The Roots Music Report's
Top Alternative Folk Song Chart
for the Year of 2020
| Rank | Song Title | Band/Artist Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Part Wolf | John Craigie |
| 2 | Don't Ask | John Craigie |
| 3 | Olympia, WA | Molly Tuttle |
| 4 | The Cure | Watkins Family Hour |
| 5 | Billie Jean | Alexandr Misko |
| 6 | One More Time | Jackdaw |
| 7 | The Very Last Cowboy in Paris | Jackdaw |
| 8 | Sing You Mine | Jackdaw |
| 9 | Nine Foot Problem | Otis Gibbs |
| 10 | Every Highway | James Lee Stanley |
| 11 | Don't Deny | John Craigie |
| 12 | What in the World... | Michael McDermott |
| 13 | Mi Familia | David G Smith |
| 14 | Where is the Medicine | David G Smith |
| 15 | Now and the Evermore | Colin Hay |
| 16 | Watercolors | Michelle Qureshi |
| 17 | Diamonds | Ben Howard |
| 18 | Just for You (feat. Dan Kassel) | Gordon Thomas Ward |
| 19 | Matamoros | James Kahn |
| 20 | Shine | David G Smith |
| 21 | Harley's Lament | James Kahn |
| 22 | Ripples in the Dance Floor | James Lee Stanley |
| 23 | Friend of the Sky | Cej |
| 24 | Andy's Song | Jackdaw |
| 25 | Live It Up Now | James Lee Stanley |
| 26 | So Long the River | James Kahn |
| 27 | The Ballad of Joseph Martin (feat. Eric Troyer) | Gordon Thomas Ward |
| 28 | Skipping Stones | Michelle Qureshi |
| 29 | Désirée (feat. Eric Troyer) | Gordon Thomas Ward |
| 30 | Dark Road | James Lee Stanley |
| 31 | Vagabond Wind | Jackdaw |
| 32 | Satellites (feat. Eric Troyer) | Gordon Thomas Ward |
| 33 | Eiderdown (feat. Caroline Cotter, Eric Troyer, Ian Rankine & Michael Mitsch) | Gordon Thomas Ward |
| 34 | Mortal Flames | John Dennis |
| 35 | Piety of Thieves (feat. Eric Troyer) | Gordon Thomas Ward |
| 36 | The Realist | Derek Bodkin |
| 37 | More Than I Should | Duff Ferguson |
| 38 | Open Your Eyes | Duff Ferguson |
| 39 | The Hurting Times | Barnaby Bright |
| 40 | What Becomes a Memory | Duff Ferguson |
| 41 | Scully's Redemption | James Kahn |
| 42 | Say Die | David G Smith |
| 43 | Black Eyed Dog | Ben Harper |
| 44 | First Light | John Dennis |
| 45 | Straw Houses | David G Smith |
| 46 | Solomon's Shanty | James Kahn |
| 47 | Rio Allie | James Kahn |
| 48 | Gypsy Moth | James Kahn |
| 49 | Teddy Two-Worlds | James Kahn |
| 50 | One Step to the Top | Duff Ferguson |
| 51 | I Think of You | Duff Ferguson |
| 52 | The Printer's Devil | James Kahn |
| 53 | Wonderland | Martha Renaud |
| 54 | Without Water | David G Smith |
| 55 | I Won't Remember You | David G Smith |
| 56 | Can I Believe You | Fleet Foxes |
| 57 | Board Game Money | John Dennis |
| 58 | Shades of Blue | Lynne Taylor |
| 59 | Right Amount of Wrong | David G Smith |
| 60 | It's Been Too Long | Martha Renaud |
| 61 | Nipissing | Martha Renaud |
| 62 | Redwood Landing | James Lee Stanley |
| 63 | The Woman Who Planted Trees | Emily Barker |
| 64 | Just Another Reason | Watkins Family Hour |
| 65 | Who Cares | David G Smith |
| 66 | Zero | Molly Tuttle |
| 67 | Spruce & Pine | SLPSTRM |
| 68 | Ghost Writer | Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt |
| 69 | In My Life | Reid Jamieson |
