Just thought I'd kick of our discussion space with this hackneyed old question.

My favourites are: Mass V (Amenra), Monnos (Conan), Harbour of Devils (WTBR), VCheka (VCheka), Cokefloat! (PAWS).

Do they have to be ones the site covered? generally, mine have been Conan - Monnos, Slomatics - A Hoct, Holy Mountain - Earth Measures, InFictions - Maps of Revenge and Forgiveness, The Pirate Ship Quintet - Rope For No-Hopers, Droids - Droids.

I'm sure I've left stuff out there too.

Hmm. Is there a date in mind for this to be finalized?

Oh god, I already see I've missed a lot of stuff this year. Story of my life. For me definitely Ghosting Season - The Very Last Of The Saints; Russell.M.Harmon - We Are Failed; Leah Kardos - Father Hammer; Jack White - Blunderbuss (yeah, I know).

That Jack White album is good, don't let the cool kids make you feel bad! It's not on my top X list, but still good.

@Magda, I have too, I mean missed a lot of stuff. Does anyone herein have a list of what has been released that covers all the way back to January? I know I am still calling the Fierce and the Dead album one of the best this year...WTBR is a great band, hugely good album...

True, it's a pretty good record!

Don't worry, what you write here isn't your final answer! I just thought this would be a good one to kick off our discussion & get people to start thinking about it. I'll be doing the proper, full survey after Christmas.

On that note, my working top 5 are MONO, Shearwater, Rumour Cubes, WTBR and Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster. Although this does change on an almost daily basis!

goat - world music, beak - beak >> , kandodo - kandodo, Nope - Revision, Can - The lost tapes

i also think the robert hood album motor nighttime world 3 is amazing as well

We talking only independent and unsigned, or overall?

Any.

It would be cool if we could agree on 'one' 'album of the year'... to be the "(((e))) Album of year". (in addition to listing our own) Thoughts? Impossible? :)

(Sorry I don't recall if we did this last year)

I can't even agree on one album with myself! Last year I got everyone to submit a list (10 or 20 I think) and then used those to formulate an overall top 40 I think it was.

Will probably do something similar this year.

GRICE - Propeller, Eschar - Elements, Death Grips - NO LOVE DEEP WEB, Ephel Duath - On Death And Cosmos, Hark - Mythopoeia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!, Isris - Banshee Asylum, Miroist - The Pledge, Mouse On The Keys - Machinic Phylum, Alphabets Heaven - Rosewater, Nótt - Winter's Frame, Silvertortoise - Mira, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster - Exegesis, Meshuggah - Koloss, A Sweet Niche - Eye Music II, Om Unit- Aeolian, Peter Broetzmann/John Edwards/Steve Noble - ...the worse the better.

If we all had an online listening party then we could pick the Album Of The Year between us, wouldn't work unless we all listened to each other's choices I reckon.

I forgot about Godspeed!! What a record!!

I think the Godspeed was good but I don't think it gets in to my top 10. THAT'S how good a year this has been!

I was blown away by it. Are we only doing top ten? I'll have to trim that list if that's the case. Obviously.

Eóin, I've never heard of any of your choices, will be checking them out this week :)

We're doing a top however many you like, but this isn't the final answers don't panic, I just wanted to get people starting to think about it.

I'll be looking for your final answers just after Christmas.

ok if you want 10 I'll add these 4 to the ones above: Shearwater - Animal Joy; The Swans - The Seer; Gnod - Chaudelande Volume 1; Ty Segall - Slaughterhouse

Loved that Swans album on my one and only listen, haven't had time for more than that. Similarly Deftones, I reckon if I'd listen to them more they'd be in my top lists.

Because I lost track of time, I somehow didn't realise Rumour Cubes was this year. So that goes on as well.

There should be a separate list for ignorants like myself, of top whatever albums that they discovered that year.

Yeah the only reason I didn't put Rumour Cubes down was because I thought everyone else would. I love too much. Love you guys.

Awwwww... :)

Can it include EPs? If so, in no order yet.... Ne Obliviscaris, Portal of I.....Trillion Red, Metaphere......Flies Are Spies from Hell, Nerves Still Beating...... Rumour Cubes, The Narrow State.....You Slut!, Medium Bastard....Alcest. I need to listen to Swans, Deftones and listen to Neurosis a few more times. Sybreed may be a surprise entry - probably one of my most listened-to records this year. Adrift For Days are also in with a chance. I think TNBD and WTBR records are good but not good enough - they are equal with Dumbsaint which does not make my list.

