Olly Wehring

10: Doves - Kingdom of Rust
Finally, they've done it. On each of their last three albums, Doves have been hamstrung by the annoyingly even balance between spellbinding and ho-hum. For every 'The Man Who Told Everything' there's been an 'A House'. For every 'Pounding' there's been a 'Friday's Dust'. For every 'Snowden' there's been an 'Almost Forgot Myself'. Even those last two could be interchangeable.

But this year, Doves hit the jackpot – despite having set the bar screamingly high with the opening two tracks of this album. Slow-burners like 'The Greatest Denier' and 'Spellbound' ensure the momentum doesn't let up. At last.

9: The Temper Trap - Conditions
Debut of the year. When we saw these guys at the Great Escape in Brighton back in May, they blew the other bands off the stage that night. Since then, The Temper Trap have gone on to line up three sold-out nights at Shepherd's Bush Empire for early next year.

Solid guitar-based pop with an ability to invoke dancing - of sorts - Conditions also holds the song of the year – 'Sweet Disposition' – and another contender in 'Science of Fear'. A pity about the closing track ('Drum Song'), however, which, boringly, does exactly as it says on the cover.

8: The Veils - Sun Gangs
Another Great Escape stand-out from May. So good we saw them twice over the weekend, when each time they produced one of the live tracks of the year in 'Three Sisters'. Sun Gangs has just the right balance of light ('The House She Lived In') and dark ('Larkspur'), with one of the best opening tracks of the year thrown in to boot ('Sit Down by the Fire').

Granted, there are one or two “so what?” moments, but the good is good enough to warrant a top ten place.

7: Metric - Fantasies
6: Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
5: The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
4: Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
3: Maps - Turning the Mind
2: Loney Dear - Dear John
1: The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love