Ben Folds

Since making his bow with his trio Ben Folds Five in 1994, we have seen Ben Folds steadily morph from a sort of slacker Randy Newman into the Burt Bacharach of indie-rock. The BF5 amicably disbanded in 2000 with four LPs under their belts, and a wealth of fans still clamoring for the three-piece "punk rock for sissies." The next fall, Folds made his solo debut with Rockin' the Suburbs, which still carried all the black sunshine of the BF5 albeit with a new mature slant. A close friend and collaborator with William Shatner and veteran of various movie soundtracks, Folds has made himself incredibly malleable as his career has carried on. His last album was 2008's Way to Normal, which featured the breakup duet "You Don't Know Me" with Regina Spektor.