Snõõper have succeeded in creating an album that celebrates the joy of live music, while not sacrificing any of their energy, originality or fun in the process.

Tycho never loses sight of what he is known for: the skillful mastery of crafting brilliant ambient soundscapes from bare computer programs. And believe it or not, his sound here is that much more captivating.

Fans of Depeche Mode can be happy to receive the band’s best offering of this century (though don’t get it twisted, ‘Playing The Angel’ is still a great record) but it’s unlikely they’ll change the minds of non-listeners, as foolish as such people are. The same ground is tread here, just in new shoes.

Unified and complex, ‘Octane’ bolsters the aspects that drove him to Billboard heights, while also teasing out fresh ideas.

A radiant and eminently danceable album, it’s a necessary salve to put on this year.

It’s great fun, and clearly a Bay Area attempt at the big league. Like hip-hop used to sound. Praise be.

2009 has seen the emergence and critical success of other techno-pop bands, including The xx and Fever Ray, and Pantha du Prince plays into exactly this sort of intelligent, thoughtful, and in many ways uplifting music.

Sonically and lyrically, Shura is at her most urgent and incisive.

This album is purposely ambiguous. By omitting such boundaries, it offers a storyline recognisable to everyone. Love is universal!

With ‘The Spiral’ acting as a key moment, a fusion of individual voice and collective endeavour, it’s clear that his journey has only just started.

The focus from all concerned makes the convincingly grisly fiction a lot of fun.

This open-ended offering brilliantly entices you to extrapolate meaning from it, to attach it to a time and space before letting it fully unfurl.

There are no bounds. ‘Exotico’ let’s go of control, so remarkable things can happen. It’s the closest Temples have been to releasing a masterpiece, and that’s saying something.

Romare sets out to bring in elements of his distinct sound from across his career always combining it with something fresh and invigorating. The fact that all of these elements come together into such an approachable and restrained album is quite impressive.

A striking, fantastically original work, this is an album that taps into animalistic emotion.

One of the songwriter’s most overtly gorgeous works, it finds Panda Bear easing into new ground while maintaining his near effortless melodic touch.

Expectations for CMAT’s second album were sky-high, but she’s managed to reach new musical heights with ease and style. ‘Crazymad, For Me’ is another smash hit from a showstopper vocalist that really puts the fun back in pop music.

As You As You Were already feels like a festival anthem in waiting. Stunningly good music.

UNIVERSITY have given us themselves on their debut album, and we thank them for the glorious noise, chaos, mayhem and moments of calm which takes us to another world completely.

Taught and lean, bold and mean, Blood Red Shoes are fighting fit and Fire Like This might just be their knock-out punch.

The Murder Capital offer authenticity, honesty and truth aplenty, it has already become difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a vibrant music scene without them and there is a sense that this album is only the beginning of their compulsive journey.

‘Belong’ has an easy-on-ear feel that is combined to a rich audio quality. But it’s more than just studio magic – Jay Som has rarely written with more confidence, rarely expressed herself with more bravery.

Life is about growth, and with this bold, brave project Loski matures as both an artist and a man.

Woolford fends off critics of unoriginality by contributing to/completing bass music’s circle of life. Good tidings of Thunder and Joy.

Seven deeply moving songs teetering deliciously on the brink of collapse. It was a long time in the making, but now, at the age of 27, Minus feels alarmingly close to the album Blumberg was always supposed to write.

Boasting 17 tracks and 78 minutes of music, ‘STAR LINE’ is a feast from start to finish. A record that points to his breadth, certain aspects – the torpid ‘Tree’ featuring an out-of-form Lil Wayne – don’t quite resonate. That’s fine, though: there’s more than enough here to drown out the noise.

If there’s a lack of truly revelatory alternative takes, then Anthology 4 makes up for this by shining a light on The Beatles as people, and as studio musicians.

Viagra Boys have a deep well of emotional intelligence hidden underneath their aggressively ignorant façade.