Don't be turned off by the hype, or the way Cults endears itself to American Apparel shoppers and wearers of clip-on feathers. This is a totally solid album, with nary a clunker in the bunch.

Dawes' second album is no sophomore slump! Instead, it seems like an album from another era.

Whether or not you're a fan of Pearl Jam's music, it's undeniable that Eddie Vedder has become one of the most recognized and respected songwriters today, and "Ukulele Songs" captures him in top-form.

Too visceral? Yep. Bad grammar? There's no other way to say it. Haley Bonar and her mighty, musical companions have created something marvelous indeed.

This amazing collection of songs highlights the musical legacy of an artist who was taken from us much too young.

Not only is it a better album than what Young put out at the time, it's mix of rock and country with killer tunes and musicianship stands proud with the other great live albums of his career.

The dark, disjointed rap psychedelia of "Black Up" is sure to make it one of this year's most singular and potent musical statements, and Butler's lyricism has only grown sharper since his Digable Planets days.

Compared to the minimal composition on "For Emma...", the follow-up is more expansive and even experimental.

I recommend listening to this record from beginning to end, with your eyes closed and your imagination ready to run wild.

As they effortlessly fold ideas from the rock, hip-hop, global traditional musics and electronic dance music into their sound, Gang Gang Dance forge a new type of "world music" where all of the world's music is potentially collapsible into a new hallucinatory Western pop.