Continuing with the list, we move into the second half with numbers 50 through 26.
50. A Thousand Eyes
by Crystal Antlers
from EP
[Alternative/Rock]
It’s been a long time since distortion and feedback have been novel, but that doesn’t mean their use has become tired. In the right hands, like on “A Thousand Eyes,” it can overwhelm the senses. The propulsive percussion angles forward but as those waves wash over you, you wonder if it’s all a dream. Grain has rarely sounded so grand before.
49. The Healer
by Erykah Badu
from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
[Soul/Hip Hop]
It features both mantra statements (“Hip hop, it’s bigger than religion…Hip hop, it’s bigger than the government”) and vivid lyrical screwballs (“We just made ourselves invisible, underwater, stove-top/Blue flame scientist come out with your scales up”), but it’s the lithe melody that makes this one irresistible. 
48. Bunny Boots
by Made out of Babies
from The Ruiner
[Metal]
“Bunny Boots” got its name from the guitarist (called Bunny), but it’s Matthew Egan’s drums that announce the force of this cut. Julie Christmas scream-sings, Bunny and Cooper shred their fingers, but Egan punches out the furious martinet tempo so we can keep pace on this march through the gates of hell. [album review]
47. Everyone Nose
by N.E.R.D.
from Seeing Sounds
[Alternative/Hip Hop]
By now, most already know that N.E.R.D. couldn’t deliver a consistent long player this year, but that doesn’t negate the good will of their ultra-catchy cocaine-club hit. Not a lot of substance (and an easy target) but it’s pretty much a guaranteed get-up-and-groove choice for any party…even the ones with long lines to the bathroom. 
46. One Pure Thought
by Hot Chip
from Made in the Dark
[Pop]
Using a jungle rhythm as its backbone, Hot Chip’s “One Pure Thought” is another of those interminably catchy songs that clings to your brain long after the final note pops out of your speakers. Plus, it has that odd mix of crystalline percussion penetrating washed-over audio mixing—always effective.
45. House Jam
by Gang Gang Dance
from Saint Dymphna
[Electronica]
Gang Gang Dance is earning a lot of marks for their tribal sound, so on “House Jam,” when the drum patterns slip and skip all over the place, it’s tough to figure out if it’s frustrating or intriguing. Liz Bougatsos’ vocals evoke the spiritual side of Madonna—and does it better than Madonna could ever hope to.
44. New Beginnings
by Love Is All
from A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night
[Punk/Rock]
Yes, “Movie Romance” and “Wishing Well” seem to be the more popular cuts from this album, but leadoff “New Beginnings” is so fast, furious and fun that everything that comes after it seems a shade duller in comparison. Josephine Olausson’s vocal performance is through the roof and the guitar/horn combo makes for a feverish flash amidst the palpable exuberance. [album review] 
43. Lights & Music
by Cut Copy
from In Ghost Colours
[Electronica/Pop]
Those who thought that Cut Copy would be a flash in the pan after last year’s “Hearts on Fire” were proven wrong with the group’s second album, specifically the superior single, “Lights & Music.” It’s the kind of song that would feel equally at home on stage as it would in discotheques—a dance song with real drama.
42. Cold Moments
by Paul Weller
from 22 Dreams
[Rock]
The Modfather stayed pretty low-key on his ballad, “Cold Moments,” an unexpected highlight from his remarkably consistent double LP, 22 Dreams. Based on the acoustic jangle and the vocal performance, your mind wanders to John Mayer (of all people) and you feel a need to write Mayer a letter stating that, “This is how you should play if you ever want to be taken seriously.”
41. 7 Pounds
by GZA
from Pro Tools
[Hip Hop]
Produced by Black Milk, the best track from GZA’s Pro Tools features a dynamite verse that doesn’t even come from the Genius, but rather the guest. “Like Bolivian rock, your watered down hip hop/Rap so out of shape and far from tip-top/Girls next to pebbles, spoons against shovels/Dictators next to rebels and gods against devils.” [album review]
40. Dancing Choose
by TV on the Radio
from Dear Science
[Alternative/Rock/Jazz]
I wasn’t entirely sold on this one after the first few listens (I thought the borderline-rap verses were pretty iffy), but now that I’ve heard the record more than a dozen times, this one’s emerged as a favorite. The way those stuttering guitars and sax flow right into a chorus that’s both bouncy and buttery is terrific—and that hook is flawlessly executed. [album review]
39. Ghosts
by Ladytron
from Velocifero
[Electronic]
For an electropop song, this minor hit has a surprisingly subtle hook, but Helen Marnie’s vocals draw you in—equal parts sneers and tears. And no matter what you think of the inscrutable refrain of, “There’s a ghost in me/Who wants to say I’m sorry/Doesn’t mean I’m sorry,” it’s tough not to murmur it alongside her before the first listen even ends.
