Phoenix -Bankrupt!Somewhat sneakily, as they honed their blend of new wave, synth pop, soft rock, and all things '80s for the better part of a decade, Phoenix became one of the most influential acts of the 2000s and 2010s. When they married that distinctive style to some of their strongest songs on 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, that album's mainstream success felt like a well earned reward for their years of defining a sound that had permeated a lot of pop culture.

especially considering how recently it was released compared to other records that reach similar prices

Here are Hiatt and Douglas

Karen Anderson

when the song "Weekend Wars" was given away in summer issues of free monthly magazine Nöjesguiden in Stockholm

not so much a timekeeper as an underground detonation device

and the intellect required to decrypt full meaning of his verses

Though Havoc and Prodigy

and a finale of Thundercat-propelled funk

"Kool Thing" summed up rock's once blatant "fear of a female planet" by placing women rockers in a rap context

Gordon could write

until LIFE AFTER DEATH became a reality

while his very being added fire to rap's over-publicized East-West rivalry