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ABOF’s Mercury Prize picks from over the years

With this year's Mercury Prize nominees being announced last week, it got the ABOF team thinking about all the records that have been nominated over the years. Whether or not they managed to win the prize, we've chosen some of the records that have stood out for us as deserving winners...

Claire

Portishead - Dummy (1995)

This album came left of centre and was a refreshing side step from the pretty generic Britpop that was beginning to dominate the charts at the time. Portishead’s Dummy really threw me, it was such a fresh, intriguing sound... Dark, melancholic in places and moody, all shades which spoke to me during my teenage years! The album still sounds great today, the sign of a seminal piece of work.

Paul

The Invisible - The Invisible (2009)

The Invisible are one of those bands many people have heard of but haven’t actually listened to. The fact they were nominated alongside the likes of Bat For Lashes, The Horrors, Kasabian and La Roux further highlighted the fact that they were a band creating music far removed from many of their fellow nominees. Off kilter yet surprisingly danceable, The Invisible are the type of band who skip to their own beat, managing to step away from the current trends, creating a brand of melancholic, yet uplifting, music that they would build upon, and possibly better, through their brilliant 2012 release Rispah.

Ellie

Amy Winehouse - Frank (2004) and Back To Black (2007)

As a singer, Amy Winehouse has always been one of my biggest inspirations. Her ability to write heartfelt, harrowing lyrics combined with her musical influences of jazz, crooners and motown are incomparable, in my opinion. I actually never realised that both Frank and Back To Black were nominated and how neither of them won it is beyond me. The latter obviously being her more famous album but Frank I think is equally as important. It shows Winehouse at her most unpolished and unsure and the more I listen to this album, the more I fall in love with it.

Halina

Leftfield - Leftism (1995)

A fresh exciting album that was a game changer in a lot of ways. Leftfield were one of the most innovative dance artists to come along at the time and for an album like this to be produced and stand out in 1995 when it was one of the strongest years for new music is testament. The production on this is stunning and the ideas behind each song are mindblowing.

Daniel

The Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future (2007)

Described as acid rave sci-fi punk funk, Klaxons have churned out an eclectic mess of indie party anthems over their tenure in the spotlight. The album Myths Of The Near Future was released the same year that I turned 18, so I vividly remember hearing the single ‘It’s Not Over Yet’ in every indie and alternative club night that I began to attend whilst growing up in the Midlands. This album was full of energetic mayhem from start to finish, incorporating electronic synths that lifted your mood with every listen, alongside fast paced drum beats that made the whole room spontaneously dance. The rigorous feel and nature of Klaxons has never left me and I continue to compare bands to their electronic fuelled energy to this day.

Mari

PJ Harvey - Rid Of Me (1993)

In my opinion, one of the most important albums ever made, PJ Harvey's Rid Of Me is a barrier-breaking, era-defining creation that continues to set the bar for what an innovative rock LP should be. Today, twenty four years after its initial release, it is as powerful as ever. Those distinctive gritty, impassioned vocals and thrashing riffs that shine through in tracks such as 'Man Size' and '50 Ft Queenie' get me every time and, as Polly Jean repeatedly howls "Hey, I'm king of the world", I can't help but agree. She continues to be an immense presence in the world of music, and a role model to many, as this album continues to stand out as one of the best ever made.

Check out our Mercury Nominees playlist below: