PATTY GRIFFIN Patty Griffin (Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl) Throughout this album there are images of rivers and seas and oceans: as indomitable and vast, as unreadable and timeless, as dividers and unifiers, as physical and metaphorical elements. Most of all, those images represent the women - of several generations, of several parts of the world, of several emotional/physical/financial circumstances – who people Patty Griffin’s songs. Always though, they’re women who go on. W

Some of these albums floored me with their perfection (Patty Griffin), stunned me with their power (Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene) or left me babbling at the brilliance (Kamasi Washington), others continued to foist the words future legend on me (Laura Marling), got me close to tears (Sufjan Stevens), made me think about my own choices (Bjork and Jason Isbell) or sucked me into a weird, dark place (Badbadnotgood & Ghostface Killah). My 20 best albums of the year got me/kept me

The second half of the near impossible task of pulling 50 songs from 50 years. A mad idea, filled with frustrations at all the ones I couldn’t pick. But, yeah, fun nonetheless. 1990: Sonic Youth – Kool Thing The year I finally got Sonic Youth, or they crossed over to my side. Droll, sexy and sung by one of my favourite bassplayers (along with Tina Weymouth, Bruce Thomas, Paul McCartney & Andy Rourke). Found out recently she’s a pretty cool interview too. 1991: Joni Mitchell –