| 70 | Strongman | Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt |
| 71 | My Only Leap | Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt |
| 72 | New Country | Martha Renaud |
| 73 | Beautiful Moon | Martha Renaud |
| 74 | I Go Low | Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt |
| 75 | Messed with My Mind | Molly Tuttle |
| 76 | Just to Feel the Wind | David G Smith |
| 77 | Haunted House | Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt |
| 78 | She's a Rainbow | Molly Tuttle |
| 79 | Love is Easy | The Ballroom Thieves |
| 80 | Capture Me | Rachel Garlin |
| 81 | Fools Golden Boy | John Dennis |
| 82 | Hollow | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 83 | Fly Away | Cej |
| 84 | Arrows in the Dark | Trout Steak Revival |
| 85 | My Wing | Hiss Golden Messenger |
| 86 | Creature's Blues | Cej |
| 87 | Crazy Bee (Abeja Loca) | Cej |
| 88 | Honey on the Mind | Cej |
| 89 | My Own | Trevor Hall |
| 90 | Standing on the Moon | Molly Tuttle |
| 91 | Drought | Billy Crockett |
| 92 | Ghosts | Billy Crockett |
| 93 | Miles of Desert Sand | Watkins Family Hour |
| 94 | I Need a Teacher | Hiss Golden Messenger |
| 95 | Time for Two | Bart Budwig |
| 96 | August | Shannon Lay |
| 97 | Slow Dancer | Grant Peeples |
| 98 | You Rascal You (I'll Be Glad when You're Dead) | Loudon Wainwright III |
| 99 | Chaw! | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 100 | Lady Luck | The River Arkansas |
| 101 | I Come from | Ordinary Elephant |
| 102 | Three Days Straight | Ray Wylie Hubbard |
| 103 | Crazy Mama | John Craigie |
| 104 | Intimate Indie | SLPSTRM |
| 105 | Travel Light | Jeremy Garrett |
| 106 | Through the Pines | Trout Steak Revival |
| 107 | This Little Town | The W Lovers |
| 108 | Music and Joy (feat. Rhiannon Giddens) | Our Native Daughters |
| 109 | This Ol' Guitar | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 110 | Speed of the Sound of Loneliness | Kurt Vile |
| 111 | Strange Weather | Emily Barker |
| 112 | Grandpas Old Guitar | Nick Nace |
| 113 | Fake Badge, Real Gun | Watkins Family Hour |
| 114 | I Knew I Could Fly (feat. Leyla McCalla & Allison Russell) | Our Native Daughters |
| 115 | Broken Rocks | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 116 | Drinking Song | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 117 | Worth the Weight | Ordinary Elephant |
| 118 | Weevils | Ray Wylie Hubbard |
| 119 | Mama Got Rhythm | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 120 | Trouble in Paradise | Rufus Wainwright |
| 121 | Machine | Emily Barker |
| 122 | Lookin' for Love | Strung Like a Horse |
| 123 | The Pika Song | Laurie Lewis |
| 124 | Biloxi | Hiss Golden Messenger |
| 125 | The Sleep of the Just | Ray Wylie Hubbard |
| 126 | The Night That John Prine Died | John McCutcheon |
| 127 | You Are My Flower | Laurie Lewis |
| 128 | Wish I Knew | Reed Foehl |
| 129 | Crawl into the Promised Land (feat. John Leventhal) | Rosanne Cash |
| 130 | Hope to Be That Happy | Ordinary Elephant |
| 131 | Keep It Clean | Watkins Family Hour |
| 132 | Don't Forget the Stars Are for Wishing on | The W Lovers |
| 133 | Troubled Times | Laurie Lewis |
| 134 | Paper Floor | Parsonsfield |
| 135 | Peace Tonight | Elephant Revival |
| 136 | Crying out | Grant Peeples |
| 137 | Baby, That Would Sure Go Good | Laurie Lewis |
| 138 | Still Crazy over You | James Lee Stanley |
| 139 | Hang Up and Drive | James Lee Stanley |
| 140 | Bad Wife | Grant Peeples |
| 141 | Good Actress | Grant Peeples |
| 142 | Iris | Grant Peeples |
| 143 | Rich Man | Grant Peeples |
| 144 | How Lucky (feat. John Prine) | Kurt Vile |
| 145 | American Miles | Reed Foehl |
| 146 | Fake Empire | Molly Tuttle |
| 147 | Boys of Summer | Rachel Garlin |
| 148 | Magpie's Nest (feat. Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman, & Anais Mitchell) | Bonny Light Horseman |
| 149 | Six Feet Away | John McCutcheon |
| 150 | Contender | Michael McDermott |
| 151 | Road to Heaven | The Dead Tongues |
| 152 | I'd Rather Lead a Band | Loudon Wainwright III |
| 153 | Never Gonna Break Your Heart | Trevor Hall |
| 154 | 3 Minutes 2 Spare | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 155 | Nomads | John Craigie |
| 156 | Helpless (feat. Old Crow Medicine Show) | Molly Tuttle |
| 157 | 3:52 A.m. | Grant Peeples |
| 158 | Home in Your Heart | Elephant Revival |
| 159 | Better by Now | Benjamin Dakota Rogers |
| 160 | Kryptonite | Bobtown |
| 161 | The War | Ordinary Elephant |
| 162 | Rust Right Through | Ordinary Elephant |
| 163 | If I Am Being Honest | Ordinary Elephant |
| 164 | Leap of Faith (Dream On) | Eileen Ivers |
| 165 | The Lonely One | Laurie Lewis |
| 166 | Radio Silence | Rachel Garlin |
| 167 | When All of This is over | John McCutcheon |
| 168 | Best of Many Days | Michael Veitch |
| 169 | Coast Starlight | Cej |
| 170 | Someone to Lose | Wilco |
| 171 | A Little Lost | Molly Tuttle |
| 172 | Climb Up | John Craigie |
| 173 | Lafayette | Watkins Family Hour |
| 174 | Crazy Like Me | Strung Like a Horse |
| 175 | Summer in America | Dana Cooper |
| 176 | Final Bow | H.C. McEntire |
| 177 | Rough Johns | John Craigie |
| 178 | Goin' Down the Road | Martha Renaud |
| 179 | If You Wonder | WhiteWater Ramble |
| 180 | Accidentally Like a Martyr | Watkins Family Hour |
| 181 | Hustlin' | John Craigie |
| 182 | Alone Time | Rufus Wainwright |
| 183 | Another Door | John Dennis |
| 184 | Mirrored Heart | Molly Tuttle |
| 185 | Bright Morning Stars (feat. Justin Vernon, Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman, & Anais Mitchell) | Bonny Light Horseman |
| 186 | Bella and Ivan | Watkins Family Hour |
| 187 | Vallecito | John Craigie |
| 188 | On and on | Elephant Revival |
| 189 | Hero | Adrian + Meredith |
| 190 | It All Matters | Bill Scorzari |
| 191 | Walks Like a Duck | The Twangtown Paramours |
| 192 | Hold My Hand | Eileen Ivers |
| 193 | Road Trip | Eileen Ivers |
| 194 | Chase the Blues Away | Eileen Ivers |
| 195 | Gratitude | Eileen Ivers |
| 196 | Rooster Crow | Laurie Lewis |
| 197 | Good Morning | Rachel Garlin |
| 198 | Sheltered in Place | John McCutcheon |
| 199 | My Dog Talking Blues | John McCutcheon |
| 200 | Earthquake Town | Rachel Garlin |
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