Well, I don’t know about you, but Soundblab thinks 2010 was a fucking great year for music. Sure, once again there was no unifying banner for music mags to categorise and champion – chillwave proving too diffuse and mercurial, hovering somewhere between yearning indie whimsy, psychedelic hip hop and 80s synth MOR.

Nevertheless, there’s no denying that this year was dominated by the revitalised sounds coming from America. Whether it was the blessed out ethereal mist of Beach House's 'Norway' , the bittersweet bedroom-based paean of Toro Y Moi’s 'Leave Everywhere', Yeasayer’s brilliant, synth-popping, afro-beating 'O.N.E'. or the warped acid-casualty freak-out of Liars' 'Scissor', the US led the way when it came to nudging forward the frontiers of 21st century music.

Even the more conventional sounds were exemplary and perfectly formed. The Drums’ debut impressed by very nearly living up to the sky-high hype, while Dum Dum Girls and Best Coast gave us collections of lo-fi, so-simple-it's-genius garage rock with 'Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burn Out' and 'Boyfriend'.

However, it wasn’t all about America. The UK produced Lonelady’s 'Intuition', Foals' 'This Orient' and The Fall’s 'Bury', among others. In 2010, great music was all around us and thanks to blogs, sites and, of course, our trusty independent record stores, never easier to find, cherish and share.

So next time you encounter some bore down the pub who moans that there’s just no good music around anymore, give them a slap and point them at Soundblab’s Best of 2010 list. And get voting for your favourites – right now!