Best of 2020

[Archive_Reports]

Seems self-explanatory. Let's go.

In no order:

END - Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face
Palm Reader - Sleepless
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos
Bring Me the Horizon - Post Human: Survival Horror
Pressure Cracks - This is Called Survival EP
Thirty Nights of Violence - You'll See Me Up There
Reflections - Willow

[dlb]

Still a few weeks left, but it's pretty much done now. My Top 10 so far:

Spice - Spice
Sometimes With Others - Nous
Mantar - Grungetown Hooligans Vol. II
Jaye Jayle - Prysin
Algiers - There Is No Year
All Diese Gewalt - Andere
Run The Jewels - RTJ4
Lowirder - Refractions
Fontaines D.C. - A Heroe's Death
King Buffalo - Dead Star

I also really enjoyed Deftones and Manson these days, but I wouldn't consider them real favorites. Sadly same goes for NIN, glad we got something from the vault this year and I dug it, but the Watchmen Soundtracks very too good to begin with.

[Jinsai]

Autechre - Sign
Broken Note - Exit the Void
Deserta - Black Aura My Sun
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Moses Sumney - Græ
Anthony Baldino - Twelve Twenty Two
Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
Pole - Fading
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Richard Devine - Systik
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos

[SchwarzerAbt]

Not listening to huge amounts of new music, but here are my Top 3:

• HEALTH - DISCO 4 :: PART I
• Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts VI: Locusts
• Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos

Other honorable mentions are:
• The Magnetic Fields - Quickies
• Enter Shikari - Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible
Though I have to give these albums more listens before forming an oppinion.

[Swykk]

The Birthday Massacre-Diamonds
Run The Jewels-4
Marilyn Manson-We Are Chaos

[ManBurning]

I don't know if the words "Best" and "2020" should be put in the same sentence... lol.

[sonic_discord]

Favorites (in order of release):
Eminem – Music to be Murdered By (Best Eminem album in a decade)
NIN – Ghosts V: Together
NIN – Ghosts VI: Locusts (both of these are favorites to put on while drifting off to sleep)
Run the Jewels – RTJ4
Prof – Powderhorn Suites
Felt – Felt 4 U (I LOVE the Dr. Dre-esque G-Funk vibes on this one)
Marilyn Manson – We Are Chaos (Surprisingly great. Best Manson album in two decades!)
Tom Petty – Wildflowers and All the Rest (Not sure if this should count? It's part remastered re-release, part new material, part demo material, part live material, but it's 100% AWESOME)
Puscifer – Existential Reckoning (Top-shelf Puscifer)
Atmosphere – The Day Before Halloween
Tobacco – Hot Wet & Sassy
The Smashing Pumpkins – Cyr (Wasn't so sure at first, but yes, I like much of it. Sue me.)

Honorable Mentions:
TR & AR – Mank score (I'm still just beginning to sink my teeth into this – there's a lot to take in, but it's really good so far)
Metallica – S&M2 (Also good, but about what you'd expect)
Mastodon – Medium Rarities
Green Day – Father of All Motherfuckers
Aesop Rock – Spirit World Field Guide
Avatar – Hunter Gatherer (Discovered this by accident, but I kinda like it)

Still need to check out:
TR & AR – Soul score (obviously not out yet)
Deftones – Ohms (I'm not the biggest Deftones fan, but I keep hearing good things about this one)
The Struts – Strange Days
AC/DC – Power Up

[BrokenSpiral]

Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator of God


honorable mention: Stone Temple Pilots - Perdida


otherwise, 2020 has been a great year for me in discovering bands that I hadn’t previously listened to. Dillinger, Mastodon, Killer Be Killed, etc.

