The 16th annual Voodoo Music + Arts Experience has come and gone, leaving the rich taste of Hurricanes and filé gumbo in our mouth and the sweet sounds of Foo Fighters, OutKast, Arctic Monkeys and the rest of the festival's stacked lineup.

Taking over New Orleans's City Park every Halloween weekend, Voodoo has become a festival unlike any other. Featuring a diverse set of bands and DJs playing across four unique stages and allowing its patrons the adult playground of the Big Easy during off hours, it has shaped itself into one of today's top-tier music events.

There was no end to quality music over the three days, and only a few minor mishaps (looking at you, Ms. Lauryn Hill...), but some acts were just a little bit better than the rest. There was no shortage of contenders, making this list rather tough to whittle down, but these are the ten best acts of this past weekend's Voodoo Experience.

10. The Tontons/The Suffers Houston is starting to come up in a big way in the national music scene, and two of its torchbearers, the Tontons and the Suffers, were given prime set times at this year's Voodoo. The Suffers started early with a set of scorching originals and a few choice covers, as each and every member of the soulful funk group brought his or her all to the sizable Sunday-afternoon crowd. An early hangover cure, to say the least.

The Tontons played much later, but with the unfortunate circumstance of going against festival headliner Foo Fighters. They still maintained an incredibly captivated audience from start to finish, and despite the stiff competition across the park, many folks still chose them over the Foos. It was a solid showing by a couple of solid Houston acts.

9. Gogol Bordello It's hard to resist the temptation of a Gogol Bordello show whenever they're around, and with a late weekend showing by the Ukrainian gypsy punks. Fronted by the spirited and seemingly tireless Eugene Hütz, and supported by the most unique grouping of individuals one could make up, Gogol Bordello bring an unbridled energy that is incomparable to many.

Their Sunday-evening performance, just before the final bands took the stages, was plagued early on by technical difficulties with the bass, leaving Hütz a bit annoyed, but he made the most of the situation with an acoustic take on "Alcohol," which had been requested by a fan he encountered during his hours before their set in the city.

After fixing the issue, Hütz was back to the front of the stage shouting and swinging his bottle of wine. The set was a bit more abbreviated than most, but still left those not awaiting the headliners walking into the night singing "Start Wearing Purple" to whoever would listen.

8. Trombone Shorty New Orleans was well-represented throughout the weekend, especially by standout sets from Rebirth Brass Band and Soul Rebels, but only one band that was given a main-stage pre-headliner spot. Like last year with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue were given their time in the sun and boy, did they not disappoint.

Coming out hotter than any band of the weekend, the skilled trombone player better known to his family and friends as Troy Andrews is the perfect front man, and he proved that with his hour and a half on the Ritual stage. The things he can do with the trombone are one of a kind, and he hypes the crowd up into a frenzy. One thing that's great about this festival is how much appreciation its patrons have for the local music scene, proven most of all during Shorty's set.

7. Bleachers/Wild Cub Bleachers have been blowing up as of late with their hit "I Wanna Get Better," amassing 2.5 million views on YouTube in half a year. Featuring the guitarist for the hit band fun., Jack Antonoff, Bleachers is certainly in the same vein as its parent band, but with its own unique thing. While their set seemed to be one big build-up before the hit, it was still packed with interesting bits of danceable pop.

Their current tour-mates, Wild Cub, did as they've been doing and took the stage before Bleachers. Their sound is in the same indie-pop realm as Bleachers', and while not yet on the same level, they're on the right track.

Story continues on the next page.