1. Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Yeah, great disc. Didn't rank quite as highly for me. I still think I like Blood Mountain a little more.

3. Exivious - s/t

Not my favorite instrumental disc of all time (or even 2009), but a great disc nonetheless.

5. Futures End - Memoirs of a Broken Man

Maybe I should give this a proper listen. I got so pissed off by the self-described 'technical metal' tag that was completely inappropriate, that I never really listened to the whole disc.

9. Serdce - The Alchemy of Harmony

This will be on my 2010 list. It came out like a week before the end of the year in Belarus, so I don't count that

12. Candlemass - Death Magic Doom

Probably their weakest disc for me. Oh well, I can finally give up on them.

16. Obscura - Cosmogenesis

Good stuff. Still listen to it semi-regularly. I like it more than Necrophagist. /me ducks

20. Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day

Definitely better than the last two. I think I ended up deleting the mp3s, though. I just don't ever find myself wanting to listen to this type of music any more.

27. Horfixion - The Art of Agony

I can't remember if I checked it out or not. I thought their older stuff was decent, but kind of unmemorable.

30. Decadence – Chargepoint

3rd Stage of Decay was a borderline disc for me. I ended up binning it, but it almost made the to-buy list. Maybe I should try this one out.

31. Shadows Fall - Retribution

I only really like their early stuff, and I never put it on.

41. Gnostic - Engineering the Rule

I really liked the demos, but I feel they totally ruined the songs on the debut. They upped the tempo for no discernible reason and added some really distasteful guitar leads over just about every second of the thing.

51. Ram-Zet - Neutralized

Weird, you like this as much as Escape? I'd say they've consistently gone down since that fantastic disc. This one is on my to-buy list, but I doubt the next one will be unless something changes.

53. Gorod - Process of a New Decline

In retrospect, this should be in my top 4 for the year. I still listen to it regularly. Fantastic disc. Much better than its predecessor.

54. Believer – Gabriel

I never really got into them back in the day, so maybe I am the lone person who isn't clouded by nostalgia. This disc was terrible.

62. Never - Back to the Front

I like their older material better.

66. Beheaded Zombie - Happiness for All

This is way too far down your list. Fantastic disc. Very original sound, albeit a little homogenous.

70. Complex 7 - c7.09 EP

I don't even remember this. I think I downloaded it.... gonna go look.

81. White Wizzard - High Speed GTO

I've heard about 15 seconds of this band and wanted to shoot myself.

89. While Heaven Wept - Vast Oceans Lachrymose

My first foray into the band. Still don't know what the fuss is about. Pretty generic power metal.

91. Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps

Not my favorite of theirs, but glad that you finally dig one of their discs.

99. Baroness - Blue Record

One that I bought that I probably should've skipped. I never listen to it.

105. The Isosceles Project - Oblivion's Candle

Talented players with nothing to say! Just kidding. I like the disc, too, but it certainly isn't way up on my list either.

109. Lye by Mistake - Fea Jur

I'm surprised you like this one. It's almost straight up fusion, albeit busier than most. It's barely even metallic. Great stuff, though.

110. Animals as Leaders - s/t

Great players with nothing to say. This time I actually mean it.

111. Scale the Summit - Carving Desert Canyons

Yeah, they're ok, but not good enough to make the cut for me.

113. Augury - Fragmentary Evidence

IIRC, this was a close call, but ultimately deleted.

As always, a good read. Thanks.