Retro Albums of the Year 2010's: 2020

[ReaperKK]

Also album and tour list. I remember seeing dredg on tour and was introduced to From Monument To Masses, now one of my favorite post-rock bands.

2009:

1. From Monument To Masses - On Little Know Frequencies - 5/5
2. dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion - 5/5
3, Incubus - Monuments And Melodies - 5/5
4. Porcupine Tree - The Incident - 4.5/5
5. The Lonely Island - Incredibad - 4/5
6. H.U.V.A. Network - Ephemeris - 4/5
7. Dream Theater - Black Clouds And Silver Linings - 4/5
8. Tomas Dvorak - Machinarium - 4/5
9. OSI - Blood - 3.5/5
10. Creed - Full Circle - 3.5/5
11. Children Of Nova - The Complexity Of Light - 3.5/5
12. Carly Commando - One Take - 3/5
13. Balmorhea - All Is Wild, All Is Silent - 3/5
14. Kaki King - Mexican Teenagers - 3/5
15. Animals As Leaders - Animals As Leaders - 3/5
16. Karnivool - Sound Awake - 3/5
17. Koan - When The Silence Is Speaking - 3/5
18. Katatonia - Night Is The New Day - 3/5
19. The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted - 3/5
20. Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky - 2.5/5
21. J. Tillman - Year In The Kingdom - 2/5
22. Do Make Say Think - Other Truths - 2/5
23. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect - 2/5
24. The Antlers - Hospice - 1.5/5
25. Maxence Cyrin - Novo Piano - 1/5

[ariich]

What an outrageously good year for music 2009 was! Some fantastic albums that don't make my top 20.

1. The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death
2. Thrice - Beggars
3. Bizali - Thanks Anna
4. Regina Spektor - Far
5. Closure in Moscow - First Temple
6. Shpongle - Ineffable Mysteries From Shpongleland
7. The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted
8. Insomnium - Across the Dark
9. dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion
10. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
11. Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
12. The Antlers - Hospice
13. Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
14. Kauan - Aava tuulen maa
15. Jon Hopkins - Insides
16. Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome
17. Arkona - Goi, Rode, Goi!
18. Katatonia - Night Is the New Day
19. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
20. Frank Turner - Poetry of the Deed

Also great:
Alkinoos Ioannidis - Νεροποντή (Downpour)
Amorphis - Skyforger
Anneke van Giersbergen - Pure Air
As Tall as Lions - You Can't Take It With You
Baroness - Blue Record
Be'lakor - Stone's Reach
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard
Bizali - Dance Yourself Alone
Blue October - Approaching Normal
Devin Townsend Project - Ki
Ed Harrison - Neotokyo
Ensiferum - From Afar
Fairyland - Score to a New Beginning
Florence + The Machine - Lungs
fun. - Aim and Ignite
Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs
Infected Mushroom - Legend of the Black Shawarma
Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
Lord - Set in Stone
Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Muse - The Resistance
Nils Frahm - Wintermusik
OSI - Blood
Pain of Salvation - Linoleum EP
Pantheon I - Worlds I Create
Paramore - Brand New Eyes
Phideaux - Number Seven
Porcupine Tree - The Incident
The Protomen - Act II: The Father of Death
Pure Reason Revolution - Amor vincit omnia
Röyksopp - "Junior"
Thy Catafalque - Róka Hasa Rádió
Toehider - Not Much of a Man EP
Vektor - Black Future
While Heaven Wept - Vast Oceans Lachrymose

[HOF]

2009 is another quality over quantity year for me. One of my all time favorites leads off here.

1. Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard
2. Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Twice Born Men
3. Marillion - Less is More
4. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
5. The Wishing Tree - Ostara
6. Field Music - Tones of Town
7. The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
8. Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
9. U2 - No Line on the Horizon

Major edit: I have Twice Born Men indexed on my computer as 2015, but the original release was 2009.

[jingle.boy]

Seeing as how I'm here first (or not ... Ninja'd 3 times while typing this up!), I guess I get to fire off pretty much all my albums from 2009.

Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment (scoff if you will, he's a helluva singer and entertainer)
Animations - Reset Your Soul
Anubis - 230503
At Vance - Ride the Sky
Black Fate - Deliverance of Soul
Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
Darkology - Altered Reflections
Delain - April Rain
Delta - Crashbreaker
DGM - Frame
Empires of Eden - Songs of War and Vengeance
Europe - Last Look At Eden
Forgotten Suns - Inergy
Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day
Hardline - Leaving The End Open
Heart of Cygnus - Over Mountain Under Hill
Hibria - The Skull Collectors
Holyhell - s/t
House of Lords - Cartesian Dreams
Illusion Suite - Final Hour
Infinity Overture - Kingdom Of Utopia
IQ - Frequency
Jorn - Spirit Black
Lord - Set in Stone - was not expecting Rich to mention this
Manimal - The Darkest Room
Mind Key - Pulse For A Graveheart
Mob Rules - Radical Peace
Mr. Big - Back to Budokan
Mystery - Destiny?
Pathosray - Sunless Skies
Place Vendфme - Streets Of Fire
Praying Mantis - Sanctuary
Primal Fear - 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead)
Project Arcadia - From The Desert Of Desire
Prymary - The Enemy Inside
Red Circuit - Homeland
Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day
Revolution Renaissance - Age Of Aquarius
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond the Horizon
Sacrum - Days Of Quarantine
Scale The Summit - Carving Desert Canyons
Shadow Circus - Whispers And Screams
Silent Memorial - Retrospective
Stream Of Passion - The Flame Within
Subsignal - Beautiful & Monstrous
Thunderstone - Dirt Metal
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Night Castle
W.A.S.P. - Babylon
Winger - Karma


Fuck I used to buy a lot of music!  Damn the days where there was no Spotify - I'd likely not purchased at least 1/3rd of these if Spotify had been a thing.

[Revenge319]

The only year I can make a decently-sized list of albums for at this time. Once I get around to knowing a lot more albums, I'll probably come back to this thread to give my rankings for various other years. I love all these albums (well, I wouldn't say I love Crack the Skye, but I think it's still really good).

1. Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Original Song Collection
2. Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
3. Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
4. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
5. Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
6. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
7. Mastodon - Crack the Skye

[nick_z]

2009

Mastodon's Crack the Skye is the clear winner for me, but some good stuff overall...again, many albums that were purchased after the fact, market with (*)

Top 15

Mastodon – Crack the Skye
Paradise Lost – Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us
Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
Amorphis – Skyforger
Dream Theater – Black Clouds and Silver Linings
dredg – The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion
Karnivool – Sound Awake
Katatonia – Night is the New Day
Leprous – Tall Poppy Syndrome *
Lamb of God – Wrath
Insomnium – Across the Dark *
Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey & the Groogrux King
Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way to Blue
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
Brandi Carlile – Give Up the Ghost *

The Honorable Mentions:

30 Seconds to Mars – This Is War
The Answer – Everyday Demons
Baroness – Blue Record *
Beardfish – Destined Solitaire *
Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect *
Big Big Train – The Underfall Yard *
Candlemass – Death Magic Doom *
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot *
Closure in Moscow – First Temple *
Clutch – Strange Cousins from the West *
Collective Soul – Collective Soul
Daughtry – Leave This Town
The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death *
Devin Townsend Project – Addicted *
Florence + the Machine – Lungs *
The Gathering – The West Pole
Halestorm – Halestorm *
Jolly - Forty Six Minutes Twelve Seconds of Music *
Long Distance Calling – Avoid the Light *
John Mayer – Battle Studies
Needtobreathe – The Outsiders *
Oceansize – Frames
OSI – Blood *
Paramore – Brand New Eyes
Placebo – Battle for the Sun
Porcupine Tree – The Incident
Powerwolf – Bible of the Beast *
Queensryche  - American Soldier
Rammstein – Liesbe Ist Fur Alle Da
Slayer – World Painted Blood *
Subsignal – Beautiful & Monstrous *
Thrice – Beggars *
Vektor – Black Future *
Vertical Horizon – Burning the Days *
Winger – Karma *

[KevShmev]

2009:

01 Devin Townsend - Addicted
02 Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
03 dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
04 Porcupine Tree - The Incident
05 Devin Townsend - Ki
06 Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
07 Muse - The Resistance
08 Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
09 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
10 The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
11 The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
12 Pet Shop Boys - Yes
13 Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
14 U2 - No Line on the Horizon
15 OSI - Blood

[Crow]

here's the big one

2009:
#1: The Antlers - Hospice
#2: Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
#3: Thrice - Beggars
#4: Hacride - Lazarus
#5: Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day
#6: Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
#7: The Dear Hunter -  Act III: Life and Death
#8: fun. - Aim & Ignite
#9: The Paper Chase - Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol. 1
#10: The Protomen - Act II: The Father of Death
#11: Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome
#12: Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

all of like the top 9 would easily make a top 100, maybe even top 50 albums of all time for me and the top 3 are basically a three-way tie for all intents and purposes, what a good year

