32. The Go! Team

What would it sound like if Funky Four Plus One had made Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets? It would sound like the Go! Team's "Huddle Formation," a playground romp driven by double-Dutch chanting alongside guitar-keyboard drones. These U.K. popsters combine the indie style of Belle and Sebastian with the kiddie vibe of Sesame Street, mixing piano, horns, harmonica, countless Seventies soul samples and the femme rapping of MC Ninja. At first it seems like expertly crafted nostalgia, but the more you listen, the more emotional resonance you hear in grooves like "Ladyflash" and the poignant sign-off instrumental, "Everyone's a VIP to Someone."

Next: Antony and the Johnsons, I Am a Bird Now