An ongoing ranking and rating of my favorite albums of 2019. Items in bold are part of my personal CD collection.
THE TOP TEN
1. Diamond Head ~ The Coffin Train (10.8)
2. The Darkness ~ Easter Is Cancelled (10.1)
3. Royal Republic ~ Club Majesty (9.3)
4. Rival Sons ~ Feral Roots (9.3)
5. Block Buster ~ Losing Gravity (9.3)
6. Soleil Moon ~ Warrior (9.1)
7. The New Shining ~ Elephant (9.1)
8. The Defiants ~ Zokusho (9.0)
9. Fortune ~ II (9.0)
10. Volbeat ~ Rewind Replay Rebound (9.0)
THE REST: ALPHABETICAL BY RATING
Silversun Pickups ~ Widow’s Weeds (8.9)
Cannonballz ~ 8Ballz2Many (8.8)
Jimmy Eat World ~ Surviving (8.7)
Tora Tora ~ Bastards Of Beale (8.7)
Vanden Plas ~ The Ghost Xperiment: Awakening (8.7)
Last In Line ~ II (8.6)
Alan Parsons ~ The Secret (8.6)
Spread Eagle ~ Subway To The Stars (8.6)
A New Tomorrow ~ Universe (8.5)
The Black Keys ~ Let’s Rock (8.5)
The Lumineers ~ III (8.5)
Tygers Of Pan Tang ~ Ritual (8.5)
Angel Witch ~ Angel Of Light (8)
Blink-182 ~ Nine (8)
Borknagar ~ True North (8)
Bruce Springsteen ~ Western Stars (8.0)
Burning Rain ~ Face The Music (8)
Coldplay ~ Everyday Life (8)
Collective Soul ~ Blood (8)
Crashdïet ~ Rust (8)
Down ‘N’ Outz ~ This Is How We Roll (8)
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ ~ Live The Love Beautiful (8)
Eclipse ~ Paradigm (8)
The End Machine ~ The End Machine (8)
Evergrey ~ The Atlantic (8)
Grand Magus ~ Wolf God (8)
Jim Peterik & World Stage ~ Winds Of Change (8)
Joyous Wolf ~ Place In Time (8.0)
L.A. Guns ~ The Devil You Know (8)
Leprous ~ Pitfalls (8)
Mind Key ~ Aliens In Wonderland (8)
Myrath ~ Shehili (8.0)
Opeth ~ In Cauda Venenum (8)
Sabaton ~ The Great War (8)
SL Theory ~ Cipher (8.0)
Soen ~ Lotus (8.0)
Tedeschi Trucks Band ~ Signs (8)
Tesla ~ Shock (8)
Tool ~ Fear Inoculum (8)
Whitesnake ~ Flesh & Blood (8)
Riot City ~ Burn The Night (7.8)
The Hu ~ The Gereg (7.5)
Jasmine Cain ~ Seven (7.5)
Laura Cox ~ Burning Bright (7.5)
Avalon (Timo Tolkki’s) ~ Return To Eden (7.3)
The Damned Things ~ High Crimes (7.3)
Airbourne ~ Boneshaker (7)
Alter Bridge ~ Walk The Sky (7)
The Ardours ~ Last Place On Earth (7)
Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia ~ Moonglow (7)
Axe ~ Final Offering (7)
Badflower ~ Okay, I’m Sick (7)
Baroness ~ Gold & Grey (7)
Black Star Riders ~ Another State Of Grace (7)
Chaos Magic ~ Furyborn (7)
D-A-D ~ A Prayer For The Loud (7)
Death Angel ~ Humanicide (7)
DragonForce ~ Extreme Power Metal (7)
Flying Colors ~ Third Degree (7)
Grace Potter ~ Daylight (7)
Hardline ~ Life (7)
Hollow Haze ~ Between Wild Landscapes And Deep Blue Seas (7)
House Of Shakira ~ Radiocarbon (7)
Inglorious ~ Ride To Nowhere (7)
Kaato ~ Slam! (7)
Kane Roberts ~ The New Normal (7)
KXM ~ Circle Of Dolls (7)
Sascha Paeth’s Masters Of Ceremony ~ Signs Of Wings (7)
Melissa Etheridge ~ The Medicine Show (7)
Mike Tramp ~ Stray From The Flock (7)
Overkill ~ The Wings Of War (7)
Pristine ~ Road Back To Ruin (7)
Ram ~ The Throne Within (7)
Ray Alder ~ What The Water Wants (7)
Restless Spirits ~ Restless Spirits (7)
Sammy Hagar & The Circle ~ Space Between (7)
Santa Cruz ~ Katharsis (7)
Sinner ~ Santa Muerte (7)
Spirits Of Fire ~ Spirits Of Fire (7)
Unruly Child ~ Big Blue World (7)
The Wayward Sons ~ The Truth Ain’t What It Used To Be (7)
Whiskey Myers ~ Whiskey Myers (7)
