Your Favorite Albums of 2020

[Evermind]

I'll have to start giving this some thought.  Not a lot blew me away truthfully.

Agreed.  A lot of really 'solid' stuff, but not much really captivated me.  I think my tastes are just getting a little more critical.  15+ years of musical accumulation (it was about 2005 that I really started my adulthood journey of exploring and consuming new music/bands) seems to have mostly filled my needs.

Pretty much.  Don't have the time or patience if something doesn't grab me.

Still have quite a few to check out also;  Pyramaze, Vanishing Point, Stryper, Pain of Salvation, Vanden Plas, Fates Warning, UDO, John Petrucci.  As usual, I'm very behind.

Pyramaze and Vanden Plas are exactly what you'd expect - you won't be shocked or suprised (in either a good or bad way).  On the other hand, Vanishing Point is fantastic - my fave of theirs now ... easily.  Start there.

As I said in Vanden Plas thread, I really enjoyed the new one, much better than the first Ghost Experiment. Pyramaze didn't impress me at all. I missed Vanishing Point though, need to check it out.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I really need to get my 2020 album rankings list in order. I've been slacking this year.

[HOF]

Well, I’ve got to add Jakko Jakszyk’s Secrets and Lies and Big Big Train’s Empire to my list. Just finished watching the Empire Blu-Ray for the first time, and wow.

[TAC]

I really need to get my 2020 album rankings list in order. I've been slacking this year.

Because of the UFO thread, I have basically taken the 2nd half of the year off from new releases.

[ProfessorPeart]

My lists used to be so diverse, but as I get older they seem to be staying mostly heavy. Not sure why, just seems mostly metal, metal and more metal. I did buy some pop records, rock records and other non-metal records this year, but nothing grabbed me. Of my 43 releases dated 2020, 28 are new studio albums. The rest are live albums, EP's and 1 or 2 singles.

1. Deathwhite - Grave Image
       This album just kicked my butt from start to finish. As a huge Katatonia fan, these guys actually beat Katatonia on my list.

2. Testament - Titans Of Creation
        I have always liked Testament but never saw them as an album of the year contender type band. For me, Steve and Gene are the stars of this record. One of the best mixed pure thrash records I have heard.

3. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
        One of my most anticipated albums for the last few years and it did not disappoint. The 3 lead vocalists thing they do on every track is just so good to me.

4. Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo
         I still haven't stopped listening to this. The music is just so brutal and as a huge Dave Lombardo fan, he is just ridiculous on this.

5. Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Alone Together
         The only non-metal thing on the list. His last album was my album of the year. This is not as good, but still stellar.

EP's

Soilwork - A Whisp Of The Atlantic
Ihsahn - Telemark and Pharos

Honorable Mention

Sons Of Apollo - MMXX
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
Katatonia - City Burials

[TheCountOfNYC]

1: Haken-Virus (It’s not even a question that this is my number one. This album helped me get through this crazy year.)
2: John Petrucci-Terminal Velocity
3: Blue Öyster Cult-The Symbol Remains
4: Sons of Apollo-MMXX
5: Billie Eilish-Various Singles (Okay this is kind of cheating but No Time to Die, Therefore I Am, and My Future especially have been a big part of my year. There’s no way I couldn’t mention them here.)

[wolfking]

I'll have to start giving this some thought.  Not a lot blew me away truthfully.

Agreed.  A lot of really 'solid' stuff, but not much really captivated me.  I think my tastes are just getting a little more critical.  15+ years of musical accumulation (it was about 2005 that I really started my adulthood journey of exploring and consuming new music/bands) seems to have mostly filled my needs.

Pretty much.  Don't have the time or patience if something doesn't grab me.

Still have quite a few to check out also;  Pyramaze, Vanishing Point, Stryper, Pain of Salvation, Vanden Plas, Fates Warning, UDO, John Petrucci.  As usual, I'm very behind.

Pyramaze and Vanden Plas are exactly what you'd expect - you won't be shocked or suprised (in either a good or bad way).  On the other hand, Vanishing Point is fantastic - my fave of theirs now ... easily.  Start there.

I've finally received copies of both, so should get around to checking them both out.  That's good signs for the VP.

[wolfking]

I really need to get my 2020 album rankings list in order. I've been slacking this year.

Because of the UFO thread, I have basically taken the 2nd half of the year off from new releases.

This is why I've missed so much, but it was worth it.

[wolfking]

3. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
        One of my most anticipated albums for the last few years and it did not disappoint. The 3 lead vocalists thing they do on every track is just so good to me.

I grabbed a copy of this, but again, haven't listened to it yet.  I really liked the first album.

[SwedishGoose]

Last one to come in and take a spot is Rain - Singularity.
It floored me when I got it last week.
It's John Jowitt and Andy Edwards (previously IQ and Frost) together with two others that I had no previous relation to.
Fantastic music, kind of neoprog, with amazing vocal harmonies....

So this is the order I have today..... might change but probably not by much

Fish - Weltschmertz
Mrs Amy Birks  - All That I Am & All That I Was
Rain - Singularity
Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham - Mass Hysteria
Marjana Semkina  - Sleepwalking

Vulkan - Technatura
Scardust - Strangers
Myrkur - Falkesanger
Green Carnation  - Leaves Of Yesteryear
Pain of Salvation  - Panther

The Flower Kings  - Islands
Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant
Ayreon - Transitus
The Pineapple Thief  - Versions of the Truth
Neal Morse  - Sola Gratia

[jingle.boy]

I'll have to start giving this some thought.  Not a lot blew me away truthfully.

Agreed.  A lot of really 'solid' stuff, but not much really captivated me.  I think my tastes are just getting a little more critical.  15+ years of musical accumulation (it was about 2005 that I really started my adulthood journey of exploring and consuming new music/bands) seems to have mostly filled my needs.

Pretty much.  Don't have the time or patience if something doesn't grab me.

Still have quite a few to check out also;  Pyramaze, Vanishing Point, Stryper, Pain of Salvation, Vanden Plas, Fates Warning, UDO, John Petrucci.  As usual, I'm very behind.

Pyramaze and Vanden Plas are exactly what you'd expect - you won't be shocked or suprised (in either a good or bad way).  On the other hand, Vanishing Point is fantastic - my fave of theirs now ... easily.  Start there.

As I said in Vanden Plas thread, I really enjoyed the new one, much better than the first Ghost Experiment. Pyramaze didn't impress me at all. I missed Vanishing Point though, need to check it out.

Having spun Illumination yesterday, I will wholeheartedly agree with this.  It is definitely better than Awakenings.

As for my top albums, I think I'm finished with my purchases for 2020 (Royal Hunt is the only pending release I have my eye one, and I'm skeptical it will fall into my 'purchase-worthy' category).  So, here are the albums that have separated money from my wallet (in no particular order - I'm in the process of ranking them this month)

Thoughts Factory - Elements
The Night Flight Orchestra - Aeromatic
Harem Scarem - Change the World
The Unity - Pride
Agonizer - Halo II (EP)
Ad Infinitum - Chapter 1:Monarchy
Nightwish - Human||Nature
Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall - We Are The Night
Exlibris - Shadowrise
Gathering of Kings - Discovery
Primal Fear - Metal Commando
Pyramid Theorem - Beyond the Exosphere
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
Vanishing Point - Dead Elysium
Lonely Robot - Feelings are Good
Neal Morse - Sola Gratia
Ayreon - Transitus
DGM - Tragic Separation
Teramaze - I Wonder
Black Fate - Ithaca
Pyramaze - Epitaph
Lords of Black - Alchemy of Souls, Pt1
Intervals - Circadian
Kim Mitchell - The Big Fantasize
Girish and the Chronicles - Rock the Highway
Vanden Plas - The Ghost Xperiment - Illumination
Silent Skies - Satellites

[lonestar]

Good lord when I think of it, my year has been grossly annorexic in new music.

