Here is a list of Top 20 Jazz albums of 2020 from Jazzwise
Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2020 | Jazzwise
Post other lists you find, or post your own list… no rules.
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Thanks for posting this @RobOK. I don’t really consider myself a big Jazz fan so I was surprised to see I had 4 of these in my collection! That Nubya Garcia album is fantastic.
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Here’s NPR’s list.
Maria Schneider’s Data Lords is #1 on both, and otherwise a fair amount of correspondence between the two lists.
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Very nice list. Thanks!
My 2020 top 20 (reverse release date):
Faune, Raphaël Pannier Quartet
Pedernal, Susan Alcorn Quintet
Atlântico, Mario Laginha/Julian Argüelles/Helge Norbakken
Sentinel, Erik Friedlander
Rainbow Sign, Ron Miles
The Unidentifiable, Matthew Shipp Trio
Omega, Immanuel Wilkins
History Gets Ahead of the Story, Jeff Cosgrove/John Medeski/Jeff Lederer
Blue Has a Range, Steve Cardenas
Tide, Micah Thomas
Hero Trio, Rudresh Mahanthappa
Imaginary Archipelago, Karuna Trio
Tight Like This, Kirk Knuffke
Freya, Tineke Postma
We Are Sent Here By History, Shabaka & The Ancestors
Big Vicious, Avishai Cohen
Angular Blues, Wolfgang Muthspiel/Scott Colley/Brian Blade
8: Kindred Spirits, Charles Lloyd
Fantastic Mrs. 10, Tim Berne Snakeoil
Nocturnal Animals, Yelena Eckemoff
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The albums reviewed at jazztrail.net tend avant-garde, but not exclusively. Some of my favorites overlap with theirs.
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Awesome list!! any further pointers… a Top 5 to start with, or grouping them in some way? (you mentioned avant-garde in your note…
Tough to select 5 out of the 20, but here are 5 chosen for novelty (Omega and Freya are first releases for their leaders) and general unpredictability. None pure avant-garde, all exploratory.
Pedernal, Susan Alcorn Quintet
Imaginary Archipelago, Karuna Trio
Freya, Tineke Postma
Fantastic Mrs. 10, Tim Berne Snakeoil
Omega, Immanuel Wilkins
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Thanks for the recommendations I will give them a listen. By the way, “Freya” is not Tineke Postma’s first release. She has been releasing recordings since 2003/2004 and now has about 7 releases under her own name plus another 10 or so appearances. Check her out on Tidal or Qobuz.
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I would like to recommend fluxfm jazzradio schwarzenstein to you. It is a adfree radio station, music only, strictly jazz.
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Does anyone want to share some favorite Jazz albums… could be this year, could be just what is lighting you up recently! (Or consoling you if you are blue, as the case may be)
@RobOK Hi Rob,
You might to have a look this thread: Now Playing Some Jazz
Long thread with lots and lots of great recommendations. The thread even has it’s own Qobuz playlist.
Yes I try that thread, it’s almost overwhelming!
I am a fairly light jazz listener, meaning more occasionally than every day. That thread is deep!
Thanks! That thread is meant to be deep. There are many threads and posts online about recommended jazz albums. A quick google search is all you need.
The top two albums would be:
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
A no brainer since these are two best selling jazz albums of all time.
Perhaps some other community jazz lovers will fill the rest of the “usual” top ten jazz recommendations. Once you’ve listened to the top ten albums and want to dig deeper into jazz there’s always the Now Playing Some Jazz thread. 
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I like to promote more recent jazz, so here are a few favorite entry points released in the last decade:
Vijay Iyer Trio “Accelerando”
Dave Holland/Zakir Hussein/Chris Potter “Good Hope”
Charles Lloyd and the Marvels “Tone Poem”
Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan “Small Town”
Carla Bley/Steve Swallow/Andy Sheppard “Andando el Tiempo”
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Here’s a few recent jazz releases that I really like:
Nubya Garcia - Source
Ben Allison - Moments Inside
Steve Cardenas - Blue Has A Range
Avishai Cohen - Naked Truth
Gidon Nunes Vaz Quartet - Ebb Tide
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For me, these are two great musicians from Austria.
My 3 best of 2022 (so far):
