15. Dum Dum Girls – “Rimbaud Eyes”
Dee Dee and company pay tribute to the late 19th-century poet Arthur Rimbaud on this driving goth-pop number. Like the rest of Too True, there’s a darkness to “Rimbaud Eyes” that marks a shift away from the Dum Dum Girls’ ‘60s girl group influences and a step closer to the likes of Siouxie and the Banshees, The Cure and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This is the song you play as you put on a bunch of shimmery makeup, maybe stomp on a rotting pumpkin and howl at the moon on Halloween—although as Dee Dee reminds us, “every moon is atrocious, every sun bitter.”—Bonnie Stiernberg

  

14. The Both – “Milwaukee”
While Ted Leo and Aimee Mann both leave their fingerprints on the collaborative tracks that comprise their first album as The Both, “Milwaukee” leans on the Leo side of the fence hard, with its bluesy guitar leads and hand-clap-demanding tempo. The song commemorates the band becoming a band in Milwaukee, all while hinging the chorus on the word “nucleus” without sounding too ridiculous, and clearly plants the duo in the light they have always felt most comfortable—that of celebration and confidence.—Philip Cosores

  

13. Drive-By Truckers – “Made Up English Oceans”
Drive-By Truckers have been through their fair share of changes—read Geoffrey Himes’ Paste cover story for more on that—but one thing remains the same: This Athens-based outfit can still turn out instant classics album after album. With “Made Up English Oceans,” where the Truckers’ latest gets its title, we’ve got a Mike Cooley-led tale of tough love that brings all the grit you’d expect from the Truckers with a side of tear-summoning beauty.—Tyler Kane

  

12. Rick Ross – “Sanctified” (feat. Kanye West & Big Sean)
From “Mercy” to “Control,” Big Sean’s association with the most important songs in rap seems so arbitrarily coincidental, mainly because he is usually the most forgettable part of those songs. So, Sean is smart to get on this destined to be mega-hit from Rick Ross, who himself is the predictably most forgettable part of “Sanctified.” The gospel coming from Betty Wright is a welcome change away from the pop hook, but really the song belongs to Yeezy. In just a single verse he manages multiple unforgettable moments, the last of which being tops: “Really!? Me!? Too aggressive?”—Philip Cosores

  

11. St. Vincent – “Birth in Reverse”
“Birth in Reverse” is Annie Clark’s stand against regression and banality in American society. Our protagonist seems to be starring in some bizarre sitcom, trapped in an ordinary existence where she takes out the garbage, masturbates and is “still holding for the laugh.” But Clark urges us to break out of our own four walls and reach for something bigger. “Laugh all you want but I want more,” she sings. “And what I’m swearing I’ve never sworn before.”—Bonnie Stiernberg