BBC News compiled more than 30 year-end lists published by the world’s most influential music magazines and critics – including the NME, Rolling Stone, Spain’s Mondo Sonoro and France’s Les Inrockuptibles.
Records were assigned points based on their position in each list – with the number one album or single getting 20 points, the number two album receiving 19 points, and so on.
The results were the closest we’ve ever seen. Just 52 points separated Rosalía’s Lux from the number two album, Geese’s Getting Killed.
In the singles countdown, PinkPantheress was the runaway winner – but the rest of the field was tightly packed, reflecting a year where there haven’t been many universally popular, culturally dominant songs.
The publications we surveyed included: Albumism, Billboard, Buzzfeed, Clash, Complex, Consequence of Sound, Dazed, Daily Mail, Dork, Double J, Entertainment Weekly, Exclaim!, The Fader, Flood, The Forty Five, Gorilla vs Bear, The Guardian, Independent, LA Times, Les Inrocks, Line of Best Fit, MOJO, Mondo Sonoro, NME, New York Times, Paste Magazine, Pitchfork, Pop Matters, Rolling Stone, The Skinny, Slant, Stereogum, The Telegraph, Time Magazine, Time Out, The Times, Uncut and Vulture.