The Polaris Music Prize announced their "long list" today! This list of 40 albums nominated be media-types will be culled down to a short list of ten albums on July 6th, then a winner announced at a gala on Sept 20th, where they will get a $20,000 prize. The award is annually given to the "best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label" and any album (more than 30 minutes/8 tracks long) out from June 1st 2009 to May 31 2010 is eligible.

Past winners include Final Fantasy, He Poos Clouds (2006) Patrick Watson, Close to Paradise (2007) Caribou, Andorra (2008) Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (2009)

And so here is the 2010 Polaris Prize long list
Albums that I want to win, or at least make the short list, are boldified. Ones I especially want to win, are boldified and italicized.

Apollo Ghosts - Mount Benson
Bahamas - Pink Strat
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind
Brasstronaut - Mt. Chimaera
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own
By Divine Right - Mutant Message
Caribou - Swim
Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)
Amelia Curran – Hunter, Hunter
Fred Fortin - Plastrer La Lune
Frog Eyes - Paul's Tomb: A Triumph
Hannah Georgas - This Is Good
Ghostkeeper - Ghostkeeper
Holy Fuck - Latin
Karkwa - Les Chemins De Verre

LeE HARVeY OsMOND - A Quiet Evil
Greg MacPherson - Mr. Invitation
Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice
Misteur Valaire - Golden Bombay
The New Pornographers - Together
Owen Pallet – Heartland
Plants And Animals - La La Land

Radio Radio - Belmundo Regal
Justin Rutledge - The Early Widows
The Sadies - Darker Circles
Shad – TSOL
Elizabeth Shepherd - Heavy Falls The Night
The Slew - 100%
Meaghan Smith - The Cricket's Orchestra

South Rakkas Crew - The Stimulus Package
Tegan And Sara - Sainthood
The Wooden Sky - If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone
Hawksley Workman - Meat
You Say Party! We Say Die! - XXXX
Young Galaxy- Invisible Republic
Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde
Zeus - Say Us

And now some albums that I feel should be on the list, but were overlooked:
Versicolour by Aidan Knight
Other Truths by Do Make Say Think
Vancouver by Matthew Good (disappointed, but not surprised)
Islands Disappear by Said The Whale (surprised AND disappointed!)
Dragonslayer by Sunset Rundown
Tic Toc Tic by The Zolas