Given the vastness of music available today online, “best of…” lists, while nice to have, can be disappointingly predictable. Not so with music selected by readers of this site. We asked for your favorite albums of last year, and you responded with extraordinary variety. I’ve selected entries from readers – some must-have inclusions, some that were simply well-described or surprising – for your enjoyment here. In these mid-January doldrums, it’s a perfect time to catch up on musical inspiration, then hole up and create some digital music of your own. I’ve called attention to some specific choices with images and videos and audio embeds, too, as you’ll see.

If you’re like me, creating often must begin with listening. Here’s plenty of listening to get you started.

Hollow
36
36, Album (full-length)
http://3six.net/album/hollow

Fine musician with an ear for ambient texture and melody. People ought to pay attention!

Suggested by Peter Dines http://modulations.noisepages.com

2010
$.99 Dreams
Bandcamp/$.99 Dreams, Album (full-length)
http://ninetyninecentdreams.com/

2nd album delivers a novel mix of dark jazz, instrumental hip hop, and a raw improvised aesthetic.

Suggested by Mat

Music for motion pictures
Åbäke
Åbäke, Album (full-length)
http://itunes.apple.com/se/album/music-for-motion-pictures/id403203224

Cosy and cute. This is a soundtrack that fits all seasons of the year and I always listen to it when I travel by train!

Suggested by Lars Jönsson

Mimikry
Alva Noto and Blixa Bargeld
Raster Noton, Album (full-length)

Suggested by strunkdts

Cavalier
Antix
Iboga, Album (full-length)
http://soundcloud.com/mpdqx/sets/antix-cavalier

A buddy of mine put this CD in his Oldsmobile in the middle of the Snoqualmie National Forest at about 2am. Pitch back outside. Damp from the moisture of the forest, and smelly from the smoke of the campfire. I was in the back seat and I remember being transported by this album. It really is a trancey record. The bass feels warm, and the percussion is so nicely done and crisp. I love the different noise sweeps and use of side-chain compression. The first disk of the album plays back in the form of a Mixed set, however all of the songs are by Antix. The second disk contains single versions and remixes of the album’s songs. Check out Manta (Beckers Remix) for some good cheese. Mmmm. Cheese. It’s both smooth and crunchy at the same time. I chose this record because I really don’t think it should be missed. It is a great trance record.

Suggested by Adam

In D
Arandel
Infiné, Album (full-length)
http://www.myspace.com/arandelmusic

Got impressed by this string-techno-driven-glitch mixture… great album!!!

Suggested by flogistox

Consume, Adapt, Create
Architect
Hymen Records, Album (full-length)
http://www.hymen-records.com/all/y781.html

A perfect mix of dubtep, ebm, experimental, techno, ambient, cinematic, Daniel Myer is a master sound designer and an expert hook maker

Suggested by cooptrol cooptrol.com

Oversteps
Autechre
Warp, Album (full-length)

Old bastards don’t miss a hit in my opinion… This new full-length is brilliant!

Suggested by Gilieu

Oversteps
Autechre
Warp, Album (full-length)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vWoxs47oiE

It’s ridiculous. It’s probably one of the best albums ever. The sounds, the music, the algorithms (at least it sounds very algorithmic (in a good way), in Treale for example). I don’t know what to say really. But it feels like I’m about to rethink everything I thought I thought was important in music. Again. A good thing, i guess.

Suggested by Max Wainwright soundcloud.com/maxwainwright

As the inevitable “best music of 2010″ arrive, so, too, do complaints. Why are the lists the same? Why is an obvious choice overlooked? Why is a less-known choice overlooked?

So, it’s time again for readers to discuss. What was your favorite music of 2010? Mixes, albums, singles? Unless your favorite was recorded entirely to tape, nearly any genre and instrumentation has gone through the filter of digital recording, mixing, and mastering. Almost anything might be said, rightfully, to qualify as digital music. What were the albums that inspired you, sonically, compositionally? What were your favorite performances?

In particular, I hear regular complaints, even from people who develop music software, that electronic music lacks the element of human musical performance. Even without the criterion of virtuosity, what music challenged you? Obvious choices from major labels should not be overlooked, but so, too, should unknown netlabels and Creative Commons recordings.

Let us know, and wherever possible, do include a link to the music. You can also use our Google form below if you’d rather not just discuss, unstructured, in comments.

Direct link to the form

See also our call for the Best Music of 2010 on our sister site.

We’ll celebrate the New Year with a round-up of a few of your choices and editorial choices to go with it. Also, I hope we can get input from some record shops and curators, so if you’re in that capacity, do get in touch. It’s always a nice way to spend January, revisiting the best music of the previous year.

I have no doubt that Cosmogramma, the album Flying Lotus describes as a “space opera,” will be one of the albums of 2010. Actually, I don’t even care if anyone agrees, because I know I’ll thoroughly enjoy it. The only bad news is that you’ll have to wait until May to get the release, coming out on Warp Records.

I happened to hang out with Flying Lotus the day he wrapped the record up (after I nearly succumbed to the horrors of LA traffic), so I got to hear the rough-cut. Taking off any music critic hat or anything along those lines, I just fell in love with it; my jaw was dropped. (Thanks, Steve – I wasn’t just pretending or trying to be nice!) I wanted to take it with me and keep listening all night, so yes, I look forward to even a watermarked advance, let alone my proper, DRM-free CD final. It’s incredibly lush, indeed operatic in its collisions of textures, and filled with guest work by the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Thundercat, Erykah Badu, and Laura Darlington. (You may know Laura’s husband, Daedalus; Laura has done a number of collaborations with him and with FlyLo in the past.) The cut with Thom Yorke on guest vocals was immediately a favorite of mine, and the combination of work by harpist Rebekah Raff and string arranger Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (of Outkast) make for an exquisitely beautiful journey. It absolutely fits his musical personality, but it also sounds very different from his previous work.

The results have a richness, a depth to them I think many will find irresistible. Like a great bandleader, Flying Lotus has pulled the best out of his collaborators into his musical world.

Steve Ellison (Flying Lotus) is a really humble, easy-going guy, and I think sometimes that shows in music. Some of that generous personality really comes across.

Anyway, I want to hear the mastered version and spend some proper time with the album and talk to FlyLo about it, and give y’all the coverage you and this record deserve. In the meantime, to whet your appetite, here’s the track listing and the gorgeous new artist shot and album cover.

Cosmogramma Tracklist:

01. Clock Catcher
02. Pickled!
03. Nose Art
04. Intro//A Cosmic Drama
05. Zodiac Shit
06. Computer Face//Pure Being
07. ..And The World Laughs With You ft. Thom Yorke
08. Arkestry
09. Mmmhmm ft.Thundercat
10. Do The Astral Plane
11. Satelllliiiiiteee
12. German Haircut
13. Recoiled
14. Dance Of The Pseudo Nymph
15. Drips//Auntie’s Harp
16. Table Tennis ft. Laura Darlington
17. Galaxy In Janaki