The 100 Best Singles of 2008

37

"Someday Baby"   BY BOB DYLAN

On Modern Times, this was a raw blues number. But on this alternate take, it's a stately, atmospheric rock tune with Edge-like guitars that add an unexpected, and moving, undercurrent of hope.

38

"High Cost of Living"   BY JAMEY JOHNSON

A pitch-black addiction post-mortem from outlaw country's rising star: "I had a job and a piece of land/My sweet wife was my best friend/But I traded that for cocaine and a whore."

39

"About a Girl"   BY THE ACADEMY IS...

Emo grows up in real time: The whine about broken hearts smacks of teen angst, but that hook is classic Cheap Trick.

40

"Sex on Fire"   BY KINGS OF LEON

A raging yeaaaah leads to the Kings' most gloriously unsubtle chorus ever: "Your sex is on fire," Caleb Followill yawps. An unusual come-on, maybe, but it's so passionate, it works.

• View List: 2008 Singles of the Year