Twenty-plus years after the Misfits terrorized New Jersey, their Garden State descendants My Chemical Romance embrace the goth-punk revival in style. Sweet Revenge has the same shout-along choruses, speedy drums and horror themes that fueled Glenn Danzig's old outfit, but it also adds cool metal licks and a sneaky sense of humor (see the thrash-cabaret hybrid "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"). And thanks to frontman Gerard Way's endearing warble, standout tracks such as "Helena" and "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" come off as more emotion-driven than shock rock. In any case, Revenge is a hell of a good time.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.