[GulDukat]

No real order:

Marilyn Manson-We Are Chaos
Stone Temple Pilots- Perdida
Pearl Jam- Gigaton
Bush- The Kingdom
Bruce Springsteen- Letter to You
Armored Saint- Punching the Sky
Smashing Pumpkins- CYR (based on all the songs so far)
Blue Oyster Cult- The Symbol Remains
Metallica- S&M 2
The Pretenders- Hate for Sale
The Monkees- The Mike and Micky Live Show
Whitesnake- The Rock Album
Mark Lanegan- Straight Songs of Sorrow
Deep Purple- Whoosh!
Richie Kotzen- 50 for 50
Ozzy Osbourne- Ordinary Man
Nine Inch Nails- Ghosts V & VI

Still need to hear:

Deftones- Ohms
Bob Dylan- Rough and Rowdy Ways

[henryeatscereal]

NIN - Ghosts V: Together / Ghosts VI: Locusts
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Gorillaz- Strange Times
Deftones - Ohms
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos
Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
Mr Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
AC/DC - Power Up

Honorable Mentions:
Stone Temple Pilots - Perdida
Mastodon – Medium Rarities

[Jinsai]

to be fair, isn't the Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny basically just a remake/re-recording? Either way, put it on my list too.

[Findus]

Future Islands - As Long As You Are

[Lerxto]

As of now:

Best studio albums of 2020
Autechre - SIGN + PLUS
Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways
Fish - Weltschmerz
Gazpacho - Fireworker
Gorillaz - Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez
Haken - Virus
Jakko M. Jakszyk - Secrets & Lies
Long Distance Calling - How Do We Want To Live?
Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V-VI
Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
Tim Bowness - Late Night Laments
The Pineapple Thief - Versions Of The Truth
The Tangent - Auto Reconnaissance

Best reissues, archival releases & live albums of 2020
David Bowie - Is It Any Wonder?
David Bowie - I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour '74)
Frank Zappa - Halloween '81
Metallica - S&M2
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies (2020 Deluxe)
Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets - Live At The Roundhouse
Prince - Sign O' The Times (2020 Super Deluxe)
Steve Hackett - Selling England By The Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live At Hammersmith
Tangerine Dream - Pilots Of Purple Twilight: The Virgin Recordings 1980-1983

Honorable Mentions
Deftones - Ohms
Jónsi - Shiver
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man

[botley]

Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Alain Johannes - Hum
Lianne La Havas - s/t
Squarepusher - Be Up a Hello
Wajatta - Don't Let Get You Down
Autechre - SIGN / PLUS
Joan As Police Woman - Cover Two
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Speaker Music - Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry
U.S. Girls - Heavy Light

[Soma]

Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide
Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds
Code Orange - Underneath
Deftones - Ohms
Ebony Tusks - Heal_Thyself
Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator of God
Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
HEALTH - DISCO 4
Holy Fuck - Deleter
Hum - Inlet
Neil Young - Homegrown
Nothing - The Great Dismal
Orville Peck - Show Pony
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Tobacco - Hot Wet & Sassy


‘Rituals’ by @eversonpoe (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=588) will probably make the list when the tape gets in! As well as the new Varsovia album ‘Diseñar y Destruir’.

[kaydraven]

With the shit year that is 2020, I struggle to remember what even came out this year, but two favorites that spring to mind are:
WE ARE CHAOS - Marilyn Manson
Sex, Death, & The Infinite Void - Creeper

[versusreality]

Final - Live Incubate 2010
Final - You Couldn't Mean Any Less e.p
Jesu - Terminus
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V & VI

coming next month (bound to be on my list) :
Pop Levi - Mark of Paradise

haven't yet heard: JK Flesh - Depersonalization

reissue of the year: Prince - Sign o' the times

[BRoswell]

Big Black Delta - 4
clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned
Daniel Avery - Love + Light
Gorillaz - Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V & VI
Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Mixing Colours
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Tobacco - Hot Wet & Sassy
Various Artists - After Dark 3

[MrLobster]

My Top 2020 (released in 2020; rather than merely bought in 2020)

Smokers Delight - 25th Anniversary Edition by Nightmares on Wax
We Still Go To Rodeos by Whitney Rose
A Hulu Original: High Fidelity by various artists
Miss Colombia by Lido Pimienta
Cape Cira by K-LONE
That's How Rumors Get Started by Margo Price
Hackers - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 25th Anniversary Edition by various artists
Song Machine | Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz
Quake by Nine Inch Nails
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - The Crow by various artists
Back To Mine: Fatboy Slim by various artists

