Albums of the Year
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
Antony & the Johnsons – The Crying Light
Morrissey – Years of Refusal
Beirut – March of the Zapotec
M. Ward – Hold Time
Dan Deacon – Bromst
Squarepusher – Numbers Lucent
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Beware
Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
Fever Ray – s/t
PJ Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By
The Pains of being Pure at Heart – s/t
Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/ Light Years
Sunn O))) – Monoliths & Dimensions
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
St. Vincent – Actor
Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul
Iron & Wine – Around the Well
Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
Patrick Wolf – The Bachelor
Tori Amos – Abnormally Attracted to Sin
Regina Spektor – Far
The Mars Volta – Octahedron
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
White Denim – Fits
The Horrors – Primary Colours
The Dodos – Time to Die
Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
Vivian Girls – Everything Goes Wrong
The xx – xx
Yacht – See Mystery Lights
The Antlers – Hospice
Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue
Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come
The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Real Estate – s/t
Bear in Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth
Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
Biggest let-downs of the year
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Dananananaykroyd – Hey Everyone
Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
Best gigs of the Year
Benga & Skream at Oxford Arts Factory
Bon Iver at the City Recital Hall
Nine Inch Nails at the Hordern
Mogwai at the Enmore
Iron & Wine at the Manning Bar
Tony Allen at the Forum
M83 at the Metro
Lee “Scratch” Perry at the Opera House
Seun Kuti at the Opera House
Brian Eno at the Opera House
Vivian Girls at Spectrum
Bad Religion & NOFX at the Hordern
Sarah Blasko at the Enmore
Blitzen Trapper at the Metro
Tori Amos at the Opera House
Jarvis Cocker at the Metro
Animal Collective at the Enmore