Gremmy Awards are hard. I often don't agree with them a year later, there are records that I inevitably overlook or great albums that just don't find a place. Thankfully, I've met a bunch of friends over the years that I know are listening to plenty of new surf releases, and so I ask them for their favorites so that you can have some opinions other than my own terrible ones. I give them cart blanche as to how they want to write them up, so this may be a little disjointed, but I think it's fun that way.

Huge thanks to everybody that contributed! Parts in italics are my own introductions.

Every year there are a few other things that I think are worth mentioning or commemorating other than just some good albums. Some of these categories appear every year, some disappear, it's really kind of up to my whim.

I didn't include Gremmy Award .png files because there would be too many of them. Feel free to contact me if you'd like your image.

This is the category for bands that skirt the edge of what would be considered surf, either intentionally or by chance. This was another category this year where there was an abundance of good stuff, moreso than usual. Could it be that surf groups are trending in a more adventurous direction? Or maybe instrumental groups are gaining in popularity. I think it's both! Anyway, here's my pick of standouts.

Full steam ahead, this category is for groups that prioritze noise, speed, and power in their instrumental music. They often take influence from punk groups, they're often simple and lo-fi, and in spirit sometimes I think they're closer to what teens in the 60's wanted to do.

This category is for surf groups that don't feel like they need to closely imitate the sounds of yesteryear, who carve out their own sound and identity. I don't know if I've ever crammed this category with so many records as this year -- and this is after several difficult cuts. Maybe I need to be more ruthless, or maybe there was just so much to love. I like to think it's the latter. Here are what I consider to be the cream of the crop for 2020.

These days garage bands with a little bit of reverb on their vocals are called surf bands. Thankfully, there are still plenty of excellent groups out there that know what surf really sounds like. The following bands aren't aiming to reinvent anything, they're all about making great instrumentals with that irresistable sound cooked up in the 1960s.

This was a good year for trad surf groups and an interesting one. Most of the groups below are sort of rising stars of the scene who made their initial appearance only in recent years, without much presence from the more legendary 90's era groups. Here are what I believe to be the standouts.

Welcome to the first, most irrelevant round of the Gremmy Awards. Album Art matters. Without listening it gives you an idea of what an album might sound like, the effort put in, and even though it shouldn't, it usually does have some say in whether or not you end up listening to it. Even when listening to the final product, it can guide the mindset that you listen in.

Here are several picks from this year that really stood out.

Stream it before you remember to write 2021 on documents

2020 is over. Maybe not in terms of global panic, but we did technically make a trip around the sun. During that trip festivals were cancelled, bands couldn't play shows.... but music certainly didn't grind to a halt. There were a LOT of great surf releases in 2020 -- in fact I counted more releases overall than in 2019.

Yeah yeah, 2020 was a bad year for the world. And of course, surf bands couldn't play shows, festivals were cancelled. However, it was hardly a dormant year for the surf listener! While many bands suffered from inability to meet and collaborate, plenty of others thrived from the extra time. As a result, this list is actually bigger than last year's!