[WardySI]

Quite a big year for releases I continue to return to \m/

1. AMORPHIS Skyforger

2. REDEMPTION Snowfall On Redemption Day

3. ALICE IN CHAINS Black Gives Way To Blue

4. LILLIAN AXE Say Day On Planet Earth

5. QUEENSRYCHE American Soldier


Seems as the years progress it gets harder to separate the also-rans no doubt due to one of the few benefits of the interent in discovering so much new music

HEAVEN AND HELL Better The Devil...
DREAM THEATER Black Clouds...
EUROPE Last Look At Eden
JORN Spirit Black
LYNCH MOB Smoke & Mirrors
RAY WEST All Pointz West
MEGADETH Endgame
WASP Babylon
SAXON Into The Labyrinth
REECE Universal Language
HOUSE OF LORDS Cartesian Dreams
PARADISE LOST Faith Divides Death Unites
CHICKENFOOT Chickenfoot
WINGER Karma
CREED Full Circle

[MirrorMask]

My 2009:

1. Eluveitie - Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion
(One of the best folk metal albums ever)

2. Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know
(RIP Ronnie)

3. Powerwolf – Bible of the Beast
(Badass album)

And then...

4. Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
5. Sonata Arctica - The Days of Grays
6. Halestorm – Halestorm
7. Ensiferum - From Afar
8. Grave Digger   Ballads of a Hangman
9. Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
10. Shadow Gallery - Digital Ghosts

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

We are still on 2004 right? 

Anyone, I'm way behind, but here's my 2004 list. Interesting to note, everything in the top 50 except the last 4 albums are all at least a 4/5. Amazing year of music.

Top 50

1. Marillion - Marbles (the 2cd edition, the other one might as well not exist)
2. Enslaved - Isa
3. Angra - Temple of Shadows
4. Ayreon - The Human Equation
5. Threshold - Subsurface
6. Pain of Salvation - BE
7. Orphaned Land - Mabool: The Story of the Three Sons of Seven
8. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
9. Chevelle - This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
10. Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor
11. Wintersun - Wintersun
12. Secret Chiefs 3 - Book of Horizons
13. Empty Tremor - The Alien Inside
14. Bark Psychosis - ///Codename: Dustsucker
15. IQ - Dark Matter
16. Augury - Concealed
17. Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination
18. Asunder - A Clarion Call
19. Porcupine Tree - Warszawa
20. Incubus - A Crow Left of the Murder...
21. Mastodon - Leviathan
22. Sear Bliss - Glory and Perdition
23. Therion - Lemuria
24. Therion - Sirius B
25. Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution Into the Continuum
26. Fates Warning - FWX
27. Blackfield - Blackfield
28. Paatos - Kallocain
29. Heavenly - Dust to Dust
30. Mindflow - Just the Two of Us...Me and Them
31. Deathspell Omega - Si monvmentvm reqvires, circvmspice
32. The Chasm - The Spell of Retribution
33. Cult of Luna - Salvation
34. Amplifier - Amplifier
35. Insomnium - Since the Day It All Came Down
36. Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion
37. Burning Brides - Leave No Ashes
38. Lunar Aurora - Elixir of Sorrow
39. Lunar Aurora - Zyklus
40. Thy Catafalque - Tűnő idő tárlat
41. The Paper Chase - God Bless Your Black Heart
42. Nocte Obducta - Nektar - Teil I: Zwölf Monde, eine Hand voll Träume
43. Isis - Panopticon
44. The Jelly Jam - 2
45. Dream Theater - Live at Budokan
46. Converge - You Fail Me
47. Sum 41 - Chuck
48. YOB - The Illusion of Motion
49. Hibria - Defying the Rules
50. Hourglass - Subconscious

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Slowly catching up....

Here's my 2005 list. 2005 was even more amazing than 2004! 

