Largely dedicated to the memory of her mother, this sequel featured Rufus Wainwright duetting on a paean to America called, reasonably enough, To America.

For our writers it turned out that the former Creation Records boss was again on the money with this black-clad bunch of Glaswegians and duly awarded their eponymous debut a spot in the Top 20. Not only that but the four-piece released a Christmas bonus EP to go with it, as the nation's musos swapped cash for their own copies of this album.

The resulting record caused names like Regina Spektor, PJ Harvey and Tori Amos to be conjured to describe Palmer's sound.

Yeasayer's richly textured soundscape of a debut blew us away early in the year; the only surprise is that this album didn't make the Top 10. If they can do this first time out, how extraordinary will the follow-up be?

Lead single Batcat made us believe grunge had been willed into a resurrective state and Kings Meadow recalled the rockier end of Sigur Ros's sound spectrum.

While the charts went for Noah And The Whale and the Mercury judges fancied Laura Marling, Flynn - managed by the bosses of Transgressive Records - walked the road less travelled, causing young girls' hearts to swoon as he went.

Arguably the most impressive release yet from Warner's Transgressive stable.

Looking at reviews across the board, Pitchfork - and others - awarded it a lower score than we did, but the Observer Music Monthly went for five stars. It's safe to say that this ranks as the Folowills' most divisive record, even as it propels them towards stadiums.

Persistent comparisons to M.I.A. overshadowed Santi White's achievements on this ambitious debut which featured the outstanding Creator. Sell out shows followed and in 12 months she'd gone from unknown to well known.

But Microcastle endeared itself to our writers enough to snare the follow-up to Cryptograms a place just outside the year's Top 10 albums. Comparisons to Deerhoof and My Bloody Valentine won't hurt them either.