This has been the hardest year ever to pick the best of – it has been a cracking year for top tunes but here goes…..

30. Sinead O’Connor – The Wolf Is Getting Married

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29. Two Gallants – Broken Eyes

28. Tame Impala – Elephant

27. Sera Cahoone – Deer Creek Canyon

Download Sera Cahoone – Deer Creek Canyon mp3

26. Sun Kil Moon – The Bird Has A Broken Wing

Download Sun Kil Moon – That Bird Has A Broken Wing mp3

25. The Dandy Warhols – Sad Vacation

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24. Rachel Sermanni – The Fog

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23. Matthew Perryman Jones – Land of the Living

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22. Fort Atlantic – No One Will Know

Download Fort Atlantic – No One Will Know mp3

21. Dubious Ranger – 1999

Download Dubious Ranger – 1999 mp3

20. The Wilderness of Manitoba – The Ark

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19. Zachary Cale, Mighty Moon and Ethan Schmid – Love In Vain

Download Zachary Cale, Mighty Moon and Ethan Schmid – Love In Vain mp3

18. Shovels & Rope – Birmingham

17. Strand Of Oaks – Little Wishes

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16. Ben Howard – Oats In The Water

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15. Mumford and Sons – I Will Wait

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14. Magic Arm – Put Your Colour Up

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13. Trampled By Turtles – Keys To Paradise

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12. Field Report – I Am Not Waiting Anymore

11. Grassfight – Nassau

10. Wild Nothing – Paradise
Well, this is way more retro electro pop than I was anticipating having in my top ten, but damn it, I just like it. Whenever I hear it I feel I have gone back about 20 years, sitting round the edge of a village hall hoping not to dance. I never thought it would end up at number ten, but I admire it for doing so.

9. Houndmouth – Penitentiary
Just when I thought I might have found a tune before MM I was of course put right, but I was happy to share my love of Penitentiary nonetheless. Its an old fashioned, whiskey drinking, tobacco chewing kind of a song, and its a song sung well.

8. Angel Snow – Lie Awake
This was a late arrival into my top ten and I am thrilled to have it here. Those beautiful haunting vocals stay with you long after listening – its a sad story perfectly told and I love it. Not the happiest song in my top ten but certainly one of the most beautiful.

7. Tom Williams and The Boat – Too Young
For me, this tune has all the energy of being young with the class of being a little older! I have loved it for months and it does what a good song should – makes you smile, makes you get up and dance or certainly tap a foot. Lovely guitars and violins, with nice gentle vocals – great stuff.

6. The Tallest Man On Earth – Wind And Walls
Why this song? I guess it just makes me happy. When Kristian Matsson starts to sing, its hard not to smile, such a powerful voice. There is no place to hide with this tune – just a guitar, some words and a man telling a story. Nothing wrong with that combination in my mind.

5. First Aid Kit – The Lions Roar
This has been in with the best since the beginning of the year, and rightfully so. Brilliant vocals – all pure and clean and I still marvel at the number of words you can get into one sentence and still sound melodic. Certainly one of the best of the year.

4. Shearwater – You As You Were
I only found Shearwater this year, and what a lovely band to find. Animal Joy is a very fine album and to me, You As You Were is the stand out track. It a massive song, full of energy from start to finish. I kind of wish I’d had this song with me a decade or so ago, it would have suited me down to the ground.

3. Emil Friis – Sand In Your Eyes
A very elegant tune, a quiet beginning and then the dark and brooding piano arrives slowly building before the lyrics kick in. It feels like it should be the soundtrack to a very brilliant film (is it?) Any how, it’s worth several listens, especially with a glass of wine or a cocktail or two.

2. Alt-J – Taro
It was a hard to know which track to pick from (in my humble opinion) the album of the year, An Awesome Wave. In any given situation this song always sounds perfect. I understand none of it but love all of it, particularly the instrumental twiddly middle which always takes me to far away lands, even when stuck on the M4. This song, like much of the album creates something brilliant.

1. We Are Augustines – Chapel Song
This song certainly stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it earlier in the year and continues to do so – always something new to ponder over in those heartbreaking lyrics. Thankfully I am normally left feeling more upbeat than melancholy but its a close call. This has held the no.1 spot for many months now, and rightly so. A song of genius

You can find downloads, streams, or videos for all the other tracks above by checking out MM’s Top 100 tunes here: 100 – 81, 80 – 61, 60 – 41, 40 – 21 and 20 – 1.

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