Ito

There is an order but it's complex to explain coherently.
First, we independently assembled a list of albums we liked from this year. Each album counted as one vote, and we could each pick a handful of albums to have two votes if we really liked it and thought it deserved a place here. We tallied them up, and after some fudging and cleverness the 25 albums with the most weight made it onto the list. The albums are being reviewed in numerical order from least to most votes, and albums that have the same number of votes are reviewed in alphabetical order. The reviews are written by the staff member(s) that voted for them to be on the list (I just happen to write extra reviews if the mood strikes me). If only one staff member reviewed an album, that's because only one staff member voted for the album and it made it.
So yes, this is in order. It's just transparent to you guys.

yeah Tam Tam - Polarize is great album! It is in my list too! Never imagine that reggae can be combined with electronic dub, and went well. Looking forward to their major debut!

Day 12 - Tam Tam – Polarize

Release Date: 2013-03-06
Label: mao
Genre: Dub/Reggae/Indie
Ito's take

CAT5's take

Sample song:

Buy the album:
Amazon | iTunes

Day 12 - Tam Tam – Polarize

Release Date: 2013-03-06
Label: mao
Genre: Dub/Reggae/Indie
Ito's take

CAT5's take

Sample song:

Buy the album:
Amazon | iTunes

Day 11 - 大橋トリオ (OhashiTrio) - plugged

Release Date: 2013-03-13
Label: Avex
Genre: Jazz/Folk/Pop
Original Saku's take

Sample song:

 
Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes Japan

I am waiting till after Christmas to pick up a copy of GT6. I really need to something to mount my wheel on.
And speaking of cars, I just bought some new floor liners...cause I am exciting like that.

Oni to Kage is one of my favorite albums of this year. As Champ and Zess both stated in their reviews, their mix of original ideas and blatant copy and pasting somehow comes out nostalgic, yet innovative at the same time. I was into visual-kei for about 5 years before I tried out early Dir en Grey, so I cannot say that their work has really influenced my taste in this scene tremendously like it has many others. However, I really do like their Gauze era, and seeing it revitalized and reimagined is really exciting for me.While it does seem a bit disheartening to have to play ~guess the diru cover~ for each release, Grieva's musical style and style of dress are what I personally consider to be of the best caliber this scene has to offer, and they are my favorite active visual-kei band at the moment. 
 
The album itself has a lot of variety to it that paint a pretty accurate picture of what was happening in Visual-kei in 1999. It mixes gothic rock with some black metal, throws in some poppy songs, a slow song, and then has some tracks there that mush together a combination everything prior. My personal favorite is the second track on the album: "孤独人形症候群." It reminds me a lot of the super aggressive Matina bands like Das:vasser. Second favorites are "中絶" (spin off of La:Sadie's' "setsudan" and is an obligatory song about abortion) and "Kikei" (their more psychotic / gawfy 亡骸を worship). Even if many of their songs are similar to those on Gauze (and even some of the themes in the songs are highly similar, like abortion, rape, etc), I feel Oni To Kage has enough of a personality to really stand on its own and ironically Grieva somehow have enough individuality to really stand out from other 'copy-cat' bands even though their influences are so blatant that I'm not sure how Ains hasn't gotten sued yet.

Day 8 - グリーヴァ (Grieva) - 鬼ト影

Release Date: 2013-02-13
Label: Ains
Genre: visual kei - metal
Champ213's take

Zess's take

Sample song:

Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes

Day 7 - the god and death stars - dawn of the god

Release Date: 2013-05-06
Label: zoisite
Genre: Nagoya Kei
Ito's take

Zess's take

Sample song:

Buy the album:
Zoisute

Monochrome Heaven....the forum that refuses to die lol.

Day 7 - the god and death stars - dawn of the god

Release Date: 2013-05-06
Label: zoisite
Genre: Nagoya Kei
Ito's take

Zess's take

Sample song:

Buy the album:
Zoisute

Haha, I guess that's what happens when you post on Cyclamen's page. Just goes as prof as to how awesome Hayato is.

Day 6 - DIV - ZERO ONE

Release Date: 2013.10.23
Label: Danger Crue Records
Genre: Visual kei - electronic, pop, rock
Linh-san's take

Sample song:

Buy the album:
CD Japan | YesAsia | iTunes

Maiku hipped me onto DIV when I came back and I have to say it really is a great album and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future. Exactly what I like in my VK <3 
 
Other than that, I remember having liked a picture of her's previous EP from sometime ago but haven't listened to/didn't know about C yet and I will have to get on that soon. D: 

Yes! Glad to see this on here.  DIV's debut album is an extremely solid effort from a fairly new band.  I wrote an in-depth review but long story short, one of the best VK releases of the year, imo.  Some bands flourish with singles and then when they release that long-awaited album, they fail miserably.  Not with DIV.  I personally prefer this album to any of their previous stuff.  If you're looking for a mature, and well-executed pop-rock/alternative album from the VK scene, look no further!
9/10

(Also Linh, I actually love the song "interlude"! The way it leads into ASTERIOS is brilliant, )

Hey anime industry, can you stop churning out so much crap and give up some HD rereleases instead? Because this pretty much makes me jizz my pants.

Monochrome Heaven....the forum that refuses to die lol.

I came on here to check something one last time, and I saw all of your comments. I can't abandon this place after reading them. I shall return now, but I won't be on as frequently xo

I actually listened to the video posted for Macabre. I've never actually listened to the original, but I did like the remake. It was nice that they didn't overdo the super aggressive thing and I liked the organ / harpsichord parts.
 
However, that cadence. What the hell >: (

Cyclamen proudly announced your pick on their facebook

I only have If These Trees Could Talk's album Red Forest from 2012, but it is fantastic. I like the dark vibe that runs through the entire album...I really should check out some of their earlier stuff. Glad to hear that you enjoy them, though.

I checked out a picture of her and I really enjoyed them. Great instrumental post-rock. I hand't heard of them before so it's great to find a new band. They've got enough going on to keep you engaged in or simply lay back and relax 
 
Already know Cyclamen and I'm a fan of the band. 
 
Keep the good stuff coming.

Day 2 - amber gris - AROUND CHILDREN
 

 
Release Date: 2013-02-27
Label: an griffon
Genre: Visual Kei/Alternative
 
 
Ito's take

  Champ213's take

  Sample song:

 
Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes | YesAsia

Day 2 - amber gris - AROUND CHILDREN
 

 
Release Date: 2013-02-27
Label: an griffon
Genre: Visual Kei/Alternative
 
 
Ito's take

  Champ213's take

  Sample song:

 
Buy the album:
CD Japan | iTunes | YesAsia

Day 1 - ALSDEAD - Separator

Release Date: 2013-04-24
Label: Danger Crue
Genre: Alternative Metal
nostalgia.'s take

Linh-san's take

Sample song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX8Ao5hC9Eo
Buy the album:
CDJapan | YesAsia | iTunes