For a folkie, Ray LaMontagne has always had a deep groove sense. But it's a hot surprise to hear him open his fourth LP with a Meters-style funk grind ("Repo Man"). His band freshens up his sound here, with two pedal steel players adding country lilt and drummer Jay Bellerose stoking the engine. It doesn't always hang together, but LaMontagne's growl makes everything sound menacingly sexy. Lock up your daughters.

“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.