Hotly Tipped for 2011

Here's where we supply the talent, and you get to play connoisseur/clairvoyant, using your knowledge of rock 'n' roll, as well as your finely honed instinct for the next big thing, to work out who — among these outstanding artists — is most likely to make a big impression in 2011. There's no doubting the unique and beguiling charms of James Blake, who has pitched his tent in the left field, where fans of his vulnerable, wobble-bassy Feist cover "Limit to Your Love" are sure to join him in droves. Blake finished second on the BBC Sound of 2011 tastemaker poll, bested only by Jessie J (author of the chucklesome "Do It Like a Dude") who co-wrote "Party in the USA" for Miley Cyrus.

Continue your quest for future brilliance with Ben Sommers and Egyptian Hip-Hop, in Next Steps.

Not all of these Hotly Tipped artista will retain their early fizz throughout 2011, but some of them are destined to exceed all expectations and blaze a trail in the direction of greatness. The trick is working out where to place your bets — so why not take a punt on Ben Sommers, who pitches the excellent "Hillary, Oh Hillary" as a twisted, fantastical modern sea-shanty, stuffed with lyrical invention, salted with allegory. Los Angeles-based Grouplove tap into something wild and universal on the brilliant single "Colours" (check out the cinematic video — it's a belter), while Manchester's Egyptian Hip-Hop look set to build on the sweet strangeness of "Rad Pitt".

Balam Acab makes serendipity his cohort, in Deep Cuts.

The ranks of the Hotly Tipped swell further here in Deep Cuts, as we pick out those artists expected to flourish in 2011 . . . or at the very least, offer us something we never knew we wanted. Alexander Wolfe has already prompted comparisons to Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and Chris Martin, and he justifies that kind of hype with "Stuck Under September" which never strains to make an impression and reveals a rare gift for lyrical poetry. Balam Acab (aka Alec Koone) has set himself up as a kind of digital archeologist, collecting sound samples and reforming them into compositions like "See Birds (Sun)", while Transfer takes the folk-pop approach to songcraft on "Like a Funeral".

Like that rather shifty looking fella who hangs around the thoroughbred racetrack car park, offering insider information on the afternoon's runners, we hereby proffer you a tip sheet full of musicians likely to make their mark during 2011 — and, to be honest, they're all really impressive, and we feel sure that most of them will make a bold showing. Some of the names here are no doubt already familiar to you: there's been no shortage of justified buzz for Katy B (the club-skewed dubstep of "Katy On a Mission"), the Vaccines — the succinct brilliance of "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" — and Warpaint (the spacey West Coast groove of "Undertow"). Others are ripe for discovery, from Cults and Cloud Nothings to Dels and Dom. Go, explore, adopt.