Rise Against's mastery of anthemic punk rock is second only to their mastery of being pissed off. On the Chicago band's sixth album, Tim McIlrath is an "orphan of the American dream," heraldically ranting about environmental collapse, economic inequality, teen suicide and other unanswerable evils atop the mix of Bad Religion hardcore, metal-guitar action and modern-rock balladry that's evolved into a platinum-plated formula (Endgame is the third R.A. disc produced by Bill Stevenson of pop-punk legends the Descendents). If success hasn't done much to brighten McIlrath's worldview, songs like the rousing Katrina-themed scorcher "Help Is on the Way" manage to fist-pump in the face of doom.

Listen to "Help Is On The Way":

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“Satisfied”

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.