Top 50

1. Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet
2. Sieges Even - The Art of Navigating by the Stars
3. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
4. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
5. Shadow Gallery - Room V
6. Dark Suns - Existence
7. Deathspell Omega - Kénôse
8. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
9. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
10. Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites
11. Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked
12. Dream Theater - Octavarium
13. Between the Buried and Me - Alaska
14. Evoken - Antithesis of Light
15. Redemption - The Fullness of Time
16. With Passion - In the Midst of Bloodied Soil
17. Darkest Hour - Undoing Ruin
18. Dark Tranquillity - Character
19. The Darkness - One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back
20. Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase
21. Riverside - Second Life Syndrome
22. Buried Inside - Chronoclast
23. Oceansize - Everyone Into Position
24. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
25. Kate Bush - Aerial
26. Rush - R30
27. Circus Maximus - The 1st Chapter
28. Arena - Pepper's Ghost
29. Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness
30. Strapping Young Lad - Alien
31. System of a Down - Mezmerize
32. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
33. Falkenbach - Heralding: The Fireblade
34. The Firstborn - The Unclenching of Fists
35. Antestor - The Forsaken
36. God Is an Astronaut - All Is Violent, All Is Bright
37. Rudra - Brahmavidya : Primordial I
38. Mudvayne - Lost and Found
39. Klimt 1918 - Dopoguerra
40. Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel
41. Spock's Beard - Octane
42. In-Quest - The Comatose Quandaries
43. Mostly Autumn - Storms Over Still Water
44. Pendragon - Believe
45. Lunar Aurora - Mond
46. Rammstein - Rosenrot
47. Darkspace - Dark Space II
48. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - Horses in the Sky
49. Extol - The Blueprint Dives
50. Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell

[SoundscapeMN]

2010

2010 I look back on now and even though it was the 1st year of the 2010's, maybe the best year of the 2010's for new albums. I say that per the Top 10-15 albums i find are very strong and I struggle to rank in order.

2010 though was the year of The River Empires for me, the long awaited debut (only album at this point) from Jessy Ribordy and co.'s Progressive Chamber, Bluegrass project that includes Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter. It's an 88 minute opus of cinematic proportions at times, and while 88 minutes always sounded incredibly long, it never felt too long at all.

Foals, Anathema, Janelle Monae, 22, Cloud Cult, Lehto & Wright, Sufjan Stevens, Timmy Sean, Warpaint, Timbre, Dirt Poor Robins...this year is filled with records I still frequently listen to and in some cases, clearly my favorite of their catalog.

1. The River Empires - The River Empires (Epilogue)
2. Cloud Cult - Light Chasers
3. Foals - Total Life Forever
4. Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here
5. Lehto & Wright- Children's Songss
6. Janell Monáe - The Archandroid
7. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
8. Jazzkamikaze - Supersonic Revolutions
9. 22 - Flux
10. Warpaint - The Fool
11. The Reign of Kindo - This Is What Happens
12. Timmy Sean - Songs From & Inspired By Noisewater
13. Menomena - Mines
14. Everything Everything - Man Alive
15. Pure Reason Revolution - Hammer and Anvil
16. Oceansize - Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up
17. Timbre - Little Flowers
18. Dirt Poor Robins - The Last Days of Leviathan
19. Crippled Black Phoenix - I, Vigilante
20. Negroni's Trio - Just Three
21. Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
22. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
23. Emanuel and the Fear - Listen
24. Revere - Hey! Selim
25. Judgement Day - Peacocks / Pink Monsters
26. Journal - Unlorja
27. The Apples in Stereo - Travellers in Space and Time
28. Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic
29. The Gloomcatcher - Slow Chorale
30. The Book of Right On - All These Songs About Music
31. Typhoon - Hunger and Thirst
32. The River Empires - Demos/Unfinished/B-Sides
33. Ihsahn - After
34. Jimmy Gnecco - The Heart
35. Dead Letter Circus - This Is the Warning
36. 東京事変 [Tokyo Jihen] - スポーツ (Sports)
37. Skeleton Staff - Solipsism
38. Major Parkinson - Songs from a Solitary Home
39. Chromeo - Business Casual
40. Pain of Salvation - Road Salt One
41. Adebisi Shank - This Is the Second Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank
42. In Vain - Mantra
43. Laura Veirs - July Flame
44. Walking Sleep - Measures
45. Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
46. Apparatjik - We Are Here
47. Pat Metheny - Orchestrion
48. Cyclamen - Senjyu
49. Averse - The Endesque Chants
50. The Chap - Well Done Europe
51. Henry and the Nightcrawlers - 100 Blows
52. Enditol - Enditol
53. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
54. Jeremy Messersmith - The Reluctant Graveyard
55. Dean Magraw & Marcus Wise - How the Light Gets In
56. Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
57. Black Milk - Album of the Year

Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society
Alcest - Écailles de lune
Kaki King - Junior
Buke and Gass - Riposte
Gloria Morti - Anthems of Annihilation

