Welcome To Hard Times is his most magnificent album yet.

Its calmness in the face of life’s trials is truly inspiring. That something so thoughtful and positive could come from such a turbulent time is someone’s life is astounding, and showcases just what a great songwriter Alain Johannes is.

Shunning a tried-and-tested formula to focus on evolution and experimentation is always a massive risk. But by choosing to embrace their calmer, and often much darker side, the Dubliners could well have given us their masterpiece.

Like the original album, most of these songs deal with the themes of love, loss, sex and power in open, frank ways that can make for – at first – a difficult, unwieldy listen. But presented here, in a more intimate setting, the songs are more accessible, and certainly more apt for repeated listens.

Alanis Morissette has long been a rarity among her peers, more than willing to address significant, yet unsettling subject matter. Such Pretty Forks In The Road is a case in point, with inspiring lyrical touches and affecting vocal sincerity placing it among her best albums.

The Psychedelic Furs needn’t have made anything this good. Many of these songs will grow in potency in a live setting (if we ever get back to that).

Steve offers a simple, risk-free avenue to access a very deep, very meaningful cultural history that is seemingly inaccessible to newcomers at first glance. Put simply, you’d have be pretty miserable to think it wasn’t harmless fun, and if it turns one person on to the real thing, then it’s definitely worth it.

It’s the subtlest yet most powerful record of their career to date, and while it does reach far into the past, while it nods to jazz, funk and electronic music, it also feels consistent and controlled.

It is a storming electropop record taking account of the times in which we live but fighting them with positive energy. His music is as strikingly relevant now as it was in the late 1970s, the creative fires burning brightly in the relative darkness.

While not quite as immediate as its predecessor, All The Time is an enjoyable collection of bops and ditties for those who like their tunes retro and mischievous.

For deep and lasting inspiration, A Small Death is hard to beat.

The voice of Shirley Collins is blossoming again, delivering its compelling stories with the urgency of a singer who simply had to make this record. Collins is a musical key worker, her songs compelling at every turn.

Heartache has inspired countless songs and albums over the years and if nothing else Old Flowers shows how humans will continue to turn to music for comfort in times of sadness for many years to come. These songs have clearly provided solace to Andrews and it’s likely they’ll do the same for others in similar need.

What Folklore ultimately achieves in its narrative of escapism is reinforcing the notion that Swift isn’t one of the greatest twenty-first century artists because her work is autobiographical, or because she leaves cleverly crafted clues leading up to her albums (although these are all interesting elements) but rather because she is, first and foremost, a storyteller. Folklore is sad, beautiful, somewhat tragic, a little bit off the wall, but most of all it feels free.

From bow to stern The Chicks take us on a musical boat ride, with infectious top lines you’ll be humming long after the album has ended – just make sure you don’t leave your tights.

Bing & Ruth have always provided poignant and moving listening experiences, but Species takes a different turn, and fully reaps the benefits.

Hate For Sale is surely one of the best albums this legendary band has produced, vivacious in a way that could even rival fan favourite Learning To Crawl.

his is a mid-career highlight from one of the finest lyricists and sonic set-dressers this country has produced. It’s a little bit silly, a little bit raunchy and a whole lot of fun. ... Simply put, JARV IS… a winner.

In short, every song is an earworm, and Lianne La Havas’ third album is haunting in the way only inspiring music can claim to be; a beautiful ghost to soundtrack your life to. ... Truly captivating.

Side A listens more personal and vulnerable, whereas side B, named EG.0, allows the pop goddess within to let rip.

It underlines that Pottery have made a record meant for a party that never stops. Bobby’s Motel is surely a place with more to it than meets the eye.

So When You Gonna... sets Dream Wife up nicely as a radical band their day, actively engaging with the major issues at hand, progressive in their sound and statements, and making the case for re-evaluating how gender is viewed in the music industry and beyond.

A sensational album of varying degrees of pleasure and pain. ... Ultimate Success Today is their most cathartic statement to date.

Weller has found an ideal blend of experience and a quest for more that provides for an optimistic album for an English summer.

Skinner has matured remarkably over the past two decades, and None of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is a refreshing marker of his evolution from shy hopeless lad to eloquent wordsmith, and it is packed with poetic realism that tells an inconvenient truth. In all, nine years was well worth the wait to see Skinner return to form.

On the evidence of The Glow, DMA’s are more than ready to stand on their own feet, with a sell-out show at the Brixton Academy having already confirmed. Welcome to the party.

She has delivered her most soothing and assuaging set of songs to date, music to help re-establish personal harmony and emotional equilibrium.

Unfollow The Rules – the album title was inspired by a phrase used by Wainwright’s daughter – is worth the wait, and across the 12 songs here, we experience some of the finest moments of his career to date.