
Label: Free Dirt Records
77
Artist: Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
Album: Reunions
Label: Southeastern Records
78
Artist: Juana Molina
Album: ANRMAL (Live In México)
Label: Crammed Disc US
79
Artist: Sault
Album: Untitled (Rise)
Label: Forever Living Originals
80
Artist: Yaeji
Album: WHAT WE DREW ??? ????
Label: XL Recordings
81
Artist: The Texicana Mamas
Album: The Texicana Mamas
Label: Self Produced
82
Artist: Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile
Album: Not Our First Goat Rodeo
Label: Sony Classical
83
Artist: Jon McKiel
Album: Bobby Joe Hope
Label: You’ve Changed Records
84
Artist: Teddy Thompson
Album: Heartbreaker Please
Label: Chalky Sounds
85
Artist: Joe Louis Walker
Album: Blues Comin’ On
Label: Cleopatra Blues
86
Artist: Holy Hive
Album: Float Back To You
Label: Big Crown Records
87
Artist: Various
Album: Early Works: Funk, Soul & Afro Rarities from the Archives
Label: ATA Records
88
Artist: Tower Of Power
Album: Step Up
Label: Mack Avenue
89
Artist: Eliza Gilkyson
Album: 2020
Label: Red House
90
Artist: Yves Tumor
Album: Heaven To A Tortured Mind
Label: Warp Records
91
Artist: Mowgan
Album: Soya LP
Label: Mow Records
92
Artist: Aoife O’Donovan
Album: Bull Frogs Croon (And Other Songs) – EP
Label: Yep Roc
93
Artist: Popa Chubby
Album: It’s a Mighty Hard Road
Label: Self Produced
94
Artist: Soccer Mommy
Album: Color Theory
Label: Loma Vista
95
Artist: Mux Mool
Album: Skulltaste II
Label: Young Heavy Souls
96
Artist: Guedra Guedra
Album: Son of Sun – EP
Label: On The Corner
97
Artist: Bananagun
Album: The True Story Of Bananagun
Label: Full Time Hobby
98
Artist: Imaginary Persons
Album: Spacescapes
Label: Imaginary Persons
99
Artist: Gitkin
Album: Safe Passage
Label: Wonderwheel Recordings
100
Artist: Turkeyfoot
Album: Promise Of Tomorrow
Label: Self Produced