Releases I bought in 2020 but weren't released in 2020

Machine Head by Deep Purple
Dreamboat Annie by Heart
Kick by INXS
untitled by Led Zeppelin (or the 4th album)
silver - 25th Anniversary Edition by Moist
The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd

[hologram parade]

Kate NV • Room for the Moon
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith • Mosaic of Transformation
Fools • Fools Harp Vol. 1
Against All Logic • 2017-2019
Oneohtrix Point Never • Magic OPN
Tobacco • Hot Wet n Sassy
Gorillaz • Song Machine
Phoebe Bridgers • Punisher
Khotin • Finds You Well
Soccer Mommy • Color Theory
Washed Out • Purple Noon
Tame Impala • The Slow Rush
Waxahatchee • Saint Cloud
Haim • Women In Music Pt. III

[Jinsai]

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - The Crow by various artists

I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but calling this one of the best albums of 2020 is like... I dunno, saying that Dark Side of the Moon is one of the...


The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd

I kid I kid... but really, if there's nothing new on it other than a remaster, it's not what I would personally consider to be something from 2020 in a real way. There's no rules here though, and even if there were, I don't make em ;)

[MrLobster]

I don't wanna sound like a jerk

too late

[Jinsai]

too late

I am honestly not giving you shit. This is really what they call "busting someone's balls." I'm being good natured. Had no intention of pissing you off or even irritating you in any real way, and if I did I apologize.

[Volk]

Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Idles - Ultra Mono
NIN - both Ghosts
Coriky - Coriky (the last show I saw live)
EOB - Earth
Pearl Jam - Gigaton

[henryeatscereal]

to be fair, isn't the Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny basically just a remake/re-recording? Either way, put it on my list too.
Indeed it is, but most of the people didn't knew about this songs, so i think it passes as "new" music.

[rampface]

01 The Strokes - The New Abnormal
02 Crack Cloud - PAIN OLYMPICS
03 Tim Heidecker - Fear of Death
04 Code Orange - Underneath
05 Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar
06 Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
07 Thee Oh Sees - Protean Threat
08 The Flaming Lips - American Head
09 King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - K.G.
10 Marilyn Manson - WE ARE CHAOS

11 Liturgy - Origin of the Alimonies
12 Warp Chamber - Implements of Excruciation
13 Napalm Death - Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
14 Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville
15 Disembowel - Echoes of Terror
16 Skeleton - Skeleton
17 Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind
18 Cryptic Shift - Visitations From Enceladus
19 Bedsore - Hypnagogic Hallucinations
20 VoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel

21 FLUIDS - Ignorance Exalted
22 Terminal Nation - Holocene Extinction
23 Boris - No
24 Uniform - Shame
25 Machine Girl - U-Void Synthesizer
26 Of Feather and Bone - Sulfuric Disintegration
27 Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron
28 Question - Reflections of the Void
29 Pallbearer - Forgotten Days
30 REZN - Chaotic Divine

31 Spirit Possession - Spirit Possession
32 Undergang - Aldrig i livet
33 The Black Lips - Sing in a World That's Falling Apart
34 No Age - Goons Be Gone
35 Animal Collective - Bridge to Quiet
36 Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
37 TOBACCO - Hot Wet & Sassy
38 Thee Oh Sees - Metamorphosed
39 Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today
40 Car Seat Headrest - Making A Door Less Open

41 FUZZ - III
42 Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
43 deftones - Ohms
44 Primitive Man - Immersion
45 EXPANDER - Neuropunk Boostergang
46 偏執症者 (Paranoid) - Out Raising Hell
47 Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æequiizoiikum
48 Black Pus - DEF VESPER
49 Blood From The Soul - DSM-5
50 Torn Hawk - White Labels and Outtakes : 2011-2014

https://i.imgur.com/KjCtLMB.jpg

[bobbie solo]

best record for me this year was END- Splinters...

Just an absolute blowtorch of an album from a supergroup of the metalcore/hardcore world.

