AOTM: Taylor Acorn - Total pop/rock, but done as well as anyone has for a long time. Stickiest album of the year, no doubt. Love this one.

Good: Battle Beast - They're always good. The only problem is that it doesn't stand out from the others, so it's a bit hard to feel drawn to keep listening.

Meh: Ronnie Romero, Shiraz Lane, Mammoth

Bad: Creeper - Ugh. The singles were the only good songs. The rest is a slog of bad goth and bland-as-all-hell melodies. They have so much talent, but they keep pissing me off by playing such awful characters.

Testament - Just being heavy isn't interesting. Billy's vocals are often intolerable and annoying, and the songs are barely songs. Unmemorable from start to finish.