Skip to content

Best art rock songs of the 2020s

It opened with nobody able to tour, so records got finished in bedrooms and discovery moved to a feed. Drill turned up in every city with a postcode, and Afrobeats and Latin pop went mainstream worldwide without waiting to be translated.

Songs from the art rock albums of the 2020s, ordered by their own ratings rather than the record's.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters cover№ 1ShameikaFiona Apple · Fetch the Bolt Cutters4.4Weighted score4.9 avg · 4 ratings
  1. 2All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade coverRun Run RunThe Libertines · All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade4.44.8 avg · 4 ratings
  2. 3Fetch the Bolt Cutters coverFetch the Bolt CuttersFiona Apple · Fetch the Bolt Cutters4.44.8 avg · 4 ratings
  3. 4Fetch the Bolt Cutters coverNewspaperFiona Apple · Fetch the Bolt Cutters4.44.8 avg · 3 ratings
  4. 5A Light for Attracting Attention coverThe SameThe Smile · A Light for Attracting Attention2 ratings
  5. 6O Monolith coverThe BladesSquid · O Monolith2 ratings
  6. 7My New Band Believe coverLove StoryMy New Band Believe · My New Band Believe1 rating
  7. 8A Light for Attracting Attention coverThe OppositeThe Smile · A Light for Attracting Attention1 rating
  8. 9Getting Killed coverTrinidadGeese · Getting Killed1 rating
  9. 10Cowards coverCowardsSquid · Cowards1 rating
  10. 11Cowards coverCro-Magnon ManSquid · Cowards1 rating
  11. 12Cowards coverCrispy SkinSquid · Cowards1 rating
  12. 13Fetch the Bolt Cutters coverRack of HisFiona Apple · Fetch the Bolt Cutters1 rating
  13. 14Fetch the Bolt Cutters coverUnder the TableFiona Apple · Fetch the Bolt Cutters1 rating
  14. 15Getting Killed coverAu Pays du CocaineGeese · Getting Killed
  15. 16MERCY coverOUT YOUR WINDOWJohn Cale · MERCY
  16. 17MERCY coverI KNOW YOU'RE HAPPY (feat Tei Shi)John Cale · MERCY
  17. 18MERCY coverTHE LEGAL STATUS OF ICE (feat. The Fat White Family)John Cale · MERCY
  18. 19MERCY coverNOT THE END OF THE WORLDJohn Cale · MERCY
  19. 20MERCY coverNIGHT CRAWLINGJohn Cale · MERCY
  20. 21MERCY coverEVERLASTING DAYS (feat. Animal Collective)John Cale · MERCY
  21. 22MERCY coverMOONSTRUCK (Nico's Song)John Cale · MERCY
  22. 23MERCY coverTIME STANDS STILL (feat. Sylvan Esso)John Cale · MERCY
  23. 24MERCY coverSTORY OF BLOOD (feat. Weyes Blood)John Cale · MERCY
  24. 25MERCY coverNOISE OF YOUJohn Cale · MERCY
  25. 26MERCY coverMARILYN MONROE'S LEGS (Beauty Elsewhere) [feat. Actress]John Cale · MERCY
  26. 27MERCY coverMERCY (feat. Laurel Halo)John Cale · MERCY
  27. 28The Harmony Codex coverStaircaseSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  28. 29The Harmony Codex coverActual Brutal FactsSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  29. 30The Harmony Codex coverTime Is Running OutSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  30. 31The Harmony Codex coverThe Harmony CodexSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  31. 32The Harmony Codex coverBeautiful ScarecrowSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  32. 33The Harmony Codex coverRock BottomSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  33. 34The Harmony Codex coverImpossible TightropeSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  34. 35The Harmony Codex coverEconomies of ScaleSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  35. 36The Harmony Codex coverWhat Life BringsSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  36. 37The Harmony Codex coverInclinationSteven Wilson · The Harmony Codex
  37. 38TBD-08J.D. Simo · 2021-11-06: Animas City Theater, Durango, CO
  38. 39I'm in the Mood TonightJ.D. Simo · 2021-11-06: Animas City Theater, Durango, CO
  39. 40Want What I Don't HaveJ.D. Simo · 2021-11-06: Animas City Theater, Durango, CO
  40. 41TBD-04J.D. Simo · 2021-11-06: Animas City Theater, Durango, CO
  41. 42Let GoJ.D. Simo · 2021-11-06: Animas City Theater, Durango, CO
  42. 43JamJ.D. Simo · 2021-11-18: Humbrews, Arcata, CA
  43. 44I'm in Love (Includes I Want You (She's So Heavy))J.D. Simo · 2021-11-18: Humbrews, Arcata, CA
  44. 45J.D. Simo coverAnna LeeJ.D. Simo · J.D. Simo
  45. 46J.D. Simo coverHelpJ.D. Simo · J.D. Simo
  46. 47J.D. Simo coverSoul of a ManJ.D. Simo · J.D. Simo
  47. 48J.D. Simo coverTake ThatJ.D. Simo · J.D. Simo
  48. 49J.D. Simo coverHyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymisticJ.D. Simo · J.D. Simo
  49. 50J.D. Simo coverHigher PlaneJ.D. Simo · J.D. Simo

One great song, one bad album

Tracks carry their own ratings here, so a record you would never play front to back can still have a song worth defending.

Build a list or tier of your own

All genres, the 2020s →