Other top stuff for me:

Metz- Atlas Vending
Conway The Machine- From A King to a God
Westside Gunn- Who made The Sunshine?
Bring Me The Horizon -POST HUMAN SURVIVAL HORROR EP
Touche Amore- Lament
Greg Puciato's solo record
Health- Disco4
Mil-Spec- World House
Mindforce- Swingin Swords Choppin Lords EP
Cloud Nothings- The Black Hole Understands
Daniel Avery- Love + Light
Duke Dumont- Therapy
Umbra Vitae- Shadow of Life
RJD2- The Fun Ones
Gulch- Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
Misery Signals- Ultraviolet
Boris- NO
Narrow Head- 12th House Rock
Drain- California Cursed
Hum- Inlet
RTJ4

[Max]

The ones that came out in 2020 that I really recommend-

Thao and The Get Down Stay Down - Temple
The Flaming Lips - American Head
Daniel Avery / Alessandro Cortini - The Illusion of Time
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V & VI
Run The Jewels - RTJ4
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
Nazar - Guerilla

[GulDukat]

My favorite song of 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss6mIGfyvXM

[GulDukat]

I haven't followed Body Count/Ice T since their self-titled album in 1992, but I did get their latest album, Carnivore, and it's very good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vutQj7grdUA

[slave2thewage]

I’ll need to make a proper list at some point (2020 seems like a decade) but my fav album was Monument by Molchat Doma.

[ryanmcfly]

I don't really have a top ten but off the top of my head I'd say my favorites were:
Greg Puciato - Child Soldier Creator of God (easily my album of the year)
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together
Childish Gambino -3.15-20

[henryeatscereal]

NIN - Ghosts V: Together / Ghosts VI: Locusts
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
The Strokes - The New Abnormal
Gorillaz- Strange Times
Deftones - Ohms
Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos
Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
Mr Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
AC/DC - Power Up

Honorable Mentions:
Stone Temple Pilots - Perdida
Mastodon – Medium Rarities
Forgot the new Einsturzende Neubauten album "Alles in Allem", shame

[Jon]

Some releases I thoroughly enjoyed not already mentioned:

Dinner Party // Dinner Party EP (& the remix EP)
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist // Alfredo
Halsey // (Manic)
Thundercat // It Is What It Is
Nate Wooley // Seven Storey Mountain VI

[Failure]

1. Deftones- Ohms
2. Green Day- Father Of All...
3. Local H- Lifers
4. Stone Temple Pilots- Perdida
5. Fiona Apple- Fetch The Bolt Cutters
6. Noel Gallagher- Blue Moon Rising EP
7. Ken Andrews- What’s Coming EP
8. Smashing Pumpkins- Cyr
9. Nine Inch Nails- Ghosts V/VI
10. The Warlocks- The Chain

I was going to try and pretend to be hip/cultured by putting the new Haim/Grimes records in there. But fuck that, I like what I like. You want to get really depressed about “popular” music...go look at the 1993 Grammy nominations compared to this year’s. Embarrassing...basically across every genre.

[rampface]

Okay weirdo. You can like those records if you want. No one cares. Music is music. Welcome to 2020 boomer.

[Failure]

Your post irritated me for a moment. But then I looked at your Top 50 (50!!!) list from 2020 and I am cool now. My 12 year old niece used to call me boomer in like 2015, so it’s sadly ironic you used that term in a “welcome to 2020” diss. Then again, my niece does love her some Grimes. Avery...dat you??

[GulDukat]

1. Deftones- Ohms
2. Green Day- Father Of All...
3. Local H- Lifers
4. Stone Temple Pilots- Perdida
5. Fiona Apple- Fetch The Bolt Cutters
6. Noel Gallagher- Blue Moon Rising EP
7. Ken Andrews- What’s Coming EP
8. Smashing Pumpkins- Cyr
9. Nine Inch Nails- Ghosts V/VI
10. The Warlocks- The Chain

I was going to try and pretend to be hip/cultured by putting the new Haim/Grimes records in there. But fuck that, I like what I like. You want to get really depressed about “popular” music...go look at the 1993 Grammy nominations compared to this year’s. Embarrassing...basically across every genre.
Nothing wrong with this list at all. Nice to see STP's Perdida make a few of these lists on here. It was a really good album that sort of came and went.

