Cross

While they're not the second coming suggested by their cross-wagging image and Jesus Christ-referenced song titles ("Genesis," "Let There Be Light"), Justice ruled the electro-rock roost for most of 2007 and 2008. And with good reason — the Parisian duo's debut is the Prodigy, ravaged and ramped up for neon-doused new-ravers. Not to mention anyone with dancing shoes and a short attention span. As Xavier de Rosnay admitted in an MTV interview, Cross splices and chops nearly 400 samples over the course of 12 songs and 48 minutes, to the point where "no one can recognize them." Among the swiped sounds are Slipknot, Queen, and 50 Cent, all of which have been reduced to rubble amid the laser-guided synths, woofer-wrecking bass lines and tense strings of songs like "Stress," "Phantom," and the single that started it all, "Waters of Nazareth." (Ed Banger Records released it as part of an EP way back in 2005.) The wobbly melodies and ridiculous rhymes of "The Party" and the massive Schoolhouse Rock-isms of "D.A.N.C.E." provide a bit of a break from all the teeth-gnashing noise, but overall this is a dance album you lose your shirt and mind to.