High prince of bad taste delivers unexpected meisterwork.

Shakey’s long awaited archives box set.

OAP releases best live album ever?

Genius robo-funk opus from worthy-of-the-hype OutKast protege.

It focuses on the epic qualities of Ride and MBV, combined with Wilner’s cosmic pop chops and his predilection for shuffly techno grooves.

Mancunian greats turn out definitive two-CD hits collection of live recordings, alternative takes and hard-to-find tracks.

Dear Science, has all the euphoria and cosmic soul searching hinted at but not delivered on by lesser chancers such as MGMT.

First impressions are pretty damn good. It’s dreamy, eerie, epic, soaring, soothing, very occasionally manic... and more.

Impressive full length debut from enchanting Seattle-ites.

The record is a less sonically abrasive affair than the album Cave released last year with his side-project Grinderman, but it teems with as many musical and lyrical ideas as ever.

You don’t have to be a fan of the country, blues or folk genres to appreciate the heartbreaking brilliance of this inspired collaboration.

What happens when you cross Mazzy Star with Sleater Kinney? These boy/girl newcomers have the answer.

So, Funeral was by no means a fluke. The Arcade Fire are unquestionably the real deal. And to prove it they’ve now thrown in another contender for ‘best record of the decade’.

Kala is an intoxicating junk-culture travelogue, a genre-humping mash-up of Bollywood rumbles, shrieking guitars and machine-gun rhymes.

The most extraordinary aspect of the album is that Murphy has managed to simultaneously make his music both more experimental and more thrillingly danceable.

Hercules And Love Affair may be a party, it may be a disco, but it sure ain't no foolin' around.

The sassy Swede gives Madge something to think about.

A sleek melding of soul, disco, techno, Eno-esque ambient, gospel, and hi-NRG electro.

I don’t care who you are, come up with an album title like that and you get a free pass.

Sharp, incisive, funny and at times even heart-rending in the context of some beautifully-judged rag/country/Dixie-land songs.

Long awaited comeback from Bristol trip-hop outfit proves worth the wait.

As you might expect from a bunch of Springsteen-loving misfits, Stay Positive is delivered with a generous amount of their now trademark skewed cynicism.

Despite their disparate origins this is no hotchpotch of leftovers and out-takes.

Weird but exhilerating outing from Williamsburg Hipsters.

The Flaming Lips could've been forgiven for feeling usurped when their sister ship Mercury Rev steamed away with the garlands for Deserter's Songs last December, but in truth, both collectives are in competition with no-one but themselves and the gods.

Manics mine Richey’s last words for a return to the heart of darkness.

Divine blues and roots from Americana veteran.

Intimate, literate and wonderfully executed, Iron & Wine seem to have made one of the albums of the year. Don’t let it pass you by.

Modfather gets his weird on.

Phillips’ vocal style is of the quietly devastated Erin Moran/Aimee Mann school, backlit by Bacharach-and-Wilson-ish arrangements on ‘Another Song’, ‘Little Plastic Life’ and ‘Flower Up’.

Brooklyn's latest greatest deliver heartbreaking concept album.

Middle-aged indie jinks for NYC mainstays.

Lurch into odd-ball avant-pop almost pays off for UK eccentrics.

A tight collection of intelligent numbers that, instead of bombarding us with stale rhyming schemes and plastic beats, groove ever so effectively.

Lovably noisy baltimore scallywags come good with their second effort.

Overpowered is a silvery mirrorball of a record that perfectly illuminates the neon heart of Saturday night.

The record goes some way towards capturing the heaviness of that band’s live performances.

Essentially, the record finds Phoenix doing what they do supremely well – danceable indie-pop with touches of shoegaze guitar and ambient electro.

Q-Tip demonstrates his unique talent in this sleek, soulful, silky-smooth hip-hop album.

A powerful collection of passionate, anthemic rockers that will no doubt please their hardcore following whilst winning new converts to the cause.

Established fans will be glad to hear Elbow’s sound further maturing; newcomers will hopefully realise that this particular seldom-seen-kid should definitely be heard.

But so what if The Magic Position ends up creaking slightly under the weight of its own ambition – surely that’s better than settling for the norm?

NYC art-rockers go in for some ch-ch-changes on excellent third album.

Karin from The Knife makes desolate but inspiring dance record.

New York prepsters stick to their Paul Simon-goes-indie formula on successful second album.

The 'New Springsteen' comes of age.

