In between the house parties, Palm Springs shopping trips and visits to one of the many local spas, there is the matter of the 3,486 acts playing Coachella over the three-day weekend. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration; but it can feel just that overwhelming trying to make sense out of the oodles of musical options. So we’ve compiled a hit list of this year's must-see artists, plus some wild cards and a few just for the hell of it—each in six words or less. Kraftwerk has a great song called "Numbers," by the way. They're more into counting in fours though. Anyway...

FRIDAY, APRIL 25

Aphex Twin
God-like electronic legend melts brains

The Verve
The Stones of the ’90s reunited

Battles
Hardcore math-metal for digital mind-bots

The Raconteurs
Jack White gets his Petty on

Vampire Weekend
Preppy indie-pop for collegiate cuties

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
The original Amy Winehouse, only better

Black Kids
Hipster-approved multi-cultural power-pop

Dan Deacon
Spazzy celebration of your inner geek

Santogold
Hipsters heart Brooklyn's answer to M.I.A.


SATURDAY, APRIL 26

Prince
Best headliner since Radiohead. Purple reign!

Portishead
Trip-hop pioneers make melancholy magic

Kraftwerk
OG disco robots rule the nation

Erol Alkan
U.K. turntable star = weekend’s top DJ

Little Brother
Super-fun backpack-hip-hop heroes

Dwight Yoakam
Ass-kickin' honky-tonk country pimp

M.I.A.
Militant dance party with bombastic beats

Kate Nash
Precious and precocious girlie-pop, awkwardly

Uffie
Hot potty-mouthed Ed Banger babe


SUNDAY, APRIL 27

Love & Rockets
Post-Bauhaus high-octane speed-rock

Murs
Still better than your favorite rapper

Autolux
Awesome atmospheric L.A. space-rock

The Field
Lush electronic waves of digital bliss

The Cool Kids
Retro Technicolor indie hip-hop upstarts

Black Mountain
Druggy organic jam-rock—with girls!

Swervedriver
Awesome '90s guitar army stargaze loudly

Duffy
The blonde, non-cracky Amy Winehouse

Kid Sister w/A-Trak
Heavyweight DJ + emerging rapstress = sonic love

Roger Waters
Trippy side of your pharmacist's stash

Dimitri From Paris
Playboy-approved DJ with disco beats