Okay, so I'm sure some of these will sit on your lists, others will probably not. But the whole idea of a 'best of' list is to promote debate, so let me know what you think! Just to clarify, I only included albums I own, so if there's a future classic missing, I probably haven't got around to buying it just yet...

01) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus Dig!!! I'm not sure what I was expecting from this album, but Cave surpassed it. Following on from last years Grinderman antics, the music here is loose and more than a little scuzzy. Matched with Cave's usual biblical references and musings on sex and death it all adds up to a frankly brilliant album that maybe the best thing Cave has released in the last decade.

02) Eli 'Paperboy' Reed and The True Loves - Roll With You following on from the likes of Winehouse and Duffy, Reed harks back to the best elements of 60's rhythm and blues with songs that would make tis Redding prous and a voice fit to stand alongside him.

03) Oli Brown Band - Open Road an extremely impressive blues rock debut, all the more so as li himself is a well spoken English 18 year old!

04) Duffy - Rockferry yes, she's been played to death, but when the album was first released it really was a breath of fresh air. Lets just hope she can keep it up for her next release.

05) The Hold Steady - Stay Positive it's well known that I'm a fan of these guys, and this album didn't disappoint. Nothing particularly new here, but they take what they do best and show just how good their best is.

06) Stone Gods - Silver Spoons & Broken Bones take the Darkness, remove Justin and somehow you're left with a superb rock band, an exciting debut!

07) Melee - Devils & Angels I'm an unashamed fan of the likes of Matchbox 20 and these guys ticked all the buttons with this lightweight but bubbly pop album

08) Rosie & The Goldbug - Rosie & The Goldbug if cyndi Lauper fronted The Rapture they'd sound like this... huge fun!
09) Andrew Foster - Media Ghost a great album from a guy I'm proud to call my friend. If you've not heard Andy, you've missed out!
10) Larry Jon Wilson - Larry Jon Wilson the best country singer you've never heard of, there's more than a shade of his good friend Kris Kristofferson in Wilson's worls weary music

Honourable mentions:
Ray LaMontagne - Gossip In The Grain 2008 will be remembered as the year Ray showed his happy side.
The Dawn Chorus - The Big Adventure a superb debut album from one of Portsmouth's best acts.
The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely from out of nowhere, but certainly not a rush job, this was a great album
Sloan - Parallel Play power pop, pure unadulterated fun
Shinedown - The Sound Of Madness when I like to indulge in something a little heavier, this perfectly fits the bill
Teddy Thompson - A Piece Of What You Need everyone knows I'm a big fan, and this didn't disappoint