Drake, “Over”
Daniel Boczarski/Redferns/Getty
Drake rhymes about how stardom is both terrifying and awesome. With a huge, clattering beat, it's also irresistible.
• Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more
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Ke$ha, “We R Who We R”
Over Dr. Luke's arena-electro beat, Ke$ha takes stupid-savvy pop to bombastic heights.
• Video: Ke$ha on Ke$ha: Pop's Party Animal Asks Herself the Tough Questions
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Elizabeth Cook, “El Camino”
A twangy, hilarious vignette about a schoolgirl who becomes powerless against the charms of a mulleted, El Camino-driving skeezeball.
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Das Racist, “hahahaha jk?”
NYC trio transcend joke-rap status by making a song about transcending joke-rap status, set to a finely stoned beat.
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Kid Rock, “Born Free”
Rock throws on a fringed jacket and cuts a Seventies-rock anthem that's perfect for cruising in a vintage Chevy — or just pumping your fist.
• Video: Exclusive Clip from Kid Rock: Born Free
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MGMT, “Congratulations”
The psych-pop jokers let down their guard and rip off the Band for a hazily pretty singalong about fast fame.
• Video: Checking in With MGMT
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The Rolling Stones, “Plundered My Soul”
An expertly reconstructed track from the Exile on Main Street sessions, with Keith Richards' damaged licks crying across the years.
• Gallery: Photos from the Making of Exile on Main Street
• Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more
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Neil Young, “Love and War”
"I've been in love, and I've seen a lot of war": Young wrestles with his two biggest topics — and meditates on his entire career.
• Gallery: Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield and More Play the 2010 Bridge School Benefit
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B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars, “Nothing on You”
A nearly perfect pop-rap ballad, with the Atlanta MC telling his one and only, "You the whole package, plus you pay your taxes."
• Gallery: B.o.B., Bruno Mars and More at the Grammy Nominations Gallery
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Surfer Blood, “Floating Vibes”
Florida guys combine a Beach Boys-style surf tune with Nineties alt-rock riffs. Why didn't anyone think of this before?
• Video: Breaking: Surfer Blood
Ollie Millington/Redferns
Junip, “In Every Direction”
Pale-voiced Swede José González kicks up the volume for a supremely pretty folk swirl.
• Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Kanye West, “Power”
The first sign of how crazy Twisted Fantasy would be: 'Ye goes all schizoid while sampling King Crimson.
• Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more
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The Gaslight Anthem, “The Diamond Church Street Choir”
Brian Fallon triangulates doo-wop, Bruce Springsteen and New Jersey emo. Result: a finger-snapping ode to basement gigs and lost love.
• Video: Gaslight Anthem Live at Austin City Limits 2010
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Spoon, “The Mystery Zone”
2010's most mesmerizing guitar groove — a dark, dubby burner with lyrics about basement gigs and lost love.
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Lloyd Banks feat. Juelz Santana, “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley”
Two New York badasses team up over the year's rawest beat to celebrate paying way too much in car insurance.
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Drake feat. Nicki Minaj, “Up All Night”
One of the year's great driving songs, with Minaj "doing doughnuts in a six-speed."
Jordi Vidal/Redferns
Massive Attack feat. Hope Sandoval, “Paradise Circus”
The U.K. trip-hoppers call in guest moaner Hope Sandoval for a narcotic ballad that's both surreal and unnervingly erotic.
• Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more
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Gorillaz feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack, “Stylo”
Your favorite cartoon primates cook up a disco jam that's sexy enough to make Donna Summer sigh with pleasure. And that synth-bass line? Unstoppable.
Rick Smee/Redferns
Wavves, “Post Acid”
The San Diego trio turn in a sweetly psychedelic punk nugget: part Buzzcocks, part acid-damaged beach rock.
Die Antwoord, “Enter the Ninja”
The year's freakiest rap song: Three South Africans mix machine-gun flows with warped hooks, suggesting Eminem's "Lose Yourself" on mescaline.
• Gallery: Die Antwoord Plays HARD NYC Festival
Michael Burnell/Redferns
Gil Scott-Heron, “I’m New Here”
The long-lost Seventies rap pioneer rasps his way through an acoustic version of a Smog ballad. He turns indie-rock melancholy into the darkest, deepest country blues.
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Jakob Dylan, “Nothing but the Whole Wide World”
Dylan delivers a roots-folk lullaby with a hushed melody James Taylor would kill to have written.
• Video: Jakob Dylan Performs with Neko Case in the Rolling Stone Offices
• Rolling Stone's Best of 2010: Albums, Singles, Movies and more