First of all, I did not listen to Adele's album this year and I'm aware that this might be the only top ten list that doesn't include it.

She didn't make my top ten list and I thought I'd better make that clear up front. I heard the song "Someone Like You" and it didn't float my boat, so I pretty much left it there. I hope you're still reading. 2011 was an interesting year in popular music, there were some big releases from some of the world's biggest acts, some big surprises and some big disappointments. For me, 2011 has been a year of vinyl albums, both old and new and of an ever-increasing reliance on online purchases, both electronic and hard copy.

After trawling through music stores and giving up time after time, I ended up buying albums by The Kinks, Laura Nyro, The Hollies, Ginger, The Feeling, The Wildhearts, Burlap To Cashmere and Elvis Costello online from overseas distributors. So some of them are pretty obscure, but take the Kinks album for example (Lola Vs Powerman and the Moneygoround), this is the album with Lola on it!!

This year I bought more music on iTunes than ever before, and as always I have been a strong supporter of purchasing the music I listen to from Eskimo Joe, Jebediah, Josh Pyke, Ben Folds, She & Him, Queen (Remasters), Madeleine Peyroux, Patrick Stump, Beady Eye, Gomez, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, REM, The Greenhornes, The Electric Soft Parade, Dropkick Murphys, The Wombats, Limp Bizkit (!) and Coldplay.

So without any further ado, here is my list of favourite music of 2011. Just remember, no Adele.

The multi- talented brother and sister duo behind The Belle Brigade, Ethan and Barbara Gruska, who created my favourite album of the year just happen to be the grandchildren of famed film composer John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars). Talk about pedigree..! The Belle Brigade album is anything but cinematic though, sunny Californian folk-pop with ridiculously tight harmonies and songs that you feel you can immerse yourself in, reminiscent of the likes of Simon and Garfunkel or perhaps a more laid-back mid-70's Fleetwood Mac. Apart from the fact that most people will probably hear about The Belle Brigade because one of their (non-album) songs was included on the soundtrack to whatever Twilight movie was released this year. Still, if it makes people seek them out, it can't be bad.

An amazing Irish/English group that will probably never move beyond cult status produced one of the highlight albums of the year in The Olympus Sound, another grand collection of songs cementing lead singer Thomas Walsh as not only one of the most evocative vocalists of his generation but also one of the modern era's finest purveyors of baroque pop. Lauded by the likes of Brian Wilson, XTC's Andy Patridge and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon, one might be tempted to ask what Pugwash need to do to make a bigger splash. Ah, what a magnificent nautical pun!

Only a band from Canada could have a song called People Of The Deer. Then again, only a band like The Trews could deliver an unmitigated, fist-pumping rock and roll record in 2011 that doesn't sound like Nickelback (thank god). And rock they do, frequently. What sets Hope and Ruin apart from their previous efforts is how well the poppier tracks sit alongside the rock tunes; in fact, it's the pop gems such as the title track and If You Wanna Start Again that are the real standouts here, which may account in part for them receiving a bit more airplay (and by "a bit more", I mean "any") on mainstream Australian radio this year.

Welcome back, Mr Adams. After splitting with the Cardinals and putting his career on indefinite hiatus, it was difficult to tell exactly what the mercurial Ryan Adams would do next. Thankfully, he didn't stay away too long, writing an entire album before reportedly scrapping it after producer/collaborator Ethan Johns introduced him to Laura Marling's work (more on her later). Teaming with Ethan's famous dad Glyn (Beatles, Led Zep, Dylan, Stones etc) and enlisting Benmont Tench, Norah Jones, Jeremy Stacey and fellow ex-Cardinal Neal Casal. Typically rustic, country-tinged folk rock from a man who helped define the genre, Ashes And Fire is an evocative addition to his discography.

I will admit that when I saw the cover to the new Gomez album I did wonder if they'd gone completely off on a tangent into drum and bass territory; the wet plaster splash of the band's name seems at odds with the carefully cultivated cut and paste image the band has worn proudly for the past 15 odd years. Beyond the odd choice of artwork, Whatever's On Your Mind represents a true return to form after the mildly disappointing (and possibly career-hijacking) A New Tide of two years ago. Ben Ottewell still has one of the best blues voices in any genre of music and apart from the Ian Ball-led first single Options, it's his work that remains the most affecting.

Who would have thought it? The loud-mouthed, vulgar, posturing little brother would be the one to take the reins of Oasis, rebrand it and reinvent it. Sure, he's got some company. Along with Oasis Mk 3 mainstays Andy Bell and Gem Archer and enlisting Chris Sharrock, Liam Gallagher proves the upstart he has long threatened to be, creating a great, big British rock record without his high-minded brother, Noel. Gallagher the elder may remain the critics choice, but Liam and company have got the chops, the sound, and that voice.

What a beautifully uplifiting way to end such a storied career. Over the past 30 years, REM have touched the top of the pops, dallied with irrelevance, created amazing art but always retained their own identity. Perhaps it this assuredness that comes through so strongly on Collapse Into Now, a title that seems quite poignant, even in the slightest retrospect; after 30 years chasing the future of music, they have reached it, now. Michael Stipe has never sounded stronger in voice and the beautiful hallmarks of Peter Buck's sublime guitar playing (six strings and other things) echo some of their finest moments, recalling Monster-era fuzz-rock and Out of Time's chiming mandolin-inflected pop materpieces. Goodbye REM and thank you, for one last dance around the room.

So super-humungous now that they could almost be in danger of becoming a bloated pastiche of themselves, Foo Fighters take several bold moves on the new album without alienating their core audience. The first single 'Rope' introduced the three-pronged guitar attack, with original guitarist and punk/grunge demi-god Pat Smear rejoining the fray as a full-time member. Finding space for three separate guitarists could have turned into a muddy mess, but the economy of parts, unique phrasing and the sweet analog recording of Butch Vig ensure that each part and each player has enough space to make their own mark. Add into that the (not so) secret weapon of Taylor Hawkins on drums and backing vocals, and guest appearances by Husker Du's Bob Mould and Dave's ex-Nirvana compadre Krist Novoselic and you have 2011's best ROCK record.

At an infuriatingly precocious 21 years of age, Laura Marling has released her third and most masterful album yet, all the more impressive because the first two were major British music prize nominees and criticall acclaimed in their own right. A Creature I Don't Know showcases an artist who seems to have the promise of a remarkable career ahead of her, all the while being freakishly on top of her jazz-infused, folk rock game already. Somgs ebb and flow on thoughts and concepts, moving along like thought patterns. There are echoes of the best moments of Laura Nyro, Kate Bush and Regin Spektor without sounding that much like any of them.

Just when I think they've lost me, they pull me back in. That's not to say Radiohead's previous album In Rainbows was a bad record, far from it. But it was cold and clinical and very, very ambient. For me, it floated very much to the background. TKOL is similarly ambient, but reinvents the snap of their brilliant rhythm section of Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway tightly looped and pushed to the fore. This is where electronic music ceases to be about simple treble and bass tweaks and becomes transcendent. I defy anyone to listen to the gorgeous Lotus Flower and not want to indulge in a bit of body-poppin'. Radiohead still pushing the boat out, but they know exactly where they're going.