Beck

Beck Hansen spent his formative years in coffeehouses creating a suburban, angst-ridden persona that would eventually lead to a multiplatinum career and inspire legions of 7-Eleven slackers. Since the surprisingly successful 1994 single "Loser," Beck has continued onward and upward with a number of diversely creative, genre-jumping releases. He has emerged as one of the most colorful post-modern popsters -- from the contemplative One Foot in the Grave to the Dust Brothers-produced, folk-hop masterpiece Odelay and the futuristic party funk of Midnite Vultures. With albums like Mutations and Sea Change, Beck has shown that he's just as capable conveying the wounds of a broken heart as he is rapping about Cheez Whiz. Perhaps hoping to win back the post-modern tag, the troubadour returned to the beats in 2005 on the barrio-themed Guero and again in 2008 with Modern Guilt, produced by the equally trickster-like Danger Mouse. Magnetism and quirky charm dutifully intact -- he once threatened to play K-Mart retail stores exclusively -- Beck continues to party way past bedtime, singing, dancing and raking it in like it's 1999.