The ones that stand out for me are...

Thoughts Factory
Aeternam
Caligula's Horse
Haken

and two outstanding new discoveries...

Nuclear Power Trio- A Clear and Present Rager
Nemphila- Oiran

Anything else new that I spun didn't take hold at all.

[romdrums]

I purchased a lot of music this year, but I don't know that I can rank anything.  I liked a lot of the new releases, but I don't know that I have any clear favorites.

[Phoenix87x]

Trevor Something - Deep wave data dark web demons



Deep, sad yet beautiful industrial synthwave

[TAC]

I really need to get my 2020 album rankings list in order. I've been slacking this year.

Because of the UFO thread, I have basically taken the 2nd half of the year off from new releases.

This is why I've missed so much, but it was worth it.

 

[EPICVIEW]

POWER UP   ACDC

Me: 2020 kinda is starting to suck ,,,

ACDC: Hold our beers,,,,,,


and I got a great copy of Thin Lizzy  Transmission Impossible  Bootleg...

[TAC]

and I got a great copy of Thin Lizzy  Transmission Impossible  Bootleg...

Huh, never heard of this..

Looked it up..WOW. I have the Boston show already but I'm sure this is an upgrade.



Who's the guitarist on the '74 show? Eric Bell or Gary Moore?

[EPICVIEW]

and I got a great copy of Thin Lizzy  Transmission Impossible  Bootleg...

Huh, never heard of this..

Looked it up..WOW. I have the Boston show already but I'm sure this is an upgrade.



Who's the guitarist on the '74 show? Eric Bell or Gary Moore?

hey bro   its Eric Bell     wild ass show  Phils voice so strong  its a very nice package  each disc is well done  Eric has a Keith Richards feel at times on it  wild 

[TAC]

If Santa drops me some Amazon $$, I'm on it!

[EPICVIEW]

If Santa drops me some Amazon $$, I'm on it!

Santa came early for me  LOL  ,,,, I just got it ,,,, just took wrapper off the other day   it even looks bad ass

[TAC]

If Santa drops me some Amazon $$, I'm on it!

Santa came early for me  LOL  ,,,, I just got it ,,,, just took wrapper off the other day   it even looks bad ass

It's Thin Lizzy! Of course it looks badass!

[ProfessorPeart]

My lists used to be so diverse, but as I get older they seem to be staying mostly heavy. Not sure why, just seems mostly metal, metal and more metal. I did buy some pop records, rock records and other non-metal records this year, but nothing grabbed me. Of my 43 releases dated 2020, 28 are new studio albums. The rest are live albums, EP's and 1 or 2 singles.

1. Deathwhite - Grave Image
       This album just kicked my butt from start to finish. As a huge Katatonia fan, these guys actually beat Katatonia on my list.

2. Testament - Titans Of Creation
        I have always liked Testament but never saw them as an album of the year contender type band. For me, Steve and Gene are the stars of this record. One of the best mixed pure thrash records I have heard.

3. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
        One of my most anticipated albums for the last few years and it did not disappoint. The 3 lead vocalists thing they do on every track is just so good to me.

4. Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo
         I still haven't stopped listening to this. The music is just so brutal and as a huge Dave Lombardo fan, he is just ridiculous on this.

5. Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Alone Together
         The only non-metal thing on the list. His last album was my album of the year. This is not as good, but still stellar.

EP's

Soilwork - A Whisp Of The Atlantic
Ihsahn - Telemark and Pharos

Honorable Mention

Sons Of Apollo - MMXX
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
Katatonia - City Burials

I forgot that I wanted to make mention of all of the music I discovered this year from established bands that were 'new' to me. This is more for me than anything else as it helps me take stock of what I found. On top of these 'new' bands, I filled out a ton of discographies of artists I have had for years but was lax on finishing up, Genesis and Devin Townsend being the biggest. I spent a buttload of money on music this year. More than I have in a long time.

