YEAR END MEGALIST 2020!!!

10 pts - clipping. - Visions Of Bodies Being Burned
9 pts - Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
8 pts - Code Orange - Underneath
8 pts - Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately
7 pts - Freddie Gibbs - Alfredo
6 pts - Poppy - I Disagree
6 pts - Run The Jewels - RTJ4
6 pts - Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1
6 pts - Tim Heidecker - Fear Of Death
5 pts - Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
5 pts - Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death
5 pts - Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA
4 pts - Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter
4 pts - Kali Uchis - Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)
3 pts - Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today
3 pts - Backxwash - God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It
2 pts - Denzel Curry - UNLOCKED
1 pt. - Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
1 pt. - Soccer Mommy - color theory
1 pt. - Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy In The Arms Of Defeatism
 
Favorite 2020 albums

Beatrice Dillon - Workaround (18p)
Destroyer - Have We Met (18p)

Dirty Projectors - 5 EPs (12p)
Caribou - Suddenly (12p)
Empress Of - I´m Your Empress Of (12p)

Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters (7p)
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (7p)
Jeff Parker - Suite For Max Brown (7p)
HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III (7p)

Label of the year: International Anthem (Beatiful artwork and packaging, quality pressings and awesome music. Besides Jeff Parker especially the releases by Anteloper, Rob Mazurek and Alabaster de Plume are highly recommended)
 
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full (13 pts.)

Monophonics - It’s Only Us (12 pts.)
Kungens Män - Trappmusik (12 pts.)

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters… (7 pts.)
Fontaines D.C. - A Hero’s Death (7 pts.)
Mong Tong - Mystery (7 pts.)
Nothing - The Great Dismal (7 pts.)

Shabaka and the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (5 pts.)
Envy - The Fallen Crimson (5 pts.)
Idris Ackamoor - Shaman! (5 pts.)
Ghost Funk Orchestra - An Ode To Escapism (5 pts.)

Fluisteraars - Bloem (3 pts.)
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music (3 pts.)
Paracetamøl - Behave (3 pts.)
Budos Band - Long in the Tooth (3 pts.)
Brant Bjork - Brant Bjork (3 pts.)
 
duke86fan said:
I've heard great things about this album but the first song made me feel weirdly uncomfortable
Click to expand...
At first listen, I found the percussion quite interesting, but also felt the overall sound aesthetic to be somewhat sterile. Then I found myself returning to it because I liked the beat patterns and decided to get it on vinyl. And I think this is an album that definitely pays off to be heard on vinyl. Spinning this made me note all the micro-doses of organic instruments that give the album its organic feel that I wasn´t aware of at all while streaming it. I even would describe it as soulful/organic instead of sterile now, if that makes sense. I find it gets better and more satisfying with each listen.
 
I've been trying to make my list for a while now and I think I've finally come up with one that I'm happy with and accurately reflects my feelings. I'm sure as time goes on, this list will change majorly, but this is just how I'm feeling now (hehe). So, here it is, without further ado - my ten favorite albums of 2020!
  1. Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind (20 pts)
  2. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA (18 pts)
  3. Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (15 pts)
  4. Hayley Williams - Petals for Armor (12 pts)
  5. Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM (10 pts)
  6. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (8 pts)
  7. Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now (6 pts)
  8. Caribou - Suddenly (5 pts)
  9. The Weeknd - After Hours (4 pts)
  10. The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You (2 pts)
 
1. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (20)
2. Moses Sumney - græ (15)
3. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (11)
4. Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans (8)
5. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (6)
6. Doves - The Universal Want (5)
7. JARV IS… - Beyond the Pale (5)
8. Taylor Swift - Folklore (5)
9. Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music (5)
10. The Flaming Lips - American Head (5)

bonus points:

EOB - Earth (3)
Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders (3)
Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (3)
Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine (3)
Jeff Parker & The New Breed - Suite for Max Brown (3)
 
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (20 points)
Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters (16 points)
SAULT - Unititled (Rise) (12 points)
Run The Jewels - RTJ4 (12 points)
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (12 points)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Reunions (7 points)
Shabaka & the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (7 points)
Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways (6
5 points)
Fleet Foxes - Shore (4 points)
The Strokes - The New Abnormal (3 points)
Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter (1 point)
SAULT - Unititled (Black Is) (1 point)

I think that adds up to 100.
 
