Favorite albums of 2020

[IronWing]

Some very good music came out this year. What are your favorites for this year?

My very favorite of the year is Myrkur - Folkesange, an acoustic album from a dark metal artist.

Folkesange, by Myrkur

12 track album

myrkur.bandcamp.com

Kory Reeder's Codex Praxis is the best thing I've heard from a young American composer, maybe ever.

Codex Praxis, by Kory Reeder

14 track album

koryreeder.bandcamp.com

The Sumak Trio - Ein Sof is very good.

Ein - Sof, by Sumak Trio

10 track album

sumaktrio.bandcamp.com

Kjell Braaaten released a series of singles over the course of the lockdown which were good, promising and delivering a song a week as long as his part of the world was shutdown.

The quarantine rituals (Live), by Kjell Braaten

7 track album

kjellbraaten.bandcamp.com

Anne Norman also released an excellent set of singles during the lockdown.

self-isolation, by Anne M Norman

3 track album

annemnorman.bandcamp.com

Simin Tander's Unfading album is good, her first album where she dumps the piano, a very good thing.

Unfading by Simin Tander on Apple Music

Album · 2020 · 15 Songs

music.apple.com

Munknorr's Vinland album is definitely worth a listen.

Vinland, by Munknörr

4 track album

munknorr.bandcamp.com

 

[lxskllr]

I was looking at my receipts, and it doesn't look like I bought anything that was released this year. Listening to Munknörr now. Not bad...

 

[UsandThem]

Puscifer - Existential Reckoning

Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets - Live At The Roundhouse

Outside of those two, I wasn't too impressed with what came out in 2020. It's not that they were bad, but the two albums above really stood out when I bought them.

 

[LikeLinus]

Deftones Ohms
HUM - Inlet (everyone should listen to this)
Run The Jules 4 (Yeah, great album. I really want to see them and RATM together)
Greg Puciato - Solo Album (Surprisingly great)
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
Higher Power - 27 Miles Underwater (probably the surprise of the year)
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny (re-recording - awesome)
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
Nothing - The Great Dismal

Not in any particular order other than 1 and 2. Higher Power was a big surprise. Probably more, but I'm lazy and don't want to go searching through my collection, lol.

EDIT: While I've only heard a few songs, add Agent Envy. Her cover of "My Own Summer" is pretty awesome.

 

[lxskllr]

I like that Myrkur album a lot. I'll buy it tomorrow at work. Thanks for the tip IW.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Few favorites of mine ...

igorrr - Spirituality and destruction
Ulver - Flowers of Evil
Ihsahn Telemark & Pharos
Ayreon - Transitus
Oceans of Slumber - Oceans of Slumber
Katatonia - City Burials

OOPS: Paradise Lost - Obsidian was good too.
At times reminded me like a doomy version of Carcass in the track Defiler

I havent heard most of the stuff yall mentioned, Have heard Myrkur's older stuff, have lots of catching up and stuff to check out it seems 🙂

 

[UsandThem]

Katatonia - City Burials

I forgot about that one since it came out early in 2020. It was a solid album, but I liked 'The Fall Of Hearts' better.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I forgot about that one since it came out early in 2020. It was a solid album, but I liked 'The Fall Of Hearts' better.

Honestly, it was not even in my top 3 Katatonia albums. But, still, compared to other 2020 releases, it was still great overall.

The Great Cold Distance , Brave Murder Day, and Last Fair Deal Gone Down for me are their best.

 

[olds]

Jeez, I recognize 3 of the names above.

 

[nakedfrog]

Jeez, I recognize 3 of the names above.

Most of them are pretty far from being household names, so it's not surprising at all.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Jeez, I recognize 3 of the names above.

which 3?

 

[olds]

which 3?

Nick Mason
Deftones
Fiona Apple.

 

[Commodus]

My tastes definitely skew differently in some ways, but that might be part of the fun!

Cubicolor - Hardly A Day, Hardly A Night
That precious breed of dance music that encourages introspection.

CRi - Juvenile
A very keen ear for what makes a good dance hook. CRi's Canadian roots also give it a nice twist!

Keeno - I Live, I Learn
Some much-needed warmth from a talented drum-and-bass artist.

Run the Jewels - RTJ4
They've always had slick rhymes, and their political message is needed at a time like this.

Robert Rich - Ode to the Morning Fog
Ambient music is key to relaxing in a year when we really need it, and Rich is an expert at it.

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - Another Flower
Harold Budd sadly died this month, and he was an absolute legend in the ambient and electronic spaces. He managed to release one last album with Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins) and it's a treat.

There are other albums I'd share, but I don't want to monopolize the thread!

 

[Starbuck1975]

Sevendust
Ayreon
Steel Panther
Lickerish Quartet
AC/DC

 

[lxskllr]

Ok, I just bought something that was released in 2020. It's a single...

Šturm zamka Pulien. Single 2020, by Stary Olsa

1 track album

staryolsa.bandcamp.com

I also bought the rest of their discography.