The multimedia collective known as the Blue Man Group, who can be seen and heard in ongoing theatrical productions in several cities, in television commercials for Intel, and even on a previous instrumental album 'Audio,' have released here something akin to a real rock'n'roll album. Their assortment of invented instrumentation is now accompanied by more traditional instruments, and vocals are provided by an array of guests, including Dave Matthews, Spalding Gray and Tracy Bonham. Included also are covers of "White Rabbit" and "I Feel Love."

The dour Glasgow-based duo of Aidan Moffat and Malcom Middleton return for their fifth studio album, with guest contributions from members of Bright Eyes and Mogwai.

The indie-rock combo led by Roman Kuebler (whose resume includes a stint as the touring bassist for Spoon) makes their full-length debut with this 12-track effort.

Following her tenure as singer for roots-rockers Lone Justice, Maria McKee issued a series of three solo releases in the mid 1990s, and then remained relatively quiet for seven years until 'High Dive,' her self-released return.

'Shine' is the first solo album in more than a decade for Daniel Lanois, best known for his production work for artists such as U2, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, and Bob Dylan. Harris guests on vocals here, as does U2's Bono.

Madonna's second collaboration with French electronic producer Mirwais includes the lead single title track as well as her recent James Bond theme, "Die Another Day."

The singer/songwriter/guitarist returns to the studio for the first time since 1996, when he recorded his final album as leader of the Lemonheads. Here, he's joined by Jon Brion on four tracks, as well as members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Spacehog.

This sophomore effort for the former Whiskeytown member was, like her acclaimed 2002 debut, produced by Chris Stamey. Mary Chapin Carpenter and Mitch Easter are among numerous guests on the album.

Berlin's Stefan Betke (aka Pole) makes his debut for Mute with this 4-track disc, the first in a planned series of EPs.

'2' is the aptly-named second album for the Portland-based indie-pop quartet.

The sophomore LP for the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter is similar in sound to his 2001 debut 'Musicforthemorningafter.'

On his latest release, Bill Frisell takes an international approach to American folk music, assembling a cosmopolitan group of musicians that includes Malian vocalist/percussionist Sidiki Camara, Brazilian guitarist Vinicius Cantuaria, and Greece's Christos Govetas.

Yes, well, she does have a lot to be thankful for, doesn't she. This hit debut album is a direct result of the singer's victory on the first installment of Fox TV's "American Idol" talent competition in 2002. Judging from the album's credits, just about every musician and producer in the industry seemingly worked on the disc, although Clarkson did manage to co-write four out of the dozen songs.

After a five-year break from the music business, Lisa Germano returns with a new record deal and a new album, hoping to regain the cult following she developed through a series of critically-lauded releases for 4AD in the 1990s.

Championed (and signed) by the White Stripes' Jack White, this spare, Michigan-based keyboard-bass-drums trio has been labeled by Rolling Stone as this generation's Devo. White produced this debut LP, which was mixed by Mercury Rev's Dave Fridmann. And why the album title? According to the band's website, "We all love rabbits."

This debut album for the Washington D.C. punk five-piece (with a rhythm section stocked with two drummers and two bassists) has drawn comparisons to Liars, Fugazi, and Q and Not U.

If you prefer your Fleetwood Mac songs written by Lindsey Buckingham, your 16-year wait is over. Joining Buckingham on this brand-new, 18-track album are Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.

This is the sophomore release for San Francisco's atmospheric noise-pop band led by vocalist Chris Streng, whose previous band shared members with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Yet another experimental indie band to arise out of the Chicago scene, the Fruit Bats are the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Eric Johnson, who has played with Ugly Casanova, I Rowboat, and Califone. On this second Fruit Bats LP, he is joined by Gillian Lisee and producer Brian Deck.

The fourth LP from Ginuwine includes contributions from Method Man, R.Kelly, Sole, Snoop Dogg, and--uh--Mike Tyson.

Portastatic is a side project for Superchunk's Mac McCaughan (who also is part owner of Merge Records). On this, his first Portastatic LP since 1997, he is joined by Sleater-Kinney's Janet Weiss as well as members of Sparklehorse and Lambchop.

The Boston-based punk-metal outfit returns with a third studio LP, produced by David Botrill (Tool).

Recorded live in studio with her band and co-produced by Mark Howard, 'World Without Tears' marks the follow-up to Williams' acclaimed 2001 release 'Essence.'

