Icelandic atmospheric rock band Sigur Ros [ tickets ] was the winner of the first Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music, which was awarded during a Monday night (11/19) ceremony at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles.

The band traveled from Iceland to attend the event, and was the closing band on a four-act bill that included Shortlist finalists Nikka Costa [ tickets ], Dandy Warhols and Talib Kweli [ tickets ]. Other nominees included Ryan Adams, Air, Bilal, Dandy Warhols, PJ Harvey, Gorillaz and Jay Dee.

Sigur Ros took home a $10,000 prize courtesy of the show's sponsor, Virgin Megastore.

The finalists were selected by a panel of 15 nominating judges including Beck, Mos Def, Macy Gray, Aimee Mann and Michael Penn.

The Shortlist Prize was spearheaded this year "to create opportunities for left-of-center culture to cross over to the mainstream," according to organizers. Artists who have sold more than 500,000 albums during the year were not eligible for the award.