With the very future of Glastonbury Festival hanging in the balance last year, there were more than a few eyebrows raised at the decision to make Jay-Z a headliner on the Pyramid Stage.

But the hip-hop star was an absolute triumph, delivering a set which will be talked about for years to come. And at the other side of the scale, veteran songwriter Leonard Cohen also provided one of those transcendent moments that only Glastonbury can deliver.

After the success of the 2008 festival, many predicted this year’s line-up would be more diverse than ever. But once again, Michael Eavis has confounded expectations. It’s a safe but high quality list which leans heavily on rock’s heavyweights.

For the past decade, every run-up to Glastonbury would see rumours circulating that Neil Young would be a surprise special guest. Quite what we’ll do now that he’s actually confirmed as the Friday night headliner on the Pyramid Stage is anyone’s guess.

Bruce Springsteen also makes his first ever UK festival appearance as the big-hitter on the Saturday night. His epic live shows should make this a historic visit to Pilton.

And misty-eyed nostalgics are no doubt delighted that a reformed Blur will be closing the festival on Sunday. Recent Crackerjack interviewee Graham Coxon certainly hopes this will be a special moment in their illustrious career.

But what about the other names down the bill?

Deserving of special mention are another reformed band, The Specials. Although they’ll be without founder Jerry Dammers after an acrimonious split, their greatest hits set will no doubt go down a storm.

And preceding Blur on the Sunday night will be another much-anticipated appearance by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

There’s a mass of other fantastic names on the undercard, too.

We’d recommend Seattle’s acclaimed Fleet Foxes who have made major waves with their eponymous album last year.

For those who still keep half an eye on the charts, Lady Gaga will provide some much-needed glamour among the testosterone on the opening day. The Tings Tings should also be good fun blasting through their set on the Other Stage.

And Doves are likely to tempt many people away from the Pyramid Stage on day one. Their new record Kingdom of Rust is a sterling return to form and already a contender for best UK album of the year.

Live favourites Kasabian are also appearing. Their third album The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum will be in record stores just a few weeks before their slot on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night.

Those of us longing for a bit of 70s-style nostalgia will make a bee-line for Crosby, Stills and Nash’s appearance. Their first-ever major show in 1969 was in front of an estimated one million fans at Woodstock – we don’t envisage any stage fright with that trio. Their tight harmonies and socially-conscious songs have aged well, perhaps a little better than the men themselves who’ve obviously had a few decent lunches since their heyday.

Another major coup for the festival this year is the appearance by the legendary Spinal Tap.

We’ll be hoping that they’ll have their scale model of Stonehenge in tow and will be playing all the hits including Big Bottom, Sex Farm and their psychedelic classic (Listen to the) Flower People.

Franz Ferdinand are regular visitors to the festival and they’ll be closing the Other Stage on Saturday night. While they’re not quite the hot ticket they once were, Take Me Out is always a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

If you saw our review of Jarvis Cocker’s new album Further Complications last week, you’ll know he’s back on great form. Hopefully, he might even throw in a few Pulp hits for good measure as a nod to his former band’s triumphant headlining set back in 1995 when they were late replacements for the Stone Roses.

Florence and the Machine are also well worth catching in the Tent, too. Florence Welch stole the show at the recent NME Shockwaves tour in Bristol with her quirky Kate Bush-inspired alt-pop.

For the sturdier souls who can make it through two days’ worth of solid pear cider drinking, the Sunday sees no let-up in the musical menu.

Another reformed band, Madness, are primed to take the Pyramid Stage by the jugular on the final day. There’ll be plenty of the old favourites no doubt, and don’t despair when they play new songs from current album The Liberty of Norton Folgate. Shy of hit singles it may be, but it’s their finest all-round album to date and can stand shoulder to shoulder with anything from their back catalogue.

The traditional old stagers’ slot this year goes to Pontypridd’s finest Tom Jones. He’ll have to go some though to keep up with fellow Taff Dame Shirley Bassey who played a superb show with a full orchestra in 2007, but we’re sure The Voice will be pulling out all the stops. Also making a return visit this year is Tony Christie and there’s another surprise from the old school with the recent news that denim-clad legends Status Quo will be putting in an appearance.

Elsewhere, Prodigy return to the festival with a headlining slot on Sunday’s Other Stage and we’ll also be looking out for Glasvegas and the superb Bon Iver who plays twice over the course of the three days.

For those of you who missed out on last weekend’s superb Dot to Dot Festival, we’d definitely recommend checking out VV Brown, Little Boots Friendly Fires and Wave Machines – the latter are a Merseyside fourpiece who blew us away at the Louisiana on Saturday.

It’s not just the two main stages that you need to pay attention to either. The Acoustic Stage boasts performances from the likes of Kinks legend Ray Davies, Badly Drawn Boy, Tindersticks and Roger McGuinn who incidentally also plays St George’s Bristol on Monday, June 29.

For hip-hop fans, keep your eyes open for Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip, self-proclaimed "Picasso of geezer garage" Mike Skinner, the always fantastic Roots Manuva and 90s heroes Stereo MCs.

There’s a huge selection of dance music at Glasto, too. Recent Thekla visitor Calvin Harris headlines the East Dance Tent on Sunday and among the other big-hitters we’d shine a light on the likes of Layo and Bushwacka, Mr Scruff, saucy popster Peaches and Rob Da Bank.

It’s as diverse as ever and surely the best three days of the year for any music fan, whatever their persuassion.