10 Bill Callahan - Gold Record
10 Andy Shauf - The Neon Skyline
10 Cut Worms - Nobody Lives Here Anymore
10 Moor Mother & Billy Woods - BRASS
10 Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals, Vol 1
10 Nubya Garcia - Source
5 Skyway Man - The World Only Ends When You Die
5 Martin Rude & Jakob Scott Duo - The Discipline of Ascent
5 Tre Burt - Caught It From The Rye
5 Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern
5 Bonnie Light Horsemen - S/T
5 RAP Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages
5 Jeff Parker - Suite For Max Brown
5 Asher Gamedze - Dialectic Soul
 
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This was a fabulous year for music. I found it very hard to split my top 11 (OK, so I miscounted and then couldn't throw anybody out) so I made a slight number one and gave the rest the same points. Not sure there will ever be a year where three different acts all have two albums each in my top 11.

Quin Kirchner - The Shadow and The Light (10 pts)

Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways (9)
Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger - Force Majeure (9)
Gillian Welch - Boots 2 (9 pts)
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - All The Good Times (9)
Muriel Grossmann - Quiet Earth (9)
Muriel Grossmann - Elevation (9)
Nubya Garcia - Source (9)
Sault - Untitled (Black Is) (9)
Sault - Untitled (Rise) (9)
Tony Allen & Hugh Masekala - Rejoice (9)

20201212_155437.jpg

Some other rankings as this only reflects a small amount of my purchases this year...

Best reissues:
Orchestre Baobab - Mohammadou Bamba / Viva Bawobab S1 / Specialist In All Styles
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - Segla
K Frimpong - Backed by Vis a Vis
Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - Take One
Ayalew Mesfin x 5
Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Good Morning Susie Soho
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Live at the Rainbow
PJ Harvey x 3
Sharhabil Ahmed - The King of Sudanese Jazz
Miles Davis - Double Image
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto
The Charlatans - Between 10th and 11th


Best second-hand/older purchases:
About 50x Orchestre Poly-Rythmo singles!
Orchestre Baobab - Bienvenue Au Senegal
McCoy Tyner - Extensions
Led Zeppelin - The Complete BBC Sessions
Star Band de Dakar x 3
Le Super Biton National de Segou
Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas & Uhuru Yenzu - Hitsville Revisited
Francis Cabrel - Vise Le Ciel
Tony Allen - The Source
Sonora Curro - Candelazos Curro
Keith Jarrett Trio - Still Live
John Coltrane Quartet - Africa/Brass
 
I waited in to hear McCartney on this, so here is my final list:

Tier 1 (10 points each):
Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud
Phoebe Bridgers- Punisher
Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Reunions
Run the Jewels - RTJ4

Tier 2 (5 points each)
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
HAIM - Women in Music part III
Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You
Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
Charli XCX - how I'm feeling now
CHIKA - Industry Games
Pokey LaFarge - Rock Bottom Rhapsody
Tyler Childers - Long Violent History

Tier 3 (2 points each)
Taylor Swift - Folklore
Paul McCartney - 3
The Flaming Lips - American Head
Khruangbin - Mordechai
The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You


Honorable mentions:
Drive By Truckers, Gorillaz, Moses Sumney, Bright Eyes, Jason Molina, Thundercat, Caribou, Sturgill Simpson, Nathaniel Rateliff, Matt Berninger, Courtney Marie Andrews, and a lot more that slip my memory right now.

All in all though: A BRILLIANT year in music. Which is comforting since everything else was such a clusterf**k...anyway, here's to a bright and beautiful 2021!
 
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TOP TIER (5 pts each)
  • Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
  • 100 Gecs - 1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues
  • AC/DC - Power Up
  • Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide
  • Clams Casino - Instrumental Relics
  • Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together
STILL REALLY GREAT (3 pts each)
  • 21 Savage & Metro Boomin - Savage Mode II
  • Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
  • Beach Bunny - Honeymoon
  • Black Dresses - Peaceful as Hell
  • Bladee - Exeter
  • Fleet Foxes - Shore
  • Boldy James & Sterling Toles - Manger on McNichols
  • Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
  • Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
  • Odraza - Rzeczom
  • Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi
  • Paysage d'Hiver - Im Wald
  • Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red
  • Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM
  • Run the Jewels - RTJ4
  • Rural Internet - Shopping Music
  • Sematary & Ghost Mountain - Hundred Acre Wrist Hosted by DJ Sorrow
  • Spectral Lore & Mare Cognitum - Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine
  • Ulcerate - Stare Into Death and Be Still
  • Yves Tumor - Heaven to a Tortured Mind
 
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Amazing year and a very hard list for me to complete. Can't wait to continue listening to all of these!


