A list of top 100 albums would be meaningless if all I listened to was 100 albums in 2020. Even with a list of this size I still had to cut a significant amount of albums, and on top of that I listened to hundreds more.
As shat as 2020 has been, it has been a great year in music. Although the pandemic has financially crippled musicians, music venues, and all staff involved in making it all run, the silver lining here is that it has sparked creativity in some. From the uptick in at home livestream shows, albums recorded during the pandemic, and creative livestream/on demand musical productions.
Music has helped me get through this crazy year (and beyond), so I'm very thankful for the abundance of passionate musicians sharing their craft with the world, and often with little to no monetary gain. I try to support all the bands that I can, and hopefully they will come out the other side of this being able to play a show in my area.
Here is my list of honorable mentions in no particular order. I have also highlighted a few of the albums. If you click on the album art it will take you to their Bandcamp page. Throw them some monies if you can!
Venom Prison - Primeval
Bangladeafy - Housefly
Xenobiotic - Mordrake
Lör - Edge of Eternity
Lovebites - Electric Pentagram
Nightwish - HUMAN. :II: NATURE.
Behold... The Arctopus - Hapeleptic Overtrove
Black Royal - Firebride
Good Tiger - Raised in a Doomsday Cult
Enslaved - Utgard
Avatar - Hunter Gatherer
NORD - The Only Way to Reach the Surface
Jakko M. Jakszyk - Secrets & Lies
Autocatalytica - Powerclashing Maximalism
The Flower Kings - Islands
Nug - Alter Ego
Hollow Seasons - As Misery Fades
White Stones - Kuarahy
Lonely Robot - Feelings Are Good
Orphans of Doom - II
Defeated Sanity - The Sanguinary Impetus
Volur - Death Cult
Azusa - Loop of Yesterdays
Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh
Helion Prime - Question Everything
Pain of Salvation - PANTHER
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
Daniel Tompkins - Ruins
Pallbearer - Forgotten Days
Spirit Adrift - Enlightened in Eternity
Tallah - Matriphagy
Hiidenhauta - Riivin
Thematic - Skyrunner
Netherlands - Zombie Techno
Allegiance Reign - Ei Ei O
Helioss - Devenir le soleil
Burden of Life - The Makeshift Conquerer
Krosis - A Memoir of Free Will
Gaerea - Limbo
Selbst - Relatos De Angustia
Abrynth - A Place of Buried Light
Crafting the Conspiracy - The Cosmic Key, Pt. II
Titans to Tachyons - Cactides
Together to the Stars - As We Wither
Gargoyl - Gargoyl
Gazpacho - Fireworker
Second to Sun - Leviathan
Wayfarer - A Romance with Violence
Black Fate - Ithaca
Green Carnation - Leaves of Yesteryear
Solstafir - Endless Twilight of Codependent Love
Celebrity Sex Scandal - The Fundamental
Lesoir - Mosaic
Lucidvox - We Are
Man Man - Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between
Macabre - Carnival of Killers
Dysphoria - Primal Entropy
In Malice's Wake - The Blindness of Faith
Lie in Ruins - Floating in Timeless Streams
Avandra - Skylighting
Ilsa - Preyer
Grayceon - Mothers Weavers Vultures
Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron
Infera Bruo - Rites of the Nameless
Erkonauts - I Want it To End
Irist - Order of the Mind
Vader - Solitude in Madness
Ulthar - Providence
Warlung - Optical Delusions
Molassess - Throught the Hollow
Lykantropi - Tales to be Told
Melted Bodies - Enjoy Yourself
Cryptae - Nightmare Travel
Serpent Column - Kathodos
Necrophobic - Dawn of the Damned
Barishi - Old Smoke
Taupe - Not Blue Light
Panzerfaust - The Suns of Perdition - Chapter II: Render Unto Eden
Undeath - Lesions of a Different Kind
Jeff Scott Soto - Wide Awake
Glass Museum - Reykjavik
Farafield - Silkskin
Aditya Prakash Ensemble - Disapora Kid
Volkor X - This is Our Planet Now
Tower of Power - Step Up
Cassowary - S/T
GoGoPenguin - GoGo Penguin
Thana Alexa - Ona
Black Thought - Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able
Annie - Dark Hearts
Asaf Avidan - Anagnorisis
Freezepop - Fantasizer
Dubmood - Bloodbags and Downtube Shifters
Thundercat - It Is What It Is
Midnight Danger - Chapter 2: Endless Nightmare
Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines OST
Giorgi Mikadze - Georgian Microjamz
Immortal Onion - XD {Experience Design]
The Birthday Massacre - Diamonds
Jaga Jazzist - Pyramid
Eldar Djangirov - Rhapsodize
Jon Hatamiya - More Than Anything
Vmthanaachth - La Finale de la vie : la resistance faible de la chair est terminee
Dan Rosenboom - Points on an Infinite Line
Magic Sword - Endless
Błoto - Erozje
Various Artists - Magnatron III
Dan Terminus - Last Call for All Passengers
NNAMDÏ - Brat
Ulver - Flowers of Evil
Frank Macchia, Brock Avery - Rhythm Abstraction: Azure, Gold and Ruby
Butcher Brown - #KingButch
Siema Ziemia - S/T
OGRE Sound - Rise of the Synths
Wendy Eisenberg - Auto
Mary Halvorson's Code Girl - Artlessly Falling
Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated Side B
Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters