It’s that time of the year again, so over the next week I’ll be counting down my favourite releases of the year, feeling obliged to as somebody who enjoys and writes about music. Also, I’m a sucker for a good of year lists, and I always enjoy compiling them, if only because it gives me an excuse to look back on the last twelve months. 2015, in retrospect, turned out pretty damn well I’d say, and for me the selection below feels like a fair reflection of how I’ve viewed the year musically. This is the first part of my list ranked by preference, descending, with Bandcamp links highlighted (if available), should you want to check any of these records out. As they’re on here, I’d recommend you do, but hey – your call.

100) You’ll Live – Moving Past This (Bandcamp)
99) Counting Days – Liberated Sounds
98) Knuckle Puck – Copacetic
97) Pet Symmetry – Pets Hounds (Bandcamp)
96) We Are The Ocean – Ark
95) Skrillex & Diplo – Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U
94) Whenskiesaregray – Whenskiesaregray (Bandcamp)
93) Hindsights – Cold Walls / Cloudy Eyes (Bandcamp / Review)
92) Adventures – Supersonic Home (Bandcamp)
91) Death Cab For Cutie – Kintsugi
90) Loma Prieta – Self Portrait (Bandcamp)
89) Trust Fund – “No One’s Coming For Us” (Bandcamp)
88) The Early November – Imbue
87) Harms Way – Rust
86) Cavalcades – Lights Begin To Dance (Bandcamp)
85) Astronauts Etc. – Mind Out Wandering (Bandcamp)
84) Gleemer – Moving Away (Bandcamp)
83) SPORTS – Demon Daze (Bandcamp)
82) Molly Drag – Deeply Flawed (Bandcamp)
81) Northlane – Node
80) Fightstar – Behind The Devils Back
79) Coheed & Cambria – The Color Before The Sun
78) Allison Weiss – New Love (Bandcamp)
77) Employed To Serve – Greyer Than You Remember (Bandcamp)
76) Nai Harvest – Hairball (Bandcamp)
75) The Dear Hunter – Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise
74) Sam Russo – Greyhound Dreams
73) Thy Art Is Murder – Holy War
72) Marietta – As It Were (Bandcamp)
71) Lithuania – Hardcore Friends (Bandcamp)
70) Defeater – Abandoned
69) Being As An Ocean – Being As An Ocean (Bandcamp / Review)
68) Pope – Fiction (Bandcamp)
67) Varsity – Varsity (Bandcamp)
66) Mutiny On The Bounty – Digital Tropics
65) Hot Chip – Why Make Sense?
64) Annabel – Having It All (Bandcamp)
63) Lydia – Run Wild
62) Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – The High Country (Bandcamp)
61) Fossil – Trapped In A Place That You Don’t Want To Leave (Bandcamp)
60) Infinity Girl – Harm (Bandcamp)
59) The Tallest Man On Earth – Dark Bird Is Home
58) Gallows – Desolation Sounds (Bandcamp / Review)
57) Blacklisted – When People Grow, People Go (Bandcamp)
56) And So I Watch You From Afar – Heirs
55) Baroness – Purple (Bandcamp)
54) Marriages – Salome
53) Spraynard – Mable (Bandcamp)
52) Crooks – Are We All The Same Distance Apart?
51) Elvis Depressedly – New Alhambra (Bandcamp)
50) Bensley – Next Generation
49) Beach Slang – The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us (Bandcamp)
48) Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
47) Runaway Brother – Mother (Bandcamp)
46) The Front Bottoms – Back On Top
45) Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Style (Bandcamp)
44) Better Off – Milk
43) Places To Hide – Strange Lyfe (Bandcamp)
42) Jeff Rosenstock – We Cool? (Bandcamp)
41) While She Sleeps – Brainwashed (Review)
40) Caspian – Dust & Disquiet
39) Alex G – Beach Music (Bandcamp)
38) The Districts – A Flourish And A Spoil
37) The Saddest Landscape – Darkness Forgives (Bandcamp)
36) The Ongoing Concept – Handmade
35) Funeral For A Friend – Chapter & Verse
34) Jessica Pratt – On Your Own Love Again
33) City & Colour – If I Should Go Before You
32) Jamie xx – In Colour
31) Slaves – Routine Breathing
30) Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp
29) The Island Of Misfit Toys – I Made You Something (Bandcamp)
28) Petal – Shame (Bandcamp)
27) Oso Oso – Real Stories Of Tue People Who Kind Of Looked Like Monsters (Bandcamp)
26) Eskimaux – O.K (Bandcamp)