You're up for a prick of a job deciding top 40 Dan :)

Some favourites: Susanna- Wild Dog, Bardo Pond - Yntra, Anna von Hausswolff - Ceremony, Mo Kolours - EP2: Banana Wine, Animal Collective - Centipede Hz

My 2012 list (in progress): rateyourmusic.com

Haha, Gilbert It's going to be tough but armed with my trusty spreadsheet I shall sift it all in to some sort of shape!

Nerves Still Beating, great shout Gilbert!

Oh, Clock Opera!

i think we need to wait until jan before making diffinitive lists. I just heard the Joe Volk/Boris split and it sounds very impressive. I need to give it more but it shows that potential candidates are still coming up in to the mix

Yeah, definitely. I'll be asking for final choices in about the 2nd week of Jan but this is useful to get people to start thinking about it & maybe bring up stuff that you've forgotten about.

I don't know where to begin this year - there's been a load of great stuff. I'm doing the following in a stream of consciousness (and admit there is bound to be a Scottish bias in what comes out)... Tame Impala, Miouax Miouax, The Grand Gestures (which is just unlike anything else, ever), Happy Particles, Ikons, Echodrone, Toy, Band of Horses (I have a soft spot!), Twilight Sad, Godspeed, North Atlantic Oscillations.
Top 5 will feature some of these, and likely some I've forgotten about for now!

OK here's my top 15. Will only change if something new comes out>
Neurosis – Honor Found In Decay
Ne Obliviscaris – Portal of I
Trillion Red – Metaphere
Rumour Cubes – The Narrow State
Devin Townsend Project – Epicloud
Breaking Orbit – The Time Traveller
Alcest – Voyages De L'Ame
Flies Are Spies From Hell – Nerves Still Beating
What the Blood Revealed – Harbour of Devils
Dumbsaint – Something That You Feel Will Find Its own form
Deftones – Koi No Yokin
Adrift for Days – Come Midnight
The Narrows – Eve of Invasion
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Lost Songs
Atlantis – La Petite Mort

Is this the top 15 you also submitted to Ghost Cult, Gilbert?

In that case this is my top 15, again if nothing new comes out and also my places 6-15 change on a weekly basis currently:

1. Amenra - Mass V
2. Conan - Monnos
3. Sleep Lady - So Long Lonely Ghost
4. Neurosis - Honor Found In Decay
5. MONO - For My Parents
6. What The Blood Revealed - Harbour of Devils
7. MAKE - Trephine
8. Vcheka - Vcheka
9. PAWS - Cokefloat!
10. Snailking - Snailking
11. Ufomammut - ORO: Opus Primum
12. Deftones - Koi No Yokan
13. Baroness - Yellow & Green
14. Kowloon Walled City - Container Ships
15. John Coffey - Bright Companions

Yeah and for TINAS. The reality is Neurosis, Defones and perhaps Alcest are the only ones that will make their lists, but that's OK. My top two are easy - the rest I really wasn't sure of the order.

Some good lists coming together here.

Encircling Sea record 15 December. EVERYTHING CHANGES!

Yeeeesh. I haven't even started thinking about this... I had a request recently to make a mixtape like I did in 2009, but there's not many albums off the top of my head I can think of. That record by Black Moth was awesome, as was the Melvins ep... not much has changed since our mid-year list for me, I guess. Swans will be on there somewhere, too.

Off the top of my head, my top albums are Mono, Clock Opera, Whale Fall, Marriages, Golden Fable, The Narrows. Will have a think about others"

Oh, and Shearwater too, definitely!

I get the impression mono have won it this year!

Well they bloody well should do, in my opinion!

I don't know, it's split opinion somewhat. There's the camp that love it (and who are obviously right) and then there's what I call the misguided element led by Gilbert who don't rate it so much. ;)

The album that has been mentioned in the most people's posts is actually Rumour Cubes.

Yeah, but the people who don't rate it are wrong, so I'm not sure their opinion should really count ;-p

One day i think it sounds cheesy and contrived, like they were trying to write a soundtrack to a disney fucking princess movie.