EPs

1, Bend Sinister - Spring Romance
2. Distrails - Dry Flies
3. The Dear Hunter - The Branches
4. Renaissance - The Mystic And The Muse
5. Grammatics - Krupt
6. Annuals - Sweet Sister
7. Water & Bodies - The Rain City Sessions Part 2
8. Early Ghost - We Crossed the Waves

Concerts

1/9/10 Lehto and Wright - Celtic Junction St.Paul, MN
3/2/10 Laura Veirs/The Old Believers/Cataldo - The Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN
3/15/10 The Clientele/Field Music - The Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN
3/17/10 Exit Stage Right (Rush Tribute)
3/25/10 Afton Showcase (We Valedictorians/Total Babe/Howler) - The Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
4/7/10  As Tall As Lions/Bad Veins - The Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
4/7/10  Judgement Day - The 400 Bar - Minneapolis, MN
4/10/10 Rocky Votolato/Brooke Waggoner - The Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN
4/12/10 Fair to Midland/Karnivool/Something to Burn - The Rock Nightclub Maplewood, MN
4/20/10 The Antlers - The Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
5/1/10 The Apples in Stereo/Generationals/Laminated Cat - The Turf Club St.Paul, MN
5/8/10  The Most Serene Republic/Annuals - The 400 Bar Minneapolis, MN
5/14/10 Howler - The Beat Coffee House Minneapolis, MN
5/14/10 Greg Laswell/Jimmy Gnecco/Brian Wright - The 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN
5/17/10 Local Natives - The 400 Bar Minneapolis, MN
6/11/10 The New Pornographers/My Gold Mask - First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
6/12/10 Exit Stage Right (Rush Tribute) - Tuttle's Hopkins, MN
6/29/10 Renaissance/Steve Hackett - Park West Chicago, IL
7/1/10 Styx/Kansas - Target Center Minneapolis, MN
7/18/10 Wolf Parade/The Mools - First Avenue Minneapolis,MN
7/30/10 Cynic/Intronaut/Dysrhythmia - Station 4 St.Paul, MN
8/16/10 Jon Anderson - The Guthrie Theater Minneapolis, MN
8/22/10 Do the Dean
Boiled in Lead/Kari Tauring with Drew Miller/Frank Boyle and His Eminent Acoustic Entourage/Dakota Dave Hull/Prudence Johnson/Anthony Cox/Hart Lieberman and Smith/Marcus Wise/Laura Mackenzie/Marc Anderson/Eric Hohn/Elgin Foster/Greg Herriges/Cory Wong/
Lehto and Wright - Celtic Junction St.Paul, MN
8/24/10 East of the Wall/Iron Thrones/name - Tarnish and Gold Minneapolis, MN
8/27/10 Rush - Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Falcon Heights, MN
9/3/10 Karnivool - Station 4 St.Paul, MN
9/19/10 School of Seven Bells/Active Child - The 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, MN
9/18/10 Katatonia/Orphaned Land - Station 4 St.Paul, MN
9/23/10 Menomena/Tu Fawning The Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
10/1/10 Local Natives - First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
11/9/10 Dean Magraw and Marcus Wise - The Artists' Quarter St.Paul, MN
11/17/10 Circa Survive/dredg/Codeseven/Animals as Leaders - The Cabooze Minneapolis, MN
11/18/10 Cloud Cult - First Avenue Minneapolis, MN

[nick_z]

2010

Working abroad at the time...pretty thin year in terms of buying music in real time. Lots of (*) for albums that were purchased later on. Some good stuff, though. Random thoughts: Accept's Blood of the Nations was an amazing comeback - as far as I'm concerned, not much behind their classics. Slash's self-titled is a lot of fun. Yes, it's the type of album where the songs are written with the different singers' styles in mind, but Slash sort of pulls it all together nicely. Might well be my favorite of his solo albums. I didn't think much of Final Frontier at first, but that's arguably the reunion album that grew on me the most.

