Top Junkyard Albums of 2020

Voting is over, and it’s time to announce this year’s winners!
As you already know, this year we relied entirely on you, our dear readers, and the results are more than interesting. The goal was to select the top five albums that will mark the year that has finally come to an end. However, based on your choices, the list turned out to be slightly longer. The reason? Only the first and second albums managed to pull ahead, while four albums tied for third place. As a result, they share the rankings from sixth to third place.

To wrap things up, we’re also presenting our own list—just for fun and to see where our choices align with yours and where they don’t!

6. H.E.A.T – H.E.A.T II

For the Swedish rockers, this was the sixth album in a career that began in 2009. From the start, they’ve embraced the modern melodic hard rock style and have remained true to it to this day. Among fans of the new melodic hard rock wave—much of which has its revival rooted in Sweden—they’re considered one of the best bands of the new scene. H.E.A.T II brought a collection of high-quality, thrilling rock tracks and fully deserved its place among the top entries on this list.

5. Bloody Heels – Ignite The Sky

This is a relatively new band that appeared on the music scene just a few years ago, hailing from Latvia. Ignite The Sky is only their second album, yet it not only made it onto this humble list but also captured the world’s attention with their unique approach to hard rock music. Darker than most of their peers, they quickly earned the label of a “dark-melodic-rock” band. Since it was practically us who introduced them to the public space of our music scene (without false modesty—it’s simply a fact), we’re thrilled to see them among the top picks. This proves you liked them and that we did the right thing!

4. L.A. Guns – Renegades

L.A. Guns make it to the top albums of the year once again. But which L.A. Guns, you ask? We’ve warned and written about this confusing issue of two bands operating under the same name, even sharing streaming service profiles. Complicated, isn’t it?

This “version 2” lineup, led by drummer Steve Riley and bassist Kelly Nickels, released Renegades in the latter half of the year. What to say? It’s an interesting album with many quality and engaging tracks, but it doesn’t come close to the works from 2017 and 2019 delivered by the lineup led by singer Phil Lewis and guitarist Tracii Guns. This simply isn’t the L.A. Guns, despite moments of charm scattered throughout. Had they used a different name, none of this would matter. But in the battle of brand vs. band, the former always wins.

3. Cherie Currie – Blvds of Splendor

The legendary singer of The Runaways released this gem in April 2020, and it was clear from the start that this was a remarkably well-crafted album. Produced by none other than Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, The Cult), it also featured guest appearances from Slash, Duff, and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. The opening track is actually an old, unused riff from Velvet Revolver, played by the band’s members for this release.

Cherie has proven why she remains one of rock’s legendary divas to this day. The album is flawless from start to finish, and we’re delighted that you placed it among the top albums of 2020.

2. Ozzy Osbourne – Ordinary Man

At the very beginning of the year, before the cursed pandemic took over, the legendary Ozzy released his Ordinary Man, the twelfth album of his solo career. We even listened to it together during a special review session, where we concluded that the album as a whole didn’t quite live up to all possible expectations.

Despite the involvement of Duff McKagan, Chad Smith, and the young Andrew Watt in the recording and production (surprisingly not Zakk Wylde!), the album delivered some fantastic tracks but also had moments where Ozzy seemed to be catering to a completely different audience—especially in the last two songs featuring Travis Scott and Post Malone.

Regardless, Ozzy is a legend of the music we love, and for that, we forgive him everything. As your votes confirmed.

1. AC/DC – Power Up

And now, we’ve reached the very top, where none other than the legendary Australians AC/DC have climbed this year. After a few turbulent years when it was unclear whether the band even existed or what lineup was active (Axl Rose even left his tour to sing for AC/DC), relief came in the form of this release titled Power Up.

Aside from the name on the cover, in our opinion, there’s not much that sets this album apart from the others, even compared to the band’s previous releases. Still, a big name, years of anticipation, and their legendary status did their job. You chose the winner of 2020, and it’s AC/DC’s Power Up!

Thank you for participating, dear readers, and for supporting us through all these years!

As promised, here’s our editorial team’s ranking of the 20 albums you voted on. That’s it for 2020—let’s move forward because the upcoming year promises to be crazy for new releases!