Ballard’s Light in the Attic had a banner year. Rather than filling a niche or focusing on a genre, the 12-year-old label has continued to rely on quality above all else, releasing interesting compilations from a wide swath of artists, from the recent Mark Lanegan anthology to a collection of self-published New Age music spanning 40 years. At the same time, LITA has made sure to keep one foot firmly planted in the Pacific Northwest, issuing long-lost releases and obscure, out-of-print albums like the highly praised Wheedle’s Groove Vol. II, a collection of Seattle-based funk from the ’70s and ’80s, as well as the early synth-pop of Donnie and Joe Emerson. lightintheattic.net

Read all of our picks for Arts & Culture, and explore the rest of this year’s edition of Best of Seattle.