In this contribution we present recent progress in the computation of next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections for the production of an electroweak vector boson in association with jets at hadron colliders. We focus on results obtained using the virtual matrix element library BlackHat in conjunction with SHERPA, focusing on results relevant to understanding the background to top production. The production of a vector boson in association with several jets at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is an important background for other Standard Model processes as well as new physics signals. In particular, the production of a W boson in association with many jets is an important background for processes involving one or more top quarks. Precise predictions for the backgrounds are crucial to measurement of top-quark processes. Vector boson production in association with multiple jets is also a very important background for many SUSY searches, as it mimics the signatures of many typical decay chains. Here we will discuss how polarization information can be used as an additional handle to differentiate top pair production from 'prompt' W-boson production. More generally, ratios of observables, for example for events containing a W boson versus those containing a Z boson, are expected to be better-behaved as many uncertainties cancel in such ratios. Precise calculation of ratios, along with measurement of one of the two processes in the ratio, can be used in data-driven techniques for estimating backgrounds.