And 2020 was much the same, with the loss of Bill Withers, Neil Peart, Charlie Daniels and more, but there was also a weirdly cool DIY vibe as artists kept releasing music from within the quarantine. The year 2016, for example, which I labeled “The Year the Music Died” after the tragic passing of Prince, David Bowie, Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen and others, had a very funereal feel, even though there was so much great music. Obviously, releases by regional artists are the priority, but I also try to throw in some pop favorites, critical darlings, great indie stuff you might have never encountered and a few tributes to great artists who have passed on this year. Every year for the past few years, I've compiled a Spotify playlist as a sort of snapshot in the year of music.
