Come on in to see what our critics made their album of the year.


3. Guns N’ Roses
Chinese Democracy
Geffen
It sounded better last year. Unfair? Maybe – but what the leaks couldn’t prepare you for was how much more overblown it’d seem in full-length form. Still: a monumental personal achievement for Axl, with half a dozen blistering epics.


2. Metallica
Death Magnetic
Mercury
Metallica needed to make a record that restored faith to their fan base – and Death Magnetic did exactly that. It’s dense, lengthy and unremittingly heavy. After St Anger, they sound like a band again: flawed and human, but united.


1. AC/DC
Black Ice
Columbia
This is the AC/DC we wanted to see return after eight years away. Granted, it’s not quite Back In Black; granted, it’s a trifle overlong… but if Acca Dacca’s 14th studio album proves to be their last, then they’ll be going out on one helluva high. There’s a sense of purpose to Black Ice that far outstrips its predecessor, Stiff Upper Lip: it’s louder and prouder; there’s more craft to it, stronger songs, catchier hooks. There may not be a Whole Lotta Rosie or even a Thunderstruck, but there are new classics in Rock And Roll Train, Anything Goes and slow burners that repay repeated listening: Rock And Roll Dream, Spoiling For A Fight, the ZZ-like Decibel, the Zep-ish Stormy May Day. If this is indeed the swansong for Angus, Malcolm, Brian, Cliff and Phil, it’ll have been an amazing ride.