The time has come again to choose our favourite albums of the year. It’s a task that’s never easy, especially after the bumper year we’ve had, with great music coming from all over South America, reflected in the fact that artists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela all feature in our list.

The criteria for our list fits our ethos as a magazine. We aim to find the most interesting music being made in South America, and this list reflects that. Normally we would choose a Top 20 but as they were so many choices that we felt were deserving of the Top 20 but just missed out, we thought we’d open it up slightly to show some of our “almost choices” this year. So, first off, here are the choices that almost made the Top 20, before really getting into those top choices.

30. Violeta Castillo – Uno/Otro (Argentina)
29. Alex Andwandter – Rebeldes (Chile)
28. Eddie – Veraneio (Brazil)
27. Frente Cumbiero Meets Mad Professor (Colombia)
26. Bixiga 70 – S/T (Brazil)
25. Cícero – Canções de Apartamento (Brazil)
24. Mostro – Libre para Regurgitar la Intemperie (Chile)
23. Kali Mutsa – Ambrolina (Chile)
22. Federico Durand – El Éxtasis de las Flores Pequeñas (Argentina)
21. Helado Negro – Canta Lechuza (Ecuador/USA)