Top 15 (somewhat fluid ranking):

Accept – Blood of the Nations
Slash – Slash
Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini *
Ghost – Opus Eponymous *
Ihsahn – After *
Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier *
Alter Bridge – III
Haken – Aquarius *
Avenged Sevenfold – Nightmare *
Killing Joke – Absolute Dissent *
Ludicra – Tenant *
Volbeat – Beyond Hell/Above Heaven *
Stone Sour – Audio Secrecy
Alpha Rev – New Morning *
Blind Guardian – At the Edge of Time

The Honorable Mentions:

Alcest – Ecailles de Lune *
Armored Saint – La Raza *
Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart *
Barren Earth – Curse of the Red River *
Dark Tranquillity – We Are the Void *
Dawnbringer – Nucleus *
Deftones – Diamond Eyes
Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis *
Sully Erna – Avalon *
Heart – Red Velvet Car *
Heathen – Evolution of Chaos *
Helloween – 7 Sinners *
High on Fire – Snakes for the Divine
Jimmy Eat World – Invented
KT Tunstall – Tiger Suit
Nevermore – The Obsidian Conspiracy *
Oceansize – Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up *
Orianthi – Believe *
Orphaned Land – The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR *
Ratt – Infestation *
Joe Satriani – Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards *
Seventh Wonder – The Great Escape *
Soilwork – The Panic Broadcast *
Spock’s Beard – X *
Taylor Swift – Speak Now *
The Sword – Warp Riders *
Train – Save Me, San Francisco *

[TAC]

Blood Of The Nations is fantastic.

[nick_z]

Blood Of The Nations is fantastic.

Indeed. It was on constant rotation that year.

[TAC]

Blood Of The Nations is fantastic.

Indeed. It was on constant rotation that year.

The Tornillo albums have been great. Too Mean To Die is a Top 10 this year!

[KevShmev]

2010:

01 Haken - Aquarius
02 Spock's Beard - X
03 Taylor Swift - Speak Now
04 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
05 Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier

Not a very strong year, IMO, and two of my five albums above I didn't get into until this year.

I will give a shout-out as well to The Pineapple Thief.  Something Here Is Missing is way more miss than hit, but it does have 3000 Days, which is a great song and their best, if you ask me.

[WardySI]

1. SEVENDUST - Cold Day Memory
2. MR BIG - What If
3. ARMOURED SAINT - Za Raza
4. HALFORD - Made Of Metal
5. IRON MAIDEN - Final Frontier


TRIOSPHERE - The Road Less Traveled
CIRCLE II CIRCLE - Consequence Of Power
BLAZE BAYLEY - Promise And Terror
NEVERMORE - Obsidian Conspiracy
MASTERPLAN - Time To Be King
ALLEN LANDE - The Showdown
SLASH - Slash

ETA TRIOSPHERE good call jingle.boy...

Had forgotten about that one but yes what a cool album/band but we only got that one more album right? Shame thought they were destined for bigger things she (Ida) had some exceptional vocal

[HOF]

2010:

1. Big Big Train - Far Skies Deep Time
2. Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
3. Kip Winger - Ghosts
4. Spock’s Beard - X
5. The Clientele - Minotaur
6. Crowded House - Intriguer
7. Timmy Sean - Songs From & Inspired By Noisewater
8. Lo-Fi Resistance - A Deep Breath
9. Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic

[ariich]

2010 though was the year of The River Empires for me, the long awaited debut (only album at this point) from Jessy Ribordy and co.'s Progressive Chamber, Bluegrass project that includes Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter. It's an 88 minute opus of cinematic proportions at times, and while 88 minutes always sounded incredibly long, it never felt too long at all.

1. The River Empires - The River Empires (Epilogue)

Yay!


1. The River Empires - The River Empires (Epilogue)
2. Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here
3. Pain of Salvation - Road Salt One
4. Moon Safari - Lover's End
5. Tony Sly - 12 Song Program
6. Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns
7. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
8. Alcest - Écailles de lune
9. Haken - Aquarius
10. Frost* - The Philadelphia Experiment
11. Kaipa - In the Wake of Evolution
12. Solefald - Norrøn livskunst
13. Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast
14. BT - These Hopeful Machines
15. The Cat Empire - Cinema
16. Ihsahn - After
17. James LaBrie - Static Impulse
18. Tides of Man - Dreamhouse
19. Pendulum - Immersion
20. Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Also great:
Anthriel - The Pathway
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
Barren Earth - Curse of the Red River
Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time
Bonobo - Black Sands
Brad Mehldau - Highway Rider
Bring Me the Horizon - There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret
Burden of Life - In the Wake of My Demise
Cloud Cult - Light Chasers
Crippled Black Phoenix - I, Vigilante
Destrage - The King Is Fat 'n' Old
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
Equilibrium - Rekreatur
Everything Everything - Man Alive
Feed Me - Feed Me's Big Adventure
Foxy Shazam - Foxy Shazam
Gallowbraid - Ashen Eidolon
Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
Kyte - Dead Waves
Loreena McKennitt - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Nellie McKay - Home Sweet Mobile Home
The Ocean - Heliocentric
The Ocean - Anthropocentric
Periphery - Periphery
The Reign of Kindo - This Is What Happens
Sarah McLachlan - Laws of Illusion
Sia - We Are Born
Solution .45 - For Aeons Past
A Swarm of the Sun - Zenith
Toehider - Done and Dusted EP
Underøath - Ø (Disambiguation)
Whispered - Thousand Swords
Wretched - Beyond the Gate
Wuthering Heights - Salt