[otnavuskire]

Big Black Delta - 4
End - Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face
King Buzzo (with Trevor Dunn) - Gift of Sacrifice
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demos
NIN - Ghosts V / VI
Old Man Gloom - Light of Meaning / Darkness of Being
Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator of God
Two Minutes to Late Night - all of their Covers EPs
War On Women - Wonderful Hell


Highlights are End, Bungle (seeing them perform in February was my last concert and so much fun), OMG, Greg, and 2MTLN. The 2MTLN covers have seriously been one of the things that have gotten me through this year. They're always fun and something to look forward to each week.


Still waiting to receive Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero, so I haven't listened to it yet. The few songs I've heard were really good though.

[allegate]

Everson Poe, Hildur Guðnadóttir, @Leviathant (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=1) , Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow, Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky, Up Your Cherry, KMRU, Telefon Tel Aviv, NATURE, ESSEX, Joel St. Julien, Husbandry, War on Women, Marissa Nadler, John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, DVYDRNS, IDLES, @Soma (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=1132) For Savages, Danny Elfman...

Can I just say "bandcamp"? lol

On the major label side of things, the new Pearl Jam album came out right at the beginning of the lockdown and the lyrics seemed pretty prescient for what we were experiencing. Granted if you weren't steeped in ~30 years of the band you probably don't care and I get that. People like different things, it's what makes the world go 'round.

"Momentary Bliss" from Gorillaz was one of the best songs I heard this year. Brilliant stuff and I could listen to it almost any time.

If I could write a love letter to Enter Shikari I seriously would. I saw the video to the first single from their 2020 album Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible and it entranced me. Something about the production of the song, the production of the video, the singing, the dancing, the lyrics...I don't know what it was, but I watched it probably ten times. Then instead of just listening to the album Mothership from a live show came up. This is...this is not my usual genre of music at all, but that Motherstep intro (as I eventually learned the name of) was enough of a hook to keep me there and the energy of that song and the band live was a lot. Like a lot a lot. I fell down a rabbit hole watching their videos and live shows and quarantine bits and I can't tell you the last time I felt this excited about a band. About anything, really. Like I'm a teenager again finding that band. I tried listening to their albums in order like I usually do when I find a new band and I couldn't do it, it didn't sound right to me, and I found that it's because I wasn't a hardcore kid. I was too old for it, but I'm not too old for their current sound. I can work backwards though, so I'm currently on Mindsweep and it's growing on me. Flash Flood and Common Dreads are both good but I'm sticking to Mindsweep for the moment, going slow.

I mean, to find a band that is talking a talk that is exactly what I'm feeling in a year like? I'm not putting it into words well but as the kids say it's hitting me in the feels.

It's weird, yeah? 2020 is weird.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzJXWNJeUUI

How about Two Minutes to Late Night, does that count as a best of 2020?

Finally, @eversonpoe (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=588) . I know I mentioned them earlier but seriously. They introduced me to Two Minutes to Late Night which put me onto the covers. Then I found out about the show even if it wasn't 2020. Then I hipped some coworkers onto the show and we can talk about music now instead of just work. I found out about the podcast and I listened to it - still not 2020, because they ended the show right when it would have been the easiest thing to continue doing a podcast - and because of that I found out about the people behind the show and followed them and because of that found out about The Pit and because of that found out about Enter Shikari's single The Dreamer's Hotel, which you read about that already.

Finally the music itself. I started buying a ton of the different releases on bandcamp and the range and breadth and depth of that would astound you if you saw it all. Which some of you probably have, but still it's a lot - especially this year. All this and with a baby on the way? I suppose to make up for lost time in the coming months. There is a lot here to unpack and my winter of 2020 is dedicated to doing that. I've got playlists upon playlists of music to listen to and I'm going to be doing that over Winter. I'm excited.

[rampface]

Your post irritated me for a moment. But then I looked at your Top 50 (50!!!) list from 2020 and I am cool now. My 12 year old niece used to call me boomer in like 2015, so it’s sadly ironic you used that term in a “welcome to 2020” diss. Then again, my niece does love her some Grimes. Avery...dat you??

