Yesterday we let you know what our 100+ writers' favourite albums 2013 were (wow, you guys really have something against Kanye) and now we break it down to the artists who have just generally impressed us most.

They've released great albums and/or singles, put on shows that have blown us away or been involved in enough salacious extracurricular behaviour to have us clicking every clickbaity link we see about them.

You can read the individual polls from all of our writers here.

Wanna know what the big deal is? Check them out on Rdio and Spotify now.

Our top ten artists of 2013 are:

1. Lorde

Any artist who spends nine weeks at number one on the Billboard charts deserves supreme recognition; when that person happens to be a 16-year-old girl from New Zealand, it becomes an irresistible story. Fact is though, Lorde is good. Anyone who saw her thrown into the deep end at Splendour In The Grass (replacing Frank Ocean at the last minute) knew that, and the rest of the world knew it soon after. Her debut album Pure Heroine has done pretty well, but it'll be the future singles in years to come that show us the true scope of Ella Yelich-O'Connor's talent.

2. Kanye West

His nickname is Yeezy, so he calls his album Yeezus. That album features a song with the subtle title of I Am A God. Kanye West can't do anything without it becoming a media feeding frenzy; he attacked a photographer, called his daughter North West, released a film clip that made it look like he was copulating with his reality TV show girlfriend on a motorbike and released the best album of the year. We could go on, you know, but once we get started we're concerned we'd never stop.

3. Flume

The Sydney-bred young gun producer was already kicking goals this time last year, but things have simply gone bananas for Flume in 2013. His self-titled debut LP went to number one of the charts in February, he embarked on the enormous Infinity Prism tour of the country that saw many, many thousands of kids go absolutely nuts for him and then he went and scooped up a stack of ARIAs, so your mum probably knows him now. He's a shining light in Australian electronic dance music and hopefully he will show the rest of the world that they ought to be looking towards us for quality dance music from now on.

4. Courtney Barnett

First it was the brilliant History Eraser that captivated Australia in the late part of last year, then the even more incredible Avant Gardener dropped and all bets were off – Courtney Barnett is one of the finest Australian songwriters we've heard in years. After a trip to the US and UK just a couple of months ago, it became obvious that her uniquely Australian style of music is translating to overseas markets just fine, thank you very much, and she'll be back over there in 2014 in between headline tours and dates with Billy Bragg already locked in. What a legend.

5. James Blake

British producer and singer James Blake deserves a spot in this list if only because he managed to prove that he was far more than a one trick pony. No sophomore slump here, his Overgrown LP from April won pretty widespread critical acclaim as soon as it was released and our writers certainly agreed by the looks of these figures. The fact that Blake was here not once but twice during 2013 – some hype-building intimate dates early on, before Splendour In The Grass and a series of big theatre shows mid-year – would have helped his case greatly as well, no doubt. Also, for the gossip lovers, he started dating Theresa Wayman from Warpaint this year, which we reckon is a pretty great move on his part.

6. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

It was a pretty big deal that Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' Push The Sky Away debuted at number one on the ARIA album charts upon its release in February this year. As beloved as he is, as much as we flock to go and see him perform, as frequently as we use his music for weddings, funerals and South Australian tourism ads, Nick Cave had never seen the number one spot on the Australian album charts. On top of that, he and his band continued to prove themselves as one of the best live acts in the world as they toured relentlessly on the back of the brilliant new record, including a string of raved about Australian dates.

7. Violent Soho

Four Brisbane stoners who had a shot at American success, only to return to the Sunshine State and do very little as a band for a year or so, came out firing with two incredible songs at the end of 2012. But Violent Soho knew that their new record Hungry Ghost was so good, they wouldn't even need to use those songs on it – and they were right. There haven't been many better rock'n'roll records than this released anywhere in the world this year and the band have backed that up with their typically incendiary performances that have seen them sell out multiple venues across every major city in Australia. Will they take 4122 worldwide again in 2013?

8. The Smith Street Band

Sunshine & Technology saw Melbourne's The Smith Street Band become a legitimately revered almost-mainstream rock band and the awesomely fun live shows that saw them pack out venues across the country fast became the thing of legend. It seems this has just carried on in 2013; plenty of touring both at home and abroad has seen them spread the word of The Smith Street Band far and wide over the past 12 months, and a brilliant EP in Don't Fuck With Our Dreams is more than satisfying icing on the cake of another massive year.

9. Drake

Canadian rapper Drake has done plenty of great things in 2013; released an awesome record, laid a brutal smackdown on Chris Brown and became the global ambassador for the Toronto Raptors. The massive Would You Like A Tour? roadshow has been one of the biggest urban tours of the year in the US and people are still saying YOLO a fair bit, which has got to make him feel pretty good. All we can hope for now is for Drake to decide to tour Australia in 2014 – who's gonna make it happen?

10. The Drones

It truly feels like The Drones can do no wrong. I See Seaweed is another brilliant record – is it possible Gareth Liddiard is becoming an even better songwriter? – and they've managed to score plenty of praise while still doing everything their own way. Their live shows have also been just as good, if not better, than ever before, largely thanks to the addition of keyboard player Steve Hesketh who adds a whole new dimension to their already rather intricate sound. They're the kind of band that makes your proud to be Australian.

Remember, you can have your say in our Readers Poll. And, unlike us, you can actually win a whole stack of awesome prizes just for telling us what you liked!