Long List of Shortlist Noms

Considering the name of this particular honor, we were startled to see the lengthy list of nominees for the sixth annual Shortlist Music Prize.

Among the 61 acts being considered for this year's award -- which honors albums that have sold less than 500,000 copies -- are Regina Spektor, The Knife, Lupe Fiasco, Band of Horses, Spank Rock, Hot Chip, and Girl Talk. Ten finalists will be announced in April and the winner annointed later in the spring - taking his or her place next to past winners Sigur Ros, N*E*R*D, Damien Rice, TV on the Radio, and Sufjan Stevens. This year's nine Listmakers are as illustrious as the folks who end up on the list: Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol), Ronnie Vannucci (the Killers), Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall, Panic! at the Disco, Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips), Sufjan Stevens, and journalists Toure (BET, Rolling Stone) and Rev. Moose (CMJ). Read each Listmaker's nominations here and listen to song clips from all the nominated artists here.