THE BEST:

BEST SUPPORT GROUP FOR THE BROKEN-HEARTED: IDA MARIA
"Have you ever had an experience with a boyfriend who's not really grown up?" asked the Norwegian songstress, decked out in a gold dress with matching gold Adidas high-tops at the Citi Stage on Saturday. "Well, this song's about that love and heartbreak." Running in circles, bending and flipping, and shouting until her throat went dry, the 25-year-old rocker charmed with "Forgive Me," a poppy punk song about unrequited love, setting the tone for her set: reckless sorrow, delivered with a winking, boozy 'tude. On her best song, "Drive Away My Heart," she spat "love will be my grave," fell to the stage and flopped about, then requested the audience get naked during the aptly titled "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked." On her final song, she flashed the crowd, pulling guitar picks from her bra as she begged for love during a cover of Iggy and the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog." Desperation never looked so appealing. -- WILLIAM GOODMAN

BEST HERO'S HOMECOMING: SANTIGOLD
You'd have thought Brooklyn's Santigold was Bruce Springsteen from the crowd she drew for her triumphant, beat-intoxicated set -- her first after finishing the European swing of her year-plus tour -- at the Playstation Stage. Her ocean of adoring fans stretched nearly all the way to the Budweiser Stage, three or four football fields away. The most intrepid of them scaled whatever they could, including the platform behind the soundboard, to get a better look. Dressed regally in a gold crown and giant gold hoop earrings, the musically-omnivorous electro-punk responded in kind, leading the throng through chant-along versions of "Get It Up" and "Unstoppable," titles that qualified both as truth-in-advertising and statements of purpose. -- Bill Friskics-Warren

BEST RECOVERY FROM A SNOOP DOGG COVER: CHAIRLIFT
Paying homage to a fellow Lollapalooza performer, Brooklyn synth-poppers Chairlift opened their set with a cover of Snoop Dogg's lascivious "Sensual Seduction." Through no fault of the band's, the performance was about as sexy as Grandma's dentures. Simply put, the sound sucked. Synths cut in and out, and the mix was way off-kilter. The technical issues were never resolved, but kudos to Chairlift, because the trio delivered a solid performance anyway. Lead singer Caroline Polachek even seemed motivated by the problems, singing with a fire absent from the band's somewhat bloodless album. Maybe these dudes should have technical mishaps more often. -- DAVID MARCHESE

BEST STAGE BANTER: ATMOSPHERE I'm not generally a big fan of indie rap outfit Atmosphere, but I'd never seen them live until Lollapalooza, where rapper Slug's impish charisma helped his everyman raps get over. I even got a kick out of his stage banter: "Make some noise you ugly Illinois bastards"; "You're all really enjoying my music -- you must be on something"; and "I'm feeling really comfortable on stage, I guess it was that banana I ate." Wacky, yet oddly perfect. Oh, he also implored people in the audience to make out with strangers. Many complied. -- D.M.

BEST UNDERAPPRECIATED BAND: CONSTANTINES
If veteran post-punkers the Constantines were ever going to break through to a bigger audience, they would have done it by now. Too bad, because more people deserve to have the Toronto quintet in their lives. During an early afternoon set on Saturday, every song was a marvel of tension and release, as Bryan Webb and Steve Lambke pulled taut, wiry lines from their guitars and then exploded them into sharp chordal riffs. Webb's voice is also just about perfect for this kind of music: gritty but warm, and always full of emotion. The band's uncompromising sound is not always easy to enjoy – they were relegated to a side stage after all -- but neither are a lot of wonderful things. -- D.M.

BEST STEADFAST DEDICATION: NO AGE
Lo-fi noise rock has its own superhero. "He's like superman and for some reason decided to play the show!" No Age sticksman Dean Spunt, slack and smirking behind the drums in Ferris Bueller shades, said, pointing at guitarist Randy Randall, who was sitting, uncharacteristically, on a chair. Randall's left arm -- the one he uses to fret the guitar -- is busted and in a sling, but he was ready to rock. The Sub Pop duo ripped through cuts like "Teen Creeps," a charming racket of a song with ramshackle punk drums and unhinged guitars, which, somehow, all came across as a poppy blast of fun. Deerhunter's Bradford Cox seemed to agree: He stood side-stage, slack-jawed and cheering the boys throughout their 40-minute set. -- W.G.