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It has been a good year for music in my opinion. I thought I would rank my top 10 albums (including Walk the Sky) and include my biggest disappointment.

1. Starset - Divisions - it's solid from top to bottom and sounds amazing through a stereo system or headphones.
2. Wolves at The Gate - Eclipse - a band that i discovered this year. Drifter is my favorite song.
3. NF - The Search - my most listened to album of the year. There's still so much to digest lyrically.
4. I Prevail - Trauma - this band has grown on me. Hurricane and Deadweight are standouts.
5. Alter Bridge - Walk the Sky - when it first came out I was concerned that it would not top The Last Hero. It took a while to click. Native Son, Pay No Mind, Forever Falling, Clear Horizon, and Walking on the Sky rank high in my book.
6. Skillet - Victorious - no real surprises but a consistent album.
7. Disciple - Love Letter Kill Shot - some interesting experimenting with song structure and Kevin's lyrics always provide food for thought.
8. Papa Roach - Who do You Trust? - the biggest surprise of the year for me. I was not a Papa Roach fan but this album changed my opinion of the band completely.
9. Wage War - Pressure - another band I discovered towards the end of the year through Pandora. In the same vein as I Prevail.
10. Of Mice & Men - EARTHANDSKY - just started listening to this one and it has not disappointed.

Finally - Bring Me The Horizon - Amo - completely lost me. Just a bizarre, strange, disjointed collection.

What have you all listened to this year and how would you rank the albums?

Nice list! You have a wide range of music experience within the genre. I wish I was more like that, but I usually only listen to albums by the same 10-20 artists I love haha, so i won't be able to do a top 10 for 2019 but my top 10 for the decade would likely be:

1. Stone Temple Pilots (Butterfly): STP managed to do the unexpected and recapture the magic they had with Scott Weiland with Jeff Gutt. While I do look at it differently from the material they made with Weiland, on its own I really love the majority of the album. The Art of Letting Go is my favorite STP related song from this decade.

2. Lana Del Rey Born to Die: Sassy, sexy, and mysterious. I truly think this is her magnum opus. Its a shame it was so critically derided, because much like Core by STP, I think this is stylistically her best album. She really brought something new to the table on Born to Die that many pop artists such as Billie Eilish, Lorde and Lola Marsh have clearly borrowed from (intentionally or otherwise). In terms of Alternative music, I would say this is the the album of the decade.

3. Shaman's Harvest Smokin' Heart and Broken Guns: Just a fantastic rock album from beginning to end. One aspect of this album that I especially love is the fact that it is Shaman's Harvest' fifth album. It goes to show that for some bands there is no ceiling, and you can always peak later in your career as opposed to the beginning. If you love hard rock music please give this a spin.

4. Linkin Park A Thousand Suns: This was the most important album of 2010 for 15 year old me. I remember how divisive Linkin Park's fanbase became because of this record. I loved it. While my puberty riddled brain hyped it up way more than it deserved to be (its experimental but its not OK Computer or 12 Bar Blues), for Linkin Park it was a huge step in a new direction. I remember how excited I was to see where their career would go after this album, only to be extremely disappointed with everything that followed it up. However, as far as experimental rock goes, this album deserves a place on my list for its ambition alone.

5. Scott Weiland Blaster: Its a different album for Scott Weiland's solo career. I really enjoyed it because it sounds like what STP's Peace album should have been. A retro throwback while also maintaining what makes the artist unique. He was very passionate about this band and it shows on the music. I also got this album signed by Scott a month before he passed away so there is sentimentality on that level as well. Such a shame he would never continue after this because I think he would have outdone this album again and again. Musically speaking, he was in a good place.

6. Mac Demarco 2: This was also one of my contenders for most important alternative album of the decade. Ultimately, I picked Born to Die because it had a much more significant impact on a mainstream level, but 2 is a fantastic album as well. A mellow journey into the mind and perspective of Mac Demarco, I listen to this album when I need to be in a better place away from the hassle of work, girlfriends, or just drama as a whole. If you haven't heard of this album, give it a spin. You may like it.

