I don't think these are necessarily the best 30 albums of this year, but they're the ones that have I guess endured in my psyche and inspiried revisits more than most others. I was tempted to do a top 50, but after around #26 or so, I found myself confronted with about 50 albums that could've conceivably made it in, most of which I hadn't relistened to enough to rank above the others with confidence.

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musclassia | 29.12.2020

	1.	Psychonaut - Unfold The God Man Progressive Post-Metal - Not technically a 2020 album, but the best one I heard that was released this year, original or re-release.
	2.	Elder - Omens Stoner/Psychedelic - Vocals are rough, but the instrumentals are euphoric at times.
	3.	Enslaved - Utgard Progressive/Psychedelic Black - A departure after a decade of relative consistency in style, but one pulled off very successfully.
	4.	Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - Ascension Post-Black - The French juggernaut goes from strength to strength.
	5.	Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea Progressive Rock - Hugely successful comeback and an effort to rival, if not necessarily surpass, The Dark Third.
	6.	Wills Dissolve - Echoes Progressive Death - Outstanding one-song album from this up-and-coming band.
	7.	Barishi - Old Smoke Progressive Sludge - Twisting, atmospheric, harsh, fantastic.
	8.	Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence Atmos-Black - An excellent continuation of the sound on World's Blood.
	9.	Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still Progressive Death - Tones down the intensity a tad and delivers something extraordinary; probably the 'best' album I heard this year.
	10.	Sylosis - Cycle Of Suffering Thrash/Metalcore - A way off my favourite albums by them, but it's my most played album from this year so it has to make the top 10.
	11.	Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers Black - Channels Schammasch to great effect.
	12.	Katie Gately - Loom Neoclassical Darkwave - Dark, atmospheric, almost mechanical at times, a big shift from her previous album and one pulled off impressively well.
	13.	Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi Psychedelic Black/Avant-Garde - Great use of keyboards on another twisted atmospheric effort.
	14.	Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods Acoustic - A turn from electronics to folk that sees Mariusz Duda deliver his most enchanting music since Walking On A Flashlight Beat, whether with Lunatic Soul or Riverside.
	15.	Lotus Thief - Oresteia Post-Metal - Great vocals and lovely atmosphere to this unique-sounding band.
	16.	Intronaut - Fluid Existential Inversions Prog/Post-/Sludge - Not easy to replace a drummer as talented as Danny Walker, but Intronaut show that they can shine without him.
	17.	Pull Down The Sun - Of Valleys And Mountains Progressive Post-Metal - A bit heavy on the Gojira and The Ocean influences at times, but sounds fantastic front-to-back.
	18.	Skyforest - A New Dawn Atmos-Black - The best artwork from this year and a delight of a journey.
	19.	Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata Dark Ambient/Drone - Carries on nicely from where Inversum left off.
	20.	Globular & Geoglyph - Messages From The Resonator Psybient - My introduction to 'psybient' and a very convincing one at that, this is wonderfully dreamy and psychedelic.
	21.	Neptunian Maximalism - Éons Drone/Jazz/Avant-Garde - I did not expect a 2-hour avant-garde drone jazz album on this list, but Éons is unlike anything I've heard really.
	22.	Pain Of Salvation - Panther Progressive - Another stylistic shift, this time towards electronics, but Accelerator, Wait and Icon are exceptional songs.
	23.	Protest The Hero - Palimpsest Progressive - Not my favourite PTH album, but another thoroughly enjoyable addition to their discography, with From The Sky standing out.
	24.	The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic Progressive Post-Metal - I definitely prefer its predecessor, but Triassic and Jurassic make for a killer opening duo of tracks.
	25.	Tombs - Monarchy Of Shadows Black - A shockingly engaging EP from a band I'm usually more reserved about, the riffs here rip hard.
	26.	Wake - Confluence Blackened Death - Hard to pick between this and Devouring Ruin, but the further stylistic exploration into post-rock and other areas slightly edges Confluence ahead.
	27.	Earth Rot - Black Tides Of Obscurity Blackened Death - Just full of emphatic extreme metal riffs.
	28.	I Break Horses - Warnings Synth-Pop - Compelling melancholic vibes and film-inspired nostalgia.
	29.	Dwaal - Gospel Of The Vile Sludge Doom - Adds some post-metal and slightly more exploration to the punishing sound of Eremit's Carrier Of Weight to create something arguably even better.
	30.	Gaerea - Limbo Black - Unsettling Whispers didn't make a huge impression on me, but the melodic inclinations here work extremely well.