You know it's a strange year when Johnny Borrell releases a good album! Yet that's exactly what he did with his debut solo effort. It's not the album of the year but still, it surprised everyone and makes you wonder if he'll return to the Razorshite days ever again.

With our list pages not live yet on this new version of the website, we're tackling the end of year list a little differently. There's no particular order, just a list of the albums that deserve a mention, along with a few pulled out with album artwork.

2013 was one of the best years for music in recent times. Maybe you had to dig a bit deeper to unearth the gems but it was well worth it. No doubt we've missed a few and we'll keep adding to the list based on your suggestions, so read on and Blab to tell us what we've missed. Also click on an album to read the original Soundblab review.

The Big Releases

Some of the established bands returned this year with possibly their best work. Arctic Monkeys proved they're not afraid to do what they want with the RnB tinged AM. Arcade Fire went a little bit disco while Foals stepped up to headliner status with their heaviest album to date. While Nick Cave proved he still had it at the ripe old age of 56.

Arctic Monkeys AM	Arcade Fire Reflektor	Foals Holy Fire	Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Push the Sky Away

The Comebacks

Speaking of old age, David Bowie practically came back from the dead if most gossip mongering arseholes were to be believed these past few years. The Next Day is without doubt the greatest comeback ever and his best album since Scary Monsters. My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields finally gave us what we wanted, it just took him 22 years to do it, thankfully mbv didn't disappoint. Even Suede proved there was still life in old Brett yet.

David Bowie The Next Day	My Bloody Valentine mbv	Suede Bloodsports	Medicine To the Happy Few

The Psych Revival

Following the likes of Tame Impala and Goat in 2012, the psych revival threw up some modern classics this year. MGMT continued to rid themselves of their early fans while releasing arguably their best album. Hookworms released possibly the debut album of the year but if you're looking for something utterly bonkers, go and dig out the Gnod album.

Pond Hobo Rocket	Foxygen We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic	Hookworms Pearl Mystic	Gnod Chaudelande
Fuzz Fuzz	Unknown Mortal Orchestra II	The Flaming Lips The Terror	MGMT MGMT

The 90s Alt Rock Revival

At times this year it felt like it was 1991 all over again. In fact the quality of some of the albums you see below was better than some of the originals that inspired them.

Milk Music Cruise Your Illusion	Parquet Courts Light Up Gold	Coke Weed Back to Soft	California X California X
Speedy Ortiz Major Arcana	Waxahatchee Cerulean Salt	Courtney Barnett The Double EP	Purling Hiss Water on Mars

Electronic

Electronic music came in many forms this year and continued to push the boundaries. Four standout albums came from Fuck Buttons, Autre Ne Veut, Forest Swords and Tim Hecker.

Autre Ne Veut especially gave us something new with their alt RnB sound. A genre that's been bubbling under for the last few years but seemed to really make sense with 'Anxiety'.

Fuck Buttons Slow Focus	Autre Ne Veut Anxiety	Forest Swords Engravings	Tim Hecker Virgins

...and then there was this lot

Overrated

Every year there's a handful of bands that are hyped to the hills, only to release a debut album that falls a little short of expectations, I'm looking at you Palma Violets. As we're doing the list a little differently this year, here's our albums that we're not sure what all the fuss is about.