It would appear that Tim, Tom and Richard have spent some time at the U2 School of Squillion-Selling Records, their final project sounding more expansive and dramatic than Hopes And Fears ever did.

If you loved Tindersticks then you will adore this.

They peddle freeform sleepy jazz with hypnotic percussion you'll either want to lie in front of for hours or run from screaming.

The Divine Comedy's most spontaneous record in ages.

A monumental, spectacular achievement.

Here, they manage to do their maturing without losing the sheer likability which saved the debut from completely drowning in a sea of ideas.

Not once does a song sound ripped off or unoriginal. What Hot Chip have done is to create a new landscape of electronica.

This is a young band not taking themselves too seriously, and you can really picture them as they rock out and enjoy themselves.

Let's Get Out Of This Country delivers ten perfect pop tunes.

It's good to see this album released, but whether the meeting between Costello and Toussaint has produced anything of greater note that their individual achievements, I'm not convinced.

Naysayers may argue that none of the tracks needs to be as long as they are (at 16 minutes and two seconds, We Dream Free is the shortest) but sounds as subtle as these need room to spread out just as a fine wine needs room to breathe.

Another superb Zero 7 album.

It's downright bad.

There's something appealing about their brand of music with its light, sunny harmonies and direct choruses.

There's plenty of pop tunes here, but there's also enough self expression and leftfield rambling to make this an album of real interest.

Inspiring and ingenious, this is an album you shouldn't be without.

This is out in the margins, removed from 'pop' and 'alternative' genres by the scale of its reach, its bloody and bold ambition. It is complex, multilayered, densely plotted, wordy. It's also scary, harsh and bruised.

While Angels & Airwaves are pretty good, don't pick up We Don't Have To Whisper expecting a revolutionary sound designed to shatter your worldview and change your life. On the other hand, if you want something to fill the gap while U2 are recording are their new album, look no further.

It's a hugely enjoyable record, with songs on it as good as anything the individuals involved have produced elsewhere. It's simply that high standards achieved elsewhere aren't consistently obtained throughout.

The whole thing simply flat lines into mediocrity.

The band seem to be far too familiar with the sonic designs of The Incredible String Band and Comus. Espers II sounds more like a lovelorn impersonation of the music than a radical exploration of its possibilities.

Although this isn't a flawless album, it will undoubtedly be a huge hit and keep many people company through the long hot summer months ahead.

Bleak and broody music has never been quite so thrilling.

With The Rose... Matmos have created a work that fuses music and concept art, and doesn't sound like a terrible pretentious mess. It's an achievement that deserves your attention.

There's no African or South American experimentation on display here, just a return to what Paul Simon does best - wonderfully wordy, literate songs wedded to some of the most lovely melodies you're likely to hear all year.

Eyes Open takes the formula of the last album and magnifies it.

It's not quite the tour de force they seem to be capable of.

A tough collection to make friends with, Denies The Days Demise can infuriate and delight in equal measure, often on the same track.

They haven't completely taken their eye off what made the Charlatans so successful in the first place, but the new sound is none too convincing.

Most of the time, it's run-of-the mill soft rock.

How We Operate remains a very episodic album, containing a handful of great moments but no truly great songs.

The album is a 60 minute blur, and while there are brief moments of clarity there's just nothing special about Blood Money.

This is purely primal, instinctive rock and as derivative as it may be, it still sounds awash with originality.

This is a more mature, Baroque record, at times reminiscent of the best, new wav-ish tracks from The Posies' 1998 album, Success.

Not since The Strokes exploded into our consciousness in 2001 with Is This It has a band delivered such a sharp and concise debut.

Against all the odds though - can the self-pity of a millionaire rock star ever be listenable? - it's still a compelling record.

It would enjoyably help to while away an hour's driving, but those seeking a little more punch will have to look elsewhere.

The dynamic has more in common with Verlaine's best (known) work, even if the drama isn't as fully realised.

Around is low-key, yes, but revealed to be full of those cries and swoops, flutters and chimes that are unmistakebly Verlaine, and weirdly engaging.

This is one for hardcore fans only and casual listeners will be better off waiting for the inevitable Greatest Hits compilation.

The influences are obvious, but where WRM succeed is in breathing new life into a tired template, adding attitude and intent on top of an effortlessly stylish base.

The use of electronics, violins, trumpets and a whole litany of instruments at times is difficult to take in, and may indeed be too far a revolution for some.

The trip-hop stylings have been toned down to a murmur as traditional Latino structures and devices come waltzing gloriously to the fore.

After a while, it grates badly on the nerves.

The off-kilter choruses and softly-voiced lyrics take their time to reveal themselves.

Ultimately, if a Flaming Lips didn't include a high degree of experimentation, you'd be disappointed. Yet when they keep things simple, such as the closing piano led Goin' On, the results are magnificent.

Ringleader Of The Tormentors is the sound a man with a new sense of purpose, and in this extraordinary record he's produced a masterpiece.

The music here is a weird mish-mash of FM rock, folky ballads, and funky, poppy dance tracks. It makes for a diverting, interesting listen - but not a totally successful one.

