I don't know if anyone else follows the Polaris Prize, but the long-list was released a couple of weeks ago. For those not familiar with Polaris, it is a Canadian music award given to the best Canadian album based solely on artistic merit. I like to go through and look at the 40 album long-list for new albums I probably missed the past year. It's a pretty cool way to find bands you may never have heard otherwise.

The long-list is here for anyone interested. It also includes links to CBC Radio which has songs from all the albums.
http://www.polarismusicprize.ca/2011/

There are some albums on here that I think are crap, but I've agreed with the inclusion of quite a few of the nominees. So maybe you'll find something you'll like.