No. 25: Amazing Baby   (Photo: Courtesy of the band)

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 40
Light Asylum
“Angel Tongue”
Hypnotizing in its austere analog coolness, this intimate track is the latest contribution from scene veteran Shannon Funchess.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 39
Oakley Hall
“All the Way Down”
Brooklyn’s finest alt-country band shifts seamlessly from pretty, mellow folk-rock to deranged psychedelic ferocity.

No. 38
Here We Go Magic
“Fangela”
Shimmering, pastoral guitar and strings join cheerful hand claps and Luke Temple’s just-distorted-enough vocals on this whimsical pop track.

No. 37
Apache Beat
“Tropics”
Mad guitars rage against sturdy bass lines and tribal drums while front woman and icon-in-training Ilirjana Alushaj wails like a sexy banshee.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 36
Bishop Allen
“Click, Click, Click, Click”
Cutesy but irresistible acoustic pop from BA, a songwriting duo who gracefully balance indie and mainstream appeal.

No. 35
White Rabbits
“Percussion Gun”
Cackling laughter leads into singer Stephen Patterson’s heartbroken-and-pissed-about-it lyrics, which come off as angry against stark floor-tom drumming and Spoon front man Britt Daniels’s clean production.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 34
Japanther
“Challenge”
Frenzied, super-psyched three-chord perfection from these wacky, experimental, perpetually amused punks.

No. 33
Class Actress
“All the Saints”
Unabashedly slick electro-pop beats juxtaposed with coy, romantically depressed vocals courtesy of star-in-the-making Elizabeth Harper.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 32
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
“The Debtor”
Defiant piano banging, chimes, and surreal keys mingle in this harrowing-but-uplifting coffeehouse punk anthem about wanting to die from the scene’s latest new Dylan.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 31
Ninjasonik
“Art School Girls”
Hilarious tribute to and send-up of hipster girls featuring pickup lines like “You’re very abstract—we should collaborate” from these cheeky Brooklyn emcees.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 30
Antibalas
“Beaten Metal”
Masterpiece of Afrobeat fun from this Bushwick twelve-piece who’ve lent their conga-and-brass-fueled funk to songs by indie rockers like TV on the Radio and Foals.

No. 29
Black Dice
“Glazin’ ”
Chirpy psychedelic electro jam courtesy of three of Brooklyn’s finest sound artisans.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 28
The Antlers
“Kettering”
A spare, echoey piano track featuring barely whispered vocals about watching a friend die of cancer should make you want to kill yourself; instead this song makes you want to save the world.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 27
Panda Bear
“Comfy In Nautica”
Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox sounds like the leader of a marching band/children’s choir/extraterrestrial church on this remarkable marriage of harmony and sound effects.

No. 26
The National
“Mistaken for Strangers”
Play this track twice and you’re inside the moody prism of baritone-voiced front man Matt Berninger’s mind, an unusual place where perplexing lyrics like “fill yourself with quarters” make sense next to rollicking drums and serrated guitars.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 25
Amazing Baby
“The Narwhal”
This quintet takes the swirling synth magic of their art-school brethren and adds psychedelic imagery, hallucinations, and proggy guitar work.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 24
St. Vincent
“Actor Out of Work”
Beguiling indie-pop romp that merges loose guitars, urgent drumming, creepy choral noise, and fuzzy horns to make something weird, gorgeous, and compulsively listenable.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 23
Neon Indian
“Deadbeat Summer”
Woozy synth-pop gem that conjures the feeling of being young, bored, and restless but lazy.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 22
Matt and Kim
“Daylight”
M and K aren’t ashamed of their optimism; in fact, they flaunt it, merging chipper keyboards with swirling strings and jovial harmonies on this ode to sunny days in Brooklyn.

(Photo: Courtesy of the band)

No. 21
Grizzly Bear
“Knife”
With its ominous harmonies and fragile, trembling bass line, this song was always enigmatically beautiful, but when it became something of a popular hit for GB, it felt like a watershed moment for Brooklyn art rock.