I'm technically taking the day off, but as people may be looking to spend some holiday cash on music, I thought I would relink to my faves list, the aggregated reviews at Metacritic, and the expansive List of Lists at Largrehearted Boy.  A cross-section of all of those lists going beyond my tastes -- but not too far beyond my tastes -- might include those from Aquarium Drunkard, Berkeley Place, Chromewaves, Drowned in Sound, Gorilla vs. Bear, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, Largehearted Boy, Muzzle of Bees, Paste, Pitchfork, PopMatters, Stereogum's Gummy Awards and Tiny Mix Tapes.  Many of those have streaming audio or video samples to pique your interest.  Those are primarily links to lists of albums, LHB's big list of lists can hook you up with best songs lists, often from the same sources I just linked.