YEAR END MEGALIST 2020!!!

Top 10

10 points each

Coriky - Coriky
Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross - Soul
Puscifer – Existential Reckoning
Mastodon – Medium Rarities
Carpenter Brut – Blood Machines (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Deftones – Ohms
Run The Jewels – Run The Jewels 4
Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Wire – 10:20
Neil Young – Homegrown
 
10 points each, thanks for doing this as always @Woob_woob

Goose - Alive and Well
King Gizzard - KG
Slift - UMMON
Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters
Benny the Butcher - Burden of Proof
rap ferreira - purple moonlight pages
Disembowel - Echoes of Terror
Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind
Necrot - Mortal
The Chats - High Risk Behavior
 
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Alright. I think my top 30 is cemented. There has been a LOT of movement from when I first posted because of that 3 month gap between the end of July and the start of December where I was listening to the least amount of music I've consumed per day since high school. Blame puppy training podcasts, trying to take care of hearing loss in your 30's, video games or the NBA playoffs

Anyways, after listening to Katie Pruitt's album (a couple times) for the first time since mid-summer (along with a bunch of others), I think I've finally stuck a balance between first-half-of-the-year favorites, the albums that kept me company all year and the late year stuff that is blowing me away upon initial impression:

A) This might have been my favorite year of music since 2015. Not sure the highs were quite so vast (there are around 12 albums from that year that I consider straight up masterpieces), but there are a couple year end surprises that might wind up revealing themselves to be so much like Julien Baker's Sprained Ankle did (Sevdalia and Samia come to mind). And the depth of quality was staggering.
B) And yet, I can't remember a year with so few hip-hop albums near the top of my list. There were a solid # that I dug, but very few that I loved. Maybe I'm just growing old and out of touch?
C) Lastly, the 20 year old me would be ashamed at all the pop (in one form or another) on this list.

Tier 1 (Masterpiece):
1) Fiona Apple: Get the Bolt Cutters [singer / songwriter] 14
2) Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia [pop] 10
3) Deftones: Ohmm [alt metal] 9
4) Run the Jewels: IV [hip-hop] 7
5) SAULT: Untitled (Rise) [Neo-Soul, Jazz] 7
6) Grimes- Miss Anthroposcene [indie electronica / indie pop] 7
7) HAIM: Women in Music Pt. III [indie rock] 7
8) Gorillaz: Song Machine Season One: Strange Times [experimental pop] 7

Tier 2 (Excellent):
9) Sevdaliza: Shabrang [trip-hop, world] 4
10) Katie Pruitt: Expectations [singer / songwriter, indie rock] 4
11) Porridge Radio- Every Bad [post-punk, indie rock] 4
12) Marilyn Manson: We Are Chaos [rock] no points cause I know nobody else here will list it... but hot damn is it good
13) Caribou- Suddenly [electronic] 3
14) Phoebe Bridgers: Punisher [indie folk] 3
15) Perfume Genius: Set My Heart On Fire Immediately: [art pop / indie rock] 3
16) Yaeji: What We Drew [hip-house] 3
17) Charlie XCX: how i’m feeling now [experimental pop] 2
18) Bartees Strange: Live Forever [indie rock] 2
19) Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind [psychedelic rock] 2
20) Kelly Lee Owens: Inner Chorus [techno, pop] 2

Honorable Mentions:
21) Moses Sumney- grae [r&b, art pop]
22) Moses Boyd- Dark Matter [nu-jazz / acid house]
23) Jessie Ware: What’s Your Pleasure [art pop, disco]
24) Samia: The Baby [singer / songwriter, indie rock]
25) Medhane: Cold Water [hip-hop]
26) Allie X: Cape God [pop]
27) Car Seat Headrest- Making a Door Less Open [indie rock]
28) Sorry: 925 [art rock]
29) R.A.P. Ferreria: Purple Moonlit Pages [hip-hop]
30) Westside Gunn: Pray for Paris [rap]

Aiming to post a top 50 w/ a playlist to the other thread by mid-Jan and will delete my previous post for the sake of Woob. Thanks to all the people who contributed to my 2020 journey.
 
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Every year, I start a new playlist.
Throughout the year I add to the playlist any new release/single/E.P. : I care about; that has been recommended to me; gets mentioned on these boards; that has interesting cover art; or whose name catches my attention.

I listen to the playlist on shuffle during my work day.
As albums start to wear on my ears...they get removed from the list.

