MUSIC MY SIX BEST ALBUMS

Tom Chaplin TOM CHAPLIN, 37, is the lead singer of Keane who had hits with Bedshaped and Somewhere Only We Know. His debut solo album The Wave is out now and he is playing a series of gigs from tomorrow (tomchaplinmusic.com).

RON Sex SM It H: Time Being (Warner) I’m a sucker for well-crafted songs where there’s no dead space. Sexsmith is often overlooked and I always feel the need to shout out his name.

I heard him at Glastonbury when I was going through a low patch and the song All In Good Time moved me to tears. Great songwriters can make you feel you’re not alone.

RADIOHEAD: OK Computer (EMI) The greatest rock record ever written because of the ambition of it. It came at a time when Keane began. It was something to aim for. For two or three years afterwards all our songs tried to sound like theirs but failed.

NICK Drake: Five Leaves Left (Universal/Island) It is heartbreaking that he made so few records and no one knew of him at the time. His shyness and mental health meant he found it hard to take the music out there but it’s lovely he’s garnered a following. His music is timeless. It has a curious Englishness and folksiness.

THE DIVINE COMEDY: Absent Friends (EMI) People have this impression that Neil Hannon’s work has a novelty value but you find an amazing wealth of songwriting. Every song on this is incredibly moving. Our Mutual Friend is the greatest story ever told in a pop song and if I could steal one song, it would be Charmed Life.

HERE WE GO MAGIC: A Different Ship (Secretly Canadian) Radiohead’s Thom Yorke saw them playing and their producer Nigel Godrich produced this. He brought the best out of them.

It’s a gorgeous, dreamy record. The lyrics are quite abstract but put you in a lovely weird world.

RICHARD HAWLEY: Coles Corner (EMI) A gnarly old songwriter who has seen it all. He talks about things that appeal as you get older, reflecting on love and regret.

The song The Ocean is a hypnotic slow-burner that bursts into a beautiful soaring melody. I listen again and again and it’s always full of surprises.