The annual AMP (Australian Music Prize) shortlist was announced this month, with a very Triple J-friendly list including Gotye, Kimbra, The Jezabels, Boy & Bear and more the big names in the field; cue online forum outrage and water cooler conversations regarding ”how did [insert band #1] get nominated when [insert band #2] was overlooked? [band #2]‘s album will be an Australian classic in years to come, but we won’t even remember [band #1] next week!” (or something like that).

It seems that even some of the judges of the AMP are unhappy with the list, with one member this week resigning from the judging panel because many quality acts seem to “slip between the cracks.”

Street Press Australia Group editor, Andrew Mast, will not participate in the final judging stages, in protest over the makeup of the finalist list.

“I don’t think this year’s shortlist is a true indication of the quality and variety of great Australian music that was released in 2011,” Mast said in explaining his decision to remove himself from the judging panel.

“I believe… some of the smaller releases that fell outside of the mainstream were overlooked. I have championed the AMP since its instigation, and will keep supporting them in the future, but each year it seems to get harder and harder for non-pop and mainstream rock artists to be shortlisted.”

“There are acts like Fred Smith, Melodie Nelson, Joelistics and Oscar + Martin who would have made the shortlist in the past but now seem to slip between the cracks.”

Another AMP judge, Herald Sun writer writer Mikey Cahill, has also criticised the AMP’s nominations, saying the list “failed to push the envelope.”

“This year’s judging process cast a wider net but ended up with a collection of records that failed to really push the envelope,” Cahill wrote in a weekly column.

“The judging process needs an overhaul and the whole thing needs a shake-up. Evidently, there needs to be more focus on braver, bolder records like the first ever winner of The AMP: The Drones’ Wait Long By The River and The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By.”

Cahill believes that acts like HTRK, Oscar+Martin, Big Scary and Jonti should have made the final list.

Finalists in the 7th annual AMP were chosen by 42 judges from the media, music industry and artists themselves. The winner receives $30,000 in cash, courtesy of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) The AMP winner will be announced March 8th.

So tell us – who do you think deserves to take out the AMP? Who would have made your shortlist this year?