7. Red Sun Rising Polyester Zeal: Proof that Grunge and Post Grunge still have a place post the mid 2000s. I love the energy of this album, and while a big selling point is its similarity to a lot of my favorite bands, I don't think it sounds like some faceless album from the 90s. Red Sun Rising is quirky, unique and they do have their own sound. I am beyond excited to see what they bring to the 2020s and so glad to see new blood present in our aging scene.

8. Sick Puppies Connect: Many people hated this album, and I think that's unfortunate. While it is not as good as Tri-Polar it has many of my favorite Sick Puppies songs and lyrics. There's No Going Back is actually one of the most important songs for me ever on a personal level. I heard it my first semester of college, and it never fails to remind me that the bullshit I endured in high school is long gone. College was by far the best years of my life (thus far), and while personal sentimentality is a big reason why this album is on this list, I think it deserves a spot anyway.

9. World Fire Brigade Spreading My Wings: A lost Fuel album as far as I'm concerned. Sean Danielson has the chemistry Brett Scallions needs to make great music. A great guitarist and a great singer have an unspoken recipe for fantastic music and that is expressed in this album. Its a shame Brett didn't find someone established to join Fuel because this album actually rivals the material penned by Carl Bell, something Puppet Strings unfortunately does not.

10. Myles Kennedy The Year of the Tiger: Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. I love every song on this album, and I truly hope Myles pursues his solo career. This album came out at a point in my life where I really needed those words Myles sang here. I love this record from beginning to end, and it exemplifies what makes Myles so fantastic as an artist and musician.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Korn's The Serenity of Suffering, Korn's The Nothing and Black Labyrinth by Jonathan Davis
Rainier Fog Alice in Chains
Am I a Girl? Poppy
Connectivity Todd Whitener
Ultraviolence Lana Del Rey, Paradise Lana Del Rey

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS:
Linkin Park's One More Light is my worst album of the decade
Lust for Life and Norman Fucking Rockwell by Lana Del Rey
Welcome to Galvania Puddle of Mudd

Nice list you have Devil Inside You. I will have to check some of these out. You did an excellent job explaining what you like about each of them. Red Sun Rising sounds interesting. The only one I have listened to is Myles' solo album. If I had to chart the entire decade my list would be 2-3 times as long.

1) Alter Bridge - Walk The Sky

2) Diamond Head - The Coffin Train

3) Last In Line - II

4) Queensryche - The Verdict

5) Traveler - self titled

6) Cold - The Things We Can't Stop

7) Collective Soul - Blood

Thanks for posting ODR. More music for me to check out!

No problem. I'm more of a classic metal guy, so that most of my list. But yeah, that Diamond Head album is great if you like NWOBHM/riffy stuff.

Schulzy wrote:Nice list you have Devil Inside You. I will have to check some of these out. You did an excellent job explaining what you like about each of them. Red Sun Rising sounds interesting. The only one I have listened to is Myles' solo album. If I had to chart the entire decade my list would be 2-3 times as long.

Do it dude! I want to see what great hits I missed this decade. Out of your list I realized I skipped over Skillet's album. Good stuff there! As far as Red Sun Rising, this is their biggest hit so let me know what you think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1cj2M_Mprw

One Drew Remains wrote:No problem. I'm more of a classic metal guy, so that most of my list. But yeah, that Diamond Head album is great if you like NWOBHM/riffy stuff.

Cool to see Collective Soul and Cold in your list too. Will check them out

Yeah. I like that RSR album.

Everyone is raving about the Collective Soul album. I thought it was ok.

Top 5:

1. Sleep Token - Sundowning


2. Fever 333 - Strength In Numb333rs


3. Bring Me The Horizon - Amo


4. Holding Absence - Holding Absence


5. Dayseeker - Sleeptalk

1. Queensryche - The Verdict
2. Alter Bridge - Walk The Sky
3. Avantasia - Moonglow
4. The Fallen State - A Deadset Endeavour
5. Meytal - The Witness