7. M83, Saturdays = Youth (2008)

M83’s fifth album, Saturdays = Youth represents much less a sense of hopeless despair than one of longing, nostalgia, heartbreak, and falling in love. The French dreampop group’s hypnotic, rolling synths are reminiscent of music out of the 80s; the group often overlaps the synths with light, drawn-out vocals to create wave after wave of nostalgia for something you once had and by its nature can never get back. Just as in the track featured here – “You Appearing” – Saturdays = Youth expresses its dark emotions more through sound than language, and is the perfect companion for long walks with your iPod after you’ve just had the last exchange you’ll have with your ex in a long, long time.