She released her debut studio album, Stranger in the Alps, in September 2017 to critical acclaim. The album was produced by Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska and Rob Moose, all of whom would become consistent collaborators with Bridgers. To promote the album, Bridgers performed on CBS This Morning and the NPR Tiny Desk. Numerous songs from the record were featured in television productions throughout 2018, including Switched at Birth, Castle, Burden of Truth, Lethal Weapon and Trinket, among others.
On February 26, 2020, Bridgers released the single "Garden Song" alongside its music video. In April, the 1975 released the song "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" with Bridgers, ahead of their studio album Notes on a Conditional Form, which features Bridgers on three tracks. She was slated to tour with them in summer 2020 before the tour's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 9, 2020, Bridgers released "Kyoto" and announced on Instagram that her second album Punisher would be released on June 19, 2020. Bridgers released the album a day earlier than stated, stating: "I'm not [delaying] the record until things go back to 'normal' because I don't think they should. Here it is a little early." The album received widespread positive reviews. In July 2020, Bridgers released the music video for her single "I Know the End". While working on Punisher, Bridgers also produced Christian Lee Hutson's album Beginners, which was released on Anti- Records in May 2020.