Leverage ~ Determinus (6.8)
The Who ~ Who (6.8)
Gloryhammer ~ Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex (6.5)
Haunt ~ If Icarus Could Fly (6.5)
Kadavar ~ For The Dead Travel Fast (6.5)
Sonata Arctica ~ Talviyö (6.5)
Edge Of Forever ~ Native Soul (6.4)
Big Wreck ~ …But For The Sun (6)
The Brink ~ Nowhere To Run (6)
Buckcherry ~ Warpaint (6)
Crazy Lixx ~ Forever Wild (6)
Deep Dark River ~ Leviathan & The Deep, Dark Blue (6)
Dream Theater ~ Distance Over Time (6)
Duff McKagan ~ Tenderness (6)
First Signal ~ Line Of Fire (6)
Flotsam And Jetsam ~ The End Of Chaos (6)
Gary Clark Jr. ~ This Land (6)
Goo Goo Dolls ~ Miracle Pill (6)
HammerFall ~ Dominion (6)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band ~ The Traveler (6)
Magic Kingdom ~ MetAlmighty (6.0)
The National ~ I Am Easy To Find (6)
Queensrÿche ~ The Verdict (6)
Reaper X ~ Rise (6)
Roxy Blue ~ Roxy Blue (6)
Scared Reich ~ Awakening (6)
Scott Stapp ~ The Space Between The Shadows (6)
Starbreaker ~ Dysphoria (6)
Suzi Quatro ~ No Control (6)
Sweet Oblivion ~ Sweet Oblivion (6)
Switchfoot ~ Native Tongue (6)
Toby Hitchcock ~ Reckoning (6)
Tony Carey ~ Lucky Us (6)
The Treatment ~ Power Crazy (6)
Within Temptation ~ Resist (6)
Lovekillers ~ Lovekillers (5.8)
Steel Panther ~ Heavy Metal Rules (5.8)
Work Of Art ~ Exhibits (5.5)
Michael Thompson Band ~ Love & Beyond (5.3)
Mystik ~ Mystik (5.3)
Otherwise ~ Defy (5.3)
Starset ~ Divisions (5.3)
Beast In Black ~ From Hell With Love (5)
Cage9 ~ Hypesthesia (5)
Danko Jones ~ A Rock Supreme (5)
Guster ~ Look Alive (5)
Helix ~ Old School (5)
Jetboy ~ Born To Fly (5)
LastWorld ~ Time (5)
Quiet Riot ~ Hollywood Cowboys (5)
Ron Keel Band ~ Fight Like A Band (5)
Savoy Brown ~ City Night (5)
Skillet ~ Victorious (5)
West Bound ~ Volume I (5)
Yngwie Malmsteen ~ Blue Lightning (5)
The 69 Eyes ~ West End (4.8)
Status Quo ~ Backbone (4.8)
Battle Beast ~ No More Hollywood Endings (4.5)
Warrior Soul ~ Rock ‘N’ Roll Disease (4.5)
Find Me ~ Angels In Blue (4)
CURRENTLY UNRATED
Altitudes + Attitude ~ Get It Out
Anavae ~ 45
Angel ~ Risen
Avatarium ~ The Fire I Long For
The Avett Brothers ~ Closer Then Together
Bad Wolves ~ N.A.T.I.O.N.
Barbe-Q-Barbies ~ Borrowed Time
Bryan Adams ~ Shine A Light
Candlemass ~ The Door To Doom
Chris Robinson Brotherhood ~ Servants Of The Sun
Crystal Eyes ~ Starbourne Traveler
The Dead Daisies ~ Locked And Loaded: The Covers Album [Covers]
Edge Of Paradise ~ Universe
The Ferrymen ~ A New Evil
Freedom Call ~ M.E.T.A.L.
Grim Reaper ~ At The Gates
Highly Suspect ~ MICD
The Hold Steady ~ Thrashing Thru The Positive
Iron Savior ~ Kill Or Get Killed
Michael Bormann’s Jaded Hard ~ Feels Like Yesterday
Killswitch Engage ~ Atonement
Life Of Agony ~ The Sound Of Scars
Majestica ~ Above The Sky
Michael Schenker Fest ~ Revelation
Michael Sweet ~ Ten
Neal Morse ~ Jesus Christ The Exorcist
The Neal Morse Band ~ The Great Adventure
The New Roses ~ Nothing But Wild!
Paul Di’Anno ~ Tales From The Beast
Pretty Maids ~ Undress Your Madness
The Rods ~ Brotherhood Of Metal
The Squares ~ The Squares
Stormburner ~ Shadow Rising
Third Eye Blind ~ Screamer
The Three Tremors ~ The Three Tremors
Tom Keifer Band ~ Rise
Tombstone ~ Shadows Of Fear
Visionatica ~ Enigma Fire
X Ambassadors ~ Orion
[Last updated: 2020.12.28]
ROCK IN A HARD PLACE 