Best New Rap- Shine Blockas (Feat. Gucci Mane)- Big Boi

This newly leaked track off Big Boi’s first solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, blows the actual singles off the album out of the water (with the possible exception of “Fo Yo Sorrows” owing to a great George Clinton hook).  Gucci’s verse is one of his best, Big Boi is as on as he ever was in Outkast, and with production similar to one of last years best songs, “International Player’s Anthem,” this will be one of the best Hip Hop tracks the year.  Hands down.

Arguably the best track of the debut album Album by Girls, “Lust for Life” channels lead singer Christopher Owens’ means of getting through his own traumatic childhood, which happens to translate into a really pretty, yet kinda bizarre, song.

Best Older song- Wet and Rusting – Menomena

“Wet and Rusting,” a single off of one of the best albums of 2007, Friend or Foe by Menomena, is an absolutely amazing indie pop song, with great lyrics and phenomenal instrumentation.  This song has so much longevity in terms of its listenability (it really never gets old), and that is why it is the best older song of the week.

Biggie’s “Party and Bullshit” over “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus.  ’Nuff said.

Owing to the level of play this track got on mainstream radio, it has become almost unlistenable, which is a shame because it really is a great song.  Mathematics’ reworking of it makes it sound like a totally new song that you happen to know every word to.  Amazing shit.

Fueled by the best video of the year (by far), which utilizes technology usually reserved for Conan O’Brien sketches, “Fur in my Cap,” by Miami rapper Rob Roy is one of the catchiest songs from recent memory.  The changes in the tempo of his flow, the evolution of the beat, and the juxtaposition of the two, make the track great. “Fur in my Cap” is perfect for any occasion, and Rob Roy is definitely here to stay.