Lollapalooza starts today in Chicago, and BestNewBands.com’s intrepid reporter, Lauren Novik, will be on the scene. Lauren will be sending in her daily impressions of the granddaddy festival, as well as interviews with several bands. To help get you in the mood for the Lollapalooza coverage, here’s a playlist from the bands I’d be aiming for if I were out there myself.

1. These United States: “Everything Touches Everything” & “Honor Amongst Thieves”
I decided to kick off with our good friends (and former Artists in Residence) These United States, partly because they’re close personal friends, and partly because they’re kicking off the festival with an 11:15 set today on the BMI stage. Go check them out as soon as you’re in the gate, and tell them BestNewBands.com sent you!

2. Chromeo: “Needy Girl” & “Mercury Tears”
If you’ve been reading anything I’ve posted online for the last few years, you know I love Chromeo. In fact, when I saw them on the lineup, I almost bought a plane ticket. Since they’re playing the Hollywood Bowl later this month, though, I decided to economize. If you’re in Chicago this weekend, though, run-don’t-walk to the adidas MEGA stage for their 7pm set tonight. To inspire you, I offer the song that turned me on to them in the first place (Needy Girl) and my favorite of their songs (Mercury Tears).

3. Matt & Kim: “Yea Yeah” & “Someday”
Matt & Kim drew me in at last year’s Street Scene in San Diego. I was eating some messy food I’d bought at a vendor near the stage they were playing, and I kept wandering deeper and deeper into the crowd. They had the audience going, and they were pretty darn charming. If you’re planning to take my advice about Chromeo tonight, show up to the adidas MEGA stage a little early for Matt & Kim’s 5pm set.

4. Metric: “Dead Disco” & “Poster of a Girl”
About three years ago, my friend Kelsey (now the Web Editor for Bitch Magazine) started making me mix tapes and introducing me to new music. Among the bands she turned me onto back then were Chromeo, Metric, and Felix Da Housecat. If Har Mar Superstar were also on the Lollapalooza lineup this year, I’d suspect her of being some kind of festival-lineup-specific psychic. Metric plays at 5:15 Saturday on the PlayStation stage. If you’re only familiar with “Help, I’m Alive,” I hope you’ll enjoy the song that turned me on to them (Dead Disco) and one of my favorites (Poster of a Girl).

5. Spoon: “Paper Tiger” & “The Way We Get By”
I wouldn’t exactly call Spoon an emerging artist, but the fact remains that I like them a lot, and I would definitely be hitting their set if I were at Lollapalooza. They go on at 6:15 Saturday on the Budweiser stage, so maybe you should wander over there after seeing Metric.

6. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: “Home” & “40 Day Dream”
Lately I feel like BestNewBands.com is almost an Edward Sharpe fan site. The staff seem unaninmous in thinking this band is something special, and if Spoon isn’t your bag, maybe you’d prefer to check them out at 6:30 Saturday on the Sony bloggie stage.

7. Phoenix: “Lisztomania” & “1901”
I had never heard of Phoenix before I went to see them at The Greek last year. I went to that show because Metric was on the bill, and I wound up really enjoying Phoenix’s set. Like Edward Sharpe, you might be more familiar with their music from commercials than the radio, but they’re definitely worth seeing live. They’re on at 8:30 Saturday on the Budweiser stage—right after Spoon.

8. Felix Da Housecat: “Rocket Ride” & “Short Skirts”
Although there are a lot of great acts on the Sunday lineup, the only one I went “oh, cool!” about when I was reading the schedule is Felix Da Housecat. Another of Kelsey’s recommendations, I really like the song “Short Skirts,” and I bet his set would be a lot of fun. He plays Sunday at 7:30 on Perry’s stage.