The time has come to reflect on this past year and decide who made a major impact on Scotland’s cultural landscape. From actors to artists, writers to restaurateurs, and playwrights to pop stars, that sizzling scent you smell is our Hot 100, fully cooked and ready for your delectation. Get the full picture by reading our 50-08 countdown, too. 

There were plenty of strong candidates who didn’t quite make the cut, but the following cohort proves that our nation’s arts and culture is as vibrant as it’s ever been. Let the countdown commence . . . 

_{Writers: Becca Inglis, Brian Donaldson, Claire Sawers, Eddie Harrison, Fiona Shepherd, Gareth K Vile, Jay Richardson, Jay Thundercliffe, Jo Laidlaw, Kelly Apter, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Megan Merino, Miranda Heggie, Murray Robertson, Rachel Ashenden, Seonaid Rafferty, Sheri Friers, Suzy Pope}

100 PAOLO NUTINI 

The Paisley favourite made his long-awaited return with new album Last Night In The Bittersweet, a throbbingly atmospheric mix of psych-rock, experimental electronics and trademark soulful ballads. His headline slot at TRNSMT was a triumphant homecoming, followed by a sell-out five-night run at the Hydro. (SR)

99 STEVEN MCNICOLL & BARNABY POWER

Revisiting Tom McGrath’s Laurel And Hardy with the same cast and crew that created a beloved production two decades ago, McNicoll and Power’s double act embodied the easy friendship and instinctive comedic timing that made the cinematic duo so popular. (GKV)

98 ASTA PETKUNAITE

Artist and designer Petkunaite founded Pascal & Co vintage shop and with it a community of local fashion enthusiasts who adore her hand-picked pieces and original creations. The shop celebrated its one-year anniversary in September. (MM)

97 MATT JACKSON & MARZENA BRODZIAK

Their wine bar Spry has flourished and the paint has just dried on Ante, Jackson and Brodziak’s new coffee/lunch/brunch spot downstairs. It shares Spry’s pared-back aesthetic, with simple Scandi-inspired dishes like porridge and soft-boiled eggs to set you up for the day. (JL)

96 TANYA FLOAKER

Floaker has been quietly sculpting Scotland’s role-playing games-scene for years now, working to dismantle the old ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ reputation and create inclusive spaces in which to explore socio-political ideas. This year their first games book, Be Seeing You, was released, along with an exhibition of artwork at Dundee’s Keiller Centre. (LR)

95 AMANDA THOMSON

Thomson created a buzz this year with Belonging, the follow-up to her nature writing debut. Part memoir and part love letter to the wild, it was a striking reflection on home, told through the migratory patterns of birds, hill walks and family tales. (BI)

94 KATE DICKIE 

After roles in Peaky Blinders, Game Of Thrones and Our Ladies, East Kilbride’s finest was all over our screens again. She joined David Tennant and Stanley Tucci in BBC One thriller Inside Man, played raven-haired Elizabet Ingram in horror flick Raven’s Hollow, and was Halldóra The Pict in Robert Eggers’ Viking adventure, The Northman. (CS)

93 PAUL BLACK

This comedian and social media star has entertained us on stage and online with his TikTok sketches and stand-up material. A sell-out Fringe run and being a judge at this year’s SAY Award were just a few other strings to his bow. (MM)

92 CHAO-YING RAO

Glasgow-based multidisciplinary artist Chao-Ying Rao’s non-stop performance schedule included Sexquisite Presents: Impurity, a cabaret show inspired by sex worker history from the Bishopsgate Institute archives. In a joint exhibition, Skin Flicks, she also presented new visual work alongside MV Brown which interrogated the fetishisation of Asian women. (RA)

91 ERIN ARMSTRONG

Both a teacher and Shetland TV star, Armstrong excelled as Lena Zavaroni in Lena. Capturing the child star’s vulnerability as well as her remarkable talent, Armstrong essayed a character who was an early victim of television’s fame trap, while revealing her own qualities. (GKV) 

