Since 1992 the Mercury Prize has been celebrating some of the best albums from the UK and Ireland. Each year a handful of albums released between June 30 of last year and July 1 of this year are selected by an exclusive panel of music experts. In previous years the Mercury Prize has gone to acts including Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons. This year the shortlist has been announced, with the winner receiving the Mercury Prize on September 7.

This year’s nominees Are:

Biffy Clyro- Only Revolutions

Corinne Bailey Rae- The Sea

Dizzee Rascal- Tongue N’ Cheek

Mumford & Sons- Sigh No More

Kit Downes Trio- Golden

Foals- Total Life Forever

I Am Kloot- Sky At Night

Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can

Paul Weller- Wake Up The Nation

Villagers- Becoming A Jackal

Wild Beasts- Two Dancers

The XX- XX

Personally I think The XX have this one in the bag. However, the favorite to win last year, Florence and the Machine, was greatly upset after she was defeated by a rather obscure British rapper who had only sold a handful of albums in comparison. I doubt they would give it to Dizzee Rascal twice, and it should be interesting to see how the folk powers (and two of my favorites from this year) Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons will fair. Also, it came to me as a great surprise to see the newcomer Villagers and the jazz ensemble Kit Downes Trio nominated. This should be another interesting year for the Mercury Prize. It’s just a shame we’ll have to wait until September to find out who wins.

Who do you think should win? Leave your opinion about who you think will take home the prize in the comment section below.