Fleet Foxes have won the first Uncut Music Award. They overcame competition from the likes of Elbow, The Raconteurs and Radiohead to win the magazine’s inaugural gong, their debut album judged by a panel of industry experts to be the best of the last twelve months.

A 'long list’ of 25 albums released between 1st September 2007 – 31st August 2008 was sent to a nine-strong panel of industry experts who then selected the shortlist on the 12/11/2008. The Uncut Music Award panelists were: BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, producer of Later With Jools Holland (Alison Howe), radio presenter and former NME editor Danny Kelly, legendary promoter Vince Power, broadcaster and writer Mark Radcliffe, British folk artist Linda Thompson, Peter Hook, Edwyn Collins, chairman of the British Phonographic Industry and former EMI chairman Tony Wadsworth and Uncut editor Allan Jones.

The Uncut Music Award long list is as follows

KEVIN AYERS – The Unfairground
JAMES BLACKSHAW – Litany Of Echoes
BON IVER – For Emma, Forever Ago
ISOBEL CAMPBELL & MARK LANEGAN – Sunday At Devil Dirt
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
ELBOW – The Seldom-Seen Kid
THE FELICE BROTHERS - The Felice Brothers
FLEET FOXES – Fleet Foxes
PJ HARVEY – White Chalk
THE HOLD STEADY – Stay Positive
HOWLIN RAIN – Magnificent Fiend
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN – To Survive
STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS – Real Emotional Trash
ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS – Raising Sand
PORTISHEAD – Third
THE RACONTEURS – Consolers Of The Lonely
RADIOHEAD - In Rainbows
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Magic
RACHEL UNTHANK & THE WINTERSET- The Bairns
VAMPIRE WEEKEND – Vampire Weekend
PAUL WELLER – 22 Dreams
WHITE DENIM – Workout Holiday
WILD BEASTS – Limbo, Panto
ROBERT WYATT – Comicopera