90 GAIL SNEDDON 

A talented choreographer, director and video artist, Sneddon has co-created many a fine work with the likes of Claire Cunningham and Cora Bissett. But her site-specific dance-theatre piece SAVAGE, performed by Dance North Youth Company in Findhorn, was a phenomenal five-star smasher. (KA)

89 RICHARD BROWN 

Testimony to the power of stand-up that doesn’t feel the need to appease or people-please, Brown’s comedy is dark, opinionated and misanthropic, yet principled. His latest Edinburgh Fringe hour, Horror Show, was an entertaining, disdain-flecked grimace of setting the world to rights. (JR)

88 AINSLIE HENDERSON & WILL ANDERSON

Edinburgh animators Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson took the coveted Powell & Pressburger award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Their project, A Cat Called Dom, made innovative use of animation and a semi-documentary approach to a tricky narrative about family grief and the improbable influence of a cartoon cat. (EH) 

87 JONATHAN MORTON 

With Morton at the helm, Scottish Ensemble is one of Scotland’s most dynamic music collectives. This year, its passion for collaboration resulted in 50 string musicians from across Europe coming together at Barrowlands, plus tours to the USA, across Scotland with a visual art exhibition, and joining forces with a dance company in Sweden. (KA)

86 SEN VIET 

Sen Viet (London’s first vegan Vietnamese restaurant) opened a second venue in Edinburgh’s Tollcross. It takes extra effort to pack a punch in plant-based food, but Sen Viet’s ability to combine the crisp, spicy, sour and sweet flavours of Vietnamese cuisine with silken tofu and wheat protein is an inspired move. (SP)

85 STEPHEN BUCHANAN & STUART MCPHERSON 

These acclaimed Scottish stand-ups have been having a blast with their What’s The Script? podcast in which they guess the plot of films they haven’t seen, while in their day jobs they both appeared at Monkey Barrel during the Edinburgh Fringe. (BD)

84 EVER DUNDAS 

Literary fiction and horror writer Dundas published her debut sci-fi work, HellSans, which paints a dark picture of how governments treat the disabled. She also co-founded The Inklusion Guide which aims to open up accessibility at literary events, both for audiences and speakers. (BD)

83 GREG ESPLIN 

As a leading actor and co-director of Trainspotting Live, Esplin enjoyed a breakout tour across the UK. His iteration of the tragic junkie Tommy is far darker than the one portrayed in the film version and restores the character to those harrowing depths he plumbed in Irvine Welsh’s novel. (EH)

82 ETHAN LOCH 

Seventeen-year-old pianist Loch won the keyboard final of BBC Young Musician Of The Year. Blind since birth, Loch would explore the piano for hours as a toddler, and since then has performed globally, including at festivals in Italy, Poland and Belgium. (MH)

81 RACHEL DUNS 

Saxophonist Duns is the latest creative contender to emerge from the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland’s storming jazz course. Blazing a trail as an all-too-rare female instrumentalist bandleader, she was named Rising Star at this year’s Scottish Jazz Awards before she had released any recorded music. (FS)

80 ANDREA BAKER

Mezzo soprano Baker formed one quarter of the cast of art film OMOS. Inspired by historical events, it featured two dancers, a poet and a singer (Baker) confronting Scotland’s racist past with extraordinary acts of performance. At the climax, Baker is utterly spellbinding, majestic and unlike anything you’ll have seen before. (LR)

79 LVRA 

Edinburgh-bred, London-based Rachel Lu, aka LVRA (pronounced ‘loo-rah’) started the year as the SAY Award’s inaugural Sound Of Young Scotland pick, blitzed the summer festivals (including an appearance at Connect) and ended it by releasing her new single ‘Look’ on Eastern Margins, a label spotlighting East and Southeast Asian musicians. (FS)

78 ROBERT FLORENCE

Scotland’s comedy goliath stretched his musical muscles this year as the star of Orphans, Cora Bissett’s barnstorming adaptation of Peter Mullan’s film. Chuck in the continued excellence of his surrealist gaming show Consolevania, presented alongside Ryan Macleod, and this has been a bumper year for Rab fans. (KF)

