 | Friend for Life by Ersi Arvizu
Buy used from: £5.99 Arvizu may just be the most authentic voice you'll hear all year. The album grooves and cries in just the most appropriate places. Praise her voice and heart, and thank Ry Cooder for producing.
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 | The African by Tiken Jah Fakoly
Buy new: £9.98 Fakoly's Reggae has no equals. This is as much Marley as it is the soul of Africa itself. You must know this man.
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 | Just A Little Lovin by Shelby Lynne
Buy new: £9.78 / Used from: £6.24 A beautiful album all the way through. Lynne's pipes are resilient and ever so mature. Not easy to squeeze new tugs at the heart from classics like these.
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 | Working Man's Cafe by Ray Davies
Buy new: £10.98 / Used from: £4.37 Davies' new solo album picks up where Other People's Lives left off. Davies writes like few of his (or any!) generation do. Healthy skepticism for messed up times.
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 | Wamato by Amazones De Guinee
Buy new: £9.88 A band formed a long time ago from female members of the Guinean army. I don't know what that may conjure up for you but the music is stunning. This platoon knows how to attack a groove.
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 | Mar Dulce by Bajofondo
Buy new: £14.19 / Used from: £13.71 For me this may be Bajofondo's best album so far. Gems abound (Cristal, Hoy, Costello's piece) and Buenos Aires sears itself in your mind.
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 | Jesus Of Cool by Nick Lowe
Buy new: £9.29 A reissue, yes, but such glory that it must be hailed even in 08. Lowe, without knowing it, fathered much Alt, Indie and straight new Pop with this classic. The extra stuff is a plus, for a change.
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 | The Mande Variations by Toumani Diabate
Buy new: £9.78 / Used from: £8.94 A Diabate album is always a strong candidate for the best of its year. This one is nothing less than a reunion of old spirits, and many have come. Gorgeous.
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