Mark E. Smith successfully negotiates that difficult 28th album.

Bat For Lashes' debut, Fur And Gold, is an album that delivers the listener from any form of humdrum existence into a deeper realm of dream and dementia.

Will Oldham gets back to the country.

Icelandic eccentrics grasp for greatness.

Who needs love when heartbreak sounds this bloody good?

White hot rockers give two fingers to difficult second album.

Hold On Now, Youngster is the proverbial promising debut, brimming with attitude, ideas and oomph. We await their next move with interest.

Icky Thump is freighted with moments of frazzled virtuosity yet may prove excessively outre for most palettes.

Beautiful, but never callow, here is an album to fall slowly in love with.

This collection sees Levon return to his roots to reinterpret classic songs from his childhood and pay homage to those who influenced him along the way.

Beautiful, arcane, unsettling--and that's only the cover. White Chalk isn't so much a record, as a great effort at dragging you into another world.

The mangled electronic hailstorm is unrelenting, but it is also perversely enjoyable and infectious.

What’s most remarkable about the record is its incredible level of musical cohesion – it’s like the trio never stopped playing together.

Too cool for school? Maybe. But if Liars aren’t anybody’s idea of easy listening, by gum, they’re never dull, and for that, we salute them.

A sophisticated gentleman does a poo.

The new record sees him pushing his songbook to extremes in entirely unexpected fashion.

US production whiz hires SFA mainman, perfect pastiche synth-pop ensues.

Comprising 11 beautifully varied trad numbers, The Rocky Road is a big-hearted tribute to the enduring power of Irish folk songs.

Electro-pop wizards deliver cracking third album.

West crosses genres with wilful and speedy abandon, taking the listener on an epic quest where the journey is just as enjoyable and unpredictable as the destination.

The group have kept their sound surprisingly fresh incorporating some welcome sonic refinements, without making any great creative leap or departure.

And as folksiness, indieness and bittersweet mournfulness set the tone, it also becomes apparent that this is much better than the words ‘folk’ and ‘indie’ on their own suggest.

Astonishing new album from ex-Immediate wunderkind.

Piano playing songwriter straight out of a ‘70s dinner party.

Chicago duo ride to the rescue of hip-hop--on pimped up BMXs.

They do make em' like this anymore.

Fogerty sets high standards for himself and thankfully, he has delivered an album that matches his early solo work.

Canadian sisters examine love's deceitful ways.

In almost every respect, Made In The Dark is an immaculately poised record, the poptronica super geeks at last striking the perfect balance between head and heart.

Jason Isbell, formerly of the Drive By Truckers, releases a solid, sad, gritty new album as a solo artist.

By eschewing the careworn vulnerability so favoured by many female artists, Veirs allows her remarkable songcraft and ornate use of language to shine.

Erudite, Whiskey-Soaked, alt countryish maverick just keeps getting better.

Dirty dance-diva bundles new EP with reissued album.

Metallica certainly have a lot to prove with Death Magnetic, the follow-up to 2003’s "St. Anger," an album which divided the critics and the band’s own audience.

80s-centric brooklyn trio deliver complex second album.

Great ambitious, hyper-real psychedelia.

There are some excellent moments.

The first new material from New York’s finest avant garde trio since last year’s superb Show Your Bones album, Is Is isn’t a new album, unfortunately.

Good, not great, comeback from epic Mancs.

Trees Outside The Academy is a masterclass of prog drugginess, brimming with sweet melodies and lullaby choruses.

If the last 10 years have taught us anything, it's that Super Furry Animals march resolutely to their own quixotic beat.

A sparkling return to form for a band regarded by many as the great lost hope of the early ‘90s.

The Calling will test your emotions, making you feel glowing and comfortable, then useless and helpless.

In a surprise move, Alex Turner goes back to 1966

The beautiful skeleton of a shoe-gazing album.

Nutty Boys regain former glories in full.

Maybe I've become too familiar with what they’re trying to achieve--but right now there’s nothing here to make me instantly love this record.

Sublime companion to kiddies’ book adaption from Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman.

Think a more ragged Belle & Sebastian, and you’re not far off.

A mesmerising, love-lorn, tear-soaked magical mystery-Jet tour.

Sigur Ros frontman goes it alone to exhilarating effect.

A&E isn’t a reinvention for Spiritualized, but while that might be a disappointment for some, the comforting embrace of familiarity shouldn’t be underrated.