Here we go, then — it’s our top 100 records of the year. There’s been fierce debate among our critics, and a few big names have been left off the list entirely. (Where are you, Mumford and Sons?) Still, they say arguments are the best thing about getting together at Christmas…

The outright winner in pop, though, is Damon Albarn’s Merrie Land, with his the Good, the Bad & the Queen project; while in classical, we went for the electrifying pianism of Daniil Trifonov, playing Rachmaninov.