Both gaming and music are very therapeutic and inspirational to me, I always have a record spinnin while the dice are tumblin. What have been some of your favorites this year? As a metalhead, I don't expect many(if any) of you to appreciate this list, but +2 free actions to anyone who does. Feel free to post some favorites or mock me.

10: Falls of Rauros: Believe in no Coming Ashore

9: Pyrrhon: The Mother of Virtues

8: Fallujah: The Flesh Prevails

7: Agalloch: The Serpent and the Sphere

6: Panopticon: Roads to the North

5: Animals as Leaders: The Joy of Motion

4: Beyond Creation: Earthborn Evolution

3: Thou: Heathen

2: Ne Obliviscaris: Citadel

1: Artificial Brain: Labyrinth Constellation

I really dug the new Behemoth, Vader, and Job For A Cowboy

Generic pop trash 56

Best album of the year

What can I say....I grew up listening to this kind of music

I really dug the new Behemoth, Vader, and Job For A Cowboy

The new Job for a Cowboy is killer, really love their bassist and Danny Walker on drums.

I bought Bob Moulds new album and loved it this year. That was probably it for full albums.

As a part time Dj i usually pay for downloads of individual tracks.

i tend to buy more full albums for my father in law. I'm quite pleased vinyl has made a comeback as he has an amazing 1960s/70s Spender turntable, amp and speakers that we play classic stuff on.

I've bough him some Nick Drake records forxmas.

I couldn't name a single album released this year.

As far as I'm concerned, anything released after the turn of the Millennium simply isn't worth the effort (I blame Simon Cowell).

My albums pretty good. I encourage you all to buy that.

This is one of our last singles. (shameless plug)... new album coming out soon with this one on.

and composite video of us live with a studio back track

I couldn't name a single album released this year.

As far as I'm concerned, anything released after the turn of the Millennium simply isn't worth the effort (I blame Simon Cowell).

Nothing by Daft Punk, Prince, Bowie to name but three of my most listened albums of this year (though not necessarily released this year)?

No, I don't believe you and neither do you. .

Most played albums this year include, off the top of my head and a glance at the CD's:

Prince, Art Official Age

David Bowie, The Next Day

Daft Punk, Random Access Memory

Pieter Wispelwey, Bach Cello Sonatas

JP Sweelinck, Cantiones Sacrae

Douglas Dare, Whelm

Oscar and the Wolf, Entity

Michael Jackson, Xscape

Max Richter, Vivaldi Recomposed

Robert Plant, Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar

Elbow, The Take off and landing of everything

For next year I'm already anticipating Steven Wilson's Hand. Cannot. Erase

I'm just gonna leave one.

This one to me is exemplary artistry, a literal furthering of the application of artistic contemporary electronic music and one of the oldest classical instruments combined. This soundtrack literally pushes the boundary of what we are capable in new music.

http://youtu.be/VNW3LPKNFh8

Also. Most of you SW fans are just gonna love the movie anyway.

The new Flying Lotus album "You're Dead" is incredible.

Also really enjoyed Iceage's "Plowing Into the Field of Love". Iceage is a Danish punk band.

Also I get sad when I see people say modern music is bad. Sure a lot of it is. But there are some incredibly creative artists who are making worthwhile and meaningful music. You're just not gonna find it on the radio or in the mainstream most of the time. You gotta dig for it.

As a DJ who runs a clubnight (spare time) this is very true.

Each month i used to buy loads of music mags, listen to *hundreds* of new songs and if i was lucky i'd find perhaps five to ten new ones for the clubnight that i thought were amazing, fitted my DJ style and would move the club forwards.

I'd then pay to download those ten or so tracks but i spent *days* every month looking for good new music.

Awesome Mix Vol. 1

Also I get sad when I see people say modern music is bad. Sure a lot of it is.

And people tend to forget that all eras produce crap music, you just don't remember the crap from two decades ago.

And people tend to forget that all eras produce crap music, you just don't remember the crap from two decades ago.

Indeed - all eras DO produce crap music. Unfortunately however, the last two decades have celebrated and rewarded it.

Which is why - as Jfitz1431 pointed out above - you've got to try really quite hard to find something worth listening. The mainstream is just full of recycled, uninspiring mass market dross. Again, I blame Simon Cowell.

...but there are some incredibly creative artists who are making worthwhile and meaningful music. You're just not gonna find it on the radio or in the mainstream most of the time. You gotta dig for it.

Taylor Swift 1989 and i'm not remotely shamed to admit it

Damnright all eras make crap music.

When i was about 24 i had an 18 year old girlfriend who thought the 80s were amazing and only ever made great records like 'the smiths' 'ultravox' and moody pop.

I reminded her it was the same decade in which 'shuttupayaface' by Joe dolci kept midge ures 'vienna' from n01 in the Uk for weeks... a decade that gave us 'stock aitkin and waterman' records mass produced indentical cr*p pop singles and timmy mallet doing 'itsybitsy tensyweensy polkadot bikini'

A lot of rubbish in every decade.

But people who think 'the 60s were awesome for music' are the same to me as people who go 'iron maiden can never make a bad record' and are obsessive fans.

All artists make rubbish tracks now and then.... i'm an obsessive 'husker du' fan but i still realise that side 4 of zen arcade with its 15 minute 'jazrock exploration' being played backwards is rubbish

(i know the side is not backwards, there is a small bit of the whole side played backwards as another track)

Which is why - as Jfitz1431 pointed out above - you've got to try really quite hard to find something worth listening. The mainstream is just full of recycled, uninspiring mass market dross.

Nah, not really, if anything it is easier now than ever. Maybe track a couple of sites like The Quietus, see what your favourite artists are listening to through social media or put on a song in Spotify and start radio mode, see where that takes you.

and of course, there still is radio.

You see i think (as a dj and promoter) its *harder* to find decent stuff.

The decline of the traditional record industry changed things massively.

Back in the old days you had to either gig like hell , get spotted and be paid to make a record as you had 'talent' or you were manufactured as 'kids pop' and it was obvious you were.

Not digitial dowloads, home studios and even the ability to produce your own album at home in home studios and using affforadble software means *anyone* can make an album (or single) and put it on the internet.

In some ways thats good as it means really talented people are not at the ransom of the record labels A&R dept but it also means that the 'safety net' of someobe being good enough to risk money on is not there and there is no quality control but thre is 50,000 times more stuff out there.

More stuff to sift through most of it rubbish.

We produced our first album in a home studio on software like qbass and reason and the like. Good kit like fender guitars, marshal amps etc, all the stuff you need to sound good actually playing BUT... we didnt pay a studio a fortune, we recorded it ourselves. we did pay to have it pressed on CD and sold every copy.

Then we got signed to a proper label which helped with distribution and actually getting physical cds in shops, getting cds on merch tables at festivals etc.

self financing is expensive but its independant of quality.

Mandatory Fun, "Weird Al" Yankovic.

A seriously true work of musical genius.

The digital age has been AMAZING for the spread of music. 95% of the music I listen to, I discovered via various forums, blogs, or recommendations on Youtube. I try to purchase albums I enjoy, especially metal albums. If you're someone who believes no one makes good music anymore...you aren't looking hard enough. I grew up listening to everything on Awesome Mix 1/2, but my musical taste has evolved over these past 28 or so years.