Poll of polls

1. Eminem - Marshall Mathers 2. Radiohead - Kid A 3. Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast 4. Kelis - Kaleidoscope 5. Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R 6. Primal Scream - Xtrmntr 7. Lambchop - Nixon 8. Doves - Lost Souls 9. Fatboy Slim - Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars 10. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

Eminem recently had a number one single with Stan, while his album is the year's second best seller, behind the The Beatles.

An HMV spokesman said: "In many ways this has been Eminem's year.

"Only The Beatles' 1 sold more copies than the Marshall Mathers LP, and with numerous magazines declaring it album of the year, he has carried off many of the plaudits as well.

"He's undoubtedly the number one male performer in the world right now, and as he's touring the UK in February, his profile here can only grow.

"It's also encouraging to see so many new acts do really well in the poll, with the likes of Badly Drawn Boy and Doves coming through, and other newcomers, like Craig David and Coldplay, lower down in the top 20."

The favoured album among individual critics was Radiohead's Kid A.