On Monday we will reveal our top twenty albums of the year, but first, here's 50 through 21 - head over to our forum to see 50 more albums we loved this year and to discuss the list so far (can any of you correctly predict the top 20?)

It's been a pretty great year for music, definitely the best since 2012... Hopefully our choices reflect the wonders which whirled the way into your ears and found a space in your heart over the past year.

The Process

This list was compiled by asking all of our staff to vote for their five favourite albums of the year (you can see everyone's number one choices here), however like the past few years, we didn't simply tot it up - as that would mean that the most popular thing that everyone had at numbers 4 and 5, but that no-one chose as their album of the year would end up topping the list, and 324 albums with one vote, would be joint 73rd. No, our editor did tot it all up, but paid particular attention to everyone's most favourite, and took into account those with specialist knowledge. Plus, as DiS is a site with one of the most knowledgable and passionate communities on the inter web, we also took into account many of the lists users were submitting (vote in our reader poll here) and what's been discussed all year.

You could say this list is an approximation of our hearts this year. Having spent weeks redrafting it and revisiting many of these records, it makes for an interesting selection, and if you don't like it, well, it's only a list, lists are arbitrary, music isn't meant to be ordered into some sort of chart anyways. And there is no correct answer... Merry Listmas!

Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2013: 50-21

The Veils

Time Stays, We Go

50: "Finn isn’t so much a singer, rather a mystic, channelling dead-souls. It’s a similar heft you hear creaking in Nick Cave and them Badseeds’ finest blackened-blues rock & roll hymns...There are lyrics about black balloons made out of lead, deserts piled with snow, gutter flowers and girls bodies hitting the ground. It's a record that hopes for happiness, and finds itself smirking at death." Sean Adams

Jenny Hval

Innocence Is Kinky

49: "She goes for it, balls out. I really appreciate that." Perfume Genius

Yo La Tengo

Fade

48: "This isn’t one of those records that’s going to sweep the board at the Brits or Grammys, yoof TV presenters won’t be name dropping it for street cred, it’s not going to be used to soundtrack sporting highlights or emotional bits in hospital dramas. Leona Lewis won’t be covering it. Fade isn’t that kind of album, that’s not what Yo La Tengo do. There’s nothing showy here, nothing flashy, just an understated, immaculately put together collection of happy and sad, yearning and sweet songs." Marc Burrows

Autre Ne Veut

Anxiety

47: "On the surface Autre Ne Veut’s Anxiety sounds pretty much how you would expect an album of mainstream RnB influenced pop, written and performed by a psychology Masters degree graduate and released on Daniel Lopatin’s Software label to sound; on the one hand there are the glistening synth vistas, crisp retro-fetishist beats, flawless production values and emotive falsetto, whilst on the other hand are moments of wilful dissonance, unconventional song structures and the shadow of existential crises...one of 2013 most transcendental albums." Neil Ashman

Pet Shop Boys

Electric

46: " It’s absurdly furious dance music, sounding more like Squarepusher than any sane person could ever have expected. ‘Flourescent’ (sic) is all woozy bass, ‘Inside a Dream’ gives us robotic machine dance music in the mould of Kraftwerk or Daft Punk (that’s Homework-era Daft Punk, not the stuff you internet lot have been unfairly moaning about), and ‘Shouting in The’ is choppy insanity, like Portishead’s ‘Machine Gun’ might sound shortly before having a heart attack on the club floor brought about by a Red Bull overdose." Dan Lucas

Sky Larkin

Motto

45: "You’ve heard of grasping the nettle, but what about upping the ante and trying a cactus? There's one adorning the cover of Sky Larkin’s third, proudly defiant record, and it’s a fitting image for a band that has quietly and steadily built a reputation for spiny yet deceptively succulent rock. To this point that is, as Motto - a giant leap forward - should by rights see a band that was previously and puzzlingly sidelined in British indie circles garner the recognition they merit. The record is of such quality and vitality that they now simply demand it." Matt Langham

Holden

The Inheritors

44: "It is beautiful, ethereal and organic, breathing with life and is as far removed from the clean overly produced dance music which he holds in such distain. It has been a long wait, but on this showing it has certainly been worth it." Alex Baker

Bill Callahan

Dream River

43: "Bill Callahan’s voice is remarkable. It melts in your mouth like a soft, butterscotch caramel. It’s a shortbread biscuit baked by angels. It’s generous, caring and comes with a hefty dollop of gravitas; the voice of a well respected, dearly loved and wise older relative, suffused with kindness and understanding. It’s the voice of your favourite teddy bear that you trusted with everything when a child, only a voice that speaks to all, and not just you. It’s a great voice." James Atherton

