Here's my AotY for each year from 1970, with a runner up (or two) following.
Pink Floyd and Yes aren't here, King Crimson is, so I'll include King Crimson

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Deep Purple - In Rock

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

4.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

5.Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

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1.Spectral Lore - Wanderers: Astrology Of The Nine [Collaboration]

2.Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism

3.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

4.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

5.Fires In The Distance - Echoes From Deep November

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TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2020 3 YEARS LATER

1.Code Orange - Underneath

2.Napalm Death - Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism

3.AC/DC - Power Up

4.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

5.Polaris - The Death Of Me

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I feel like my overall favorites list is getting too long. I'm splitting it up by rating.

1.Thy Catafalque - Meta

2.Sepulcros - Vazio

3.Kassad - Faces Turn Away

4.Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

5.Xanthochroid - Of Erthe And Axen: Act I

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1 album per band per subgenre
work in progress, updating as I go through the song-by-song ratings on RateYourMusic.com
I will typically update my black metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6924
and my death metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6298
prior to updating this one

1.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

2.King Diamond - Abigail

3.Voivod - Dimension Hatröss

4.Mastodon - Crack The Skye

5.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

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Top 50 ranking of 2020 from my collection. Only 8 & above

Opinion my own, so bow to it

Album count: 161
Average rating: 7.13

1.Myrkur - Folkesange

2.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

3.Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata

4.Ihsahn - Telemark

5.Ulver - Flowers Of Evil

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1.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

2.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

3.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

4.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

5.Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods

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My very subjective ranking of all heard metal and metal-adjacent albums 2020.

1.Imperial Triumphant - Alphaville

2.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

3.Mamaleek - Come & See

4.Sweven - The Eternal Resonance

5.Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh

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* Updating this as I get around to doing song-by-song on RYM.
* 1 album per band
* limiting this to actual black metal releases, as opposed to releases by bands that were, at one time, black metal.
>> Some bands really do incorporate a lot of both death metal or doom (or avant garde or folk, etc) and black metal in their albums, so I consider them to be 'black metal adjacent' even if it might not be 'purely black metal'

1.Weakling - Dead As Dreams

2.Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle

3.Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum

4.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

5.Altar Of Plagues - Teethed Glory & Injury

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Subjective list | Top albums of 2020

1.Mare Cognitum - Wanderers: Astrology Of The Nine [Collaboration]

2.Countless Skies - Glow

3.Caligula's Horse - Rise Radiant

4.Bell Witch - Stygian Bough: Volume I [Collaboration]

5.Katatonia - City Burials

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Here are albums (ordered by subgenre) that I want to listen to, but haven't yet.
For some albums, I've heard one or two songs, but not the entire album. Therefore, these albums still await my judgement!
Recommendations are always welcome!

1.

2.Frail Body - Artificial Bouquet

3.Ulterror - Transcendent Origins

4.Mastiff - Deprecipice

5.Verberis - The Apophatic Wilderness

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My personal hard rock/heavy metal album of the year that I own.
Truthfully, for several years, I just gave up trying to figure out what was in 2nd place (and sometimes, even in 1st).
Some years have so many options....

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

3.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Vol. 4

4.Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

5.Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties

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All write-in votes from Metal Storm Awards 2020

1.

2.

3.Amaranthe - Manifest

4.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

5.El Lobo En Tu Puerta - Santana Bendita

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First 18 in a order as I think its best. Yes in order so my best 18 albums what I can say were best. Really best from all!
Rest in order, just because I am selfish I wanna know what I have listen.

I dont know how to put suxer albums A-Z or Z-A what sucks more, I chose A-Z system so from 369 all was bad, biggest led down is 369 then what I thought was let down but not so bad as that band.

1.Katavasia - Magnus Venator

2.Marko Hietala - Pyre Of The Black Heart

3.Yoth Iria - Under His Sway

4.Trident - Nord

5.Ivanhoe - Blood And Gold

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1.Biesy - Transsatanizm

2.Over The Voids - Hadal

3.Odraza - Rzeczom

4.Igorrr - Spirituality And Distortion

5.Orbit Culture - Nija

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