Welcome one and all to the Best of the Best, our annual music tournament/discovery thingamijig. Without further ado, I present to you the eighty one artists you all voted for:

2NE1
Adele
Christina Aguilera
All Saints
Animal Collective
Annie
Fiona Apple
Arcade Fire
Arctic Monkeys
Katy B
Erykah Badu
Azealia Banks
Beck
Beyoncé
Bjork
Brandy
Ciara
Kelly Clarkson
Coldplay
Cheryl Cole
Delilah
Deerhunter
Dirty Projectors
The Dixie Chicks
Evanescence
Sky Ferreira
Florence + the Machine
Girls Aloud
Goldfrapp
Wynter Gordon
Ellie Goulding
Grimes
Grizzly Bear
Calvin Harris
P.J. Harvey
Paris Hilton
Janet Jackson
Carly Rae Jepsen
Alicia Keys
Ke$ha
Khia
The Killers
Kimbra
The Knife
Lady Gaga
Kendrick Lamar
Jennifer Lopez
m83
Madonna
MIA
Kylie Minogue
Miguel
Janelle Monae
Alanis Morissette
Roisîn Murphy
Muse
Me’shell N'degeocello
The New ****ographers
No Doubt
The Noisettes
Frank Ocean
Outkast
Pictureplane
Pink
Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rhye
Robyn
Kelly Rowland
Ashlee Simpson
Solange
Britney Spears
St. Vincent
Taylor Swift
Justin Timberlake
Carrie Underwood
Usher
Jessie Ware
Kanye West
Youth Lagoon
Zedd

Where do we go from here? I'll explain:

In the first round, there will be nine weeks with nine of these artists going head to head. The pairings will be random; in fact, I pick them out of a hat! Here are the artists playing in Week One:

Kelly Clarkson
(Ineligible: Since U Been Gone, Never Again, All I Ever Wanted, Behind These Hazel Eyes)
Muse
(Ineligible: Guiding Light)
Beck
Pictureplane
Katy B
(Ineligible: Broken Record, Katy on a Mission)
Pink
Adele
(ineligible: Chasing Pavements)
Radiohead
(ineligible: Weird Fishes/Arpeggi)

There is another artist playing next week, but she's a cherrypick - we'll leave her to be a surprise!

PM me your four favorite songs by any of the above artists - remember, they have to be made/released in the 21st century; no nineties stuff. Also, they have to be eligible. I expect them by FRIDAY.

Have fun! And DISCUSS.

We send you 1 song, 3 songs, 5??

Why are some songs ineligible?

ah ok four

They've played before in past editions of BoTB. The first three got Kelly all the way to the third round! All I Ever Wanted scuppered her chances; it's such a non-event of a song.

Also, guys, don't reveal your cherrypicks - at least, not yet.

I was really surprised at the support for Evanescence, tbqh.

Do you want our 4 favorite songs ranked from 1 to 4? And can they be album cuts?

Wait. It's 4 songs total from the 8 artists, not 4 per artist? Oh dear.

Yes and yes.


4 songs for each artist you choose to submit. You don't have to submit for acts you don't like/have never listened to. That would be silly!

Where's Samantha Mumba? I demand a recount!

Beck HAS to make it past this round along with Radiohead.

I find it really charming that you write all the names on paper and pick them out of a hat. However, you could use a sequence generator next time to save you some time

Excited to see the following made it:

Adele
Arcade Fire
Katy B
Cheryl Cole
Delilah
The Dixie Chicks
Girls Aloud
Calvin Harris
Lady Gaga
Kylie Minogue
Frank Ocean
Robyn
Solange
Britney Spears
Justin Timberlake
Jessie Ware
Kanye West

Now supa, only a few people remember her and her hit "Gotta Tell You"

You all need to pick Turning Tables for Adele.

Wait I did 4 for each artist Did I do it wrong>

Excited for this!

No, you're fine. Just get thee to YouTube and educate yourself on Pictureplane.

What album/EP/songs do you recommend?

If "Madness" plays first round, my 8 is probably locked and sealed.

Their last one. Start with "Real is a Feeling."