Q readers, HMV shoppers crown Oasis

Another bout of voting - this time organised by Q and HMV - has created what is supposed to be a bout of Britain's favourite British albums:

1. Definitely Maybe - Oasis
2. (What's The Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis
3. OK Computer - Radiohead
4. Revolver - The Beatles
5. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
6. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
7. London Calling - The Clash
8. Under The Iron Sea - Keane
9. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
10. Urban Hymns - The Verve

Yes. What are we to make of a list which suggests there are only seven albums in the last fifty years which are superior to Keane's Under The Iron Sea?

Paul Rees, who edits Q these days, suggests that this proves something about Oasis:

"It's clear that, having polled three times more votes than any other act, Oasis are undoubtedly the nation's most loved band."

Is it? Or does it show that - given the age of profile of HMV shoppers and Q readers - the dominant bellowing of their youth is now judged to be "better" than anything else?

Rees somehow then extrapolates from his decision that Oasis have stood some sort of test of time that this means the current records on the list will have to, too:

"Similarly, it's evident just who music fans believe the classic and most enduring British acts of each era to be.

"And, by that measure, the likes of Keane, Arctic Monkeys, Muse and Amy Winehouse have emerged in recent years to be seen as genuinely classic artists in the eyes of the people that matter most - those who buy music."

On the other hand, it would have been nice to have seen a poll of people who actually love music instead.

The most notable thing about this list, though, isn't the presence of Oasis at the top, but that out of the entire fifty albums, the only woman at all is Winehouse's appearance down the list at 35. Either you believe that no British woman has made a really excellent album, ever, or else you might have to question the methodology of the poll.