According to my last.fm, I've listened to 1,101 albums in 2020 and I would guess about 70% of that is new music. I could easily make a top 100.

And yes this is Avery. What's up Dad?

[Failure]

That's exactly what I was getting at (and I definitely envy the amount of time you dedicate to music). But just by simple math, 70% of 1,101 means you spun 770 new records in 2020. Assuming the average album nowadays is 30 minutes and you listened to each one 5 times through (conservatively), then you spent 115,500 total minutes of the year consuming new material (1,925 hours, 80 days). That's half of your waking life basically! Unless you are a writer for Pitchfork, I find that nearly impossible. And how can you honestly "rank" something that you've only listened to 5 times max? It's like Jay-Z said on Blueprint 2; do you listen to music or just skim through it? Plus, what about the past 50 years of great content? That only took up 30% of your listening. How do you find time to keep The Fragile or Abbey Road or Dark Side or Lateralus or Hail To The Thief in rotation? By the logic of your consumption, you will literally never have time to listen to your 23rd favorite album of 2019 or your 9th favorite album of 2016 (and I guess you don't watch shows or films). Don't get me wrong...there are benefits to your way of doing it. But I think it lessens the overall experience, it cheapens the "album" format, and it makes everything instantly disposable/forgettable. Hell, I've never really liked Machina....but I've probably listened to it 200 times through. So even though it never "took" for me, it ultimately deepened my connection to the artist.

The way I do it is as old-school as it gets (and to an extent, it probably limits the amount of exposure I get to new acts). But I like to give the bands that I support a dollar vote and I always "buy" the record. Then I spend a couple of days immersing myself in it.

[allegate]

And since I had to go to bed I was rushed and forgot to call out two things: "Get It" from Leviathant was another song that was on repeat in my head for weeks and still every time I play it it's right back on the internal playlist for a couple days. Right up there with "Momentary Bliss" for me this year.

The other thing is that there might be another ETS member in my bandcamp thanks but due to differences in names from there to here and my goldfish memory I may have missed calling them out. So if anyone had a purchase this year from me - the name's the same there as it is here - let me know.

Oh and the Enter Shikari drummer is one of the most metronomic/robotic drummers I've seen play, almost no slop to his movements, and it's somehow mesmerizing to watch.

[SchwarzerAbt]

I tried listening to their albums in order like I usually do when I find a new band and I couldn't do it, it didn't sound right to me, and I found that it's because I wasn't a hardcore kid. I was too old for it, but I'm not too old for their current sound. I can work backwards though, so I'm currently on Mindsweep and it's growing on me. Flash Flood and Common Dreads are both good but I'm sticking to Mindsweep for the moment, going slow.

That's funny. I got into Enter Shikari when Take to the Sky was their only album. Been following along, though when The Mindsweep came out I thought I wasn't into the Hardcore sound anymore at first. Then it quickly grew on me. The Spark was another big change and I wasn't interested at first. But I spun it a year later and it's awesome! With Nothing Is True... I'm still on the fence. But I guess I will come around to it soon enogh.

I bought The Last Spark some weeks ago from their web store. Highly recommended, it's a live album from their 'bootleg series' that they released digitally to raise some money for their road crew. And it's a good mixture of songs from their discography, up until The Spark - often fused together neatly despite their different origin.

As Rou puts it, they're not the easiest band to get into and they're not the easiest band to stay into. But I'm glad I stayed on board until now.

[rampface]

That's exactly what I was getting at (and I definitely envy the amount of time you dedicate to music). But just by simple math, 70% of 1,101 means you spun 770 new records in 2020. Assuming the average album nowadays is 30 minutes and you listened to each one 5 times through (conservatively), then you spent 115,500 total minutes of the year consuming new material (1,925 hours, 80 days). That's half of your waking life basically! Unless you are a writer for Pitchfork, I find that nearly impossible. And how can you honestly "rank" something that you've only listened to 5 times max? It's like Jay-Z said on Blueprint 2; do you listen to music or just skim through it? Plus, what about the past 50 years of great content? That only took up 30% of your listening. How do you find time to keep The Fragile or Abbey Road or Dark Side or Lateralus or Hail To The Thief in rotation? By the logic of your consumption, you will literally never have time to listen to your 23rd favorite album of 2019 or your 9th favorite album of 2016 (and I guess you don't watch shows or films). Don't get me wrong...there are benefits to your way of doing it. But I think it lessens the overall experience, it cheapens the "album" format, and it makes everything instantly disposable/forgettable. Hell, I've never really liked Machina....but I've probably listened to it 200 times through. So even though it never "took" for me, it ultimately deepened my connection to the artist.

