Aww, I thought for sure Paysage d'Hiver would make your top ten (came close though). Cool to see Pain of Salvation, Olhava, The Reticent, and Svalbard on the list though! The Reticent definitely needs way more exposure. That Bròn album was a massive surprise from last year too. Like, they had 4 albums previously that I sampled and were all pretty much trash.
Looks like I need to check out Bagdadski Vor and Astolat.
On the other hand, I just haven't been able to get into The Weeknd, even though it has lots of elements which, when combined, I should like....