The Peas put their cartoon side up front, the Pussycats taunt unsatisfied dudes, and Embrace might be the next Oasis. Everything from jazz to samba to indie is rocking our world right now. Read the list.

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Black Eyed Peas - "Don't Phunk With My Heart"

This thing is loaded: pistol shots, yee-haws, echoes of opera, and yep, at its root, a nod to Missy Elliott's "Freak" beat. The Peas like to act larger than life, and on the lead track to their rather crazed new disc, they live up to their cartoonish personality.

Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."

With Danger Mouse taking over the producer stool from Dan the Automator, the cartoon band's comeback single puts an ethereal Miami bass bounce in the service of pure dance-floor joy.

Pussycat Dolls - "Don't Cha"

Guest Busta Rhymes says he makes the ladies sizzle "like a summertime cook-out." But this L.A. burlesque troupe does pretty good by themselves. Over a steamy groove they issue a powerful query to unsatisfied men everywhere: "Don't cha wish yrrr girlfriend was hot like me?"

Spoon - "The Beast and the Dragon, Adored"

The Austin trio kicks off Gimme Fiction with a "welcome back" song that is on the verge of falling apart until the hanging piano chords and nervous guitar hit their rock stride.

R. Kelly - "Trapped In the Closet, Part One"

Not so much a song as a set-up, the first installment of Kelly's five-part infidelity saga is an engrossing listen. Gotta love it when a beeping cell phone threatens to give away our top lothario's hiding place?

Common - "GO!"

He may be against the vacuous side of gangsta rap, but he's not against sex. Hooking up in a bathroom with a woman who is "freaky like the daughter of a pastor," the smooth talkin' MC glides over a Kanye West production that flaunts its hippie roots.

Embrace - "Ashes"

The U.K. rock band tries to wake up America with an upbeat anthem - complete with an effectively rousing "life goes on" chorus - that could mark them as the next Oasis.

Bebel Gilberto - "Cada Beijo"

The princess of samba has no trouble making her breezy summer sounds have a dreamy effect. But this Thievery Corporation remix enhances the mood even farther. Prepare to sigh.

Gang of Four - "To Hell With Poverty 2005"

Post-punk's keenest cultural critics have re-cut the song that launched the Rapture and a thousand disciples. Not new, but impossible to improve upon, and therefore utterly essential.

Joshua Redman - "Sweet Nasty"

One of the great things about the jam band scene is its "anything goes" vibe. Funk, prog, and blues are welcome. Here, the acclaimed jazz saxophonist distills all of the above, concocting a wildly itchy beat connects the dots between hip-hop and swing.

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