I’m not necessarily claiming that these records are groundbreaking or will go down as classics (well, actually, with the first two, that’s exactly what I’m saying) they are just the records which I have loved the most over the last ten years.

#1 The Department Of Eagles – In Ear Park. A Forever Changes for our time – Largely overlooked since its release in 2008, one day this will be recognised as the classic it undoubtedly is. A spellbinding mix of lo-fi folk and a huge overpowering swell of orchestrated sound which does funny things to me.

#2 Chad VanGaalan – Soft Airplane. Chad VanGaalen pushes eclecticism to its limits and yet still manages to produce an album which flows and has an overall feel to it. Banjo folk sits alongside indie rock sits alongside electronic beats. VanGaalen’s vocals are reminiscent of Neil Young while his lyrics have a surreal and often macabre twist to them. More than anything else, this is a damn exciting record to listen to.

#3 Midlake – The Trials Of Van Occupanther. Rumoured to be written about an antiquated computer game and possessing one of the silliest sleeves of all time, Midlake manage to invoke the spirit of the 1970s and the 1870s simultaneously. Focussing on the twin themes of isolation and the need for human contact, this is an album to obsess about. And believe me, I have.

#4 Dean & Britta – Back Numbers. I spent the entire duration of Dean Wareham’s time in Luna wishing he’ d reform Galaxie 500. Galaxie 500 were the best band I ever saw live and I was desperate to see them again. On hearing Dean & Britta’s debut L’Aventura I started to waver. Back Numbers made me change my mind.  Critics dismiss this as the couple sleepwalking through their songs – that suits me fine.

#5 Jim Noir – Tower of Love. A folk-pop hip-hop song, a Henry Mancini-esque instrumental, a classic slice of late eighties Manchester. This is a joyous pop album with a sense of humour that never strays into silliness. Jim Noir took all of the best records of the 1960s, melted them down and reformed the vat of molten vinyl into this.

#6 Woodpigeon – Treasury Library Canada. Initially this wasn’t going to be a proper album but you can’t keep a good thing down. The songs on this, Woodpigeon’s second album, show a greater self-confidence than debut Songbook but there’s nothing groundbreaking on here, it’s just a collection of heartfelt songs which act as a kind of comfort blanket in much the same way that Nick Drake does.

#7 Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast. I only caught up with this about a year after it had been released and remember finding it hard to believe that no one had insisted I listen to it. It’s another eclectic album that has an overall feel to it. In many ways it ushered in the folky chamber-pop which I’ve spent much of the rest of the decade listening to. Badly Drawn Boy is the great uncle of the Leisure Society.

#8 The Hidden Cameras – Mississauga Goddam. Joel Gibb has the perfect voice for pop music and this is a flawless album. It just soars. Admittedly, The Smell of Our Own is probably just as good but this is what I heard first so it has the edge. I would congratulate Gibb on expressing his sexuality in his songs so openly too, only he’s probably think I was a patronising prick!

#9 Deerhunter – Microcastle. Like the Department of Eagles album, this record does funny things to me. I find it a bit overwhelming and for reasons I find it hard to put my finger on. All I can do is turn it up really loud and lose myself in it. This is the album that the shoegaze movement of the early 1990s failed to deliver. It’s got all of the fuzzy wooziness of Slowdive but with an underlying intensity that sets it apart from anything else around at the moment.

#10 Arcade Fire – Funeral. The fourth set of Canadians in this top 10 – for such a tiny country they certainly produce their share of great music. It took me a long time to love this album (I kept hearing snatches of Ian McCulloch in the vocals) but it was well worth the wait. One of the things I love most about this album is that while it’s overall very loud, I hear echoes of it in so many quiet records.