Common could be the most thoughtful, lyrically skilled rapper you've never heard of. His third album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, is a 17-track assortment of meditations and musings; over minimalist drumbeats, Common's incisive observations offer a contrast to the materialism drowning today's hip-hop. "Retrospect for Life," featuring the Fugees' Lauryn Hill, is the centerpiece of the album: In an autobiographical letter to an unborn child, Common delicately weighs abortion vs. birth and opts for the latter. It's Common's ability to take pain and infuse it with meaning and purpose that makes One Day It'll All Make Sense the kind of morality tale rap so desperately needs.

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”