So, just for my sake, here are the artists I discovered this year. TAC has a huge hand in a good portion of the list.

UFO
Waysted
Mogg/Way
Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock
Michael Schenker Fest
Schenker Barden Acoustic Project
Michael Schenker Group
Phantom Elite
The Murder Of My Sweet
Motion Device
Biffy Clyro
Moriah Formica
Eternal Frequency
Coroner
Ex Libris
Lindsay Schoolcraft

I would say the big 3 from the list would be the whole UFO family, Biffy Clyro and Coroner. TAC really drained my bank account with the UFO and Family stuff. I also went huge into Biffy. I constantly dive into their music because it is so diverse and so good. The early stuff is so schizophrenic. Infinity Land is a masterpiece of an album. For Coroner, what grabbed me was a comment calling them the Rush of Thrash. Only 5 albums from them, but they are so good and also diverse from album to album. Never quite the same, much like Rush.

Anyway, just wanted to tack that onto my post. This year has been a blur and I wanted to take stock of the awesomeness of music. I added 2351 songs to my library just this year. Might be a few more before the year is up. Don't tell my wife.

[Elite]

I don't think there has really been any album that blew me away one way or another in the sesne that I'm still listening to it months after the initial release. This seems to happen more and more every year, I don't know what's up. Perhaps my tastes have changed in a way that I can't enjoy the same music repeatedly anymore? I also tend don't listen to a lot of music anyways nowadays, which is also weird, because that used to be different.

Anyway, the 'best' stuff I have heard this year was stuff that was released in previous years, here's five albums I enjoyed that were released in 2020:

1. Pain of Salvation - Panther
2. The Ocean - Phanerozoic II
3. Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
4. Haken - Virus
5. Obsidian Kingdom - Meat Machine

[Crow]

here's my current (definitely not final) top 10 in no order other than alphabetical:

Bagdadski Vor - Колхида
Golden Ashes - In the Lugubrious Silence of Eternal Night
Kall - Brand
Novena - Eleventh Hour
Olhava - Ladoga
Pain of Salvation - Panther
Rannoch - Reflections Upon Darkness
Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone
Spectral Lore & Mare Cognitum - Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine
Svalbard - When I Die, Will I Get Better?
Taylor Swift - Folklore

albums i have that i haven't rated yet that will definitely be here:

The Reticent - The Oubliette
Paysage d'Hiver - Im Wald

albums i am ordering soon that are probably going to kick off a few of these:

Ànteros - ... y en paz la oscuridad
Bron - Pred Dverima Noći
Deluge - Ægo Templo
Obsidian Kingdom - Meat Machine
Seahaven - Halo of Hurt
Ward Davis - Black Cats and Crows
Zeit - Zeit

these are not -all- the albums i am ordering but they are the ones i'm most excited about, so

[HOF]

My lists used to be so diverse, but as I get older they seem to be staying mostly heavy. Not sure why, just seems mostly metal, metal and more metal. I did buy some pop records, rock records and other non-metal records this year, but nothing grabbed me. Of my 43 releases dated 2020, 28 are new studio albums. The rest are live albums, EP's and 1 or 2 singles.

1. Deathwhite - Grave Image
       This album just kicked my butt from start to finish. As a huge Katatonia fan, these guys actually beat Katatonia on my list.

2. Testament - Titans Of Creation
        I have always liked Testament but never saw them as an album of the year contender type band. For me, Steve and Gene are the stars of this record. One of the best mixed pure thrash records I have heard.

3. Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero
        One of my most anticipated albums for the last few years and it did not disappoint. The 3 lead vocalists thing they do on every track is just so good to me.

4. Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo
         I still haven't stopped listening to this. The music is just so brutal and as a huge Dave Lombardo fan, he is just ridiculous on this.

5. Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Alone Together
         The only non-metal thing on the list. His last album was my album of the year. This is not as good, but still stellar.

EP's

Soilwork - A Whisp Of The Atlantic
Ihsahn - Telemark and Pharos

Honorable Mention

Sons Of Apollo - MMXX
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
Katatonia - City Burials

I forgot that I wanted to make mention of all of the music I discovered this year from established bands that were 'new' to me. This is more for me than anything else as it helps me take stock of what I found. On top of these 'new' bands, I filled out a ton of discographies of artists I have had for years but was lax on finishing up, Genesis and Devin Townsend being the biggest. I spent a buttload of money on music this year. More than I have in a long time.

So, just for my sake, here are the artists I discovered this year. TAC has a huge hand in a good portion of the list.

UFO
Waysted
Mogg/Way
Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock
Michael Schenker Fest
Schenker Barden Acoustic Project
Michael Schenker Group
Phantom Elite
The Murder Of My Sweet
Motion Device
Biffy Clyro
Moriah Formica
Eternal Frequency
Coroner
Ex Libris
Lindsay Schoolcraft

I would say the big 3 from the list would be the whole UFO family, Biffy Clyro and Coroner. TAC really drained my bank account with the UFO and Family stuff. I also went huge into Biffy. I constantly dive into their music because it is so diverse and so good. The early stuff is so schizophrenic. Infinity Land is a masterpiece of an album. For Coroner, what grabbed me was a comment calling them the Rush of Thrash. Only 5 albums from them, but they are so good and also diverse from album to album. Never quite the same, much like Rush.

Anyway, just wanted to tack that onto my post. This year has been a blur and I wanted to take stock of the awesomeness of music. I added 2351 songs to my library just this year. Might be a few more before the year is up. Don't tell my wife.

As far as discovering established artists who I wasn’t previously aware of, the two best ones for me this year have been Prefab Sprout (the Steve McQueen album mostly) and The Pearlfishers. Two other bands that I had already been aware of but never dove into fully were Sweet Billy Pilgrim and The Clientele.

[Bentower]

A top 20 seems only right.

1. Pain of Salvation - Panther
2. Zombi - 2020
3. Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi
4. Sepultura - Quadra
5. Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
6. Steve Von Till - No Wilderness Deep Enough
7. Tigran Hamasyan - The Call Within
8. Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night
9. Haken - Virus
10. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - K.G.
11. Blue Öyster Cult - The Symbol Remains
12. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
13. Gargoyl - s/t
14. Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville
15. Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still
16. Ozric Tentacles - Space for the Earth
17. Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata
18. Enslaved - Utgard
19. Kiko Loureiro - Open Source
20. The Atomic Bitchwax - Scorpio

[Pettor]

I got my first kid December last year and since then music listen has not been the same. There's a lot of music, just don't find the energy to find new albums to listen to. So the number of albums I listened to won't even be enough to compile a top 5 list anyway.

1. Pain of Salvation - Panther
I am a huge POS fan and never thought that any release was of subpar quality. However it was a while since something stood out as much as TPE, RL or BE in their discography. Panther will definitely join that group for me. I just think Panther has it all and is extremely well written and produced music. Strong melodies, great flow (yes it's back!) and some damn amazing instrumentation. Daniel's singing is fantastic and Leo really has some extremely sweet drumming going on. When one of you favourite bands releases something this good it's just a damn pleasure

2. Falconer - From a Dying Ember
Maybe not as well known but Falconer has been a big part of music for me through the years. Swedish power metal with medieval tones and amazing singer Mathias Blad. They could never tour because Mathias had work otherwhere and therefore always stayed as a studio band. In the end this is also part of why this is their last album. Every song was written to represent the different styles they adapted over the year and be as strong as possible. I think they really delivered here. And the mixing is their best ever. There's just a lot of great tracks here and a perfect swan song for this band.

