Best Music of 2020

Anyone listened to the new Touche Amore album yet? it's real good.

Ummm this album if F'ing Incredible.
You WILL see it on my top 10 of 2020...how high it will climb is its only limitation.
Also, I just bought the electric blue ltd. variant from their store...

 
Ummm this album if F'ing Incredible.
You WILL see it on my top 10 of 2020...how high it will climb is its only limitation.
Also, I just bought the electric blue ltd. variant from their store...

yup it'll be on mine too. I don't think they can make a bad record.

I got the half Gold, half Beer (?) edition when it was first announced. They keep releasing new variants like the blue one you got which makes me a little upset I didn't hold out for a more interesting color.
 
I think I ended up with a top 15 last year but I think I'm limiting myself to a top ten this year. I've already got a draft going but also keeping in mind that there could be some surprises over these next couple months.
 
yup it'll be on mine too. I don't think they can make a bad record.

I got the half Gold, half Beer (?) edition when it was first announced. They keep releasing new variants like the blue one you got which makes me a little upset I didn't hold out for a more interesting color.
I thought about the Book variant for 1/2 second and decided I didn't need it.
 
I thought about the Book variant for 1/2 second and decided I didn't need it.
Yeah it would be nice, but I don't need it. Plus I'm slowly getting close to having full shelves and something like that would take up the space of like 4 records instead of one.
 
Yeah it would be nice, but I don't need it. Plus I'm slowly getting close to having full shelves and something like that would take up the space of like 4 records instead of one.
I just added the Elliott Smith Book/Reissue and can attest to that.
I've had to upgrade my shelving to accomodate...I think I've got another year or so before I'll have to upgrade again.
The Wilco Reissues have taken a toll on my storage.
 
20 is the magic number, imo.

My magic # has been 50 since 2014. I feel like it’s pretty consistently right around the # of albums I get hooked to at one point or another over the course of the year.

But I also listen to any genre of music minus emo (sorry Touché Amoré) and country (or twang heavy) music so there’s always a lot to sift through.

That Idles album has grown on me by the way. And I added a playlist to the bottom of my current “rankings”.
 
My magic # has been 50 since 2014. I feel like it’s pretty consistently right around the # of albums I get hooked to at one point or another over the course of the year.

But I also listen to any genre of music minus emo (sorry Touché Amoré) and country (or twang heavy) music so there’s always a lot to sift through.

That Idles album has grown on me by the way. And I added a playlist to the bottom of my current “rankings”.
Is TA emo though?
I consider them post-hardcore.
They are more At the Drive In than they are AFI.
But, I’m a moron...so I could be totally wrong.
 
I'd call them post-hardcore, personally.

It’s the singing style I think. I like At the Drive in and love Mars Volta, Idles, Unwound, late era Fugazi and any other number of groups that could fall under the post-hardcore label.

I also love Bright Eyes which is technically emo.

But bands like Touché Amoré, My Chemical Romance, Thursday, The Used or anything that flirts with a screamo style— I’ve never been able to get into.

Perhaps the best example of this is Brand New. I had no idea who they were until they played Coachella 2016 and a friend insisted we go. So I checked out their early work and didn’t like it and then hated them (granted while on acid) live. But a year or so later they released Science Fiction which has more of a Alice In Chains meets early Modest Mouse vibe and a different style to the vocals and I adored it.
 
My rationale for keeping to 10 this year; assuming the almighty woob runs another megalist thread where we award points, it will give me the chance to not only be very picky with what goes on my list and add more weight to my choices, but also the chance to award a sizable amount of points to the albums I feel really deserve the boost.
 
My rationale for keeping to 10 this year; assuming the almighty woob runs another megalist thread where we award points, it will give me the chance to not only be very picky with what goes on my list and add more weight to my choices, but also the chance to award a sizable amount of points to the albums I feel really deserve the boost.
This is always my approach. I try to maximize points for my favorites, especially if they're less popular than the general consensus
 
This is always my approach. I try to maximize points for my favorites, especially if they're less popular than the general consensus

makes sense. Where as for me I’m typically making a playlist and more concerned with providing me with a wide scope view of what I’ve enjoyed over the course of this year... both for this portion of the forum or in real life.

so many of my favorite albums of the past 5 or so years were discovered bc @Rip_City or @Woob_woob or whomever had it at like #25 of tier 3 of their list in July of whatever year
 
makes sense. Where as for me I’m typically making a playlist and more concerned with providing me with a wide scope view of what I’ve enjoyed over the course of this year... both for this portion of the forum or in real life.

so many of my favorite albums of the past 5 or so years were discovered bc @Rip_City or @Woob_woob or whomever had it at like #25 of tier 3 of their list in July of whatever year
I make playlists all year of what I like, but I'm not generally interested in ranking--though I enjoy the odd exercise here. I definitely find the ongoing conversation all year here more useful than the year-end lists for my personal discovery, simply because they're overwhelming.
 
My magic # has been 50 since 2014. I feel like it’s pretty consistently right around the # of albums I get hooked to at one point or another over the course of the year.

I agree. With N&G, I have been exposed to so much more I would not have known otherwise...it has helped serve a more engrossing list. A top40 Topsters collage + 10 unranked honorable mentions will probably be my format for each year of this decade.
 
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The problem with ranking long lists is how do you say one album is at 38 and another is at 39. I find it almost impossible to order anything outside my top 5 and anything outside my top 10 I find I'm just guessing.
 
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