At the end of the year I'm left with my Best of 2020 playlist: SMAPLE 2020



Before we get to the points, lets get the other minor awards out of the way:

BEST E.P. > Fuming Mouth - Beyond the Tomb
BEST E.P. REISSUE > Bon Iver - Blood Bank 10th Anniversary ReIssue
BEST LIVE ALBUM > (TIE)
Deafheaven - 10 Years Gone
The War on Drugs - Live Drugs
BEST LIVE SET from a deluxe Reissue > Elliott Smith - Live at Umbra Prenumbra
BEST REISSUE > Wilco - Summerteeth
BEST SINGLE > Bon Iver - AUATC
BEST COVER/SINGLE > Benjamin Gibbard - Filler [Minor Threat Cover]


Now to the good stuff:
Touche Amore' - Lament (10 pts.)
Hum - Inlet (10 Pts.)

Fiona Apple- Fetch the Bolt Cutters (9 pts.)

Phoebe Bridgers- Punisher (8pts.)

Jeff Tweedy - Love Is King (7 pts.)

HAIM - Women In Music Pt III (6 pts).
Run The Jewels - RTJ4 (6 pts.)

Dogleg - Melee (5 pts).
Deftones - Ohms (5 pts.)
AJJ - Good Luck Everybody (5 pts.)

Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (4 pts.)
...And You WIll Know Us by the Trial of Dead - X: The Godless Void and Other Stories (4 pts.)

Milk Teeth - S/T (3 pts.)

Sault - Rise & Black Is (1 pt.)
Jeff Rosenstock - No Dream (1 pt.)
Pinegrove - Marigold (1 pt.)
The Mountain Goats - Getting Into KnivesThe Beths - Jump Rope Gazers (1 pt.)
The Menzingers - From Exile (1 pt.)
My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall II (1 pt.)
Future Islands - As Long As You Are (1 pt.)
Sturgill Simpson - Cuttn' Grass Vol 1 & 2 (1 pt.)
Drive-By-Truckers - The Unraveling (1 pt..)
Nada Surf - Never Not Together (1 pt.)
Frances Quinlan - Likewise (1 pt)
Greg Dulli - Random Desire (1 pt.)
Vanessa Carlton - Love Is An Art (1 pt.)
Matt Berninger - Serpintine Prison (1 pt.)
Bob Mould - Blue Hearts (1 pt.)
Ben Harper - Winter is for Lovers (1 pt.)
Pearl Jam - Gigaton (1 pt.)
The Chicks - Gaslighter (1 pt.)
 
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Enaz Fox said:
10 points each, thanks for doing this as always @Woob_woob

Goose - Alive and Well
King Gizzard - KG
Slift - UMMON
Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters
Benny the Butcher - Burden of Proof
rap ferreira - purple moonlight pages
Disembowel - Echoes of Terror
Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind
Necrot - Mortal
The Chats - High Risk Behavior
Click to expand...
Been hearing a lot about Goose recently.
I’ll have to check them out.
 
Ok! Think I did the math correctly here!


5 - Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You

5 - Bob Dylan - Rough & Rowdy Ways

5 - John Moreland - LP5

5 - Jeff Tweedy - Love Is The King

5 - Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter

5 - Khruangbin - Mordechai

5 - The Hives - Live at Third Man

5 - Daniel Romano’s Outfit - Okay Wow / How Ill Thy World Is Ordered

5 - Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud

4 - Alice Boman - Dream On

4 - Gladie - Safe Sins

4 - Sparta - Trust The River

4 - Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters

4 - HC McEntire - Eno Axis

4 - Jason Molina - Eight Gates

3 - Logan Ledger - S/T

3 - The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers

3 - Coriky - S/T

3 - Cut Worms - Nobody Lives Here Anymore

3 - Gillian Welch - Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol’s 1-3

2 - Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface

2 - The Strokes - The New Abnormal

2 - Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions

2 - Bob Mould - Blue Hearts

2 - Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto

2 - Descendents - Suffrage

2 - Molly Tuttle - ...but I’d rather be with you

2- Dan Reeder - Every Which Way
 
Top 10 of 2020
  • Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music (20)
  • Dogleg - Melee (20)
  • The Smith Street Band - Don't Waste Your Anger (15)
  • envy - The Fallen Crimson (10)
  • Caribou - Suddenly (10)
  • Bob Vylan - We Live Here (5)
  • Fontaines DC - A Hero's Death (5)
  • Monophonics - It's Only Us (5)
  • Kevin Morby - Sundowner (5)
  • RAP Ferreira - purple moonlight pages (5)

