Radiohead and Last Shadow Puppets were installed as favourites today as the Mercury Music Prize nominations were announced. The list of 12 albums, which also British Sea Power and Elbow, means that Alex Turner has now made it on to the shortlist for three consecutive years.

However there was disappointment for many acts such as Coldplay whose acclaimed
fourth album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends failed to make the cut. Others whose praised works had been expected to get a mention but were snubbed by the awards panel included Duffy, Portishead and Paul Weller, whose latest 22 Dreams was widely regarded as a huge return to form.

Many have accused judges of the award, formally called the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, of tokenism over the years with a customary annual nod to a jazz and folk act each year at the expense of those with a wider more commercial appeal. However, the panel - headed by chairman Simon Frith - argue that the artists all stand on their own merits and the music of the more obscure acts deserves to be heard by a more substantial audience, which the nomination process can give them.

This year's jazz-tinged act Portico Quartet, who were first discovered busking at London's South Bank and who continue to do so occasionally, said the prize would give them valuable exposure.

Duncan Bellamy, the band's drummer, said: "It just pushes us forward into new territory - there are a lot of people out there who would love our music but don't know it yet."

Bookmaker William Hill placed Radiohead's In Rainbows and The Age Of The Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets as 5-1 favourites.

Robert Plant has made it on to the shortlist which is open to British albums despite the fact that his collaborator Alison Krauss is from the US and the music is steeped in American tradition.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

:: British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
:: Adele - 19
:: Burial - Untrue
:: Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
:: Estelle - Shine
:: Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
:: Neon Neon - Stainless Style
:: Portico Quartet - Knee-Deep In The North Sea
:: Rachel Unthank & The Winterset The Bairns
:: Radiohead - In Rainbows
:: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
:: The Last Shadow Puppets The Age Of The Understatement

Read about all the shortlist albums and find out what the judges had to say here

What do you think? Are these really the greatest albums of the past year?