The Detroit-based electronica duo of Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller (who also run the Ersatz Audio label) have gained a great deal of acclaim for their early singles and work with other artists. Here, on their full-length debut, they offer 10 brand-new tracks. (Yes, the period at the end of their name is necessary.)

The Akron, Ohio guitar-drums blues duo (needless White Stripes comparison omitted) of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney recorded this sophomore effort in a single 14-hour session.

The brother-sister duo of Kellin and Taryn Manning was signed to a major-label deal in part on the strength of Taryn's burgeoning acting career, which has seen her in roles on TV's "Boston Public" as well as "crazy/beautiful" and "8 Mile."

This 1999 debut album for the all-girl Swedish garage band gets a belated U.S. release (complete with new packaging and bonus tracks) to capitalize on the recent success of their American breakthrough, 2002's 'Jennie Bomb.'

The days of hard-rocking Yo La Tengo appear to be over (at least on record), as the Hoboken, NJ trio continues along the atmospheric, lower-volume path begun on 'And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out.' Included among the 13 Roger Moutenot-produced tracks is a cover of Big Star's "Take Care" and the James McNew-sung "Tiny Birds."

The Brooklyn-based Elephant 6-style band (which shares some members with Ladybug Transistor) returns with a second LP.

The experimental English electronic duo of Rob Brown and Sean Booth was able to find enough time while serving as curators of the 2003 UK version of All Tomorrow's Parties to record this, their seventh full-length as Autechre.

Another of the new new wave of New York bands, Elefant is fronted by Diego Garcia, who despite being born in Detroit and raised in Argentina, sounds awfully British on this short, ten-track debut.

The second LP from Canadian electronic artist Dan Snaith is more song-oriented (and quite a bit more psychedelic) than efforts from similar artists, with Snaith even providing vocals on some tracks. [This release was originally credited under the name Manitoba before being re-released under the name Caribou after the name change]

Best known as the co-creator of MTV's cult hit sock puppet show "Sifl and Olly," Liam Lynch has also studied music at Paul McCartney's academy and is a published writer. 'Fake Songs,' his first album, includes "United States of Whatever" (the most popular song from S&O and now a minor alternative radio hit) and such tracks as "Fake David Bowie Song," "Fake Pixies Song," and "Fake Depeche Mode Song."

The seventh album for the Minnesota alt-country outfit features a smaller-than-usual lineup of songwriter/vocalist Gary Louris, bassist Marc Perlman and drummer Tim O'Reagan, joined by new guitarist Stephen McCarthy. Matthew Sweet and Jakob Dylan guest.

UK pop star Robbie Williams follows the success of Sing When You're Winning with this, his fifth and most adult-sounding LP.

Trail of Dead fans waiting for the band's follow-up to 2002's 'Source Tags & Codes' will have to make do, for now, with this 5-track EP (which also contains three videos).

The UK glam-punk band returns with their fourth album.

The sixth solo release for Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew finds him playing all of the instruments on 13 tracks that veer from style to style but share a certain lo-fi charm. There are ten originals and three covers, including the unlikely album-closing take on Thin Lizzy's "Cowboy Song."

"Coincidentally" released on the same day as the fourth album by the White Stripes, to whom the Kills are frequently compared, 'Mean Side' is the debut full-length for the UK blues-rock duo of VV (aka Alison Mosshart) and Hotel, who are backed by a drum machine (a la the Raveonettes).

For their major label debut (and fourth LP overall), the Detroit-based duo of Jack and Meg White offer up 14 new tracks, all recorded in London and (fortunately) showing absolutely no trace of major label production values. Meg White takes a rare turn behind the microphone on a couple of tracks, as does guest Holly Golightly on the closing "It's True That We Love One Another."

This is the full-length debut for the somewhat intimidating New York trio, who are frequently compared to Suicide.

The third album for the Scottish rockers is already a big hit with UK music fans, helped by the success of lead single "You Held the World in Your Arms."

The French R&B duo offer up a mix of French- and English-language tracks on this belated follow-up to their successful 1998 debut.

The latest release from the prolific indie-rocker and artist was recorded with Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous.

The unique singer-songwriter's 11th LP was produced by Mark Howard (Lucinda Williams).

The English post-rock trio's third album finds them moving even further away from their Krautrock roots.

