It’s been an amazing year of music, with the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish flying high in the charts.
Raye won big at the Brit Awards, taking home a record six trophies, while Miley Cyrus won the record of the year at the Grammy Awards for ‘Flowers’.
In the UK it was all about Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour, although Oasis stole some of her thunder when they announced they were to reform for a series of huge gigs that immediately sold out.
Meanwhile, the critics had their own ideas about the artists of the year.
Here are their top 13 albums, according to ratings aggregator site Album of the Year.
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5. Charli XCX- brat
Completing the top five is the cultural phenomenon of Charli XCX's 'brat'. It was a Brat summer and the critics loved it - giving it a 90 per cent rating. How many albums manage to redefine the meaning of a word? | Contributed
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6. Fontaines D.C. - Romance
Irish rockers Fontaines D.C. hit a new commercial and creative high with fourth album 'Romance'. It earned them an 89 per cent positive critical rating. They recently played a sold out show at Glasgow's Hydro and will be back next summer at the TRNSMT music festival. | Contributed
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7. Bill Ryder-Jones - Iechyd Da
Featuring a painting of the East Neuk village of Crail on its cover, The Coral co-founder Bill Ryder-Jones received 88 per cent positive ratings for his fifth solo album. 'Lechyd da' means 'good health' in Welsh. | Contributed
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8. Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God
It may not be to everybody's taste, but New Zealand death metal band were highly praised for thier seventh studio album 'Cutting the Throat of God'. It had a positive critical rating of 88 per cent. | Contributed