Honourable Mentions
  • Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline
  • Barely Civil - I'll Figure This Out
  • Bartees Strange - Live Forever
  • Clouds in a Headlock - ASMATTIC Vol. 1
  • Gil Scott Heron & Makaya McCraven - We're New Again
  • Hypoluxo - Hypoluxo
  • Jahari Massamba Unit - Pardon My French
  • Marlowe - Marlowe 2
  • Oscar Jerome - Breathe Deep
  • Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today
  • Quakers - II The Next Wave
  • Roy Ayers / Adrian Younge / Ali Shaheed Muhammad - JID002
  • RTJ - RTJ4
  • The Cool Greenhouse - s/t
  • Yussef Dayes Trio - Welcome to the Hills
  • Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind

Top Songs of 2020




Most Anticipated 2021
  • Madlib + Four Tet - Sound Ancestors
  • Aaron Frazer - Introducing
  • Black Country, New Road - For The First Time
  • LICE - WASTELAND: What Ails Our People Is Clear
  • Mogwai - As The Love Continues
  • Shame - Drunk Tank Pink
  • Viagra Boys - Welfare Jazz
  • Slowthai - TYRON
  • Menahan Street Band - Exciting Sounds
  • Kiwi Jr - Cooler Returns
  • DLO3 - I Told You So
 
First time a hard rock/metal album has topped my year-end list in over a decade, I think.

1. King Buffalo - Dead Star (20 pts.)
2. Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques (15 pts.)
3. Neil Young - Homegrown (15 pts.)
4. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (10 pts.)
5. My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall II (10 pts.)
6. Destroyer - Have We Met (7 pts.)
7. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways (7 pts.)
8. Los Days - Singing Sands (6 pts.)
9. Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown (5 pts.)
10. Mosses - T.V. Sun (5 pts.)

Honourable mentions:
11. Elder - Omens
12. Benny Yurco - You Are My Dreams
13. Run the Jewels - RTJ4
14. J.H. Guraj - Introspection / Migration
15. SUSS - Promise
16. Tidiane Thiam - Siftorde
17. Nap Eyes - Snapshot of a Beginner
18. Bill Fay - Countless Branches
19. Jeff Tweedy - Love is the King
20. The Third Mind - The Third Mind
21. Gillian Welch - Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 1
22. Jason Joshua & the Beholders - Alegria Y Tristeza
23. Fleet Foxes - Shore
 
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Russ I said:
I gave Anna McClelland's I Saw First Light only 2 points on my best-of list because, well, it's tough to compete with the likes of Taylor Swift, Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, etc. But I'm really glad to have stumbled upon this album/artist I'd never heard of. And I can't stop listening to the first track from her record (link below). It's not every day you find this kind of bedroom-leaning indie pop with a reed instrument and a fucking string section in the mix!

Hoping to maybe turn someone on to an artist they haven't heard of, kind of a cross between Phoebe Bridgers and Snail Mail would be the best I can do to 'categorize' it.

hashbrandnew.com

Con S Sewer - Anna McClellan @ hashbrandnew.com

Video released on November 19, 2020 | Singer/Songwriter | Small Room
hashbrandnew.com hashbrandnew.com
Click to expand...
One more plug for this album. I was listening to it today and the song Veronica really jumped out at me. I could be convinced it's a long-lost Kinks demo!, which is as surprising to find on this album as it is awesome!
 
1. Fiona Apple-Fetch The Bolt Cutters (18)
2. Phoebe Bridgers-Punisher (15)
3. R.A.P. Ferreira-Purple Moonlight Pages (10)
4. Sa Roc-Sharecroppers Daughter (10)
5. Shabaka and the Ancestors-We Are Sent Here By History (10)
6. Alex The Astronaut-The Theory of Absolutely Nothing (10)
7. Bright Eyes-Down in the Weeds...(10)
8. The Strokes-New Abnormal (5)
9. SAULT-Untitled (Rise) (1)
10. Aesop Rock-Spirit World Field Guide (1)
11. Run the Jewels-RTJ4 (1)
12. My Morning Jacket-Waterfall ii (1)
13. Laura Marling-Song For Our Daughter (1)
14. Moses Sumney-Grae (1)
15. The Flaming Lips-American Head (1)
16. The Chicks-Gaslighter (1)
17. Tame Impala-The Slow Rush (1)
18. Taylor Swift-Folklore (1)
19. The Mountain Goats-Getting Into Knives (1)
20. The Avalanches-We Will Always Love You (1)
 
