Stockholm quintet Opeth have been gradually opening up their sound, inching away from deathmetal terror and toward old-school prog rock. On Heritage, they could almost be a jazz-fusion band conjured up by a Renaissance-faire magician. They exhibit unexpected energy and rhythm – "Slither" charges forward with the most optimistic overdrive they have ever allowed themselves. Add flutes, Middle Eastern percussion and Celtic- and flamenco-specked guitar beauty, and you have a career record that reimagines prog as actual rock & roll, even while portentously insisting, "God is dead."

Listen to "Slither":

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“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.