Hot Sugar - The Melody of Dust
Since the writing of this AOTY list, many victims have spoken out, denouncing counless acts of sexual violence and emotional manipulation perpetrated by Nick Koening (aka Hot Sugar). As such, I do not recommend this album or condone Nick Koening in any way, but decided to keep the album in the list to denounce his actions. The audio below is a song by his ex-girlfriend and victim kitty, on her album ROSE GOLD. Go listen to her instead, she's an amazing musician.

PC music - ∂
ambient, score, arpeggio bliss
I don’t really know what this release is, or what to call it. It came during PC music’s Month of Mayhem, as an all-black video with this title and a direct download link with cryptic names. Whatever this is, i love it and i’ve set it as my alarm for waking up.

Joseph Marinetti - Amusement Equals Apathy
happy hardcore, grime, destructured gabber
Super smart dance music that stuck in my head for months. It feels super fresh and unique while still being super hard and catchy.

Lorde - Melodrama
pop, art pop
Every song on this is outstanding.

CASUAL GABBERZ - INUTILE DE FUIR
gabber, hardcore, gros son de teuf
A huge compilation (50 tracks) of french gabber-adjascent music. Not everything on here is the same quality but there’s a ton of banger and some tracks have become instant classics.

Lil Peep - Come Over When You’re Sober (Pt. 1)
emo cloud rap
RIP Lip Peep. I had the chance to see him in Antwerpen a couple of weeks before his death.

osno1 - i just dont wanna name it anything with “beach” in the title
pop, but like the noise trap soundcloud kind of pop
Osno1 is probably my most important musical discovery of the year. I love everything she does, and this album was an instant classic.

Bored Lord - New Moon trilogy
idk like electronic R&B cyberwitch stuff
I’m cheating because this is 3 EPs actually: ANGEL SPIT (her more typical singer-songwriter stuff), LITANY (more dance / club stuff) and Dream You Forgot (more cinematic instrumental stuff). They’re all some of my favorite stuff she’s done, i feel like there’s so much care put into every moment and every sound.
addendum: ANGEL SPIT and Dream You Forgot are no longer on her bandcamp page, or anywhere else that I can find on the web. You probably know where to get them though.

Mr. Mitch - Devout
grime, RnB, UK Bass
This is much more subdued that Mr.Mitch’s previous stuff. There’s a sort of minimalist approach to the compositions, which makes them much more elegant and introspective.

Arca - Arca
post-industrial melancholic sex-¿pop?
This album is Arca taking us inside the emotional world she’d only been showing us from afar in the previous albums. Everything on this album is so much: so close, so attached, so powerful. Read the lyrics and translate them if you don’t speak spanish, i feel like they’re a big player on the album here.

Dear Laika - Visions of St. Cross
experimental dream pop
This release really resonated with me emotionally. It was perfect for the chill last winter.

Sophiaaaahjkl;8901 / Emma O'Yama - Cursed Objects
lofi noise plunderphonics
Really short brloping noises. Those tracks truly are cursed so watch out.