The next, it's epic, sprawling and wonderous.

It offers more with every listen and has me torn. This can only be a good thing.

Still haven't heard rumour cubes or sleep lady. Anyone wanna hook a brother up?

I liked the MONO record a lot, but not as much as others... I need ot listen to it again. Didn't hear the Rumour Cubes album, but I heard one song that sounded promising.

OK, so I've been going through the list and here's some bands in no particular order for you all to chew on and discuss:

Swans - The Seer
Melvins - The Bulls & The Bees
GY!BE - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips and Head Fwends
Black Moth - The Killing Jar
Fennesz - AUN
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind) The Crafty Ape
Azure Ray - As Above So Below
Errors - Have Some Faith in Magic

That's just an initial list, going through what I have and what I remember. Honorary mentions would also go to my friends MINIONTV and Bird (both from Liverpool) who released an excellent album, The Last Projectionist and an excellent EP, Shadows respectively. How many albums are we supposed to come up with, then?

Rumour Cubes - rumourcubes.bandcamp.com

Sleep Lady - sleeplady.bandcamp.com

10 ish picks would be ideal.

Interesting you put the Godspeed in there. The more I think about it the further down my list that slips.

Wow. I picked ten haha. Man, if I could remember all the albums from the year it might end up looking different. I'm going to have to make a list and then trawl through the net to find something I may have missed. It's funny, you'd think if there would something that amazing you wouldn't forget it, but then again, maybe that's a statement for the year's closing.

Cheers for the hookup! I loved godspeed. It's definitely there!

Careful what you say about Rumour Cubes though, @fionchadd is the violin player for them & she's been known to give a mean evil stare over the internet. ;)

I was going to say, HOW HAVE YOU GUYS NOT HEARD THE RUMOUR CUBES ALBUM YET?! ;-p

Fuck I forgot Hinterlandt.
And yeah Jake that MINIONTV record is good. Love their stuff.
Top 10 MIGHT look like this in the end:
1. Encircling Sea - A Forgotten Land (release due in 2 weeks - yeah I know only one song is available right now, but what a song :))
2. Neurosis – Honor Found In Decay
3. Ne Obliviscaris – Portal of I
4. Trillion Red – Metaphere
5. Rumour Cubes – The Narrow State
6. Breaking Orbit – The Time Traveller
7. Alcest – Voyages De L'Ame
8. Hinterlandt - Cartography
9. Flies Are Spies From Hell – Nerves Still Beating
10. The Narrows – Eve of Invasion

Man, was that Errors album this year! I loved that - though it seems my mind is fading!! I also need to get onto that Rumour Cubes album before I'm unceremoniously punted out...

I am giving the first Gallops album a listen at the moment and am very very impressed. Took them forever to get it out, though. Give it a listen and see what you think, people: soundcloud.com

I actually listened to the new Gallops last night for the first time. Very Battles-like, but a very impressive album nonetheless!

More sci-fi than Battles I think. Definitely mathy, but Battles shouldn't be allowed to umbrella that style of music!

Yeah, I'd say it's more 3 Trapped Tigers than Battles, either way it's very good.

wow... this is tough. have a 'tentative' 10 but still trying to eliminate another 30... >__<

Bloody hell, I just realised I've forgotten about the Trail of Dead album. Shows what kind of year it's been when an album that good can nealy slip through the net.

I didn't hear the Trail of Dead album but I bet it's amazing.

Yeah it's good Jake.

Probably their best since So Divided.

Ah so you're the guy who bought So Divided hey Dan?

It's a great album. :-p

-And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead - Lost Songs
-BATS - The Sleep of Reason
-Caspian - Waking Season
-Conan - Monnos
-Gifts From Enola - A Healthy Fear
-Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
-Gojira - L’Enfant Sauvage
-If These Trees Could Talk - Red Forest
-M/\KE - Trephine
-Mono - For my Parents

Honorable Mentions:
-Summer Fades Away - We Meet the Last Time, Then Departure
-Chelsea Wolfe - Unknown Rooms: A Collection Of Acoustic Songs

I'm doing my final listening today... this branch has been a huge help and somewhat of a pain in the ass at the same time, since there's quite a few album's here I haven't heard and can't make my list without considering... so thanks everyone for the help and cheers for consuming my whole day with your wonderful suggestions.