ProgNaut.com - Steven's Top 20 Picks for 2009

Since I only heard about 40 new albums all the way through last year, regardless of genre, my top 20 should be taken with a dose of salt. I'm sure most prog reviewers at ProgNaut.com & elsewhere heard many more discs than this.

I have intentionally avoided anything Systems Theory-related, so no "The Noble Gases" by Greg Amov, and I have only rated albums I bought with my own money. I wasn't reviewing music in 2009, so I've ignored anything I was given.

Steven's Top 20 Picks for 2009:

01. La Bocca Della Verita - "Avenoth"

02. Deluge Grander - "The Form Of The Good" *

03. Beardfish - "Destined Solitaire"

04. Magma - "Emehntehtt-Re"

05. Umphrey's McGee - "Mantis"

06. Wobbler - "Afterglow"

07. Porcupine Tree - "The Incident" ***

08. Kevin Gilbert - "Nuts" & "Bolts" (yes I know it's two discs but AFAIAC it's one project) ++

09. Airbag - "Identity" (**)

10. Muse - "The Resistance" ***

11. Brother Ape - "Turbulence"

12. Tortoise - "Beacons of Ancestorship"

13. Tori Amos - "Abnormally Attracted To Sin"

14. IQ - "Frequency" ***

15. Zombi - "Spirit Animal"

16. Darwin's Radio "Template For A Generation"

17. Dream Theater - "Black Clouds and Silver Linings"

18. Agents of Mercy – "The Fading Ghosts of Twilight" *

19. Prymary - "The Enemy Inside"

20. Transatlantic – "The Whirlwind"

BTW, right up there with these albums (and better than many of them) but not released in 2009 is "Cyber Neptune" * by the French-Canadian indie-prog-chill chanteuse Claire Vezina. I didn't discover her until 2009, unfortunately. This was her excellent 2008 release.

-- Cheers,
Steven Davies-Morris, new ProgNaut.com reviewer

* = reviewed Ron

(**) reviewed by Joseph

*** reviewed by Prof

+ = reviewed by Elias

++ = reviewed by Terry