Smash hit

3 WEATHER TO FLY — Elbow

Inducing festival audiences to cry, the Mercury judges to make good past mistakes and — hallelujah — the British public finally to reach for their wallets, the Bury quintet showed on this sublime, rumbling Seldom Seen Kid standout that when it comes to combining unblinking lyrics with emotionally electrifying dynamics, nobody does it better.

4 ALL I NEED — Al Green

With a stunning band driven by the Roots’ ?uestlove on drums, Green recaptures his finest form. This unhurried groove is decorated by delicate guitar lines from Spanky Alford, subtle touches from the Dap-Kings Horns and Adam Blackstone’s yearning bass. A lot of stuff gets called “soul” these days — here’s the real deal.

5 UNFORGETTABLE SEASON — Cut Copy

“Australian indie-electronic trio,” says Cut Copy’s AMG entry. Funny, that sounds like a wall of guitar. And one of the year’s greatest bass lines. Bar one wheezing synth, the instruments that underpin Dan Whitford’s searing vocal about romantic misunderstanding, loss and nostalgia are rock staples. Wielded by indie-electronic geniuses.

6 SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT) — Beyoncé

Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce album was a mixed bag, but once you’d waded through the dreary ballads, you were rewarded with this superbly produced and admirably direct piece of advice to the playas.

7 AMERICAN BOY — Estelle featuring Kanye West

Four years after missing out on her expected British breakthrough, Estelle Swaray re-emerged in New York, packing a formidable pop-soul punch in the company of Kanye West, just one of many American boys queuing up to work with her. This fabulous song provided her with her first No 1.

8 WHEN THEY COME TO MURDER ME — Black Francis

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