The way I do it is as old-school as it gets (and to an extent, it probably limits the amount of exposure I get to new acts). But I like to give the bands that I support a dollar vote and I always "buy" the record. Then I spend a couple of days immersing myself in it.

I'm not a writer but I should be. My stats are legit. I have a last.fm and you can see the music I'm listening to daily. The jobs I've had for the past 20 years were all cool with wearing headphones so I listened to music from morning until night. Got laid off when quarantine started so now I'm stuck listening at home. I rarely watch movies or shows, however, I do watch a couple of podcasts through the week. Looking at the average total for the top albums I've listened to in 2020 and I would say my top 10 favorites each have about 50+ full album listens. Singles are not my thing but occasionally I'll check them out. I prefer to listen to records from start to finish and really immerse myself. As for the classics and oldies making up the additional percentage... Most of the time I will listen to albums from previous years if there's nothing new that I enjoy or if the 2020 releases are not connecting. Also, I will get into kicks and "study" specific genres or artists and download full discographies to spend a week or two with and obsess over (reading bios, lyrics, recording stories, etc.). I like music lol

To your point about supporting artists... I support bands and artists by going to shows (at least I did :( ) and buying merch to be a walking advertisement for their brand. Check out my last.fm and add up the minutes because I'm too lazy...

http://www.last.fm/user/rampface

[rampface]

Just finished listening to Boris with Merzbow and The Avalanches new album and they would totally be on my 2020 aoty list if they were released earlier in the year.

[elevenism]

8. NIN: Ghosts
7. Royce 5'9 : The Allegory
6. 100 gecs: 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues
5.Eminem: Music to be Murdered by
4. Ozzy: Ordinary Man
3. Old 97's: twelfth
2. Busta Rhymes: ELE2
1. Ghostemane: Anti-Icon


Also, I'm REALLY excited about the (apparently) upcoming Billie Eilish- the pair of singles she released were fucking great.

I'm also still stuck on last year's Igor by Tyler, the Creator, and Feet of Clay by Earl Sweatshirt

[r_z]

1. Hey Colossus - Dances / Curses
2. Puscifer - Existential Reckoning
3. Tobacco - Hot Wet & Sassy
4. Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide
5. Hum - Inlet

[PhoenixML]

God I suck at those things. I didn't enjoy Ohms (it's personnal, but I don't believe the album is bad, ... maybe Chino a little). I can't care about either of Ghosts albums (I am never in the mood for these things, I have yet to listen to #6 all the way through... or a couple of TR&AR soundtracks for that matter).

Here I go:
1. Puscifer - Existential Reckoning

and.... that's it. See you next year.

[elevenism]

God I suck at those things. I didn't enjoy Ohms (it's personnal, but I don't believe the album is bad, ... maybe Chino a little). I can't care about either of Ghosts albums (I am never in the mood for these things, I have yet to listen to #6 all the way through... or a couple of TR&AR soundtracks for that matter).

Here I go:
1. Puscifer - Existential Reckoning

and.... that's it. See you next year.

Lol.

I had to work really hard on mine, and the NIN inclusion is largely symbolic.

My list COULD be

2. Busta Rhymes
1. Ghostemane

I LIKED the rest of the records in my list, but, I didn't listen to them a whole hell of a lot of times.