38. Rising Down
by the Roots
from Rising Down
[Hip Hop]
Who’d have thought that the highlight of the Roots’ Rising Down would be claimed by a guest (well, other than maybe hardcore Mos Def fans)? The title track leads off the album (after an intro) and Mos Def’s rhymes are so smooth but forceful that you can barely breathe. The best song from perhaps the best hip hop album this year.
37. Under the Wave
by the May Fire
from The List EP
[Rock]
It was tempting to go with “Red Unicorn,” but I can’t lie to myself—I repeated this one more. The verses are propelled by a propulsive guitar riff and the choruses are tinged with sweet pop textures. Truly, a catchy gem, and one that doesn’t sacrifice muscle for melody. [album review]
36. Untrust Us
by Crystal Castles
from Crystal Castles
[Electronic/Pop]
Crystal Castles had more buzzworthy songs than this one (“Crimewave,” especially), but it was the leadoff track that grabbed me hardest. Just imagining how they took video game sounds and clipped syllables and arranged them into that gorgeous melody boggles my mind. Unfortunately, the desire to repeat that first song again and again keeps you from getting to the rest of the really cool album.
35. Good Kind of Love
by Brian Wilson
from That Lucky Old Sun
[Pop]
That Brian Wilson could go through the life he’s led and not only continue writing and recording music at such a level but also inject as much sunshine and happiness into a song is rather bewildering. “Good Kind of Love” isn’t in the same league as a classic Beach Boys track, but it’s just as effervescent and warm-spirited as they ever got.
34. Batcat
by Mogwai
from Batcat EP
[Alternative/Metal]
While post-rock legend Mogwai’s albums have become increasingly uneven as the years have progressed, the strength of certain individual tracks have grown. They’ve rarely featured five better minutes than “Batcat,” one of their heaviest efforts to date. It’s arty and self-conscious, to be sure, but those guitars are so primal and dense you’ll just be grooving to their messed-up metal side without a second thought.
33. Graveyard Girl
by M83
from Saturdays=Youth
[Pop]
You’d swear from the opening notes that “Graveyard Girl” was a Cyndi Lauper cover. Even the lilt of Anthony Gonzales’ voice during the chorus sounds like some guy running through “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Also, the Matthew Frost music video is clearly in love with John Hughes. But if most songs from the 80s sounded as cool as this, no one would scoff at that “superficial era.” [album review]
32. Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
from Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
[Rock]
Even though he’s far removed from his early work with the Birthday Party, the new Bad Seeds album is excellent, and no single track on the album had a better groove than the title cut—in fact, it’s probably his most post-punk influenced effort since the Birthday Party. Part Murder Ballads and part Lou Reed (particularly the song’s NY imagery), it’s all good and ultra-cool to boot.
31. Pwnd
by the Mae Shi
from HLLLYH
[Alternative/Punk]
If you ever wake up one morning and find that you’re out of coffee, the Mae Shi would be an effective substitute; even when they don’t move at a breakneck pace, it’s so energizing you’d swear the FDA would declare it illegal if classified as foodstuff. So many good ones to choose from, but the humorously overcaffeinated “Pwnd” is entirely unimpeachable—if you’re swept up by it, the Mae Shi can’t be wrong.
30. Kassel
by the Clips
from Matterhorn
Alternative/Rock
Without the Clips’ unpredictability, they might have been written off as another Radiohead-lite act striving for attention. But the electrifying “Kassel” is indicative of their musical mentality: so long as the listener never knows what’s going to happen next, they’ll never stop listening (and being enthralled, for that matter). [album review]
29. Red and Purple
by the Dodos
from Visiter
[Alternative/Folk/Rock]
Breakneck acoustic guitar strumming and tock-tock percussion drive this tune along, but it’s the imaginative (and wholly successful) inclusion of that tinkling toy piano loop that serves as the song’s grabbiest hook. But I still don’t know why they spelled the album name that way.
28. A Sobering Thought (Just When One Was Needed)
by the Lucksmiths
from First Frost
[Pop/Rock]
These indie rock veterans know a thing or two about penning a great tune. What’s most noteworthy on First Frost is the surprisingly strong harder rockers—still built on wonderful pop melodies but with a chugging swagger rarely heard from them before. New guitarist Louis Richter gets some of the credit; “A Sobering Thought” jolts you with its energy, but it’s still the band’s passion for melody that secures its greatness. [album review]
27. Shaking Hand
by Women
from Women
[Alternative/Rock]
The highs and lows of Women’s titular debut were so far from each other that it was tough to gauge its value. But those highs, exemplified by British Invasion and indie rock love letter, “Shaking Hand,” were too great to skim past. “Hand” is a terrific rocker with inspired and dynamic interplay between the guitar and bass. [album review]
26. Silence
by Portishead
from Third
[Trip Hop/Pop]
Pitting the sort of icy gallop customary of Euro-espionage thrillers against Beth Gibbons’s delicately haunting vocals seems odd, but the staggering results can’t be missed. This rich but minimalist track relentlessly propels towards the finish line but Gibbons’ delivery warns it won’t end well.
