PJ Harvey

In the early 1990s, Polly Jean Harvey's music was a bracing post-punk battle cry, staking out new territory for alt-rock artists; Her iconic debut DRY and its equally heralded follow-up RID OF ME retained the raw, angular, and highly political nature of acts like Gang of Four but laced the anger with echoes of the lonely melancholia of early rock'n'roll. Over time, the subtle and moody side of Harvey has prevailed as she embraced . Her 2001 album STORIES FROM THE CITY, STORIES FROM THE SEA was her poppiest to date, with a heady mix of trip-hop, guitar rock, and troubadourism. Throughout, the 2000s, Harvey continued to shift gears to critics' delight, from the sparse UH HUH HER to the arty piano rock of WHITE CHALK.

• rock