[HOF]

Was Lover’s End in 2010? Didn’t have it listed there in my library. That would be way up there for 2010 for me.

[ariich]

Was Lover’s End in 2010? Didn’t have it listed there in my library. That would be way up there for 2010 for me.

Yep, November 2010. Lovely album!

[HOF]

Was Lover’s End in 2010? Didn’t have it listed there in my library. That would be way up there for 2010 for me.

Yep, November 2010. Lovely album!

I think I missed Blomljud too. Gonna have to make some corrections.

[ReaperKK]

Great list by everyone. I can't believe it's been almost ten years since that River Empires release...

2010:

1. Espen Eriksen Trio - You Had Me At Goodbye - 5/5
2. Deftones - Diamond Eyes - 4.5/5
3. The River Empires - The River Empires (Epilogue) - 4/5
4. Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk - Epic - 4/5
5. Ben Kenney - Burn The Tapes - 3.5/5
6. 65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway - 3.5/5
7. Emancipator - Safe In the Steep Cliffs - 3/5
8. Kaki King - Junior - 3/5
9. God Is An Astronaut - Age Of The Fifth Sun - 3/5
10. The Gracious Few - The Gracious Few - 3/5
11. James LaBrie - Static Impulse - 3/5
12. Tipper - Broken Soul Jamboree - 3/5
13. Across The Delta - Passports & Souvenirs - 2.5/5
14. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream - 2.5/5
15. Alter Bridge - AB III - 2.5/5
16. CeeLo Green - The Lady Killer - 2.5/5
17. Bonobo - Black Sands - 2/5
18. Daikaiju - Phase 2 - 2/5
19. Jack Wall - Mass Effect 2 - 1.5/5
20. Enrique Iglesias - Euphoria - 1.5/5
21. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening - 1/5

[nick_z]

35. Dead Letter Circus - This Is the Warning

I LOVE this album - I didn't include in my 2010 list because I have the 2011 NA release with bonus CD...

[HOF]

2008 amended:

1. Big Big Train - English Boy Wonders [re-recorded and re-issued]
2. Moon Safari - Blomljud
3. Kip Winger - From the Moon to the Sun
4. Marillion - Happiness is the Road
5. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
6. Martin Orford - The Old Road
7. Caroline's Spine - Work it Out

2010 amended:

1. Big Big Train - Far Skies Deep Time
2. Moon Safari - Lover's End
3. Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
4. Kip Winger - Ghosts
5. Spock’s Beard - X
6. The Clientele - Minotaur
7. Crowded House - Intriguer
8. Timmy Sean - Songs From & Inspired By Noisewater
9. Lo-Fi Resistance - A Deep Breath
10. Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic

[jingle.boy]

Lover's End is indeed magical.  Particularly Part 3.
Anthriel/The Pathway is one of my Top 5 all-time DTF recommendations (thanks Zook!)

Not mentioned yet:

Abydos - The Little Boy's Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About the Inhabitants of His Diary (had to include this just for the title!)
Angra - Aqua
Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony; Angel of Babylon
Axel Rudi Pell - The Crest
Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time
Creation's End - A New Beginning
Darkwater - Where Stories End
Darwin's Radio - Template for a Generation
Dec Burke - Destroy All Monsters
Dreylands - Rooms of Revelation
Empires of Eden - Reborn in Fire
Erik Norlander - The Galactic Collective
First Signal - s/t
Forgotten Suns - Revelations
InnerWish - No Turning Back
Jorn - Dio
Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned
Kingcrow - Phlegethon
Myrath - Desert Call
Mystery - One Among the Living
Orden Ogan - Vale
Powerworld - Human Parasite
Pretty Maids - Pandemonium
ReVamp - s/t
Revolution Renaissance - Trinity
Robert Plant - Band of Joy
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand
Royal Hunt - X
Sebastien - Tears of White Roses
Section A - Sacrifice
Seventh Wonder - The Great Escape
Silent Call - Greed
Star One - Victims of the Modern Age
Tellus Requiem - s/t
Triosphere - The Road Less Travelled
Vanden Plas - The Seraphic Clockwork
Wicked Sensation - Crystallized

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Not mentioned yet:

Angra - Aqua

There's a reason for that. 

