Listening to Boston's Passion Pit is a lot like going out dancing. It's easy to get caught up in the music and lose yourself. But the group has more to offer than simply catchy hooks. Their brand of shiny electro-pop combines bright, danceable aesthetics with emotionally-charged lyrics that makes Passion Pit an irresistible treat.

Upon first listen, the Brooklyn experimental pop/folk band Grizzly Bear grabs and doesn't let go. Here is real, accessible emotion and more than enough astounding talent to convey it. The group's spare acoustic melodies over plaintive piano figures and dusty strings with pop elements carry immense power.

If there's any chance of James Brown's reincarnation, Black Joe Lewis would be a prime candidate. This twenty-something soul singer hails from Texas with his new band The Honeybears - comprised of blues-rockers with names like Sleepy, Sugarfoot, Rooster, Big Show, Wild Bill, and Slyder McKnight the Night Train. With a tight horn section, blazing guitar licks, and Lewis' raw vocals, the group and its frontman are quickly taking over the Austin garage rock scene and moving onto the rest of the country.

The Irish pop rock band Bell X1, originally known as Juniper, have experienced a multitude of changes on the path to the successful spot they currently hold. Though they were lead by popular vocalist Damien Rice, Rice ended up leaving Jupiter and was replaced by drummer Paul Noonan. Soon after the group changed their name and became Bell X1. Of their three studio-recorded albums, Flock, released February of 2008, has proven to be the most successful. The album reached #1 in Ireland and gained a huge following throughout the U.K.

Emerging from the collaborative efforts of Baltimore school friends David "Avey Tare" Portner, Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox, Josh "Deakin" Dibb and Brian "Geologist" Weitz, Animal Collective is rooted in experimental music. Pinpointing the Collective's style in terms of genre is a difficult task; with a track record of nine studio albums, they've spread themselves across a eclectic board of psych, folk, rock, noise, and more.

Working as waitress at the start of 2008, soul-pop singer Sharon Little was suddenly the opening act for big-name stars Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, and T-Bone Burnett in their national Raising Sand tour. Though she could be called an overnight sensation, Little has been honing her distinctive, bluesy style for years.

Intricate, melodic, and vivid: the sound of North Carolina's Annuals is the epitome of sunny indie-pop. Their thoughtful harmonies, anthemic orchestration and percussion, and bright electronica has earned them rave reviews since their indie-label debut in 2006, the critic's darling Be He Me.

From hipsters to housewives, there is something universally appealing in The Low Anthem's traditional yet innovative style. The Rhode Island-based group's organic, sincere and markedly pleasant tunes have landed them as the quintessential Americana group of the year. {readmorelink}Read More...{/readmorelink}

South roots country rocker, Ryan Bingham, has a rough style that encapsulates his life struggles on Texas and New Mexico ranching communities. Though he is still young at 26 years old, his husky voice and mature content makes him appear wise beyond his years.

27-year-old Ingrid Michaelson may be compared to artists Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor, but she has definitely staked out her own territory in the music industry. The New York-based singer-songwriter fuses indie pop, folk and alternative in a smooth and unique way, a quality that first attracted her audience via MySpace.