In a post-internet age where access to the internet and a Spotify account offer a contemporary variant on the homemade mixtape, officially sanctioned compilations retain an ever more defined and important role for our listening habits. As the gaping hole of the internet gets ever wider, the chance for the past and the present to be contextualised by those who possess the requisite tastes and knowledge, it’s clear from the selection process for this list that 2013 was a year that celebrated the enduring strength and the scope afforded by the humble compilation, with the following ten inclusions representing the many forms that the medium takes.

Here label overviews from Keysound and L.I.E.S. rub shoulders with archival reappraisals and diverse selections from respected diggers, whilst collections gathering together the works of artists such as Livity Sound and Mr Beatnick are complemented by conceptual and compelling compilations from Unknown Precept, Perc’s Submit label and the always interesting Public Information.

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