2020
78 top tracks
pivot
Nu jazz rises to the front: the trip-hop era closes
After three years of trip-hop, your sound pivoted sharply to jazz. Nu jazz erupted from 2.7% to 9.9%, dethroning trip-hop (15.2% to 9.7%). Acid jazz and indie jazz joined the top tier; jazz rap, jazz beats, lo-fi beats arrived fresh. Mop Mop (9 tracks) became your nu jazz centerpiece, Skinshape (8 tracks) the bridge, Matthew Halsall and Emapea (7 each) the depth. The listening tightened: 78 tracks across 75 genres, a clean pivot from 2019's sprawl.
▶︎ Open “Your Top Songs 2020” ↗︎
Top tracks78
your top songs 2020
Distinct genres57
across the list
Sound of the yearnu jazz
most-weighted genre
Most-played artistMop Mop
by track count
Top genres · what the year sounded like
nu jazz9.9%
From 2.7% to 9.9%—nu jazz broke through as the year's decisive voice.
trip-hop9.7%
Trip-hop plummeted from 15.2% to 9.7%, closing a three-year reign.
jazz rap6.3%
Jazz rap arrived new and captured 6.3%—jazz's first inroad into beats.
jazz beats6.3%
Jazz beats emerged as a new vein, tying with jazz rap at 6.3%.
lo-fi beats6.3%
Lo-fi beats entered at 6.3%—jazz finally meeting beat-driven structure.
Most-played artists · by tracks in the list
Mop Mop9 tracks
Nine tracks crowned Mop Mop your year's dominant artist, nu jazz's primary voice.
Skinshape8 tracks
Eight tracks kept Skinshape present as the bridge between trip-hop and jazz.
Emapea7 tracks
Seven tracks established Emapea in the nu jazz pocket as a vital new voice.
Matthew Halsall7 tracks
Seven tracks of modal sophistication; Matthew Halsall anchored the year's jazz depth.
What changed · vs 2019
Newjazz rapjazz beatslo-fi beatsjazzacid jazzelectro swing
Climbingacid jazz 61→7indie jazz 46→11jazz 22→6lo-fi beats 20→5nu jazz 11→1
Fadedindieaustralianinstrumentalneo-psychedelicsoulelectronic
Indie, australian, and neo-psychedelic vanished completely; jazz erupted in six new genres, with nu jazz leaping from #11 to the top.
The arc · 2014 → 2025
2014neoclassical·2015soundtrack·2016ambient·2017downtempo·2018trip hop·2019trip-hop·2020nu jazz·2021nu jazz·2022lo-fi beats·2023soundtrack·2024soundtrack·2025retro soul
After a decade of electronica and three years of trip-hop, 2020 began the jazz era—a pivot toward warmer, composed listening.