End-of-year stuff is always a big deal for us here at NME, so it’s extremely exciting to unveil our pick of the best albums of 2019, as voted for by NME staff and critics. And luckily there’s absolutely nothing else going on in the news at the moment that might distract you from this list and make it seem in any way trivial.

Oh. Actually, it’s a few days since the Tories won an absolutely massive majority and voters roundly rejected a government offering to reduce inequality in a country with more food banks than branches of McDonald’s. It’s at this juncture that I’m contractually obliged to tell you it’s shit out there – but hey! At least the music this year was good!!!

Well, OK, I’m not going to do that, but what I will say is that there’s a lot of hope in this list, be it from the trio of young, politicised acts with stellar debuts in the top 10 – encompassing punk, UK rap and the biggest pop star on the planet who, perched at Number One, exists in her own unique realm – or the diverse array of talent sparkling throughout.

Cali singer-songwriter Weyes Blood’s otherworldly fourth album ‘Titanic Rising’ is a vital wake-up call about climate change, Kano’s ‘Hoodies All Summer’ is a deeply empathetic plea for greater unity and even veteran rockers Slipknot broke new ground with their pulsing manifesto of compassionate hatred ‘We Are Not Your Kind’.

If anger is an energy, reading this list should be like chugging a can of Monster with your finger stuck in a plug socket. These albums won’t change the world, but they do offer us a different perspective and help us to stand in someone else’s shoes for little while. And maybe that’s what we need right now.

– Jordan Bassett, Senior Staff Writer

Words: Carl Anka, Jordan Bassett, Rhian Daly, Georgia Evans, El Hunt, Natty Kasambala, Charlotte Krol, Hannah Mylrea, Will Richards, Kyann-Sian Williams, Thomas Smith, Dan Stubbs, Andrew Trendell.