Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid is 2008's best album

Elbow: overjoyed at the news, clearly
Elbow: overjoyed at the news, clearly

Music critics in the UK have chosen Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid as the best album of 2008, according to an aggregate poll of polls.

Elbow's album, their fourth, won the Nationwide Mercury Prize in September.

Elbow had 18 appearances in the various end-of-year polls. That was one more than Portishead's Third, with 17 nominations. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds came third with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! followed by the two self-titled debuts by Seattle's Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend.

The full Top 10, compiled by retailer HMV, is:

1. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
2. Portishead - Third
3. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
4. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
6. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
7. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
8. Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago
9. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
10. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark

Watch Elbow's Grounds For Divorce.