It’s been a particularly strong year for new music – for the first time in a decade I could have easily stretched this to a top 40 – but in keeping with tradition, here are my top 20 albums of the year. Click on the headline to listen in full on Spotify.

1.) Creeper – Eternity In Your Arms

Quite simply the most exciting debut album to come out in years. The goth punk six-piece’s first full-length is electrifying stuff, combining the dramatic riffs of AFI with the gritty vocals of Alkaline Trio and the unashamed mythologising of My Chemical Romance. Their upcoming US tour supporting Neck Deep should see thousands more recruited to the cult.
Stream: Hiding With The Boys, Suzanne

2.) Elbow – Little Fictions

2017 may have been the year that Elbow recorded the John Lewis advert, but the Manchester indie veterans kicked off the year with another memorable record packed with melodic masterpieces and lyrical delights.
Stream: K2, Kindling

3.) Laura Marling – Semper Femina

A dazzling return to form from Britain’s most underrated solo artist, which was capped off by an effortlessly beautiful set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
Stream: Wild Fire, Nothing Not Nearly

4.) Arcade Fire – Everything Now

Fully embracing their disco and glam-rock influences, Arcade Fire’s latest release is a significant improvement on Reflektor, although the self-indulgent finale We Don’t Deserve Love is definitely one to skip.
Stream: Creature Comfort, Infinite Content

5.) Tall Ships – Impressions

The long-awaited follow-up to Everything Touching finally saw the light of day after a five-year gestation and it was more than worth the wait, with the band focusing on direct songwriting over gradual crescendos. Clearly it took a lot out of them, as they announced their break-up in  the summer and played their final show just last Saturday.
Stream: Home, Will To Life

6.) Foo Fighters – Concrete And Gold

With no gimmicky concept or studio-hopping marathons, the ninth Foos album is a straight-up classic of hard rock instrumentation and catchy tunes in perfect harmony. The litany of cameos (Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake etc.) doesn’t disrupt the flow and the loud-quiet dynamic is as punchy as it has ever been.
Stream: T-Shirt, Run

7.) Queens Of The Stone Age – Villains

The Josh Homme show continues in full flow, with the ginger Elvis recruiting Mark Ronson to add an extra layer of swagger to the production of this, the band’s seventh studio album. Irresistibly devilish.
Stream: The Way You Used To Do, The Evil Has Landed

8.) Wolf Alice – Visions Of A Life

This incredibly versatile quartet’s sophomore album is every bit as varied and intriguing as their debut, with singer Ellie Rowsell channeling the spirit of Courtney Love, Billy Corgan and Taylor Swift by turns.
Stream: Yuk Foo, Beautifully Unconventional

9.) Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

A concept album about a Welsh mining village might seem like a stretch for this most English of art-rock bands, but with clever use of archive samples and some truly stellar guest vocals, the result is utterly heart-warming.
Stream: Turn No More, They Gave Me A Lamp

10.) Everything Everything – A Fever Dream

It’s really saying something that an album about the nightmarish state of media, culture and politics including a song about Michael Gove can still make you want to dance until you drop.
Stream: Big Game, Run The Numbers

11.) Manchester Orchestra – A Black Mile To The Surface
12.) The xx – I See You
13.) AFI – AFI
14.) Alt-J – Relaxer
15.) Jamie Lenman – Devolver
16.) Death From Above – Outrage! Is Now
17.) And So I Watch You From Afar – The Endless Shimmering
18.) At The Drive-In – in.ter a.li.a
19.) Arcane Roots – Melancholia Hymns
20.) Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?

I’m sure I’ve missed plenty off, so please let me know in the comments below, and I’ll leave you with my video of the year: