The Supernaturals - The Day Before Yesterday's Man Still their most infectious piece of pop, and one that started off a great year for these crazy Scots.

Daft Punk - Da Funk A sudden top ten hit for the reclusive French duo with a tune as cool as their name.

Symposium - Farewell to Twilight Pure youthful exuberence from these teenage newcomers. A concrete slab of punk/pop.

Supergrass - Richard III Thrashed out chords and a heavier sound, but still the same happy-go-lucky Oxford lads. A triumphant return.

Blur - Song 2 Woohoo! Heavy Metal! Lo-fi Blur stomp. You know it by now.

The Seahorses - Love is the Law Back with a #2 bullet. The third coming of Squire and his new gang.

Radiohead - Paranoid Android Epic. Combining elements of Queen with the Beatles with DJ Shadow and their own secret ingredient. An instant classic.

The Charlatans - How High Great guitar workout and live highlight from the resurgent Charlatans. Their best year yet.

Teenage Fanclub - I Don't Care From the much underrated "Songs From Northern Britain" LP. A classic tune with a chorus to die for. Standard Fannies material.

Spiritualised - Electricity Single cut from the acclaimed "Ladies and Gentlemen we are Floating in Space" LP. Even better live.

Hurricane#1 - Chain Reaction Classic Rock'n'Roll. One of a string of quality singles from Andy Bell's new band, and a highlight of impressive live shows.

Portishead - Cowboys Sadly only a limited edition single release, but a definite highlight of the long awaited second 'Head album.

The Verve - Sonnet From the quality "Urban Hymns" LP and a definite highlight. A deserved success this year.

Warm Jets - Hurricane A band who should have been one of the biggest newcomers this year. A great catchy tune, let's hope for more in '98.

Belle & Sebastian - Beautiful "...only slightly mental..." but a sackful of great tunes. This one taken from the "3..6..9 Seconds of Light" EP.

Primal Scream - Burning Wheel Excellent but almost ignored single from the Scream team. Back on top with the "Vanishing Point" LP.

Natalie Imbruglia - Torn Surprise package of the year, but a deserved hit for the lovely Natalie. We'll just have to wait and see if she can follow it.

Edwyn Collins - The Magic Piper (of Love) Blink and you missed it single that found its true home on the Austin Powers soundtrack. Best film of the year? Not far off!

Kylie Minogue - Did It Again Great single, cool video. Back to the singing career for Kylie with her best material yet. Less poular now it seems...

Bjork - Bachelorette A quite majestic piece from perhaps our most interesting pop star. Wonderful in it's own way.

Robbie Williams - Angels The lad has shown he's got what it takes, and this, by far the best single of the Christmas period, capped off a great year.