Our Year-End Charts provide a great entry point to the site, and become a talking point for fans. Every year, our staffers vote in genre categories, and their votes are tabulated using the Billboard system (10 points for #1, 9 for #2, and so on). The same system is used for our overall Top 20. Richard Allen also offers a series of personal lists, including The Happiest Music of the Year and Best Winter Music, while David and Chris team up for The Year’s Best Videogame Soundtracks.
Now we’ve collected all of our year-end charts on one handy page for visitors to enjoy all year long!
Annual Lists
The Year in Review: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top 20 Albums: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Ambient: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Drone: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Electronic: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Experimental: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Field Recording & Soundscape: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Modern Composition: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Top Ten Rock, Post-Rock, Folk and Jazz: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s Best Labels: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s Best Album Covers: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s Best Winter Music: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Happiest Music of the Year: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s Best Film Scores: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 (no list in 2020) 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s Best Videogame Soundtracks: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s 10 Best Music Videos: 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Year’s Best Ukrainian Music: 2023
Decade Lists
Best Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Ambient Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Drone Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Electronic Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Experimental Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Field Recording & Soundscape Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Modern Composition Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Best Rock, Post-Rock, Folk & Jazz Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
All-Time Lists
The 25 Best Winter Albums of All Time: 2015
The 40 Best Winter Albums of All Time: 2022 (updated from the above)
The 25 Best Spring Albums of All Time: 2023
The 25 Best Summer Albums of All Time 2022
Music for Haunted Houses: 2014 (an all-time list) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (none in 2021-23)
The 40 Best Books on Music (2022) Part One Part Two
Best Children’s Books on Music 2022
Best Art Books on Music 2022
The Best Film & TV Soundtracks of All Time (2023) Part One Part Two
Specialty Lists
Music for Synagogues & Cathedrals: 2012 (one time only)
The Year in 10 Tracks: 2013 (one time only)
Top Ten Singles: 2014 (replaced former list, one time only)
Music for Nurseries: 20 Albums for New Parents: 2017 (one time only)
Pandemic Playlist: 2020 2021 (two years only ~ we hope!)
The Year’s Best Packaging: 2013 2014 (none in 2015) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
a closer listen 