Kurt Vile

A lot of lo-fi dudes are prisoners of their medium. Take away the feedback and distortion and you take away their charm. Kurt Vile is different. This dude is an awesome pop songwriter and lyricist. So much so that you'll spin Constant Hitmaker's opening track, "Freeway in Mind," a thousand times in a row. It's the perfect fusion of Guided by Voices and "Hungry Heart"-era Springsteen. The rest of the album is equally good. Vile can do it all: dream pop, homemade electronica, even some folk music.