If 2007 was a slightly disappointing year for new music then 2008 promises to offer at least a little more variety. Dance music, for example, for so long in the doldrums and reliant on one-off novelty hits for stupid people, co-opted indie bands (Klaxons) and dull remixes of mainstream chart hits, is showing signs of a renaissance. Not only are Basement Jaxx due a new album but there are a slew of new acts ready to go.

Ali Love, Pendulum, James Yuill, Ebony Bones all offer a slightly different take on dance moves (Ali Love is at the pop end of the spectrum, James Yuill offers a cerebral angle, while Pendulum and Ebony Bones just want to make you shake things) but it's the New Yorker Santogold, with her sparkling blend of dancehall, electro and techno who promises to be the year's most interesting newcomer.

Following the success of Lily Allen and Kate Nash you can bet there will be more solo female wannabes stretching their vowels and sharpening their blogs; however, the best new girls will be the ones ploughing their own furrow.

As well as the likes of Laura Marling (a 17-year-old from Berkshire with a wry line in folk pop) and Annie, the four females with the mostest are Lykke Li, whose sweetly saucy pop packs a high IQ, Adele, a more robust, less brittle Amy Winehouse, Duffy, a blonde soul siren with oomph, and the quite wondrously barmy Scandinavian Ida Maria, whose freshly packed, raucous but irresistibly tuneful indie pop brings to mind an inebriated Bjork fronting The Strokes.

The boys on the up look a little dull in comparison, although Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong at least have a couple of decent songs to back up their commendably ridiculous name while Vampire Weekend make African indie-prog which is far better than it has any right to be and Black Kids produce soaring, frazzled rock that will excite anyone who loves Arcade Fire or, particularly, The Cure. In the R&B corner Leon Jean Marie peddles a pretty effective blend of Prince funk and Beatles melody, while grime-popsters N-Dubz are determined to reclaim the hoodie from the urban blight corner.

It's not just about new stuff, of course. "Heritage" acts will be busy too. The Cure, for example, will be releasing a new album, as will REM (the advance buzz is that this is a long overdue return to form... hmmm), Madonna (dear Lord, she's only gone R&B on our asses), Oasis (what's the point?) U2 and The B-52s.

Meanwhile, Robbie Williams, The Streets and Coldplay will be looking to regain some ground after the tepid last efforts and The Feeling follow up the wonderful Twelve Stops And Home. Which brings me to a final cautionary word.

There's been much talk this winter about Palladium, an odd bunch who follow in the retro-pop tradition of The Feeling and our main tip last year, Mika. Great things are expected of Palladium but while they do have a couple of big tunes, my ears tell me that they've gone overboard and slathered on too many strings, bells and whistles, thereby dulling the overall impact.

Given the money splashed on them by an already hard-up music business let's hope for the industry's sake that I'm wrong and that they have a great 2008.