caffeine-headache

Well, everyone else is doing it so why should I be an exception. Now I don't pretend to have heard all the great albums released this year, I didn't give some albums the time they deserve and I missed some altogether, but I did compile a list of Caffeine-Headache's Top 50 Album Picks of the Year (in no particular order).
Nothing extensive, just links to songs, in case there's some albums you might have missed.
Here goes...

Josh Ritter - Animal Years

Suggested Listening: "Wolves", "Thin Blue Flame", "Girl in the War"
RIYL: Ron Sexsmith, M. Ward, Bruce Springsteen

Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope

Suggested Listening: "Fidelity", "Samson" (Courtesy of Kwaya Na Kisser)
RIYL: Stars, Tori Amos

Snow Patrol - Eyes Open

Suggested Listening: "Chasing Cars" (Courtesy of The Underrated Blog), "Hands Open" (Courtesy of I Guess I'm Floating)
RIYL: Travis, Badly Drawn Boy, U2

Sean Hayes - Big Black Hole and The Little Baby Star

Suggested Listening: "Fucked Me Right Up", "Calling All Cars"
RIYL: Brett Dennen, Josh Rouse, Jolie Holland

The Submarines - Declare A New State!

Suggested Listening: "Peace & Hate" (Courtesy of The Yellow Stereo), "Vote" (Courtesy of Rewritable Content)
RIYL: Starlight Mints, Sufjan Stevens, Postal Service

The Dears - Gang of Losers

Suggested Listening: "The Ballad of Humankindness", "There Goes My Outfit" (Courtsey of Obscure Sound)
RIYL: The Decemberists, Morrissey, Blur

Ed Harcourt - The Beautiful Lie

Suggested Listening: "Visit From The Dead Dog", "Good Friends Are Hard To Find"
RIYL: Badly Drawn Boy, Josh Rouse, Rufus Wainwright

Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio

Suggested Listening: "Hush Boy" (Courtesy of The Yellow Stereo), "Hey You" (Courtesy of MOKB)
RIYL: Dizzee Rascal, Daft Punk

Placebo - Meds

Suggested Listening:"Follow the Cops Back Home" (Courtesy of Indoor Fireworks) , "Meds" (Courtesy of The Rich Girls Are Weeping)
RIYL: Oasis, Muse

Joanna Newsom - Ys Suggested Listening: "Emily" , "Peach, Plum, Pear" (Courtesy of Side One, Track One)
RIYL: Bjork, Beirut, Devendra Banhart

Thom Yorke The Eraser

Suggested Listening: "Harrowdown Hill", "Atoms for Peace" (Courtesy of Phish & Chips)
RIYL: Radiohead, Aphex Twin

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country

Suggested Listening: "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" (Courtesy of Who Killed the Mixtape), "Let's Get Out Of This Country" (Courtsey of The Laws Have Changed)
RIYL: Belle & Sebastian, Acid House Kings

Badly Drawn Boy - Born in the UK

Suggested Listening: "The Way Things Used To Be", "Promises" (Courtesy of Speed of Dark)
RIYL: Kings of Convenience, Oasis

Cat Power - The Greatest

Suggested Listening: "Lived in Bars", "The Greatest" (Courtesy of Sand is Overrated)
RIYL: Beth Orton, Laura Veirs

Cansei De Ser Sexy - S/T

Suggested Listening: " Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above", " I wanna be your J Lo" (Courtesy od To Die By Your Side)
RIYL: Stereo Total, Bonde De Role

Ben Kweller - S/T

Suggested Listening: "Sundress", "Thirteen" (Courtesy of Toga Toga Toga)
RIYL: Wilco, Big Star

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat

Suggested Listening: "Big Guns" (Courtesy of Water All Around), “Rise Up With Fists!” (Courtesy of The Yellow Stereo)
RIYL: Rilo Kiley, The Elected

Joseph Arthur - Nuclear Daydream

Suggested Listening: "Black Lexus" (Courtesy of The Rock Insider), "Enough To Get Away" (Courtesy of The World Forgot)
RIYL: Gomez, M. Ward

M. Ward - Post War

Suggested Listening: "Chinese Translation" (Courtesy of Each Secure Note), "Post War" (Courtesy of Bows Plus Arrows)
RIYL: Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

Suggested Listening: "FutureSex/LoveSound" (Courtesy of All Time Champion), "LoveStoned"(Cacophony & Coffee)
RIYL: Prince, Michael Jackson

Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo

Suggested Listening: "Backyard Betty", "What it Look Like" (Courtesy of Nialler9)
RIYL: Peaches, Aceyalone

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar

Suggested Listening: "The Canals of Our City" (Courtesy of Music is Not Dead), "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" (Courtesy of Untitled)
RIYL: Patrick Wolf, DeVotchka

Mountain Goats - Get Lonely

Suggested Listening: "Woke Up New", "Wild Sage" (Courtesy of Indie For Bunnies)
RIYL: Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes

Ron Sexsmith - Time Being

Suggested Listening: "All in Good Time", "Never Give Up"
RIYL: Josh Rouse, Rufus Wainwright, Aimee Mann

Phoenix

Suggested Listening: "Long Distance Call", Phoenix (Courtesy of The Neiles Life)
RIYL: The Strokes, Tahiti 80, Hall & Oats

