THE BEST MUSICIANS AND TOP BANDS IN GREAT BRITAIN TODAY

From the Desk of J.D. Lacroix

Homegrown music is more exciting than at any time since Britpop. Who can we thank for this? Our panel of critics names - and rates for sound, songs, gigs, style and attitude - the most influential contemporary acts.

1. The Libertines
The Libertines have had a turbulent 12 months since the release of their debut album, Up the Bracket. Co-frontman Pete Doherty was awol from the band when he was arrested for burgling bandmate Carl Barat's flat, and subsequently jailed. But that's beside the point (except for those still foolish enough to equate drug addiction and petty crime with bona fide rock'n'roll credentials). All the credentials the Libertines need are there on Up the Bracket. Like the Kinks, the Jam, the Smiths and the arty, questioning wing of Britpop, the Libertines view Britain afresh. Theirs is an eccentric collage of island life - Boadicea and Chas and Dave, Sherlock Holmes and Sid James - in which wry cynicism competes with romantic idealism. It's an assertion of cultural identity that is witty and vibrant rather than dim and bullish, and it's best captured on the raucously stirring Time for Heroes: "There's few more distressing sights than that of an Englishman in a baseball cap. We'll die in the class we were born, that's a class of our own." The Libertines' strength - and their weakness - is a sense of barely contained chaos. Their boozy, last-orders punk thunders along the thin line between swagger and stagger, and the latter often hobbles their live shows. Whether they become greats or just one of those great what-ifs that Britain specialises in depends on whether they regroup, but they have the talent and the belief. Shamelessly intelligent, stylish, wayward and complex, if they don't shoot themselves in the foot, they can shoot for the stars.
Sound:19 Songs:19 Gigs:13 Style:19 Attitude:20 Total: 90

2. Radiohead
The sight of 100,000 people twitching wildly to Idioteque at Glastonbury this year was testament to how far Radiohead have come. After OK Computer launched a wave of hyperbole big enough to drown them, the relatively obtuse Kid A seemed like a retreat to higher ground - but it only increased its creators' mystique. Radiohead have become emblematic of all that a world-class rock band can be, balancing success with integrity, size with intimacy, and always finding a way to escape the long shadow of their prior achievements. Helmed by Thom Yorke, the quintessential anti-star, they become more unique and valuable with each passing year. Sound:19 Songs:17 Gigs:20 Style:13 Attitude:19 Total: 88

3. P J Harvey
It has been Polly Jean Harvey's ambition, throughout her career, to be considered not a great female musician but a great rock musician. Of course, in her contrary way, she has also spent a lot of those years flaunting her femininity, donning slinky catsuits and spiky high heels, singing of sex and dresses and bad-hair days. While in the late 1990s her music was influenced by the masculine sound of US producer Steve Albini, more recently she has taken her cues from another queen of rock, Patti Smith. So yes, Harvey is a woman in a man's world - but listen to her passionate, angry songs, full of hammer-headed riffs and glacial melodies, and you realise that she is simply a fantastic, inspiring musician, all on her own terms.
Sound : 17 Songs: 16 Gigs: 19 Style:17 Attitude:18

4. The Coral
In terms of looks, there is little to differentiate the Coral from any of the innumerable bands of young lads that Britain churns out. Musically, however, the Liverpool sextet are worlds apart. Last year's self-titled debut album reveled in the kind of invention most bands find frightening: doo-wop harmonies bounced against Captain Beefheart growls, jagged punk guitars and lyrics that veer from the strange to the surreal. Where they truly excel is on stage: seeing the Coral live is an exhilarating experience, offering a rare glimpse of the passion and pop nous that drove the British invasion all those years ago. Sound:20 Songs:19 Gigs: 20 Style:10 Attitude:15 Total: 84