It’s time for The East’s very scientific and democratically sorted list of The Best Music of 2020. As you can imagine, it was quite the year and whatever challenges we faced, we did our best to face them together.

Everything, this is, except for this list. You would not believe the amount of bloodshed we endured to arrive at this moment, the number of bloodied noses, bruised egos and fatally demoralized interns.

Please know, dear reader, that we do this for you, without complaint, as our honour-bound duty. Please, enjoy.

Atlas – Secrets

The inaugural track on Atlas’s milestone album Treason, “Secrets” dares listeners to not whittle themselves down for the sake of others.

Subtle – Calculus Class

Subtle, of Saint John, New Brunswick, is serving up noisy emo rock with just the right amount of sadness. Off the band’s recent two-track EP, “Calculus Class” fills the listener’s ears with overwhelmed emotions and feelings of regret while being unfairly catchy.

Honey Gut – Pavement People

Outlining how the world of asphalt we live in is maybe not the sanctuary we once thought it would be, Honey Gut’s “Pavement People” encourages us to get back to living among the trees, as we used to.

Moira Bren – Just Cars

Sometimes the smallest of sensations possess a calming familiarity. For Moira Bren, it was the sound of cars late at night that reminded her of her former home on the other side of the country. Rather than the familiar connection she sought, however, she discovered they were “Just Cars.”

Short for Arthur – Hanging Paintings

Short for Arthur’s “Hanging Paintings” might be a public service announcement about the dangers of ingesting absinthe as they teeter through an encounter with artistic heavyweights like Van Gogh and Salvidor Dali.

POSTDATA – Twin Flames

Paul Murphy channels his inner Leonard Cohen and Bon Iver on “Twin Flames” to find strength in the storm that is COVID-19.

Danny MacNeil – Trouble That I’m In

Reminiscent of the hauntingly minimalist approach of blues legend Blind Willie Johnson, Cape Breton’s Danny MacNeil offers up a quintessential love song about the sudden realization that you’ve gotten yourself in deep.

Daveband – Might Be Alright

The official Dave of Daveband shares an important lesson familiar to all creatives: when things aren’t going right, save that material for your next project!

Silver Wolf Band – Estuary

From Happy Valley-Goosebay, Labrador, Silver Wolf Band had to put to rest something that was a matter of regional debate. Turns out their bay is, in fact, an estuary. Nothing like a song to settle a hydrological dispute.

Pat LePoidevin – November

For Pat LePoidevin, November 2019 was an impossibly long month spent in solitude while his wife was working far away from home. Apparently, all Novembers are impossibly long months now.

Little Cities – Roots

Charlottetown’s Little Cities celebrate their love of where they came from with what they describe as an “anti-pop punk song.”

Terra Spencer – Raining on a Saturday

Between hosting her own live stream shows from the inside of a blanket fort, Terra Spencer has released this single which advocates for making the best of slow, rainy weekends — otherwise known as the entirety of 2020.

Sherman Downey – Romancer

Sherman Downey takes a quirkier approach on “Romancer,” but boy, does it ever pay off. It’s as fun as it is catchy, and it only gets better as it goes along.

Izra Fitch – The Hollywood Kids

Izra Fitch made a picture-perfect debut with a coming-of-age single that epitomizes a movie-like time in her life when she was obsessed with film and Hollywood and glamour.

Maybe Babs – Simple Life

“Simple Life” is, quite simply, a tear-jerker. Reminiscent of popular indie voices like Phoebe Bridgers and Faye Webster, Maybe Babs delivers an emotional experience that would pair perfectly with a long, depressing gaze out of a car window.

Hot x Proxy – Fake It

If you combined Huey Lewis, ’90s alt-rock and a fight scene from MegaMan, you’d get Hot x Proxy’s high-energy single all about faking it until you make it.

Braden Lam – Habit of my Heart

From Lam’s EP Inside Four Walls , this track is nothing if not touching; taking the form of a beautiful piano ballad, made even better when accompanied by Lam’s real-life heartwarming wedding/music video.

DenMother – Is It Greener?

With an airy and unconventional style, DenMother sets out to convey that whatever we happen to be experiencing is just as it’s meant to be and that life, as well as death, are both bittersweet and impermanent.

Malia Rogers – Never Sing Again

Winner for the most bittersweet whistle of the year, Malia Rogers‘ touching tale of a guitar sitting forgotten in its case is beautifully relatable. Exhibiting her prowess as both a singer and songwriter, this charming piece of folk feels as timeless as it is stirring.

Rube & Rake – Lonesome Song

On their latest release, Leave With Nothing, Newfoundland’s Rube & Rake take a new approach to the bluegrass of their debut album, giving listeners more refined variations of their sound. “Lonesome Song” comes in as a soft and emotive number that tugs at the heartstrings of listeners and hits ears with a smooth ease.

Spirit of the Wildfire – CCTV

While working nights as a security guard, Spirit of the Wildfire’s JD Boudreau filled the long hours by watching the CCTV feeds and indulging in voyeuristic fantasies about the lives of anyone who passed his lens.

Mitch Currie – Shininin’

Mitch Currie’s misadventures on the far side of the planet led to this upbeat track, reminiscent of early Plaskett, about simply appreciating what you’ve got — and, in this case, Canada’s healthcare system.

Sunnyside Uppers – If All is Lost

An enigmatic song by an equally mysterious performer, the jangly “If All Is Lost” by Sunnyside Uppers is an unadulterated bit of guitar-fuelled fun that needn’t be anything more than enjoyable.

Jah’Mila – Chant Their Names

2020 was a year full of big moments and few, if any, were bigger than the BLM movement. Jah’Mila gave it an anthem, with a call to remember the names of those who were murdered.