Best Recorded Songs Of 2020

Now that we’ve wrapped up the annual countdown of Southern Gospel’s best albums, it is time to look at what I consider to be the 20 best recorded Southern Gospel music songs of 2020.

What did you consider the top recorded songs of 2020?

1. “My King Is Known By Love” – Jeff Bumgardner, Jason Cox, Kenna West; recorded by the Crabb Family (20/20)
2. “Still I Will Praise You” – David Baroni, Sue C Smith, Kenna West; recorded by Sisters (Here’s A Reminder)
3. “Jordan” – Jason Clark, Wayne Haun, Jerry Thompson; recorded by the Nelons (Peace At Last)
4. “Between The Prayer And The Answer” – Janice Crow; recorded by the LeFevre Quartet (Hope)
5. “What If Jesus” – Brad Steele, Jeff Steele; recorded by the Steeles (A Song To Remind You)
6. “Amazing Amounts Of Amazing Grace” – Kristi Fitzwater, Bev Herrema, Dixie Phillips; recorded by the Down East Boys (Faithful Still)
7. “Last Of The Last Days” – Rachel McCutcheon; recorded by Master’s Voice (Solace)
8. “I Hear” – Chris Binion, Rachel McCutcheon; recorded by the Down East Boys (Faithful Still)
9. “The People That God Gives You” – Lee Black, Aaron Wilburn; recorded by the Bowling Family (Love The People)
10. “I Got The Grace, He Gets The Glory” – Jason Cox, Kenna West; recorded by the Old Paths (What Love Does)
11. “Two Are Better Than One” – Jason Clark, Tony Wood; recorded by the Nelons (Peace At Last)
12. “The Healer In The Grave” – Lee Black, Lauren Talley, Kenna West; recorded by the Talleys (The Music Goes On)
13. “The 99” – Christina Degazio, Marty Funderburk; recorded by the LeFevre Quartet (Hope)
14. “Behold The Lamb” – Rebecca Bowman, Tony Wood, Sonya Yeary; recorded by the Bowling Family (Love The People)
15. “House Of God” – Carolyn Cross, Randall Garland, Wayne Haun; recorded by the Taylors (Salvation’s Song)
16. “The Wilderness” – Rebecca Bowman, Sonya Yeary; recorded by the Isaacs (Songs For The Times)
17. “I Wanna Go” – Sam Hoyle; recorded by the Jordan Family Band (Little More Love)
18. “Live Forgiven” – Sue C Smith, Nathan Woodard; recorded by Nathan Woodard (Live Forgiven)
19. “Brave” – Lee Black, Scott Inman; recorded by the Browns (Brave)
20. “There Is A Savior” – Bob Farrell, Greg Nelson, Sandi Patty; recorded by the Erwins (Favorites: On Repeat)

 

Best Of 2020: #1/#2

REASON FOR RANKING:  If you follow my album reviews, the album ranked #1 for 2020 should come as no surprise.  The only album to receive an ‘A’ grade this year was Peace At Last.  What a way to start the decade!

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Jordan”; (2) “Two Are Better Than One”; (3) “Peace At Last”; (4) “I Just Wanted You To Know”; (5) “If God Pulled Back The Curtain”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Down East Boys released the best album of their career in 2018 (One Day In The Past).  The follow up, Faithful Still, released in 2020 and is ranked runner up as the best album of the year.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Amazing Amounts Of Amazing Grace”; (2) “I Hear”; (3) “What Love”; (4) “John Saw And Wrote About”; (5) “Those Hands”.

 

Best Of 2020: #3/#4/#5

REASON FOR RANKING:  The LeFevre Quartet add a new tenor (Jay Parrack) and Bass (Will Lane) singer and end up releasing one of the best albums of 2020.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Between The Prayer And The Answer”; (2) “The 99”; (3) “Whosoever Will”; (4) “Dry Bones”; (5) “Bigger Boat”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Crabb Family returned in 2020 with a new album and tour.  As was the case with everything in Southern Gospel music, the tour was cut short due to COVID.  The album was one of the top five recordings released this year.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “My King Is Known By Love”; (2) “If God Is For Me”; (3) “Never Been”; (4) “Mountaintop For Me”; (5) “Keep Me”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  One artist in Southern Gospel music is as close to vocal perfection that one can attain.  That artist is Sisters.  Here’s A Reminder is just another reminder of that feat.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Still I Will Praise You”; (2) “Brand New Song”; (3) “You Still Forgive”; (4) “Everything You Need Is In The Blood”; (5) “Angels In The Room”.

