Vega4/Augustana

Grey's Anatomy is the new O.C — both in Nielsen-ratings popularity and in its ability to create instant music hype. Just ask London's Vega4, whose soaring, trembling ballad "Life is Beautiful" — a six-minute tune akin to the cuddle-rock of Snow Patrol — recently appeared on the show. The rest of the quartet's latest album, You and Others, follows in the same epic vein, although Vega4's experience working with producer Jacknife Lee and DJ kingpin Paul van Dyk (they were his backing band on tunes from 2003's Reflections) gives them an intriguing edge. As for headliners Augustana, don't hold a dis on their "Illinois college town" (a.k.a. Greenville) on a VH1.com biography against them: The band is finally earning the critical and commercial adoration it deserves for its frankly addicting debut, All the Stars and Boulevards, which hints at Dinosaur Jr., R.E.M. and Toad the Wet Sprocket.