Money

Shadow of Heaven

42: "2013 has been one of the finest years in living memory for debut releases. One of those bands who've put out an incredible first album are Manchester-based four-piece M O N E Y. Signed to acclaimed independent Bella Union, they released The Shadow Of Heaven in August to a cavalcade of acclaim, while their live shows have also gained a reputation as being events rather than bog-standard gigs." Dom Gourlay

Neko Case

The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

41: "The first album from Neko Case in over four years. It's a hell of a thing, and quite apart from anything she has done before. It is not an easy listen and likely to prod you in some uncomfortable ways." Paul Casey

Livity Sound

Livity Sound

40: "Bristol-based trio Livity Sound - comprised of producers Peverelist, Kowton and Asusu - are one of the most consistently exciting electronic outfits in the UK right now. This double LP compiles all of the limited 12"s the outfit have released on their label over the past couple of years. It's not a group album as such, rather a compilation of solo and collaborative cuts from the three artists (although they do perform as a trio for their excellent live sets.) The 18 tracks are tied together by a shared rough-edged, hardware-driven aesthetic, however; an almost jam-session approach to creating skeletal, bare-bones house and techno." Si Truss

Julia Holter

Loud City Song

39: "A shifting, shimmering, extremely opaque song cycle, the album is a bona fide art project for which Holter reclaimed a bunch of songs she had demoed prior even to the release of her 2011 debut Tragedy. It's also a homage to her hometown of LA, and, more confusingly, a tribute to Colette’s 1944 novella Gigi... Loud City Song is her third album is three years, and it's anyone's guess where she's going to go next - the only sensible response is to hold tight for the ride." Andrzej Lukowski

Lanterns on the Lake

Until the Colours Run

38: "Lanterns on the Lake have accomplished a rare feat here. While everything around them was rotting, they’ve swallowed it whole and spat it across a record that seethes, soothes, cries and burns. Not only have they made a better record than their debut, they’ve made one of the best records of the young decade." Aidan Reynolds

Eels

Wonderful, Glorious

37: "An album from a man continuing to come to terms with his own life, its enormous hurdles and its frequent trials. E is once again wearing his heart on his sleeve, but this time he’s using it as a shield." - Jon Clark

Colin Stetson

New History Warfare vol.3: To See More Light

36: "It’s one thing to say that Colin Stetson is the saxophonist on Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs and Bon Iver’s second album – so what? you might say, There’s always an exception to the rule that sax ruins a song… In fact, Stetson’s the exception who’s made solo albums that appear high up in DiS, Wire, and Pitchfork end of year lists. Unlike Owen Pallett – another solo artist who broke out of the 'supporting musician' ghetto with his albums as Final Fantasy – Stetson’s earned his acclaim without much concession to normal song structures or more than a few tracks with conventional vocals." Alexander Tudor

My Bloody Valentine

m b v

35: "For the most part, it’s a splendid album, one that backs away from the occasionally intimidating perfection of Loveless to offer up a looser, more eclectic set that would seem to suggest that Kevin Shields has not, in fact, spent the entirety of the last two decades listlessly tinkering with his flange." Andrzej Lukowski

Moonface

Julia With Blue Jeans On

34: "Julia with Blue Jeans On is album number three-and-a-half for the Moonface project, which shows no signs of settling into a fixed style yet, after the Dreamland EP set André Breton to marimbas, Organ Music updated the sub-aquatic ambience of Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom, and Heartbreaking Bravery replicated Eno and Bowie’s krautrock infatuation. Yes, the title recalls Bejar & Boeckner’s cutting-and-pasting of rock’s backpages (here, Bowie’s best pop song + the heroine of Lennon & Barrett’s prettiest) but Krug renounced his own extended metaphors and fabular cast of characters in the album’s trailer; I’m sorry if not everyone likes it, he more or less said, but the new challenge is to make music for solo piano that’s unironic, emotionally unguarded, and cut adrift from obvious influences. And it’s a triumph." Alexander Tudor

Daughter

If You Leave

33: "Based around ten beautifully crafted cuts, Daughter’s debut longplayer is an engrossing and deeply moving affair. But this mesmerising listening isn't purely based on the sounds it makes; it’s just as much about the ones it doesn't. By exploring and executing periods of momentary silence, Daughter create a series of tragic atmospheres - amplified by Elena Tonra’s bloodied and sensuous crow – that ranks amongst the year’s saddest and most desperate sounds." Billy Hamilton

Manic Street Preachers

Rewind the Film

32: "...it's the sound of a band growing old gracefully in reminiscent mood yet firmly at ease with their lot." Dom Gourlay

Deafheaven

Sunbather

31: "As a (not entirely) reformed metal head, the hipster black metal tag thrown at these guys doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's noisy and heavy as all hell, but it's also the most colourful and psychedelic record I heard all year." Tom Fleming from Wild Beasts

