Despite the return to normality, and more importantly live shows, the creativity of our allowed-out-in-the-real-world musicians remains unabated.

So what better time to look at some of the year’s top music from Scotland. (This time we’ve opted for a Top 13 and then the other 50 or so ‘best of the rest’ in alphabetical order. Don’t ask). Impressively, only two of the total are unavailable to purchase / hear on Bandcamp.

So, without further ado, here’s some of what what you hopefully already know from the past 12 months. And if not, have a listen…

1. Jill Lorean – This Rock (Monohands)

2. Gentle Sinners – These Actions Cannot Be Undone (Rock Action)

3. Pumajaw – Scapa Foolscap (Self-released)

4. Port Sulphur – Speed of Life (Creeping Bent)

5. A New International – Lost and Later Songs (ANI)

6. Amateur Cult – The Mirrored Pattern (Armellodie)

7. Pictish Trail – Island Family (Fire)

8. Hank Tree – The Big North (Olive Grove)

9. Reverse Cowgirls – Fortis Et Fidus (RC)

10. Whin – Dawn Firth (Latarena)

11. Mood Taeg – Anaphora Versions (Happy Robots)

12. Savage Mansion – Golden Mountain Here I Come (Lost Map)

13. Ritterskamp – Cryptic (RS)

And the best of the rest, this time in alphabetical order…

Adam Ross – Staring At Mountains (Olive Grove)
Andrew Eaton Lewis – Tourism (Wee Studio)
Andrew Wasylyk – Hearing the Water Before Seeing The Falls (Clay Pipe Music)
Astroturf Inspector – My Bones Are Singing (New Teeth)
Beerjacket – Handstands
Belle & Sebastian – A Bit of Previous (Matador)
Bis – Systems Music for Home Defence (LNFG)
Butterscotch & Damaged Goodz – Brothers From Another Planet
Cafolla – The March Onto Forever
C Duncan – Alluvium (Bella Union)
Chris Connelly – Eulogy to Christa: A Tribute to the Music & Mystique of Nico
Dave Arcari – Devil May Care
Duncan Marquiss – Wires Turned Sideways Through Time (Basin Rock)
Fergus McCreadie – Forest Floor (Edition)
Fiona Soe Paing – Sand Silt Flint
Gordon Mcintyre – Even With the Support of Others
Gutterblood – Gutterblood L.P.
Goodnight Louisa – Human Danger
Hailey Beavis – I’ll Put You Under Where The Trombone Slides (OK Pal)
Happy Particles – Every Room In My House Is In Darkness
Jamie Button – Lost In Local Life
Joe Howe – Wyped Out
John Robertson – The Atomic Facts of Love
Kapil Seshasayee – Laal (Self-released)
Katherine Aly – Shadows Are Made Of Light Too
Kathryn Joseph – For You Who Are Wronged (Rock Action)
The Little Kicks – People Need Love
Lomond Campbell – Under This Hunger Moon We Fell (One Little Independent)
Modern Studies – We Are There
The 1990s – Nude Restaurant
Nyx Nótt – Themes From
Popcorn Fiend – Milos Is Reborn
Poster Paints – Poster Paints (Olive Grove)
SALT – Fairytale On Fire
Starry Skies – Small Wonders
Steg G – Surface Pressure
Stephen McLaren – They Don’t Put Any Money in Your Pocket, Son (Errant Media)
The Strange Blue Dreams – Simple Machine (Holy Smokes)
Susan Bear – Alter (Lost Map)
TST: The Southern Tenant – Hallowe’en Hits Vol. 1

*Usual E&OE. We’re bound to have forgotten some album or other, so if your favourite is missing then best just assume that rather than it being (IMO) rubbish, it simply got overlooked, perhaps by just being so good everyone was dazzled by its brilliance or it had become so much a part of our lives that it was hiding in plain sight.