[sonic_discord]

If I were to go strictly by the albums I've listened to the most, my list would be:

Eminem – Music to be Murdered By
Puscifer – Existential Reckoning
Prof – Powderhorn Suites
Marilyn Manson – We Are Chaos
Run the Jewels – RTJ4
Felt – Felt 4 U
Atmosphere – The Day Before Halloween

[GulDukat]

All Music Guide, best metal albums of 2020. (https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2020/favorite-metal)

[Archive_Reports]

All Music Guide, best metal albums of 2020. (https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2020/favorite-metal)

Not sure why I always wind up getting bummed out when I read these types of lists, yet here I am. Most of this stuff is "hey, this band you've probably heard of released an album this year!"

[dlb]

Jup, ready like a very enjoyable list of mediocre to good to great records, but none of them are surprising. Most of it I pretty much listened to on the go. Guess the only ones that I really enjoyed on that list are Deftones, ERR/Thou and Nothing.

[GulDukat]

Paul McCartney's new album McCartney III is good--more of a sequel to his self-titled album than McCartney II--it's really stripped down, lowkey. It's the kind of album to listen to on a quiet Sunday morning.

[paul_guyet]

I made a Spotify playlist of favorite tracks from the year. Stuff I could NOT stop listening to.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2CJvLnds0UaCRVbLtDdZrb

[GulDukat]

Rolling Stone's top 50 albums of 2020. (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-2020-1096814/taylor-swift-folklore-1096815/)

[Zimbo]

1) "Locusts" - Nine Inch Nails
2) "Existential Reckoning" - Puscifer
3) "Fetch the Bolt Cuttters" - Fiona Apple
4) "Plum" - Widowspeak
5) "Cyr" - The Smashing Pumpkins
6) "RTJ4" - Run The Jewels
7) "Little Bastards" - The Kills
8) "Together" - Nine Inch Nails
9) "Heavy Light" - U.S. Girls
10) "Inner Song" - Kelly Lee Owens




Favorite Album not from 2020


"Post Pop Depression" - Iggy Pop

[richardp]

1. Greg Puciato - Child Solder: Creator of God / FUCK CONTENT
2. Code Orange - Underneath
3. Marilyn Manson - We Are Chaos
4. HUM - Inlet
5. Deftones - Ohms
6. The Weeknd - After Hours
7. The 1975 - Notes on a Conditional Form
8. Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything
9. Poppy - I Disagree
10. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
------
11. Killer Be Killed - Deconstructing Self Destruction
12. Higher Power - 27 Miles Underwater
13. Run The Jewels - RTJ4
14. S H A D E - The Quarantine Tapes, Vol. 1-3
15. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together
16. Nothing - The Great Dismal
17. Soccer Mommy - Color Theory
18. Deftones - Black Stallion
19. Static-X - Project: Regeneration, Vol. 1
20. Kingdom of Giants - Passenger

[Alpha 60]

1. Autecher - Sign
2. William Basinski - Lamentations
3. Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic
4. Squarepusher - Be Up A Hello
5. Greg Puciato Child Soldier...
6. Ben Salisbury/Geoff Barrow/The Insects - Devs score
7. Planet Battagon - Trans-Neptunia
8. Fra Det Onde - Fra Det Onde
9. Oliver Coates - Skins N Slime
10. Cabaret Voltaire - Shadow Of Fear
11. Johann Johannsson/Yair Elazar Glotman - Last and First Men
12. Cold Beat - Mother
13. Mrs Piss - Self Surgery
14. Karkhana - Bitter Balls
15. Bonjintan - Dental Kafka live


Rafael Anton Irisarri -Peripeteia
Alessandro Cortini/Daniel Avery - Illusion Of Time
Steven Alexander Ryan/Justin McGrath - High Level soundtrack
Jarv Is... - Beyond The Pale
Actress - Karma & Desire
Dwarfs of East Agouza -The Green Dogs Of Dahshur
Jeff Parker-Suite For Max Brown
Okuden Quartet - Every Dog Has His Day...
Sunn Trio - Electric Esoterica
Boris - No
White Mana - ARC
Matmos – The Consuming Flame…

[Jinsai]

put the Emma Ruth Rundle / Thou album May Our Chambers Be Full at the top of my list

[GulDukat]

Testament--Titans of Creation is damn good. Just listening to it for the first time now.

[otnavuskire]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQP7f0XIxE

I forgot about this song. I declared it song of the year when it came out. I think that declaration stands up.