 

Best Of 2020: #6/#7/#8

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Jordan Family Band have been climbing the ranks in Southern Gospel music the last several years.  2020, they provided listeners with the best album of their career, thus far.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “I Can Hardly Wait”; (2) “I Wanna Go”; (3) “Unspoken”; (4) “Pray Hard”; (5) “Hope For The World”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  It was five years between the release of Moments Like These (2015) and Love The People.  It was well worth the wait as the album ranks 7th among the best released in 2020.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Behold The Lamb”; (2) “Always Enough”; (3) “The People That God Gives You”; (4) “I Could Tell You Stories”; (5) “We Are The People”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Steeles continue to out do themselves with every new album release.  A Song To Remind You is the best album given listeners since their return to Southern Gospel music.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “What If Jesus”; (2) “A Song To Remind You”; (3) “Glory”; (4) “Faithful Once Again”; (5) “The Journey”.

 

Best Of 2020: #9/#10/#11

REASON FOR RANKING:  Solace was the first album release of 2020.  It was strong enough to be ranked one of the ten best albums of the year.  Master’s Voice is one of Southern Gospel’s most underrated artists.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Last Of The Last Days”; (2) “At Home”; (3) “Let Us Not Grow Weary”; (4) “He’s Coming Back”; (5) “Took It All Away”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  You’d be hard pressed to find a year where Karen Peck and New River’s album release for that specific year was not among the top ten.  2020 keeps that trend alive.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “The God I Serve”; (2) “Ain’t No Grave”; (3) “Made Right”; (4) “The Book”; (5) “Messiah Overcame”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  Songs For The Times is the third album on the countdown to consist of a majority of previously recorded songs.  This is the highest ranking of the three.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “The Wilderness”; (2) “Give Him What You Got”; (3) “Peace In Trusting”; (4) “The Times They Are A Changing”; (5) “Ain’t No Grave (Gonna Hold My Body Down)”.

 

Best Of 2020: #12/#13/#14

REASON FOR RANKING:  2020 marked the final year of touring/recording for the Talleys.  The Music Goes On will always be remembered as the group’s final recording.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “The Healer In The Grave”; (2) “Looks Like Jesus To Me”; (3) “Never Been A Time”; (4) “He Has”; (5) “This Day”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Old Paths have been releasing EP’s since their return to Southern Gospel music.  In 2020 they decided to give listeners an eight song recording.  Ultimately it ranks 13th among the best of the year.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “I Got The Grace, He Gets The Glory”; (2) “Look At All I Lost”; (3) “You Can’t Get Away From God”; (4) “Pray While You Wait”; (5) “Bread”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  Stow Town records formula of releasing seven song albums in 2020 seemed to work.  Four of those made the top twenty including the Taylors, Salvation’s Song.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “House Of God”; (2) “I’ll Never Know”; (3) “I Choose Joy”; (4) “Salvation’s Song”; (5) “You Restore”.

Best Of 2020: #15/#16/#17

REASON FOR RANKING:  In 2020 the Browns moved to a trio configuration with the three Brown siblings.  And the may have released the best album of their career, thus far, with Brave.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Brave”; (2) “Better Off There”; (3) “Take Me Back”; (4) “Passing It On”; (5) “Shelter Of The Rock”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  There are three albums among the top twenty this year that has a majority of previously recorded songs.  The second to make the last is Favorites On Repeat.  Good to hear the Erwins doing some classic Southern Gospel again.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “There Is A Savior”; (2) “Possible God”; (3) “I’m In This Church”; (4) “Nobody”; (5) “The God That Cannot Fail”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  In 2020 the Guardians released their second Stow Town Records recording as a quartet.  With Pat Barker anchoring that bass vocal, they may have just released the best album of their career, thus far.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “One Pair Of Hands”; (2) “Make My Heart Your Dwelling Place”; (3) “God Is Listening”; (4) “You’re Home To Stay (Where We Ever Shall Be)”; (5) “I Wish I Could Tell You”.

Best Of 2020: #18/#19/#20

REASON FOR RANKING:  The readers of this blog honored the Chitans as best breakthrough artist of 2020.  This young family group, from Canada, released their debut album with Sonlite Records in 2020 and it ranks 18th among the best released this year.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Just What I Need”; (2) “Set Apart”; (3) “Home”; (4) “Running To Jesus”; (5) “This Blood”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  You’d be hard pressed to find another family group in Southern Gospel music, sing traditional Southern Gospel music better than the Mylon Hayes Family.  Home was a strong collection of previously recorded songs with three new tunes.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Overwhelming”; (2) “When That Seeing Man Saw”; (3) “Not As Others”; (4) “Oh What A Day”; (5) “He’ll Hold My Hand”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The six song EP from Endless Highway was enough to rank 20th among the best Southern Gospel albums released in 2020.  The group continues to climb the ranks of Southern Gospel’s best.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “All That Remains To Be Seen”; (2) “Countless”; (3) “Keep Looking Up”; (4) “Somebody’s World Changed Today”; (5) “26 Cents”.