I was tempted to call this playlist 'The Arkhive', making use of a clever pun based on it consisting of two tracks from each of my favourite 25 albums of the year, but sense prevailed....

And so to the business end of the "Albums of 2014" countdown. Without, as they say, further ado...

Well it wasn't easy, but in the end I managed to pare a longlist of around 100 albums down to a list of 25 of the very best 2014 had to offer. Part 2 follows...

What a beautiful way to end the musical advent calendar of mystery...

Photographs is the perfect antidote to the bloated and over-emoted mega-success stories of the last couple of years.

Cedar Lane starts out mildly enough, before slicing through the flutes and harmonies in its stunning climax.

All The Right Reasons appeared on the Kindercore compilation Christmas Two in 1999. It has just a little of that Christmas sleigh bell sound, the right amount of bouncy cheer, and lyrics of seasonal warmth...

Trouble in Paradise was smooth; it shimmied and sashayed in style, sporting its influences with confidence. It opened with Uptight Downtown, and barely missed a beat from then on.

Where Nobody Knows Your Name features a featherweight piano melody, chased by a guitar counterpart, with melodies, harmonies and a flow to match

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want appeared as a b-side to the single William, It Was Really Nothing; later it featured on both Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs.

Loom, the debut album from Fear of Men, is one of the year's more understated and overlooked indie-pop treasures.