77 LISA WILLIAMS 

As founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, Williams has been organising events promoting Caribbean culture and anti-racism for some time. Her Edinburgh Black History Walks are a revelation, exposing the structures of enslavement that kept the city’s New Town afloat, while also celebrating prominent Black Edinburghers and anti-racist activists from history.  (LR)

76 CAT ANDERSON

Pursuing owner Anderson’s mission to give people a ‘killer wardrobe without killing the planet’, Treen opened its Stockbridge doors in 2021. Since then, pop-ups in St James Quarter and work with the Smart Works charity have helped push Treen’s sustainable brands into the mainstream. (MM)

75 HOLYROOD DISTILLERY

The young distilling team’s refreshing approach to their craft continues to break boundaries. This year has seen new gin, vodka and rum joining their small-batch whisky expressions, while their courtyard bar is going from strength to strength, quickly becoming a summer mainstay. (JL)

74 TILDA SWINTON

Swinton started the year with the release of Memoria, the haunting English language debut from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, before starring in the most unconventional blockbuster of the summer, Three Thousand Years Of Longing. As per usual, she remains the art queen of the world, maybe even the universe. (KF)

73 ZINNIA OBERSKI 

Oberski’s website describes her as a performer, creator and a wild circus artist. In a tiny hall at Summerhall, Oberski’s intense solo show Dreams Of The Small Gods was a fearless work of art that won rave notices and made innovative use of not only a trapeze, but her own naked body. (EH)

72 NEIL BUTLER

As director of Dandelion, Butler continued his journey as an innovator in the world of large-scale events. Containing a wealth of music, food and discussions, this community-focused spectacular centred on ideas of environmental preservation and regeneration. (KF)

71 LARAH BROSS 

Founded in 2017 in Portobello, there are now four Bross Bagels venues in Edinburgh, a UK-wide delivery service and plans to expand beyond the capital. Bross’ passion for food, social presence and desire to entertain have put, and kept, Bross Bagels firmly on the map. (SF)

70 MARK NELSON

After parting ways with his agent, the underrated Nelson has struck out on his own, releasing an acclaimed debut comedy special on YouTube and becoming one of the inner coterie of acts associated with Adam Rowe and Dan Nightingale’s Have A Word podcast. Instinctively dark and sardonic, Nelson is refining his style while uprooting his career. (JR) 

69 JOHN BYRNE

With A Big Adventure the appropriate name for his retrospective exhibition at Kelvingrove, and the Tron’s production of a new musical play, Underwood Lane, Byrne has entered his 80s with signature gusto, remaining relevant while becoming a modern Scottish icon. (GKV)

68 SADIQ ALI

Circus artist Ali’s ground-breaking piece, The Chosen Haram, used Chinese pole to explore the internal conflicts caused by growing up queer and Muslim, and won him rave reviews at the Fringe. Ali is an astute storyteller and a performing powerhouse. (LR)

67 MICHAEL PEDERSEN 

Portobello poet Pedersen brought out tender memoir Boy Friends in tribute to his beloved friend Scott Hutchison and toured it around Europe and America. Back home, he hosted a Book Festival event with showbiz pals Shirley Manson and Charlotte Church and said farewell (for now?) to Neu! Reekie! with a big bash at Bellfield Brewery. (CS)

66 DEVIKA PONNAMBALAM

Ponnambalam’s debut novel I Am Not Your Eve is a feminist masterpiece, taking in Polynesian mythology and colonialism in its tale of Paul Gauguin’s child-bride, Teha’amana. It took Ponnambalam 17 years to write and was beautifully published by indie Bluemoose. (LR)

65 COLIN HINDS

With so many changes afoot in the Scotch whisky industry, the time feels right for a whisky bar mixing quality with informality. Hinds’ Tipsy Midgie blends irreverence, interest and deep knowledge to create a spot valued by aficionados, newcomers, tourists and locals alike. (JL)

64 IONA FYFE 

The Scots Trad Musician Of The Year and Scots Language Speaker Of The Year built on her 2021 honours as a passionate advocate for recognition of her native tongue and ballad tradition by leading a successful campaign to have Scots listed as an official language on Spotify. She also played her first shows in the US this year. (FS)

