The Mercury Prize shortlist was just announced, which honors the best release from a band from the British Isles of the past year. It's quite an eclectic list, but whether or not that will reaffirm faith in the album or in the Mercury Prize itself is debatate. A look at past Mercury Prize nominees reveals a list that has aged poorly, even when going back just 2 or 3 years. Idolator cracked wise about the list being the source of future bargain bin releases, and they do have a point. In any event, here are the nominees:

Adele - 19
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Burial - Untrue
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Estelle - Shine
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee-Deep in the North Sea
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - The Bairns

The path seems clear for Radiohead, with Elbow, Burial, and British Sea Power looking like the only real options for an upset. Coldplay was shut out of the list. But if Anthony and the Johnsons and Klaxons could surprise everyone, it's certainly not out of the range of possibility that someone could beat Radiohead.