Well the results are in for this year’s SoundsXP writers’ poll and it is good to see no one band hogging the limelight, unlike previous years when Franz Ferdinand reigned supreme or The Libertines lorded it over all contenders. As well as some familiar names in these lists and those already picked up in the press (Arcade Fire), it’s great to see new bands who are just putting out their early singles (Good Shoes) or have yet to put out a single but have won us over by their live performances and killer songs (The Bridge Gang) and who are the ones to be looking out for in 2006.

Albums

>Top Album: Arcade Fire

1 Arcade Fire - Funeral
2 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
3 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
4 National - Alligator
5 Brakes - Give Blood
6 Envelopes – Demon
7 Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
8 Rakes - Capture/Release
9 Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock & Roll
10 Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt.....
11 Tompaulin - Into The Black
12 Anthony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
13 Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
14 Black Mountain - Black Mountain
15 Broken Family Band - Welcome Home Loser
16 British Sea Power - Open Season
17 Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
18 Sons & Daughters - The Repulsion Box
19 M Ward – Transistor Radio
20 Magic Numbers – Magic Numbers

Singles

>Top Single: Good Shoes

1 Good Shoes – Small Town Girl
2 Sambassadeur - Between The Lines EP
3 Special Needs - Blue Skies
4 Art Brut – Emily Kane
5 Envelopes - Sister in Love
6 Sequins - Nobody Dreams About Me
7 The Organ - Memorise The City
8 Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
9 Autokat - The Driver
10 Antony and the Johnsons - Hope There's Someone
11 Dungen - Panda
12 Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
13 Editors - Munich
14 Stars - Ageless Beauty
15 Mando Diao - You can't steal my love
16 Schla La Las - Demos EP
17 Arcade Fire – Rebellion Lies
18 Tigs - And Again
19 Modlang - Slaughtered By The Sun
20 Rifles - Local Boy

Live Act

>Top live act : The Bridge Gang

1 The Bridge Gang
2 Brakes
3 Special Needs
4 Sequins
5 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
6 Arcade Fire
7 Envelopes
8 Art Brut
9 Sufjan Stevens
10 Schla La Las
11 Broken Family Band
12 Piney Gir
13 Decemberists
14 National
15 Young Knives
16 Magic Numbers
17 The Organ
18 Forward Russia
19 Good Shoes
20 Shortwave Set

Compilation/Re-issue

>Top comp: Orange Juice

1 Orange Juice – Glasgow School
2 Patti Smith – Horses 1975/2005
3 The Fall - Complete Peel Sessions
4 Belle & Sebastian - Push Barman To Open Old Wounds
5 Siouxsie and the Banshees - The Scream
6 Neutral Milk Hotel - In An Aeroplane Over The Sea
7 Various Artists - Fruit Machine: 26 Seeds from the London Underground
8 Various Artists – Sassy and Stonefree
9 Brian Jonestown Massacre - Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective
10 The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever


And lest we forget, here are the pick from previous years:

2004
Album: Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Single: Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Live Act: The Pixies
Comp/Re-issue: The Clash - London Calling (25th Anniversary)

2003
Album: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
Single: The Libertines - Don’t Look Back Into The Sun
Live Act: The Mooney Suzuki
Comp/Re-issue: Various - Sex: Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die

2002
Album: The Libertines - Up the Bracket
Single: The Libertines - What A Waster
Live act: The Libertines
Comp/Re-issue: Various - Best Bootlegs in the World Ever

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