Art Brut's Eddie Argos: A close observer of pop culture minutiae, with a voice like an auctioneer's. He doesn't sing his lyrics so much as announce them, hollering about hack comedians, comic books, and, of course, rock and roll. On Art Brut's fourth – and sturdiest – album to date, he delivers his wry recaps between sudden thrusts of guitar and rigid, right-angle percussion. As with all Art Brut records, the jokes are both obvious and embedded: the slinky "Sexy," asks to be played "while couples drink their wine," and the riff from "Satisfaction" turns up in "Lost Weekend" like a conspiratorial wink. And in the riotous "Axl Rose," Argos angrily flips off everyone – except G 'n' R's lead singer. Say this for the man: He knows how to choose his friends.

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.