The Streets' A Grand Don't Come for Free, Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut, Belle and Sebastian's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash and Joss Stone's Soul Sessions are among the albums nominated for U.K.'s prestigious Mercury Prize. The Mercury Prize is an annual honor bestowed on the best album released by a British artist.

The twelve albums that made the Mercury short list -- which also includes Keane's Hopes and Fears, Amy Winehouse's Frank, Jamelia's Thank You, Robert Wyatt's Cuckooland, Snow Patrol's Final Straw, Ty's Upwards and the Zutons' Who Killed . . . the Zutons -- were selected by a panel of judges, who will meet in September at the Mercury Prize Awards show in London to choose a winner.

Previous Mercury Prize winners include PJ Harvey's Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, Badly Drawn Boy's The Hour of Bewilderbeast, Primal Scream's Screamadelica and last year's winner, Dizzee Rascal's Boy in da Corner.

A compilation album of songs from this year's nominees will be released in the U.K. in August.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories