Plan B and Richard Hawley are the joint favourites to win the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize - but over half this year's nominees have been recognised for their debut albums.
Established acts such as The Maccabees and Field Music will also battle it out against lesser known names and emerging acts such as Django Django and Alt-J.
Plan B, whose real name is Ben Drew, said despite the rise in popularity of digital singles and the drop in album sales, the Mercury prize was still important.
"I've always been an artist that cared more about the album than the single. You've got to be able to make a good record that people can listen to from start to finish," he said.
"That's why I've always told stories with my albums - it gives people an incentive to buy the album and not just download some songs."
The rapper and actor is joint 4/1 favourite for Ill Manors, the soundtrack to his film of the same name which depicts life on the tough streets of East London.
Hawley, at 45 the oldest artist on the shortlist, had been nominated in 2006 for Coles Corner and had been a hot contender, although he lost out to Arctic Monkeys.
When Arctics frontman Alex Turner collected the prize for his album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, he announced: "Someone call 999 - Richard Hawley's been robbed."
The list fails to recognise notable commercial successes such as Coldplay and Florence + The Machine, as well as Emeli Sande who landed the Critics Choice award at the BRITs and had huge sales following her performances at the Olympic ceremonies.
Django Django and Alt-J have built a huge buzz around their debut albums earlier this year, as has fellow nominee Jessie Ware.
Field Music, featuring Sunderland brothers David and Peter Brewis, are nominated for their album, Plumb.
Michael Kiwanuka finds himself on the shortlist after being given a boost by topping the BBC's Sound Of 2012 list at the start of the year.
He said the judges faced a challenge in picking a winner.
"There is a way to judge, especially as it looks at how well an album is put together. But it is hard to decide - I wouldn't want that job!" he said.
The nominations almost invariably include a nod to the worlds of jazz and folk, and this year is no exception.
Folk is represented by both Sam Lee and Ben Howard, while drum, guitar and sax act the Roller Trio fly the flag for jazz.
The prize gives a huge boost to sales for the victor as well as valuable publicity to all nominees.
Last year saw the first time a previous winner has taken the prize for a second time, when PJ Harvey picked up the award for her Let England Shake release.
Other past winners have included Dizzee Rascal, Pulp and Klaxons.
The prize, which will be announced on November 1, is open to UK and Irish acts who have released albums over the past year.
The nominees are:
:: Plan B - Ill Manors
:: Richard Hawley - Standing at the Sky's Edge
:: Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
:: Django Django - Django Django
:: Jessie Ware - Devotion
:: Maccabees - Given To The Wild
:: Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough?
:: Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again
:: Ben Howard - Every Kingdom
:: Sam Lee - Ground Of Its Own
:: Field Music - Plumb
:: Roller Trio - Roller Trio
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