What a great year for the music we all love! In what proved to be a fine vintage of a year there were many contenders for the top spot this time around but when all votes were counted The Magpie Salute just pipped Black Stone Cherry to what would have been a second consecutive Top Spot. Congratulations not only to all that made the list in this highly competitive year, but also to all the bands that we reviewed this year – remember that we only review what we consider the to be the best…

Remember also this is only the Hard Rock ‘Best of’ list. Separate ‘Australian releases’, ‘Metal’, ‘Blues’, ‘Interviews’ and ‘Gig of the Year Lists are also now available to check out HERE.

Have a great time listening and make sure you get out and support local Live Music!

Mark Rockpit.

1. The Magpie Salute – High Water 1

“‘High Water I’ is going to be a very hard act to follow, and at this point in time seems to be a cert for my album of the year… This is the album that they were thinking of when they told you they didn’t make albums like this anymore.”

INTERVIEW WITH RICH ROBINSON – HERE

2. Black Stone Cherry – Family Tree

“This is Black Stone Cherry’s most mature album to date and by that I don’t mean that there’s a lack of fireworks, more that there’s a real wisdom at play – a great balance and authenticity to the sound that only comes with years. This is an important Rock album, not just the best by these Kentucky rockers so far”.

Interview with Ben Wells HERE

3. Little Caesar – 8

“If you want to hear an album that captures the real essence of soulful, uplifting, blues-infused rock and roll and which sports just the right amount of dirt under the fingernails this is one of the best you’ll hear in a long, long time. I never thought I would ever say this, but this album just might be Little Caesar’s finest moment, and that comes from someone who has their debut still riding high in their list of all time favourite albums.”

INTERVIEW WITH RON YOUNG – HERE

4. Donnie Vie – Beautiful Things

“It’s been 4 years now since 2014’s ‘The White Album’ but this has definitely been worth the wait, as a piece of art it’s stunning. This collection of songs is a wonderful addition to the legacy Vie has constructed over the last four decades, but not just that, these are songs we’ll remember for years to come. These are songs to keep in your heart and let out when you need to get back from the blue”.

INTERVIEW ON THE WAY

5. The Struts -Young and Dangerous

“This is an album that reminds you why you love Rock and Roll so much, and it recreates that intense feeling without being overtly nostalgic or cloyingly reverential. There’s a real mix of love of life and a real passion here and we always need more albums like that.”

6. Bad Touch – Shake a Leg

“Hearing the single ‘Lift Your Head Up’ might be all you need to take a chance on this, the third album by UK Hard Rockers Bad Touch. It’s a great song and really gets a party started that never ends. I’ve listened to this album multiple times now and I can guarantee you its solid gold front snout to tail! If you want some great good time hard rock that makes you smile then this is your album of the year.”

INTERVIEW WITH STEVIE WESTWOOD – HERE

7. Midnite City – There Goes the Neighbourhood

“The best albums like this back in the day transported you. You could drop a needle on the record and forget everything that ailed you, as the music kicked in the world was instantly a better place. This is one of those rare albums, it brings with it the bluest of skies and the feelings that your dreams ain’t that far away after all…”

INTERVIEW WITH ROB WYLDE – HERE

8. Hardcore Superstar – You Can’t Kill My Rock and Roll

“If you love HCSS already you will love this one. 11 albums in the energy is still there, the song-writing is as in your face as it ever was, the huge choruses are present and correct and the guitar makes you want to jump out of your chair and race down to the nearest rock cub and demand they immediately put this on. Music should be a celebration of everything you love and believe e there is more than enough to love here… If you haven’t heard the band yet then pick this up and see what has been missing from your life!”

INTERVIEW WITH JOCKE BERG – HERE

9. The Dead Daisies – Burn It Down

“Over the last five years the Dead Daisies have produced three damn good studio albums, a rather tasty live album and now their fourth album ‘Burn It Down’ is about to drop. It’s an album that does what it says on the tin – it takes that mellow, assured classic rock they’ve become known for and rips up the rule book, throws in some heavier influences, deeper blues notes and in opener ‘Resurrected’ it simply lets rip, delivering a hard rocking masterpiece that’s louder than everything that’s come before and sees Corabi, who is excellent throughout, channeling his inner Ronnie Van Zant.”

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN CORABI – HERE

10. Kissin’ Dynamite – Ecstasy

“What can I say? For me these German rockers have just pulled away from the pack. There are plenty of great modern melodic hard rock bands out there, but whilst the Swedes have always been just that little ahead of the rest of us with this album I’d put Kissin Dynamite firmly in the hot-seat. This is a great album – full of hooks and a passion you don’t often hear these days. This is their best to date, but the race is still on!”

INTERVIEW ON THE WAY

11. Black Coffee – Take One

“This has to be one of my favourite albums of the year. If you want an album to grab you from the off and never loosen its grip then this offering from Columbus, Ohio’s Black Coffee is one that will stick with you long after track nine fades”.

INTERVIEW ON THE WAY

12. The Temperance Movement – A Deeper Cut

“Imagine a UK band with all the vim and vigor of a US band like Rival Sons and the intimacy and emotion of the lighter moments of early Black Crowes and Free and you have a very lazy and rather perfunctory overview of The Temperance Movement’s sound. That of course is to do the British five-piece a disservice as with opener ‘Caught in the Middle’ they prove they have their own unique spin on making the best sounds of 70’s rock modern and essential again.”

INTERVIEW ON THE WAY

13. Mark Knight and the Unsung Heroes – Don’t Kill the Cat

“There’s a huge magical slow groove to opener ‘Hey Mama’ the duet with Oni Logan (of Lynch Mob fame): it’s a song cut from ancient bluesy cloth but with a vibrancy and refrain that is ‘rock’ enough to propel it into modern day deep fried contemporary blues territory. It’s immediately as relevant and as ‘cutting edge’ as anything artists like The Temperance Movement, Rival Sons or The Black Keys are calling their own.”

INTERVIEW WITH MARK KNIGHT – HERE

14. Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – Living The Dream

“Guitar icon Slash and his cohort of hard rock buddies in Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators return once again for their third outing together with “Living The Dream”, 12 tracks of bluesy, hard rock tunes that keep things simple and to the point… one of their finest sounding records to date.”

INTERVIEW WITH BRENT FITZ – HERE

15. Prophets of Addiction – Nothing But The Truth

16. Roxanne- Radio Silence

“This is a great Rock record and no one is more surprised that me to find it slip nicely and easily into my list of top releases of the year.”

17. Black Paisley – Perennials

“These Swedish rockers have done it again and this time spread their wings a little further to bring a wonderful mix of Classic Rock, Melodic Rock and AOR to the table with added shots of Southern Rock, Country Rock and some nice singer-songwriter sensibilities for texture. More quality hard rock that just hits the spot nicely.”