Yves Tumor- Heaven to a Tortured Mind (20pts)
Moses Sumney - grae (15)
Sorry - 925 (10)
Georgia - Seeking Thrills (10)
Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter (7)
Gorillaz - Song Machine Season One (7)
Young Jesus - Welcome to Conceptual Beach (5)
Jeff Parker - Suite For Max Brown (4)
Big Moon - Walking Like We Do (4)
Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now (3)
Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death (3)
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways to Italy (3)
Hum - Inlet (3)
Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure (3)
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (3)

Honorable Mentions (no points awarded)
JARV IS... - Beyond the Pale
Doves - The Universal Want
Sault - Untitled (Black Is)
Empty Country - Empty Country
Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
Bartees Strange - Live Forever
The Killers - Imploding the Mirage
Hazel English - Wake UP!
 
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All right, I think I'm finally ready to put this down on paper, complete with my own arbitrary scoring.

TOP 10
Slotface – Sorry for the late reply (11pts)
Jeff Rosenstock – No Dream (11pts)
Protomartyr – Ultimate Success Today (10pts)
Thundercat – It Is What It Is (10pts)
Idles – Ultra Mono (9pts)
Melted Bodies – Enjoy Yourself (9pts)
Run The Jewels – RTJ4 (8pts)
Aesop Rock – Spirit World Field Guide (8pts)
Doves – The Universal Want (7pts)
Nothing – The Great Dismal (7pts)



TOP 10-20 - 1 Point Each
Algiers – There Is No Year
Violent Soho – Everything Is A-OK
Moaning – Uneasy Laughter
Tricot – The First Album that came out this year. Name is in Kanji, so I don't know what it's called. The other album is pretty good too
Coriky – S/T
Bob Mould – Blue Hearts
Lie – You Want It Real
Everything Everything – RE-ANIMATOR
FEVER 333 – WRONG GENERATION
Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death



RUNNERS UP, in no particular order. NO POINTS!!!
Wire – Mind Hive
Destroyer – Have We Met
HMLTD – West of Eden
Bambara – Stray
En Attendant Ana – Juillet
Caroline Rose – Superstar
Car Seat Headrest – Making a Door Less Open
Fake Names – S/T
Remo Drive – A Portrait Of An Ugly Man
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Death By Stereo – We’re All Dying Just In Time
Future Islands – As Long As You Are
The Fall of Troy – Mukiltearth
Deftones – Ohms
Joji – Nectar
Ninja Sex Part – The Prophecy
Atmosphere – The Day Before Halloween
Dope Body – Crack A Light
Black Foxxes – S/T
Plants and Animals – The Jungle
Foxy Shazam – Burn
Ichiko Aoba – Windswept Adan
Puscifer – Existential Reckoning
NOFX Vs. Frank Turner – West Coast vs. Wessex

Final thoughts: great year for punk everything [genre]-punk! Also, 2 hip hop albums in my top 10 is a bit unusual for me. Another trend I noticed was a lot of releases from bands I already love, and while the albums weren't my favorite work, they were all great regardless.
 
What a year!

points:
Sault, Untitled (Black Is) 12
Jack Garratt, Love, Death & Dancing 10
Open Mike Eagle, Anime, Trauma and Divorce 10
Mac Miller, Circles 8
Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters 5
Run the Jewels, 'RTJ4' 5
Childish Gambino, 3.15.20 5
Moses Sumney, 'Græ' 5
Lianne La Havas, Lianne La Havas 5
Spillage Village, Spilligion 5
Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist, Alfredo 3
The Weeknd, 'After Hours' 3
Koreatown Oddity, Little Dominiques Nosebleed 2
Phoebe Bridgers, 'Punisher' 2
Thundercat, It Is What It Is 2
Sault, Untitled (Rise) 2
Jay Electronica, A Written Testimony 2
Caribou, Suddenly 2
Sylvan Esso, Free Love 2
Bonny Light Horseman, Bonny Light Horseman 2
DRAMA, Dance Without Me 2
Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder, Kamasi Washington, Dinner Party 2
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes, What Kinda Music 2
Flying Lotus, Flamagra 2

Favorite EPs:
Chiiild, Synthetic Soul (EP)
Mick Jenkins, The Circus (EP)

Honorable mentions: (aka I ran out of points but I liked the album)
Anjimile, Giver Taker
Son Little, aloha
070 Shake, ‘Modus Vivendi’
Yves Tumor, Heaven To A Tortured Mind
Thanya Iyer, KIND
Sasha Sloan, Only Child
Clipping., Visions of Bodies Being Burned
 
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