[jingle.boy]

Not mentioned yet:

Angra - Aqua

There's a reason for that. 

Yeah, I kinda was thinking that as I typed it.   

[nick_z]

Not mentioned yet:

Abydos - The Little Boy's Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About the Inhabitants of His Diary (had to include this just for the title!)

This is a good one...but didn't it come out in 2004? That's the list I had it in 

Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

I mentioned this one!    Not among my favorites BG albums, but some good stuff in it...

[jingle.boy]

Right you are!  I must’ve bought a reissue or something. Time to update my tags!  And I missed the BG mention 

[MirrorMask]

My 2010:

1. Blind Guardian – At the Edge of Time
2. Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony
3. Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier

4. Elvenking -  Red Silent Tides
5. Therion -  Sitra Ahra
6. Helloween – 7 Sinners
7. Avantasia - Angel of Babylon
8. James LaBrie - Static Impulse
9. Eluveitie  - Everything Remains (As It Never Was)
10. Grave Digger - The Clans Will Rise Again

(Ok the list from 4 to 10 is difficult to properly order)

Honorable mentions:

Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
Ghost – Opus Eponymous
Halford - Made Of Metal
Loreena McKennitt - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned
Gamma Ray - To the Metal!
Jon Oliva's Pain - Festival
Virgin Steele - The Black Light Bacchanalia



And for 2009 I forgot Meat Loaf's magnificent Hang Cool Teddy Bear.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

2010:

Tier 1:

All Ends - A Road To Depression
The Birthday Massacre - Pins and Needles
Demiurg - Slakthus Gamleby
Engel - Threnody
Eventide - The Beast and the Machine
Iris - Blacklight
Kingfisher Sky - Skin of the Earth
mind.in.a.box - R.E.T.R.O.
Ruth Moody - The Garden
Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy
Solution .45 - For Aeons Past
Star One - Victims of the Modern Age
Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones
Universum - Mortuus machina
UnSun - Clinic For Dolls

Tier 2:

Aeternam - Disciples of the Unseen
Alter Bridge - AB III
Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here
Sara Bareilles - Kaleidoscope Heart
Edge of Dawn - Anything That Gets You Through the Night
Entrails - Tales From the Morgue
Fitz and the Tantrums - Pickin' Up the Pieces
Brooke Fraser - Flags
Goldfrapp - Head First
Lazerhawk - Redline
Nox Aurea - Ascending In Triumph
Odyssey - Reinventing the Past
Sevendust - Cold Day Memory
System Divide - The Conscious Sedation

Tier 3:

The Absence - Enemy Unbound
Aeon - Path of Fire
Alcest - Ecailles de lune
Barren Earth - Curse of the Red River
Black Country Communion - s/t
Black Sun Empire - Lights and Wires
Natasha Borzilova - Balancing Act
Nili Brosh - Through the Looking Glass
Daft Punk - Tron: Legacy
De/Vision - Popgefahr
Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Forbidden - Omega Wave
Front Line Assembly - Improvised Electronic Device
Renaud Garcia-Fons - Mediterranees
Grammatrain - Imperium
Hail of Bullets - On Divine Winds
Haken - Aquarius
Hour of Penance - Paradogma
Ihsahn - After
Samantha James - Subconscious
Kaipa - In the Wake of Evolution
Phil Keaggy - Welcome Inn
James LaBrie - Static Impulse
Sarah McLachlan - Laws of Illusion
Jane Monheit - Home
Moon Safari - Lover's End
Nitzer Ebb - Industrial Complex
Noisia - Split the Atom
October Tide - A Thin Shell
Punch Brothers - Antifogmatic
Shadowgarden - Ashen
Steve Roach - Sigh of Ages
Snarky Puppy - Tell Your Friends
Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast
Triosphere - The Road Less Traveled
Derek Trucks Band - Roadsongs
Dhafer Youssef - Abu Nawas Rhapsody

[SoundscapeMN]

Fitz and the Tantrums - Pickin' Up the Pieces

ah, good call! I never wishlisted this one on rym, but have heard many tunes from it per my wife is (actually WAS) a big fan around this time and the follow-up, "More Than Just a Dream."