Album of the Year website (which, despite the name, is really more of a review aggregator and critical score collector, ala metacritic), has a nice collection of end-of-year lists across many genres on their site:
For both of those folk who have been waiting eagerly, here is my
personal “best of 2020” list, the things I personally liked best out
of what I heard this year. I tried to steer clear of including albums
because I thought I was supposed to admire them. I started with a list of over
100 albums, and gradually trimmed it through December by intensive listening.
The main criterion was this: even after multiple listens, do I have an active and
eager desire to listen again? It is highly likely that I am the only person in
the world who rates all of these particular albums highest – isn’t that great?
Maybe you’ll find one to love that you missed. That’s the point.
Three things I did not expect: (1) I discovered two albums
this year that I admired ardently and excessively and now regard as major favorites,
but neither was released this year. (They were Detachment by Barock Project and
Invicta by The Enid.) (2) A long-awaited instalment in a long-cherished series
finally appeared – and did not make my list (Xerrox Vol 4 by Alva Noto). (3)
One album by a favorite artist that did make the list was one that I did not
like at all when it came out and waited for a really good sale before buying it
half-heartedly just to complete my collection – only for it to grow on me more with
every listen (Visions in Static by Wil Bolton). It's nice when patience is rewarded.
One thing that makes me happy: There are albums here from Argentina, Benin, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, and USA (including specifically Michigan, where I live),
and possibly some others on the compilation albums.
Here we go. Three loose clusters, like last year. I thought of
separating out live performances, various artist compilations, and EPs, but in
the end the list of things I remained thoroughly drawn to was small enough to
throw everything together. Lists in each cluster are alphabetical, not in order of merit. Many of the links lead to free streaming.
First Cluster:
Albums I fully expect to retain in heavy
listening rotation for months and years to come. I am not always right about
this, but these are the ones I’m most confident about being long-term friends. (Predisposition toward
the sound of favorite artists usually weighs in here.)
I hope to spend plenty more time with these
too, and on a different day might have placed them in tier 1. I am just a shade
less confident right now that they are permanent go-to companions, but I could
easily be wrong. Still great stuff though.
I like these a whole lot too, and reach for them
gladly – on a different day they might have been higher. But will I tire of
them? Are they just passing infatuations? We’ll see.
Today's Paste newsletter has a list of the top 25 albums of 1970, ie 50 years ago. I own over half of them and still play 6 or 7 regularly. What dies that say about me?
@greg just says what good taste you have! I only have 9 of the albums so I salute you!
I do better when it comes to Prog Rock. 10 out of 10 for Progarchives top Prog for 1970 and 28 out of the top 40. Plus 34 out of the top 50 of ProgArchives list for the period 1967 - 1975. Does this make me an ultimate Prog Rock tragic!?
@rostasi please see below a link to Paste Music. I have also attached links to related sites Daytrotter and Wolfgangs. The latter two sites have a wealth of music to stream and download.
Yeah thanks. I looked up Paste and couldn’t find this list you’re talking about, so that’s why I asked. Still can’t find it even using their search function.
Haven’t been to Wolfgang’s in a long time. Never knew much more about them than the occasional live download. I stopped doing those because it became a bit time consuming because they wouldn’t offer zip files - you had to patiently d/l every tune one at a time.
That Progarchives link for just 1970 brings back a flood of memories tho. Imagining myself in my bedroom with the turntable sounds cranked up!
Thanks for the Paste/1970 link. It reminds me of how much actual prog that I listened to during that year instead of the rather "common" albums that they list. I definitely had Bitches Brew and someone bought me the Band of Gypsys album, but other than those, I was more into Canterbury and german bands and other Euro-centric stuff (if we're just talking about rock). Soft Machine's Third, Amon Düül II's Yeti, Magma's first album, etc. Good times that can still be re-visited!
@Germanprof I like the idea of a three-tiered "list" and your criteria for them quite a lot. No doubt the majority of your selections will also be of interest. Thanks for ongoing enlightenment.
We're not into year-end List Olympics, all eyes on first past the post
and such like. But we do nonetheless want to give a shout-out to the
artists and albums we dwelt on in 2020 - those that gave us a reason to
smile or to scream in the most fucked-up of years. Neither definitive
nor exhaustive, it's a purely subjective trawl through our music
proclivities for the year - and we're just as intrigued about the music
that passed us by.