63 LEYLA JOSEPHINE 

The Prestwick-based performance poet, theatre maker and screenwriter produced her first poetry anthology, In Public/In Private. Published in October, it was accompanied by a UK and Ireland tour, while her first foray into short-film direction, Groom, led to a Scottish BAFTA nomination. (KA)

62 PETER SCHAUFUSS

Having danced with, and run, major companies around the world, Danish-born Schaufuss opened Edinburgh Festival Ballet & School in 2019. Emerging from the pandemic, he prompted queues around the block at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe when he cast Sir Ian McKellen in his dance/theatre version of Hamlet. (KA)

61 MEDICINE CABINET 

Formed in Edinburgh and now based in Glasgow, audacious indie quintet Medicine Cabinet held their nerve through lockdown, built a live reputation as one of Scotland’s most characterful new bands and finally released their debut single, ‘The Signs’, just in time for their TRNSMT appearance this summer. Alex Kapranos is a fan. (FS)

60 AL THOMPSON

With Unique Events, Thompson has worked tirelessly to put on some of Scotland's best events and festivals over the past three decades. After a couple of difficult years, he and his team (alongside Assembly) have pulled out all the stops to deliver Edinburgh's Hogmanay and Edinburgh’s Christmas. (SF)

59 DOUGLAS GORDON 

Dundee Contemporary Arts hosted the UK’s premiere of the Scottish artist’s major film installation, k.364. Shown across two huge screens, Gordon’s affecting piece follows the train journey of two Israeli musicians of Polish heritage travelling from Germany to Poland. (RA)

58 MARLI SIU 

Hot on the heels of her Scottish BAFTA win for Best Film Actress in 2021, Siu scored the same coveted nomination again this year for her role in Our Ladies. She also co-starred as the witty, headstrong Nell in Dolly Alderton’s brilliantly relatable Everything I Know About Love. (SR)

57 JAY LAFFERTY 

Recipient of a Chortle Award nomination for Best Compere, Lafferty made her Edinburgh Fringe debut in the Children’s section with The Song Of Fergus And Kate. For the grown-ups, she was a regular host of The Stand’s Bona Fide night and helmed Late ‘n’ Live during August. (BD)

56 STUART STRATFORD 

Under the musical direction of Stratford, Scottish Opera has seen the year out with a bang. Stellar productions of Don Giovanni and Candide were followed by the fiery, flamenco-infused Ainadamar. A fabulous showcase of myriad art forms, it sizzled with all the heat of a sultry Spanish summer. (MH)

55 JAMES MCAVOY

Proving that his dynamism is as powerful on stage as on screen, McAvoy’s portrayal of Cyrano De Bergerac drove a dynamic dramaturgy with a ferocious performance that thrillingly captured the long-nosed hero’s rage and romantic sensitivity. (GKV)

54 JENNY NIVEN

As if co-founding Edinburgh’s first poetry festival Push The Boat Out (a Creative Edinburgh award winner) wasn’t enough, Niven is also executive producer of Dandelion, a programme of hundreds of events that explore our relationship with nature and art. Her leadership has resulted in edible gardens and art installations sprouting across the country. (BI)

53 LIZ LOCHHEAD

The NTS’ revival of her poetic, Scots-infused Medea reminded audiences of Lochhead’s ability to respect and update classical texts, while her win at the Scots Language Awards for Writer Of The Year emphasises her continued cultural importance as playwright, poet and advocate. (GKV)

52 KATHRYN JOSEPH

With haunting pianos and lyrics fraught with regret, Joseph’s latest album for you who are the wronged welcomed us back into her beautiful melancholic world. It’s her most complete work to date, a beautiful, precious, heart-wrenching series of tracks that deserved its SAY Award nomination. (KF)

 51 DANIELLE JAM

If you’re a parent you may know her as a stalwart on CBeebies’ Molly And Mack, but Jam showed her acting versatility this autumn in an exquisite, nuanced and emotionally complicated performance as the poetic Ellen in James IV: Queen Of The Fight. (LR)