---- Now it's quite the distance to the next ones ---

3. Haken - Virus
Letdown 1 for me. Not bad in any way just not that strong as I initially hoped. I expected the album to just become stronger and stronger but instead just dropped and became uninteresting a couple of weeks after release. Messiah Complex is my most memorable moment and still a song I go back to now and then. Sadly not an album I will be coming back to. I did however really like the concept! The way they extended and used an old song as the base for a concept like this was pretty awesome!

4. Ayreon - Transitus
Letdown 2. A bigger one however. I think the idea is good, the execution is even most likely good. This is what Ayreon wanted and successful accomplished to do. However, I don't enjoy it very much. The narrator is greatly voices but destroys the songs. Ayreon has always been very cheesy but this goes over top for me. The songs are also barely songs since they are so short and filled with narration.


--- Honorable mentions ----
Moron Police - A Boat in The Sea
Not released this year but still going strong as if it was. Still as baffled as I was when I discovered this masterpiece (Spotify algorithm actually suggested it) by the same band that wrote T-bag Your Grandma. It shouldn't be this good! But everything about this album is just pure joy. The songwriting is waaaaay to high for a band mostly unknown to the rest of the world.

Lyrics like this is both brilliant to sing along to and spot on:

Watch our missiles blow them sky high
What a cost-efficient way to die!

Robot-Eagle on a flat screen
A 14-year old learning to fly

Blow them up, that's the sound of freedom forming in their minds

[twosuitsluke]

Yea, A Boat in the Sea is a great album! It's short but sweet and is just joyous! Everytime I listen I question why I don't listen more often.

[BelichickFan]

Mors Principium Est - Seven.

It's the only album that made a difference for me this year. Several good albums by others but this is the only game changer. It's rare that one of your favorite bands puts out what may be their best but that is what happened here.

I have hopes for next year with DT, Therion and The Anabasis.

[Zydar]

My Top 5 Albums of 2020:

Haken - Virus (Album Of The Year)
Deep Purple - Whoosh!
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Letter To You
The Flower Kings - Islands
Paul McCartney - McCartney III

Honorable mentions:

Pain Of Salvation - Panther
Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night
Neal Morse - Sola Gratia

My Top 10 Songs of 2020:

Haken - Canary Yellow
Haken - Carousel
Deep Purple - Throw My Bones
Bruce Springsteen - If I Was The Priest
Bruce Springsteen - Song For Orphans
The Flower Kings - Black Swan
The Flower Kings - Broken
Pain Of Salvation - Wait
Paul McCartney - Find My Way
Paul McCartney - Slidin'

Bands I've either discovered, or already knew about but explored their discography in more detail, this year:

The Flower Kings
Big Big Train
Elton John
Riverside

[Evermind]

So, guess it's time to compile my final list!

Top 10

1. Pain of Salvation - Panther
2. The Reticent - The Oubliette
3. Оргия Праведников - Время Будить Королей
4. Vanden Plas - The Ghost Experiment: Illumination
5. A.A. Williams - Forever Blue

6. Nightwish - Human : || : Nature
7. Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods
8. Marjana Semkina - Sleepwalking
9. Haken - Virus
10. Conception - State of Deception

Honorable mentions

Katatonia - City Burials
Ayreon - Transitus
Mors Principium Est - Seven
John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night

Disappointment of the year

Temperance - Viridian

[jingle.boy]

Still don't have my final stack ranking, but I certainly know my top 2 disappointments - Nightwish and Ayreon.  I can't say they are bad albums, just way below average (for them), and way below any reasonable expectations (imo).

[Evermind]

I really liked Nightwish if we are talking CD1. I've listened to CD2 once and I decided the album is just the first disc. Ayreon was alright but yeah, could've been much better.

[LordCost]

I found out I listened seven 2020 albums only, it's rather easy to do a top 5.

