The year’s best experiments ranged from Blank Gloss’s ambient Americana to Space Afrika’s manipulated Manchester field recordings and Floating Points’ extraordinary electronic masterpiece

Introspective cello in Mexico, rich South African jazz and a Malian master’s marriage of kora with symphonic orchestration were among the year’s highlights

From Doran’s intimate take on Appalachian and eastern European music to Welsh-Indian collab Khasi-Cymru Collective, and John Francis Flynn’s folk-horror vibrations

An enthralling live set from Pat Metheny, Ches Smith’s fascinating blend of avant garde and Vodou and octogenarian Charles Lloyd’s fresh takes on Leonard Cohen and the Beach Boys stood out in a strong year

Engaging with private, family and public life and boldly ‘taking the winner’s flight’ made the rapper’s fourth LP an artistic triumph

Wrestling with ‘climate grief’ in angry and melancholy songs, Tamara Lindeman created an album that was pure bliss

The former hellraiser’s sixth album saw him reflecting, after turning 30, on his early stardom and showing off his soft side in regretful love songs as well as rap fireworks

The follow-up to Mercury-nominated Untitled (Rise) is another transcendent triumph for the not-really-anonymous London neo-soul collective

With their debut album, the British garage rock band articulated the restless whirring of modern brains in funny, profoundly poetic songs

The 18-year-old’s wildly successful debut may show its influences very plainly, but its anxious, barbed emotions announce a new and singular talent

A stunning debut emerged from the darkness of lockdown to win the London newcomer chart success and a well-deserved Mercury prize

The self-taught assouf star broke out of the underground with a stunningly adventurous album that fused psychedelia, introspection and rock-star flair

We celebrate everything from Lil Nas X’s conservative-baiting Montero to Wet Leg’s instant indie classic – as voted for by 31 of the Guardian’s music writers