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CrazyDiamond84 said:
1. Fiona Apple-Fetch The Bolt Cutters (18)
2. Phoebe Bridgers-Punisher (15)
3. R.A.P. Ferreira-Purple Moonlight Pages (10)
4. Sa Roc-Sharecroppers Daughter (10)
5. Shabaka and the Ancestors-We Are Sent Here By History (10)
6. Alex The Astronaut-The Theory of Absolutely Nothing (10)
7. Bright Eyes-Down in the Weeds...(10)
8. The Strokes-New Abnormal (5)
9. SAULT-Untitled (Rise) (1)
10. Aesop Rock-Spirit World Field Guide (1)
11. Run the Jewels-RTJ4 (1)
12. My Morning Jacket-Waterfall ii (1)
13. Laura Marling-Song For Our Daughter (1)
14. Moses Sumney-Grae (1)
15. The Flaming Lips-American Head (1)
16. The Chicks-Gaslighter (1)
17. Tame Impala-The Slow Rush (1)
18. Taylor Swift-Folklore (1)
19. The Mountain Goats-Getting Into Knives (1)
20. The Avalanches-We Will Always Love You (1)
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Some takes from doing this:
-Fiona will be an all time great album
-Phoebe made #2, yet I think her best is yet to come
- fantastic albums from legacy artists, yet didn't make my list...Dylan, Springsteen, Neil Young
-great comebacks from favorite artists who haven't released an album in many years...Chicks, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Strokes, Fiona
-Covid and quarantine = lots of great new music
 
Fear not, here is my drop in the bucket. 😆

10 pts - R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages
10 pts - Moor Mother + billy woods - BRASS
10 pts - Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Innocent Country 2
10 pts - Armand Hammer - Shrines
10 pts - serengeti - AJAI
0 pts - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
10 pts - Brigid Dawson and the Mothers Network - Ballet of Apes
0 pts - Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM
10 pts - Small Bills - Small Bills
0 pts - YvesTumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
10 pts - clipping - Visions of Bodies Being Burned
10 pts - AMANI + KING VISION ULTRA - An Unknown Infinite
5 pts - The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominique's Nosebleed
5 pts - Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma, and Divorce
0 pts - Boldy James / Sterling Toles - Manger on McNichols
0 pts - Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here by History
0 pts- Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin - Flysiifu's

Not sure why, but not a lot of rock clicked as well with me in 2020. I enjoyed and purchased and will continue to listen to some, but they didn't stick with me as well as these I chose to list. I wonder if that will change when I revisit and check things out I missed. Even with that, an amazing year for music. In rough order, especially the second half.
 
dhodo said:
Fear not, here is my drop in the bucket. 😆

10 pts - R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages
10 pts - Moor Mother + billy woods - BRASS
10 pts - Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Innocent Country 2
10 pts - Armand Hammer - Shrines
10 pts - serengeti - AJAI
0 pts - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
10 pts - Brigid Dawson and the Mothers Network - Ballet of Apes
0 pts - Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM
10 pts - Small Bills - Small Bills
0 pts - YvesTumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
10 pts - clipping - Visions of Bodies Being Burned
10 pts - AMANI + KING VISION ULTRA - An Unknown Infinite
5 pts - The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominique's Nosebleed
5 pts - Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma, and Divorce
0 pts - Boldy James / Sterling Toles - Manger on McNichols
0 pts - Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here by History
0 pts- Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin - Flysiifu's

Not sure why, but not a lot of rock clicked as well with me in 2020. I enjoyed and purchased and will continue to listen to some, but they didn't stick with me as well as these I chose to list. I wonder if that will change when I revisit and check things out I missed. Even with that, an amazing year for music. In rough order, especially the second half.
Click to expand...
I’m the same but opposite. I see your list of Rap albums and think I must have missed something. There was not much outside of a few more mainstream Hip-Hop albums that I enjoyed this year. I see a lot of people excited about some of these releases but they just never clicked. Maybe some of em will click in 2021 and I will wonder what I was thinking.
 
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Hollywood said:
Agreed 💯 That is why 2021 should be another great year for new music 🎶 releases
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I sure hope so, but I've been worried about what I've heard and read that a lot of artists may withhold releases until they can tour again next year and 2021 may have a lot less new albums than past years. I hope that's not the case.
 
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