1. Pain Of Salvation - Panther
2. Haken - Virus
3. Deftones - Ohms
4. Vennart - In A Dead, Dead Wood
5. Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant

I can leave this link too about a blog I follow, so you can see new names at least. I will try to listen to some of these in the next year:
http://altprogcore.blogspot.com/2020/12/altprogcore-best-of-2020.html?m=1

[HOF]

Finally took some time to write out a best of 2020 list. I don’t usually get this many new releases in one year, and these aren’t all of them even. I’d say it’s been a good year for music (not to mention all the older music I’ve picked up).

Top 5 Albums (in rough order)

1. McStine & Minnemann (s/t): I already told Randy on Facebook this was my AOY so have to stick to it! Just a tremendous mix of pop, metal, and prog. Short and sweet, but packed with hooks, playing, and great choruses. I'm holding off on listening to the follow up until my CD arrives (I have the download but there was a delay in the pressing, so II will be in the running of 2021 maybe).

2. Dyble Longdon - Between a Breath and a Breath: I probably haven't listened to this as much as I should for how highly I think of it. It's a bit of a hard album due to the passing of Judy Dyble and some of the subject matter. But it's the most mature album I heard this year, and one that I feel will really hold up over time and age well. It's a lush and brilliantly written/arranged/recorded album that mixes Judy's folk stylings with Longdon's prog stylings, and ends up somewhere between Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk, and Big Big Train.

3. Rikard Sjoblom’s Gungfly - Alone Together: I think this is the strongest of the three recent Gungfly albums. Feels a bit more focused and a little catchier for a lack of a better word. It's more of what Rikard does, but he does it really well. Just endlessly creative. Some of his guitar playing is just tremendous on this.

4. Jakko Jakszyk - Secrets & Lies: This is the first thing I've heard from Jakko outside of King Crimson, and it's also partially a King Crimson release as most of the band appear on the album (Gavin Harrison does most of the drums), including two tracks featuring most of the band (including Fripp) that came out of some KC writing sessions. It's a dark, moody, cold gray winter day album. It's got what I would describe as a hauntingly beautiful quality. Jakko's voice is silky smooth, and he's a wonderful guitarist as well. 

5. Echorec - The Island: A new band out of England who I believe to be just out of school age guys playing some really well done heavy prog (more modern hard rock than prog metal). Sort of Porcupine Tree meets Rush meets Marillion with Thom York-ish vocals or something. It's a download only album that was independently released, but I hope they can give it a full CD release at some point. Bad year for a band to launch a debut album.

Honorable mentions

The Flower Kings - Islands: A bit too long, but if they paired it down to one disc it might have been in the top 5.

Yaatri - Reach (EP): Cool new modern jazz group also out of the UK blending jazz and traditional Indian music.

Tim Bowness/Peter Chilver - Modern Ruins: I downloaded this one on one of the Bandcamp Fridays and it might be higher if I had spent more time with it. Moody, dreamy piano/synth/electronica stuff (i.e. classic Bowness).

Mark Kelly’s Marathon: Not a bad little album in the neo-prog vein. Well performed even if not super original. Standout track is "Puppets" which features Steve Rothery.

Live Albums/Concert films

Big Big Train - Empire: just an amazing performance from an amazing band, expertly recorded and filmed.

Favorite Songs (in no particular order)

McStine & Minnemann - Your Offenses
Dyble Longdon - Tidying Away the Pieces   
Gungfly - Clean as a Whistle
Jakko - The Trouble with Angels
Nick D’Virgilio - Where’s the Passion 
The Flower Kings - Morning News
Echorec - Flown the Nest
Mark Kelly’s Marathon - Puppets
Tim Bowness/Peter Chilver - Sleeping Face
Fernando Perdomo - The Storm
Yaatri - Pick it Up
Steve Rothery - La Silla
Big Big Train - Winkie (Live)

Best New Artists

Echorec
Yaatri

Best guitar solo

Gungfly - On the Shoulders of Giants