(You can find Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of the Year here, and Top 100 Singles of the Year here.)

1. Lil Wayne
Tha Carter III (Bootleg)
This year came and went without Lil Wayne releasing a proper LP, but thanks to the Internet, there was plenty of evidence to back his claim that he’s the best rapper alive. This leaked batch of songs finds Weezy tossing out big-beat pleasures (the Kanye-produced “Did It Before”), referencing Ramadan and Angela Lansbury, and indulging his weird side on “I Feel Like Dying,” a remarkable, very eerie homage to weed. Massively entertaining — and another reason to look forward to the real Carter III.

2. Dizzee Rascal
Maths + English (Beggars/xl)
On his first two albums, this London MC made hip-hop as tense and action-packed as a John Woo movie. This time he adds some brighter, more accessible moments, alternating dense electro beats and frantic, slang-strewn rhymes with popwise cameos from UGK and Lily Allen. Even better, he pulls it off while managing to sound like no one but himself.

3. Balkan Beat Box
Nu Med (Jdub)
Killer left-field hip-hop. Helmed by two Israeli expats, this New York band makes beat-centric jams that evoke a strange and wonderful party halfway around the world. Their second album overflows with snatches of klezmer and Gypsy swing, with Ori Kaplan’s sax lines serving as hooks.

4. R. Kelly
Double Up (Jive)
Say what you like about his misdeeds, dude’s an expert record maker. To the surprise of no one, he still sounds horny as hell, as evidenced by creepy-seductive cuts like “Sex Planet.” There are also excellent club jams, a generic if heartfelt Virginia Tech tribute and “Real Talk,” which borrows the MO of “Trapped in the Closet” for a rant that’s totally indulgent and damn near mesmerizing.

5. Clinic
Visitations (Domino)
On their fourth album, these minimalist Brits fleshed out their usual spate of distinct, expertly rendered atmospherics with pumped-up tempos and skronked-up guitars. The end result is an arty, absorbing garage-rock album that longtime fans could treasure and any Hives fan could appreciate.