I've got 8 of the 25, and heard nearly all, so that's probably the closest any list is going to come to my taste! (I'd have more free-er jazz, though) He apparently agrees with me that Blue Note had a strong year
Not a list, but the annual generous offer from Cuneiform:
This special "Name Your Price" compilation album features over an hour
of creative and fun music throughout the course of 12 tracks all of
which was released by Cuneiform Records in 2020.
We invite you to listen to Cuneiform Records: The Albums of 2020 and
explore the wide spectrum of music we recently released over the year.
Each track by each artist is unique; we invite you to sample all. And
then, if you've not already done so, we encourage you to listen the full
albums by the artists who most appeal to you
- With tracks such as:
Vinny Golia - tenor, soprano & baritone saxes John Hanrahan - drums Henry Kaiser - guitar Wayne Peet - Hammond B3 & Yamaha YC-45D organs Mike Watt - bass
Comments
Album of the Year website (which, despite the name, is really more of a review aggregator and critical score collector, ala metacritic), has a nice collection of end-of-year lists across many genres on their site:
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/summary/2020/
Best of 2020 - My Take
For both of those folk who have been waiting eagerly, here is my personal “best of 2020” list, the things I personally liked best out of what I heard this year. I tried to steer clear of including albums because I thought I was supposed to admire them. I started with a list of over 100 albums, and gradually trimmed it through December by intensive listening. The main criterion was this: even after multiple listens, do I have an active and eager desire to listen again? It is highly likely that I am the only person in the world who rates all of these particular albums highest – isn’t that great? Maybe you’ll find one to love that you missed. That’s the point.
Three things I did not expect: (1) I discovered two albums this year that I admired ardently and excessively and now regard as major favorites, but neither was released this year. (They were Detachment by Barock Project and Invicta by The Enid.) (2) A long-awaited instalment in a long-cherished series finally appeared – and did not make my list (Xerrox Vol 4 by Alva Noto). (3) One album by a favorite artist that did make the list was one that I did not like at all when it came out and waited for a really good sale before buying it half-heartedly just to complete my collection – only for it to grow on me more with every listen (Visions in Static by Wil Bolton). It's nice when patience is rewarded.
One thing that makes me happy: There are albums here from Argentina, Benin, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, and USA (including specifically Michigan, where I live), and possibly some others on the compilation albums.
Here we go. Three loose clusters, like last year. I thought of separating out live performances, various artist compilations, and EPs, but in the end the list of things I remained thoroughly drawn to was small enough to throw everything together. Lists in each cluster are alphabetical, not in order of merit. Many of the links lead to free streaming.
First Cluster:
Albums I fully expect to retain in heavy listening rotation for months and years to come. I am not always right about this, but these are the ones I’m most confident about being long-term friends. (Predisposition toward the sound of favorite artists usually weighs in here.)
Federico Durand – Alba (Ambient. Intimate, fragile.)
Nils Frahm – Tripping with Nils Frahm (Electronic; Live. Pulsating, emotive.)
Matthew Halsall – Salute to the Sun (Jazz; Trumpet. Melodic, sunny.)
Daniel Herskedal – Call for Winter (Jazz; Tuba. Gentle, ethereal.)
Lionel Loueke – HH (Jazz; Guitar. Mellow, happy.)
Lunatic Soul – Through Shaded Woods (Progressive Rock. Propulsive, rhythmic.)
The Neal Morse Band - The Great Adventour: Live in Brno 2019 (Progressive Rock; Live. Epic, inspiring.)
This Valley of Old Mountains – This Valley of Old Mountains (Ambient. Cerebral, still.)
Second Cluster:
I hope to spend plenty more time with these too, and on a different day might have placed them in tier 1. I am just a shade less confident right now that they are permanent go-to companions, but I could easily be wrong. Still great stuff though.
Wil Bolton – Visions in Static (Ambient. Abstract, patient.)
Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways (Rock. Verbose, witty.)
The Flower Kings – Islands (Progressive Rock. Melodic, sprawling.)
Kiln – Astral Welder (Electronic/idm. Cheerful, bouncy.)
Roland Emile Kuit – Variables 1 (Classical/Electronic/Experimental. Reflective, fresh.)
La Maschera di Cera – S.E.I. (Progressive Rock. Bombastic, retro.)
Neal Morse – Sola Gratia (Progressive Rock. Epic, narrative.)
