Albums of the year: Jack White to Jake Bugg (Nos. 50 - 41)

Part one of our best of 2012 album countdown

49. Miike Snow - Happy To You: Conclusive proof that men with beards are the experts when it comes to perfect pop music, Miike Snow's second album was a hi-concept collection of perfectly formed gems. Singles such as 'The Wave' and 'Paddling Out' caught the attention of mainstream radio, but it was soaring album tracks such as 'Archipelago' and 'Bavarian #1' that really saw the album take off. Standout track: 'Archipelago'.

Monday 10th December 2012 by Gigwise

2012 is nearly over and we've been wracking our brains to remember which albums we were playing on repeat in the early months of the year to bring you our collection of the best albums of the past year.

All this week we'll be counting down our favourite albums of the year - ten a day. Fifty albums that range from international chart toppers to undiscovered gems that should have been listened to by the masses - but were edged to the sidelines by the likes of Muse, Mumford & Sons or Lana Del Rey.

As well as bringing you our favourite albums of the year, all through December we've been asking Gigwise readers to tell us their picks of the year's releases in our readers' poll. Currently at the top of the poll is 2010 X Factor winner Matt Cardle, who can certainly rely on fans to vote in polls - even if they are less inclined to keep him in the charts. He faces stiff competition from Muse, Aiden Grimshaw and Lana Del Rey however - click here to cast your vote.

Today, we're counting down the first of our albums of the year, numbers 50 to 41 - check out our picks below.