If you’re in college, chances are you either know someone obsessed with torch-pop singer Lana Del Rey or you are that person. Born Elizabeth Grant in New York, Lana is the kind of inescapable celebrity that raises as many yawns as she does eyebrows.

For a while there, critics were harsh on the alternative songwriter. The good news is that 2012 is gone, and so is her status as a flower crown-donning ingénue.

What’s important to note is that in most of her songs, Del Rey is playing a character. Sometimes the characters are similar to her, and thereby relatable, other times they are a theatrical portrayal of fleeting emotions and behaviors. But they always put on a good show.

I hereby provide you with a somnambulant soundtrack to nights of self-deprecating introspection.

10. "West Coast"

This breezy tune drifted into summer 2014 and flung open my mind like French doors in a Malibu balcony. An obvious step in a different direction, West Coast is Lana saying goodbye to the caked-makeup and mob wife aesthetic of her first two albums and hello to disheveled, Xanax-induced fun. No wonder she described its album, Ultraviolence, as “narco-swing.” There is nothing legal, but plenty lethal, about the emotions "West Coast" will leave you with.

Best part: The loud, stinging frequency of the violins during the final chorus. I don’t know if they’re actual violins or studio-engineered noise (I’m no producer), but this sound is the perfect climax to the dozy love tune.

9. "Bel Air"

A lost score to "Lord of the Rings" (or some other sort of epic), the children playing and glimmering piano keys give way to a spiritual euphoria unheard of in any other Lana song. Once considered boring by many, the track has found a considerable following among Lana fans. Warning: it will make you want to run through a wheat field or a mountain in a white dress.

Best part: “Lead me to war with your brilliant direction," which can be hysterically misheard as "lead me to war with your brilliant erection."

8. "Prom Song (Gone Wrong)"

No song showcases Del Rey’s skills as a refined raconteur more than this one. Cinematic in nature, the song plays more like a movie in the listener’s head. Part rap, part indie pop, the song is relatively fast for Del Rey while still packing that indispensable sad punch. With glimmering high-school imagery of strong, all-consuming emotion and fascination, "Prom Song" sounds like it just missed the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides.

Best part: The pun in, “And even then I knew that we were something serious, that you would dominate my thoughts like radio so Sirius.”

7. "Video Games"

Where it all began, at least in terms of her mainstream career. Her enhanced lip pout is audible through the entirety of the song, and it only adds to its charm. This debut single is a forlorn journey into a lover willing to give it all, but at the same time lamenting her wasted time. “I heard that you like the bad girls, honey, is that true?” is as real of an admission to conforming for love as I’ve ever heard.

Best part: the thumping beat of the drums that kick in at around 2:30. They change the piece from a sad lounge song to something that could fill a concert hall.

6. "National Anthem"

Del Rey’s gift for words shines in this glittering display of admiration for, and critique of, America. “It’s a love story for the new age, for the six page, want a quick, sick rampage,” croons Del Rey over a playful, sing-talk melody. Behind the sound is a dual meaning. The song’s protagonist revels in the riches of American exceptionalism while question where it will lead her.

Best part: You can fully enjoy two versions of this song. I started out liking the demo version: a faster BPM with children creepily singing backup in the chorus. Once the song was remastered for Born to Die, I fell in love with the rich violins and firework noises complementing the lavish lyrics. Up to you, but most choose the latter.

5. "You Can Be the Boss"

Another imagery-laden track, this song is perfect for humming if you find yourself at a party with a PBR and boys with beards. The excerpted outro and smoky vibe, probably a gift of the lo-fi recording process, will mentally place you in a warehouse party.

4. "Starry Eyed"

Warning: this song is not for the faint of heart. If you’ve recently experienced a trauma or heartbreak, you might want to stay away from this song. The heart-wrenching quality of the tune comes from the exasperated and depressed tone in Del Rey’s voice and the desperately melancholic melody. The lyrics are unfinished, but they’re enough to indicate that a great song was once in the works. There isn’t a time that I play this song that tears don’t form in my eyes.

3. "Queen of the Gas Station"

A definite mood piece, this is another song from Del Rey’s second compilation, after the May Jailer recordings, Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant. The highly specific road track details Del Rey’s appreciation for midnight Slurpee runs and cigarettes; it stands as a stark contrast to the luxuries of many of her later tracks.

2. "Black Beauty"

If this track were a color, it’d be matte black. Dark, but glossy nonetheless. Heartbreak oozes from every syllable, and the chorus is a eulogy to love sure to resonate with anyone in despair.

Best part: “I paint my nails black, I dye my hair a darker shade of brown ‘cause you like your women Spanish, dark, strong, and proud.

1. "Pawn Shop Blues"

This string-driven ditty opens with, “Well, I didn’t know it would come to this, but that’s what happens when you’re on your own and you’re all right with letting nice things go.” A melancholic story about a young woman ridding herself of prized possessions for a bus ticket can really help put things into perspective. It harks back to when Del Rey said she realized “those six chords” could create many a tune. It’s a smooth tearjerker that will leave you yearning for something that may not have even happened to you.

Best part: “No man can keep me together, been broken since I was born.”

Songs just as good that didn't make the cut: "Live or Die," "Honeymoon," "Kinda Outta Luck," "JFK," "Gods & Monsters," and "Art Deco."