The Pineapple Thief - Versions of the Truth (Rock/Progressive Rock. Moody, meditative.)
Shaman Elephant – Wide Awake But Still Asleep (Psychedelic Rock. Energizing, melodic.)
Various Artists – Tone Science Module No.4 Form and Function (Electronic, analog synth. Varied, textured.)
Third Cluster:
I like these a whole lot too, and reach for them gladly – on a different day they might have been higher. But will I tire of them? Are they just passing infatuations? We’ll see.
Bill Frisell – Valentine (Jazz)
Michael Grigoni & Stephen Vitiello – Slow Machines (Ambient. Soft, detailed.)
Vittorio Guindani – Jisei (Experimental, sound art. Abstract, conceptual.)
Karfagen – Principles and Theory of Spektra (Progressive Rock. Sprightly, sunny.)
Lazuli - Le fantastique envol de Dieter Böhm (Progressive Rock. Narrative, melodic.)
Logos - Sadako e le mille gru di carta (Progressive Rock. Energetic, narrative.)
Lorenzo Montanà – DUNUC (Electronic, idm. Hypnotic, textured.)
Tomotsugu Nakamura – Literature (Electronic/acoustic. Whimsical, detailed.)
Vincent Peirani & Emile Parisien – Abrazo (Jazz, Accordion/sax. Tango-flavored, joie de vivre.) (Nice video)
Pjusk – Spinn (Electronic, EP. Atmospheric, textured.)
Various Artists – Portals: A Kosmische Journey through Outer Worlds and Inner Space (Electronic, analog synth. Melodic, spacey.)
36 & zakè - Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel (Ambient. Dreamy, soothing.)
Thanks to the emusers who helped me find a few of these.
I do better when it comes to Prog Rock. 10 out of 10 for Progarchives top Prog for 1970 and 28 out of the top 40. Plus 34 out of the top 50 of ProgArchives list for the period 1967 - 1975. Does this make me an ultimate Prog Rock tragic!?
http://www.progarchives.com/top-prog-albums.asp?ssubgenres=&syears=1970&scountries=&sminratings=0&smaxratings=0&sminavgratings=0&smaxresults=100&x=87&y=4#list
http://www.progarchives.com/top-prog-albums.asp?ssubgenres=&salbumtypes=1&syears=1975&syears=1974&syears=1973&syears=1972&syears=1971&syears=1970&syears=1969&syears=1968&syears=1967&scountries=&sminratings=1&smaxratings=0&sminavgratings=0&smaxresults=50&x=56&y=4#list
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music
https://www.pastemagazine.com/daytrotter
https://www.wolfgangs.com
so that’s why I asked. Still can’t find it even using their search function.
Haven’t been to Wolfgang’s in a long time.
Never knew much more about them than the
occasional live download. I stopped doing those
because it became a bit time consuming because
they wouldn’t offer zip files - you had to patiently d/l
every tune one at a time.
That Progarchives link for just 1970 brings back a flood
of memories tho. Imagining myself in my bedroom with
the turntable sounds cranked up!
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-albums/best-albums-of-1970/
https://www.pastemagazine.com/newsletter
Same for me with ProgArchives. Has to be one of my favourite, if not the favourite music website.
http://www.progarchives.com/top-prog-albums.asp?salbumtypes=1
Back on topic, here is a link to ProgArchives 2020 top albums.
http://www.progarchives.com/top-prog-albums.asp?ssubgenres=&syears=2020&scountries=&sminratings=0&smaxratings=0&sminavgratings=0&smaxresults=100&x=58&y=9#list
I like the idea of a three-tiered "list" and your criteria for them quite a lot. No doubt the majority of your selections will also be of interest. Thanks for ongoing enlightenment.
A good number of these are available at Bandcamp (though vinyl is sold out for many). None, to my knowledge, are available at eMusic.
We invite you to listen to Cuneiform Records: The Albums of 2020 and explore the wide spectrum of music we recently released over the year. Each track by each artist is unique; we invite you to sample all. And then, if you've not already done so, we encourage you to listen the full albums by the artists who most appeal to you
- With tracks such as:
Vinny Golia - tenor, soprano & baritone saxes
John Hanrahan - drums
Henry Kaiser - guitar
Wayne Peet - Hammond B3 & Yamaha YC-45D organs
Mike Watt - bass