Darker than its predecessors, the harrowing Meds is as close Placebo have come to that perfect album.

Vision Valley doesn't really offer anything new or exciting.

They're not completely terrible. Their music won't damage your ears or insult you, it's just quite spectacularly dull.

Those people who want authentic, genuine soul will find much to love in His Hands.

A few good ideas emerge, but are then repeated endlessly to the point of sheer boredom.

The Loon will stand up as one of the best albums of the year, and Tapes 'n Tapes as a jewel in the American music crown.

There's no 'difficult second album' syndrome here - Show Your Bones is the sound of a bang irretrievably, irresistibly and deservedly hurtling towards the big time.

It's an album of consistently high quality from start to finish.

His voice sounds better than ever, and while nothing here recaptures the glory years of The Verve, his songs are more focused than ever before.

Television Personalities fans will be overjoyed with this collection of new songs. Newcomers will wonder how music like this ever got recorded, but bored of Mike Skinner, might rejoice in its working-class accented good humour and honesty.

Gelb has produced his most focused work in ages.

There's much to appreciate on this latest offering from Quasi but the band is certainly uncompromising and you need to be into loud drum workouts, the odd bit of white noise and occasional dissonance to enjoy it fully.

Prince is at his best when his music is unmistakably his. Half of the tracks on 3121 could not have been made by anyone else, but the slushy R&B ballads are not amongst them.

Not only do the sparse arrangements allow Eastburn to enchant with her siren like singing, but also, they allow the listener to become ensnared in the song.

Indeed, if you are looking for surprises then you won't find many. As well as stellar production, another Fagen trademark is his willingness, even necessity, for songs to run their natural course.

It possesses that raw energy that was present in two other exciting debuts, Is This It? by The Strokes and Definitely Maybe by Oasis.

Each of these tracks - the duelling-banjo Train Song; the elegiac And He Would Say - is really perfectly formed, beautifully satisfying in structure alone.

Coxon has come up with an album full of raw guitar licks, killer hooks and heartfelt lyrics.

Though The Duke Spirit lack the Tex Avery mania of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or the eye-bulging strutting confidence of Polly Harvey, they do have an easy way with structured reverberative grooves.

It's a curious, rather than classic, record - with the hooks to make the leap to the mainstream, but with enough residual oddness to maintain Goldfrapp's air of mystery a while longer.

Could be the soundtrack to a blissed-out tropical holiday.

Quite a varied collection.

A superb album.

They have formed the most remarkable of pairings, crafting an album of such beauty that past reference is made redundant.

For all their individual talents and collective intentions, The Little Willies just don't measure up to the greats they invoke.

Pay The Devil is for Van Morrison completists only.

Casual and smartly-attired passers-by alike may find little to separate this excursion into meta-pop from the last.

It's speaker-shakingly loud yet somehow far too chilled-out to be anything but background music.

There are very few albums being made quite like this, so do partake.

This is a more coherent collection of songs than their debut.

This is a fantastic, passionate and wonderfully eccentric debut album that's also a thrilling advert of what's to come.

Breaking Up may sound tinny, it may grate occasionally, and vocalist Russell The Disaster's voice may well get on your nerves after a while - yet you'll be hard pressed to find another record this year with as much soul and honesty as this one.

It's not a totally perfect record, for which we should be thankful - remember what happened to The Stone Roses after they'd released their flawless debut? - but it is an excellent first album, and gives notice that Alex Turner is already one of this country's best lyricists.

The intricate lines are admirably realised, but now and then a more solid drum beat or hook wouldn't go amiss.

A fun, varied and defiantly old-school record which is pure Coldcut.

Lilys have made a quite marvellous record.

If the album has flaws, it has great and unique strengths. Difficult, maybe, but captivating.

There's too much that should have never seen the light of day, that is little more than a band riffing on ideas in the studio without ever taking them anywhere near consummation. But Down In Albion just about remains afloat because there are moments on it when Babyshambles make us care.

This is a quality piece of craftsmanship and there isn't a weak point on the album.

Absolutely essential listening.

Back to basics and back on form.

Less inquisitive and much more personal [than 'Silence'], Security Screenings' giddy mosaic of psychedelic disorientation has the morning-after effect of tweezing dream from memory.

There's a feeling that This Is My Demo is just geared too much towards the commercial audience.

This is gorgeous record that starts great and gets better with each additional hearing.

The emphasis with Generation seems to be on cramming in as many styles as possible. This gets tediously close to "look I'm a DJ, watch what I can play," rendering listening the first few times a nauseating experience.

Simultaneously the most-fully-realised of Chan Marshall's seven albums and yet one of missed opportunities.

You know it's special from the first bars.

Unfortunately, it must be said that the results of this musical experiment aren't always as successful as they might have hoped.

A collection that contains no weak links, no fillers, no afterthoughts and almost no mistakes.

For the first six songs, the whole thing is as exhilarating as Is This It?, it's in a different way, undoubtedly, but there's the same giddy rush of excitement.