25. Let’s just pretend that more rickrolling-style viral video attacks, à la nyan cat, and the “Friday” abomination never happened.

24. After two little British fairy princesses Sophia Grace & Rosie became a YouTube sensation with their cover of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass,” Ellen brought them on her show so many times we all lost count.

23. Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten turned twenty.

22. The National toured with Beirut. A stellar combination.

21. Andrew Bird composed most of the Norman soundtrack.

20. Adele dominated the airwaves.

19. This year, Beyoncé was actually pregnant.

18. Lykke Li released a crazy-controversial video (“Sadness is a Blessing”), where essentially she dances with a cradle-robbing Stellan Skarsgård for five minutes.

17. Speaking of controversy, Lana del Rey debuted “Video Games,” and created a great debate about whether she was actually an indie artist or a rebranded pop singer.

16. The National surprised us with original tracks for the soundtracks to Win Win and Portal 2.

15. To mark the tenth birthday of The Strokes’ Is This It, Stereogum released a tribute album, Stroked.

14. Florence Welch caused a stir with her potentially racist video, “No Light, No Light.”

13. The Book of Mormon kind of took over Broadway.

12. Amnesty International made their forthcoming Bob Dylan tribute album Chimes of Freedom available for streaming online. There was a great hullaballoo that Ke$ha might have ruined “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.”

11. GLEE went to the Alps and beyond for its Christmas special, and subsequently, the tracks from that special played on loop in stores all through the holiday season.

10. Cesaária Évora, Cabo Verde’s “Barefoot Diva,” passed away at age seventy.

9. Adele had laryngitis and vocal cord surgery. While she was recovering, she also sparked some controversy when her tour rider was leaked onto the internet, revealing that there is no such thing as a free ticket to an Adele concert and that the British songstress refuses to drink any of the great, local lagers available in North America.

8. Zooey Deschanel & Ben Gibbard called it quits on their two-year marriage.

7. Amy Winehouse died semi-mysteriously at twenty-seven.

6. Lady Gaga went to the Grammys as a concept egg.

5. Ellie Goulding played the Royal Wedding.

4. R.E.M. broke up after thirty-one amazing years, while The Stone Roses reunited after a fifteen-year split.

3. Morrissey got his hand bitten by a dog.

2. Spotify came to America, and two hundred some indie labels pulled their music from the service.

1. CD production by the major record labels was rumoured to be ending before the passing of another year, which was pretty catastrophic music news. // Alternatively: Queens of the Stone Age admitted to performing an appendectomy on a fan backstage. (Not sure if that’s true, memorable news or just horrifying.)