THIS IS A JOURNEY INTO SOUND

This year my musical tastes were a mixed bag. The great mix of indie, rock, alternative dance and and pop that filled my ears continued, usually via 6music and MTV2, with a more gothic tone that had steadily been creeping in for a couple of years. Looking back, the year seemed to belong to four acts: Arctic Monkeys continued their rise that had begun toward the end of the previous year with another chart topping single and their equally successful debut album, plus a standalone Top 5 single and a five track EP featuring four brand new songs plus one from the album. All this whilst still keeping a fairly low profile as far as television appearances go. Muse also continued their increasing success with a No.1 album and three hit singles, two of which went Top 10. Lily Allen, daughter of actor Keith, came out of nowhere to score a chart topping single and a No.2 album, her music being inescapable that Summer. Emo - a more introspective and emotional brand of Punk that had been around for

Amongst my record collection are numerous compilations - Greatest Hits, Best Of's and Singles Collections. Whilst i might sneer in the manner of Barry from High Fidelity at anyone whose music library consists solely of such albums, they are an essential part of musical discovery, especially in the case of any artist who has a long career and a large back catalogue. They are how i discovered older music in my teens - Punk, New Wave, Synthpop, Bowie, even my beloved Madness (of whom i own half a dozen compilations, even though they have more or less the same songs on!), and a well curated Best Of can often revive interest in a band whose star may have faded or whose name might not be known to the wider public. Multi-artist compilations are a big seller - the continuing success of the NOW That's What I Call Music series, currently on 101, is testament to that, and a well placed track on such a collection can alert people to music that they might not have heard otherwise. I've