The 20 Best EPs of the 2020's (So Far)

Half a decade of great short releases.

Jan 29, 2025

Albums dominate our minds when it comes to new releases, but never short change an artist dropping a great EP. The following 20 artists/bands/groups all released some excellent extended plays through the first five years of the 2020’s, and I’m here to let you know which ones were the best. A link to each EP is included with each entry, and there’s a Spotify playlist with a song from each EP included at the end of this article. Happy listening!

Short, sweet and to the point, HEAT exists to get you moving. These are four electric dancefloor songs that’ll have you moving and grooving thanks to Tove Lo’s magnetic voice and SG Lewis’ catchy production. The EP knows exactly what it’s here to do and it does so with flying colors. LISTEN

One of the newer dream pop acts to rise to fame over the last few years, it’s easy to see why crushed got the acclaim they received. Their extra life EP is full of woozy but mesmerizing passage, always presenting a new lane of sound to go down on each track. LISTEN

What made WJSN one of the more exciting K-pop groups at the turn of the decade was their willingness to get weird. There’s wrinkles in each track on NEVERLAND that distinguished them from their peers, like the twisted synths on “Pantomime”. More traditional bangers like “HOLA” still hit too, and it came together as one of the group’s stronger efforts. LISTEN

A great band can cover any artist’s song and turn it into their own thing. Ghost is absolutely a great band, and this EP of covers proves that their ghoulish style can be adapted to any genre. Whether it’s Genesis, Iron Maiden or even Tina Turner, Tobias Forge’s outfit finds a way to make these covers great. LISTEN

One of the more underrated rappers working today, this EP saw Little Simz expand her sonic palette into a more club-inspired direction. The electronic beats are a good match for Simz to spit fire over, and at this point I think she could rap over the sounds of nature and it’d be electric. LISTEN

Stripping back her sound and baring more of her soul than ever before, Forever Means continued the strong work from Angel’s 2022 LP Big Time. Her life was changing in a multitude of ways, and she soundtracked it in a stellar way. LISTEN

2023 was the year of Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA, and one LP wasn’t enough to contain their creativity. This DLC PACK EP continued their synchronicity, with more wild beats and even wilder performances within. LISTEN

Orville Peck’s cowboy persona is a little too shallow to make a full length album interesting to me, but an EP? That’s where he shines. Show Pony creates some fantastic Western landscapes for Peck (and Shanian Twain!) to sing over, like the memorable trucker love anthem “Drive Me, Crazy”. It’s these short bursts that have turned Peck into a star. Now if only a full LP can be this good. LISTEN

If Lucifer On The Sofa was Spoon’s most rock ‘n’ roll record, then Memory Dust is their most rock ‘n’ roll EP. The tightly made nature of that 2022 record translates into these songs that came from those sessions but didn’t make the cut. “Sugar Babies” is especially electric. LISTEN

We didn’t hear a lot from Justin Vernon for the early part of the 2020’s, but his return on this sweet Bon Iver EP made the wait worth it. SABLE, is a return to the cabin he recorded his earliest songs in, cozy and welcoming in their sound but pained in their lyrics. It’s a magic balance Vernon has always been great at, and hopefully this is just a taste of what’s to come from one of indie rock’s premier voices later this decade. LISTEN

It wasn’t enough for this trio to release one of 2023’s best albums, they also had to release one of 2023’s best EPs. These leftovers from the sessions from the record continue the incredible chemistry that Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Bridgers have, with each song its own little slice of indie heaven. LISTEN

Picture yourself at a hotel pool with a drink in your hand, sunglasses over your eyes, and not a care in the world. That’s what Le Piano sounds like. It’s breezy synthpop that’ll make you feel like the coolest dude in the world just listening to it. LISTEN

With a name as fantastical as its predecessor, The Asymptomatical World was a great continuation of Yves Tumor’s experimentation. Their performance is as stellar as it was on the previous LP, and the instrumentals are wildly entertaining at every turn. It’s another winner for one of experimental music’s finest. LISTEN

Each song on assisted memories is a world unto its own. Mixed in a way that the synths and percussion are permanently hazy, these songs envelop you like mist at night. Iiris Vesik’s silky voice matches the instrumentals to a T, and the further you sink into it, the more this EP rewards you. LISTEN

I would say no other EP on this list will put as big of a smile on your face as New Paradise I will. It’s so ridiculously 80’s you can’t help but crack a grin, whether it’s the montage-worthy “Cadillac” or the raucous closer “Tomorrow’s Parties”. Cobra Man love their influences but also respect them, and that’s what makes this little slice of synthpop a gloriously silly treat. LISTEN

There was always a beauty to the songs of GLOW ON hidden underneath its hardcore exterior. On this EP, BADBADNOTGOOD strips away the harsh exterior to turn three Turnstile songs into beautiful bliss. The strong existing melodies work wondrously well with how smoothly orchestrated the reworkings are, and Brendan Yates’ shouts yearn for connection rather than scream out in pain. It’s an unexpected yet welcome return to one of 2021’s best albums.

A really, really fun set of song from a burgeoning TikTok star. going…going…GONE! bursts at the seams with creativity in both its production and its performances. hemlocke uses several different cadences within each track a la Remi Wolf, and when she’s backed by beats that range from joyous to urgent, it makes an excellent pairing. The scary thing? This EP is super raw and still this good, meaning she’s go so much room to grow and improve. I can’t wait to hear it. LISTEN

Where Kero Kero Bonito may go, nobody knows. This great sequel sees the trio going to the past, the present and the future to find stories worth telling. And boy did they, with these songs traversing empty castles, apocalyptic landscapes and more. KKB’s production is more varied and experimental than they’ve ever been, and you can basically see the group that used to sing about shrimps and waking up grow up before our very eyes. LISTEN

What 2020 needed was a fresh set of pop songs to break through the never ending black cloud that hung over it, so Michelle Zauner and Ryan Galloway delivered. Pop songs 2020 is jubilant in its isolation, melding elements of the two artist’s main bands with city pop and a bit of mainstream styles to make a supremely engaging EP. It was so hard not to have a pep in your step listening to these four tracks, even with nobody around you to share that pep. Zauner’s voice remains bright to this day, and I hope BUMPER returns in some shape or form, because even without a pandemic, joyous pop like this is always in short supply. LISTEN

NewJeans planted themselves squarely at the top of the K-pop conversation from the moment they arrived, and Get Up is their crowning achievement. The EP is effortlessly catchy, leaning into 90’s pop, early 2000’s R&B and modern pop to create something refreshing. Each track has a singular element that makes it stand out, like the peppy horns of “ETA” and the skittish drums on “Super Shy”. The girls trade off vocals with ease, weaving together an EP that I think is the best of the decade. So far at least. LISTEN