Going to echo the pick of
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds -
Ghosteen. Just recently picked this up, having never really listened to Cave before and I'm pretty blown away. The emotion and honesty in the lyrics, along with the beautiful, dreamy instrumentation, is incredible. Very powerful album. I'll definitely be checking out Skeleton Tree next.
A few other highlights from this year:
Fennesz -
Agora (This guy is up there with Stars of the Lid for most beautiful ambient music. Agora is more great stuff)
elbow -
Giants of All Sizes (Incredible how consistent these guys are. Fantastic live too, hoping for another Australian tour)
Thom Yorke -
Anima (I was surprised by this one, probably his best solo album. Last I Heard-Twist-Dawn Chorus is a fantastic run of tracks)
James Blake -
Assume Form (Big improvement in his lyrics, feels much more relaxed. 'Into the Red' is one of my songs of the year, and 'Don't Miss It' was a track I could identify with very closely, it hit very close to home)
Probably a bit more mainstream than most here, I didn't spend as much time finding new music this year as I should have
But I really enjoyed all the above albums.