Frightened Rabbit

Pedestrian Verse

30: "...a newfound tone of authority that says: 'Listen. I’ve figured out what my purpose is here. We’ve all got holes in our life but something as simple as a song can save your life. So, forget irony. Screw cynicism. I’m going to write a song for anyone who needs a Morrissey for their generation.'" - Alexander Tudor

Au Revoir Simone

Move In Spectrums

29: "Move In Spectrums isn’t just some pretty record. It isn’t even just another Au Revoir Simone album of lush melancholy party-for-one anthems. It’s a series of spells that wander around inside of your head. It’s an invisible force that sneaks up on you, casting you in its shadow; and slowly, with each pulse and every temperature shift, it becomes your whole world. An enchanting world where dreams don’t so much come true, so much as never end..." Sean Adams

Pissed Jeans

Honeys

28: "Korvette's impoverished yelps flitting somewhere between The Jesus Lizard's David Yow and Nick Cave during The Birthday Party's Junkyard period. Musically inspiration comes from the aforementioned plus any number of DC hardcore bands you'd care to mention with a dash of Mudhoney thrown in, Honeys is a savvy, all-inclusive slab of disenchanted rage that doesn't hold back at any juncture...a glowing endorsement for midlife paternal angst." - Dom Gourlay

Mogwai

Les Revenants OST

27: "The fact that Les Revenants is a French TV series about zombies instantly suggests Mogwai for the task. Not because they already have form with movies about French footballers, and a fondness for horror-movies on the tourbus (hence The Exorcist-inspired cover of CODY). No: it's because Mogwai made something like 'hauntology' integral to their aesthetic well before it was de rigeur to use Derrida’s term to label anything incorporating degraded or muffled samples, or entire songs that had been distorted until they seem sepia-toned or decayed. Mogwai may not have invented the principle of submerging fragments of found-sound in the mix but they pretty much perfected it... a collection of fully realized pieces that could be the closest they’ll ever come to an unplugged greatest hits." Alexander Tudor

Factory Floor

Factory Floor

26: "Given the gestation period and polish, the humanity that manages to shine through this tight, crafted record is a triumph; the sound of a band having a whole lot of fun in the hope that ultimately you will do too." Sean Thomas

Nine Inch Nails

Hesitation Marks

25: "If The Fragile was Reznor’s Sistine Chapel, then Hesitation Marks is like Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketch of the aerial screw (helicopter), hinting at what the future may hold, and blowing minds in the process..." Sean Adams

Girls Names

The New Life

24: "'Hypnotic Regression' could be the missing link between Wire's experimental pop passages and the edgy New York cool of Crystal Stilts. Riding along on the cusp of a reverb-heavy wave, it's another shining example of Girls Names new found ambition... The sound of isolation and despair... one of this year's most ungainly beautiful records." Dom Gourlay

Jagwar Ma

Howlin’

23: "A psychedelic-electro-rave-pop hybrid, which might look to the past for inspiration, but in doing so creates something transformative with its inheritance. This is music which digs deep into your conscious and demands movement at an almost primal level." Tom Fenwick

Boards of Canada

Tomorrow’s Harvest

22: "Like My Bloody Valentine, BoC give believers what they want and then carefully expand on it, taking us to the didgeridoo hum and high C of ‘Uritual’, and the rousing bass/pecked stringed instruments of ‘New Seeds’, possibly a message in Morse. Like a few moments on Tomorrow’s Harvest it’ll take many more listens to decode, but the bulk of the album is immediately dark and succulent, conjuring a beautiful air of malice. What began with a Record Store Day treasure trail ends with something that fulfils our bravest expectations. The next seven series of Top Gear have got soundtracks to glide Porsches across ice to." George Bass

Moderat

II

21: "Most of the beats verge on beautiful rather than banging; the haunting 'Damage Done', 'Let in the Light' (which employs a production technique that sounds like The Knife and Burial fighting underwater to gain control of the mixing desk) and the most straight-forward song they've managed yet, 'Gita'. Even the more raucous numbers ('Ilona', 'Therapy' and the glorious 'Versions') start off sombre, like awoken ghosts of previous tracks; inevitably they all flourish into huge bass heavy floor fillers which you just know will sound even more monumental live." Sean Thomas

More...

1) Click: here to see 51-100 and to discuss the above choices.
2) Listen: here on Spotify to a playlist of all of the above or here on RDIO or above on YouTube.
3) Look: here to see all of our end of year coverage including our favourite artists' favourite albums of 2013, each of our staff members' number one choices.
4) Bash your mouse: here to see our album of the year lists from the past 12 years.