I've decided to split the traditional end of year list into two parts - a lower tier and an upper tier. I still think these are all worthy of your time, however and some of you will no doubt feel some of them should be in the upper list. Some of them are simply quite challenging and need a bit more time.
A quick couple of honourable mentions for albums I've been helping with promotional/artist management work on - Trish Clowes' Pocket Compass and Gwilym Simcock's Instrumation both strike me as significant artistic statements, and would be included here were it not for any perceived conflict of interest.
Some things I've noticed about the chart this year: Drummer-composers feature quite strongly, as do female artists.
200) Jessie Ware - Tough Love (Universal)
199) Heterotic - Weird Drift (Planet Mu)
198) SOHN - Tremors (4AD)
197) The Magic Lantern - The Love Of Too Much Living (Smugglers Records)
196) Ex Hex - Rips (Merge)
195) Wild Beasts - Present Tense (Domino)
194) Drive By Truckers - English Oceans (ATO)
193) How To Dress Well - What Is This Heart? (Wierd World)
192) Einsturzende Neubaten - Lament (BGM)
191) The Advisory Circle - From Out Here (Ghost Box)
190) Vladislav Delay - Visa (Ripatti)
189) Olga Bell - Krai (One Little Indian)
188) Lydia Ainsworth - Right From Real (Arbutus)
187) Tori Freestone - In The Chop House (Whirlwind)
186) Chris Robinson Brotherhood - Phosphorescent Harvest (Silver Arrow)
185) Peter Edwards Trio - Safe and Sound (Dune)
184) Zara McFarlane - If You Knew Her (Brownswood)
183) FKA twigs - LP1 (Young Turks)
182) J Mascis - Tied To A Star (Sub Pop)
181) Kevin Drew - Darlings (City Slang)
180) Joel Harris and Anupam Shobhakar - Multiplicity (Whirlwind)
179) JC Sandford Orchestra - View From The Inside (Whirlwind)
178) Nick Malcolm Quartet - Beyond These Voices (Green Eyes)
177) Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business (Virgin/EMI)
176) Joan As Policewoman - The Classic (Play It Again Sam)
175) Loscil - Sea Island (Kranky)
174) Kyle Bobby Dunn - Kyle Bobby Dunn & The Infinite Sadness (Students of Decay)
173) James Farm - City Folk (Nonesuch)
172) Neil Finn - Dizzy Heights (Lester)
171) Swamp Dogg - The White Man Made Me Do It (Alive Naturalsound)
170) Supersilent - 12 (Rune Gramofon)
169) Mogwai - Rave Tapes (Rock Action)
168) Kasse Mady Diabate - Kirike (No Format)
167) Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots (Parlophone)
166) Plaid - Reachy Prints (Warp)
165) Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country and Western (Loose)
164) Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Orchestra - When The World Was One (Gondwana)
163) Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing, Glauco Venier - Dance Without Answer (ECM)
162) Scottish National Jazz Orchestra - American Adventure (Spartacus)
161) AC/DC - Rock Or Bust (Columbia)
160) Jack White - Lazaretto (XL)
159) Vijay Iyer - Mutations (ECM)
158) Pat Metheny Unity Group - Kin (<--->) (Nonesuch)
157) Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden - Last Dance (ECM)
156) Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness (Jagjaguwar)
155) Luke Abbott - Wysing Forest (Border Community)
154) Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - Wig Out At Jagbags (Domino)
153) Withered Hand - New Gods (Fortuna Pop)
152) Real Estate - Atlas (Domino)
151) Andy Milne and Dapp Theory - Forward In All Directions (Whirlwind)
150) Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland (Virgin/EMI)
149) Kiasmos - Kiasmos (Erased Tapes)
148) Black Dirt Oak - Wawayanda Patent (MIE)
147) Pigfoot - 21st Century Acid Trad (Village Life)
146) Simon Purcell - Red Circle (Whirlwind)
145) Trio Riot - Trio Riot (Efpi)
144) Jennifer Castle - Pink City (No Quarter)
143) Adult Jazz - Gist Is (Spare Thought)
142) Led Bib - The People In Your Neighbourhood (Cuneiform)
141) Young Fathers - Dead (Big Dada)
140) Morgan Delt - Morgan Delt (Trouble In Mind)
139) Jochen Rueckert - We Make The Rules (Whirlwind)
138) Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Singer's Grave: A Sea of Tongues (Drag City/Domino)
137) Sylvain Rifflet and Jon Irabagon - Perpetual Motion: A Celebration of Moondog (Jazz Village)
136) Bobby Avey - Authority Melts From Me (Whirlwind)
135) Steven James Adams - House Music (The state51 Conspiracy)
134) Silence Blossoms - Silence Blossoms (Efpi)
133) Anais Mitchell - Xoa (Wilderland)
132) Kate In The Kettle - Swimmings Of The Head (Kate In The Kettle)
131) Roll The Dice - Until Silence (Leaf)
130) Steve Reich - Radio Rewrite (Nonesuch)
129) Paragon - Cerca (Jellymould Jazz)
128) Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap (Fat Cat)
127) Vermont - Vermont (Kompakt)
126) Julie Byrne - Rooms with Walls and Windows (Orindal)
125) Elliot Galvin Trio - Dreamland (Chaos Collective)
124) Zammuto - Anchor (Temporary Residence)
123) The Woodentops - Granular Tales (Cherry Red)
122) The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian)
121) Fatima Al-Qadiri - Asiatisch (Hyperdub)
120) Let Spin - Let Spin (Efpi)
119) Liam Hayes - Korp Sole Roller (Candlewick Lake)
118) Roddy Frame - Seven Dials (AED)
117) Jenny Hval and Susanna - Meshes Of Voice (SusannaSonata)
116) Gareth Dickson - Invisible String (12k)
115) Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else (Bloodshot)
114) Hidden Cameras - AGE (Evil Evil)
113) Arca - Xen (Mute)
112) Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes (Columbia)
111) Avi Buffalo - At Best Cuckold (Sub Pop)
110) Deerhoof - La Isla Bonita (Upset The Rhythm)
109)The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers (Matador)
108) Ryley Walker - All Kinds Of You (Tompkins Square)
107) Mirel Wagner - When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day (Sub Pop)
106) Linda Perhacs - The Soul Of All Natural Things (Asthmatic Kitty)
105) The Notwist - Close To The Glass (City Slang)
104) Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings (No Quarter)
103) Richard Thompson - Acoustic Classics (Beeswing)
102) A Winged Victory For The Sullen - Atomos (Erased Tapes)
101) Engines Orchestra - Life Cycles (Engines Imprint)