dark « Blair Scott: Synthentral

There was so much amazing music in 2021. Bands released more singles and EP’s this year than albums, so I started with just under 450 albums to rate.

First step was to get that down to 100 for the Top 100. Then I removed 50 more for the Top 50, and finally I had to remove an additional 20 for the Top 30 (here we are), which will have a corresponding show with one song from each album (pending).

Here are the rules and guidelines I work with for my Top 2021 lists:

I must own the album to consider it (either through purchase or provided by band or label).
Only albums qualify: no EP’s or Singles. There are plenty of lists out there for “top songs.”
To qualify as an album it must have at least seven original songs. Remixes, new versions, covers albums, compilations (“best of”), etc., do not qualify. Intro and outro songs, instrumentals, and intermission songs do not count toward the song total.
Albums are weighted so that an album with 7 songs has the same point system as an album with 12 songs.
I judge each song individually, then rate the album overall. Did I want to listen to the entire album? Were there songs I wanted to skip? Was I engaged as a listener and fan?
I post the lists alphabetically and not in “countdown” style.

I fully recognize that my list (and everyone’s list, for that matter) is subjective. I love that others have different lists and are passionate about different bands and albums! I hope you agree with many fo these, but I also hope you have some favorites that aren’t on my list, but more importantly, I hope these lists introduce you to a band or album you may have missed in 2021!

I have “LISTEN HERE” links next to each album cover below, so give each band and album a chance, and support the bands you like!

The Synthentral Top 30 for 2021 (in alphabetical order):

Balvanera – Courses Of Action (LISTEN HERE)

CHVRCHES – Screen Violence (LISTEN HERE)

Devours – Escape From Planet Devours (LISTEN HERE)

District 13 – Mind Over Matter (LISTEN HERE)

Dräger – Goths À La Discothèque (LISTEN HERE)

echōdead – Random Headnoise Parallax (LISTEN HERE)

F.O.D. – Mensch Macht Maschine (LISTEN HERE)

j:dead – A Complicated Genocide (LISTEN HERE)

Machine Made Pleasure – Danceland Graffiti (LISTEN HERE)

Nation Of Language – A Way Forward (LISTEN HERE)

Nature Of Wires – Out Of My System (LISTEN HERE)

Norderney – Without The Limelight (LISTEN HERE)

Nuovo Testamento – New Earth (LISTEN HERE)

Piston Damp – Making The World Great Again (LISTEN HERE)

Raindancer – A Different Horizon (LISTEN HERE)

Rector Scanner – Radioteleskop (LISTEN HERE)

thewalkingicon – Shadow Of The Saints (LISTEN HERE)

Tobias Bernstrup – Petrichor (LISTEN HERE)

There was so much amazing music in 2020. 2020 saw more singles/EP’s than albums. In 2019 I had 612 albums and this year I only had 447. I narrowed that down to the Top 100, then Top 50, and now it’s the Top 30 albums of 2020!

I have several rules I work with when getting to my Top 30 list:

In order for an album to qualify, the album must be in my library, either through purchasing it on my own or given to me by the band or label. There were quite a few albums released in 2020 that were not provided to me by the band/label or I was not able to purchase.
To qualify it must be an album. There are plenty of lists out there for “top songs” that cover singles and EPs.
To qualify as an album it must have at least seven original songs. Remixes, new versions, cover albums, compilations, and “best of” do not qualify. Intro and outro songs as well as brief intermission style songs do not count toward the total of original songs. This year instrumentals no longer counted since I stopped playing instrumentals on the show.
All albums are weighted so that an album with 7 songs has the same point system as an album with 12 songs.
I judge each song individually. Then rate the album overall based on the individual song scores, the listenability of the entire album, etc.
I post the lists alphabetically and do not list or post them in a “countdown” style.

I fully recognize that my list is subjective and that others will have different lists or disagree with my choices. I love that others have different lists and are passionate about different bands and albums! Regardless, listen to the music and give it all a chance. I have “LISTEN HERE” links next to each album title, so give each band and album a chance and listen and support the bands you like!

While I don’t list the albums in a 30 to 1 list, I think the highest rated album deserves to be recognized: my Number One Album of 2020 is “Singularity” by Voicecoil.

The Synthentral Top 30 Albums of 2020 (in alphabetical order):