As I finished up my job last month, I faced the task of sorting through over 8 GB's of MP3's on my work laptop (piled up in about 8 months) and deciding what to save. Paring them down to the essentials wasn't easy, but here are some of the winners (with sources noted when applicable):

Edwin Birdsong - "Cola Bottle Baby" (MP3). You may know this one as "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," the Daft Punk song. The Discovery liner notes gave Birdsong co-songwriting credits for "HBFS" long before I heard this original and realized just how much of it Daft Punk sampled. I still prefer and appreciate their version for all its vocoder madness, but it's pretty eye-opening (to say the least) to hear its roots.

Built to Spill - "Someday (live)" (MP3). This cover of one of my favorite Strokes songs was recorded at Irving Plaza on 9/27/03. I think BTS knock it out of the park, and the crowd seems to agree. Doug Marstch's vocals bring a fresh innocence to the song, and his wavering guitar tone fits perfectly. I found this one on Stereogum originally.

Bob Dylan - "The Man In Me" (MP3). From Dylan's album New Morning as well as The Big Lebowski soundtrack. I must've seen The Big Lebowski at least six or seven times before I realized the music playing during the opening credits was Dylan.

Fugazi vs. Destiny's Child - "Independent Room" (MP3). As mash-ups get more and more ubiquitous (and a bit tired along the way), tracks like this remind you of the heights a good one can reach. Party Ben pairs Fugazi's "Waiting Room" and Destiny's Child's "Indepedent Woman" to create something I've listened to far more than either original in the last year. (Not that Destiny's Child gave it a ton of competition, but you get the idea.) This was an S/FJ recommendation.

The Icicle Works - "Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)" (MP3). Calling this an 80's classic is a bit much, but I often associate it with the decade's best thanks to WDRE including it in all their 80's countdowns. Their love was infectious. It was already a nostalgia item by the time I heard it, and I can't even tell you another Icicle Works song, but this one is about as catchy as they come.

Margueritas - "Margherita (Hot Edit)" (MP3). I rank this as one of my favorite italo disco songs, with the disclaimer that those favorites are mostly a subset of whatever Morgan Geist, Alec DeRuggiero, and Dan Selzer like. "Margherita" is IMO the best song on Geist's Unclassics mix, and this unmixed version was reissued as a separate single afterwards. Those horns. That synth line. Hot edit indeed!

Panico - "Transpiralo" (MP3). Chilean punk/funk that wouldn't feel out of place on a DFA compilation. This song didn't grab me immediately, or so I thought - turned out I couldn't get it out of my head. I found it on Gabba.