Bob Dylan - Modern Times

Suggested Listening: "Ain't Talkin", "When the Deal Goes Down" (Courtesy of Phish & Chips)
RIYL: Bob Dylan

Damien Rice - 9

Suggested Listening: "9 Crimes", "Grey Rooms"
RIYL: Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams, David Gray

Sufjan Stevens - Avalanche

Suggested Listening: “The Henney Buggy Band”, "Pittsfield"
RIYL: Iron & Wine, Polyphonic Spree

Herman Dune - Giant

Suggested Listening: "I Wish I Could See You Soon" (Courtesy of Musikoon)
RIYL: Jens Lekman, Belle & Sebastian

Los Campesinos - Hold On Now Youngster

Suggested Listening: "You! Me! Dancing!" (Courtesy of Nothing But Green Lights), "Death To Los Campesinos" (Courtesy of Tommy Shots)
RIYL: Arctic Monkeys, The Go! Team

Julieta Venegas - Limon Y Sal

Suggested Listening: "Canciones De Amor"
RIYL: Aterciopelados, Ely Guerra

Archie Bronson Outfit - Derdang Derdang

Suggested Listening: "Dart For My Sweet" (Courtesy of We Say Disco), "Dead Funny" (Courtesy of MOKB)
MLIYL: Clinic, Franz Ferdinand

Clinic - Visitations

Suggested Listening: "Visitations", "Animal/Human" (Courtesy of Music Slut)
RIYL: Sonic Youth, Radiohead

Owen - At Home With

Suggested Listening: "Bad News", "The Sad Waltzes Of Pietro Crespi" (Courtesy of PodBop)
RIYL: Death Cab For Cutie, Mountain Goats

Jeremy Warmsley -The Art of Fiction

Suggested Listening: "Dirty Blue Jeans", "Modern Children" (Courtesy of The Daily Growl)
RIYL: Tom Vek, Talking Heads

Lady Sovereign - Public Warning

Suggested Listening: "Ch Ching" (Courtesy of Music Collective), "Love Me or Hate Me" (Courtesy of Ben Loves Music)
RIYL: The Streets, Dizzee Rascal

Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - Knives Don't Have Your Back

Suggested Listening: "Doctor Blind", "Our Hell", "Reading in Bed" (Courtesy of Sound Gym)
RIYL: Beth Orton, Portishead

The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home

Suggested Listening: "Separated by Motorways", "Once and Never Again" (Courtesy of Inkiostro), "Giddy Stratospheres", "Weekend without Makeup" (Courtesy of Sound Gym)
RIYL: Bloc Party, Pulp, Human League

The Black Keys - Magic Potion

Suggested Listening: "Your Touch" (Courtesy of False 45th), "You're The One", "Black Door" (Courtsey of Neiles Life)
RIYL: The White Stripes, Kings of Leon

El Perro Del Mar - S/T

Suggested Listening: "God Knows", "I Can’t Talk About It" (Courtesy of Convert Curiosity), "Coming Down the Hill" (Courtesy of 5 Acts)
RIYL: Isobell Campbell, Jens Lekman

Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis

Suggested Listening: "Black Magic" (Courtesy of Ear Farm), "Running The World" (Courtesy of Mister Brightside)
RIYL: Pulp, Blur

The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun

Suggested Listening: "Not Going Home", "Did Me Good" (Courtesy of Sand is Overrated)
RIYL: Rilo Kiley, Matt Pond PA

Two Gallants - What the Toll Tells

Suggested Listening: "Steady Rollin" (Courtesy of Fabulist), "Las Cruces Jail" (Courtesy of The Punk Guy)
RIYL: Bright Eyes, Langhorne Slim, Violent Femmes

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas

Suggested Listening: "Ramblin Man" (Courtesy of Training Ground) , "(Do You Wanna) Come Walk With Me?" (Courtesy of Timedoor)
RIYL: The Gentle Waves, Screaming Trees, Tom Waits

The Coup - Pick A Bigger Weapon

Suggested Listening: "Laugh Love Fuck" (Courtesy of Macktronic), "My Favorite Mutiny" (Courtesy of The Mark Out)
RIYL: LA Symphony, Mos Def, Funkadelic

Tahiti 80 - Fosbury

Suggested Listening: "Big Day", "Here Comes"
RIYL: Phoenix, The Go! Team

Squarepusher - Hello Everything

Suggested Listening: "The Modern Bass Guitar" (Courtesy of Nialler 9), "Welcome To Europe"
RIYL: Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert

Man Man - Six Bag Demon

Suggested Listening: "Engrish Bwudd" (Courtesy of The Muso), "Van Helsing Boombox" (Courtesy of Underrated Blog)
RIYL: Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Suggested Listening: "Yankee Bayonet" (Courtesy of Bows + Arrows), "Summersong" (Courtesy of Fabulist)
RIYL: Ben Kweller, Death Cab, Morrissey

Los Bunkers - Vida De Perros

Suggested Listening: "Llueve sobre la ciudad" (Courtesy of The Yellow Stereo), "Te Vistas Y Te Vas"
RIYL: El Otro Yo, Supergrass