Rebounding from a vocal chord injury that almost ended her singing career, Rosanne Cash returns with her first album in seven years. Guests include Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Teddy Thompson, and daddy Johnny Cash.

This long-awaited follow-up to 2000's 'Hybrid Theory' contains 12 new tracks co-produced by Don Gilmore.

The New Zealand retro-rockers scored a major-label deal in the U.S. on the strength of this 2002 debut album, which received an American re-release in March 2003.

This is the second album for the quriky Scottish indie-pop duo of Colin MacIntyre and Alan Malloy.

The classic rock-influenced New York City group led by singer/songwriter Bill Whitten returns with its third album, produced by Mercury Rev's Dave Fridmann.

After a five-year break from recording (save for a Christmas album), Deana Carter returns with album of polished country-pop tunes.

Giant Sand's Howe Gelb returns with his second solo album for Thrill Jockey. Recorded half in Denmark and half in his native Arizona, 'The Listener' features appearances by members of Calexico and Handsome Family.

Known for their loud, angry, and extreme take on metal (well, even more so than your average metal band), The Blood Brothers return with their third album in as many years.

Does the world really need another Buzzcocks album? Well, this new LP from Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle (which includes two tracks co-written by fellow original Buzzcock Howard Devoto), the band's fourth since re-forming in 1989, may be their best in many years.

This major-label debut for the Massachusetts alt-metal band finds the group willing to experiment with and open up its sound, adding more adventurous elements into the mix.

'Strangest Things' is the second album, and first for a major label, for Longwave, who got their big break opening for fellow New Yorkers the Strokes (although their sound veers much closer to that of 80s-influenced Interpol than the neo-garage of the Strokes). Dave Fridmann produces.

The fifth full-length for the Seattle-based singer-songwriter returns with ten new mostly-acoustic tales about America's heartland, including live favorite "Texas to Ohio."

This debut disc from the hyped London garage band (deemed the UK's version of The Strokes by British music mags) was produced by The Clash's Mick Jones.

Featuring basically the same lineup as the defunct Chicago band Red Red Meat, Califone makes their Thrill Jockey debut with this mix of country, blues, folk, and electronic elements.

The former member of the New York hip-hop outfit the Lost Boyz returns with his second solo disc.

The second solo release for the former Pavement leader (although it is credited to "Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks"), 'Pig Lib' features 11 new tracks.

A former member of the San Luis Obispo, Calif. trio Rodriguez, singer-songwriter M. Ward gained a bit of a following while supporting Bright Eyes on tour in 2002, and has drawn comparisons to Giant Sand, Tom Waits, and Grandaddy. This is his third solo release.

The English band's second LP was recorded in Los Angeles with engineer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air).

Art Alexakis & Co. finally return with a successor to 2000's 'Songs From An American Movie' pair of albums... but is anyone still listening?

Still going strong 15 years and 13 albums into her career (and that's not including live recordings or other compilations), Ani DiFranco returns with 12 new tracks backed by a five-piece band.

This debut release from Anti-Pop Consortium rapper Beans continues the experimental, genre-defying approach to hip-hop of that now-defunct group, mixing intelligent lyrics with cutting-edge production.

Southern California native Harper has gained a cult following for his jam-band-like approach to roots rock. This is his fifth studio LP.

The newly-reformed Teddy Riley creation returns with its fourth album.

A former member of UK hip-hop outfit So Solid Crew, Ms. Dynamite (aka Niomi McLean-Daley) earned Britain's Mercury Music Prize for this debut effort.

Perhaps finding "Chantal Passamonte" too dull a name for an experimental electronica artist signed to Warp Records, the former Warp publicist adopted the Mira Calix moniker prior to her 2000 debut. This is her second full-length release.

The eleventh album from Bill Callahan and (Smog) features new vocalist Sarabeth Tucek.

The Amsterdam-based rockers who gave us college-radio hit albums 'Palomine' and 'Lamprey' return with their fifth LP.

The first true solo album for the Cypress Hill DJ includes vocal appearances by Amy Trujillo, Everlast, Josh Todd (Buckcherry), and Greg Dulli (Afghan Wigs).

This is the major-label debut for the Bay Area punk rockers (whose initials stand for "A Fire Inside"), who got their start in Ukiah, Calif. in 1991. Garbage's Butch Vig produces.

This is the second album for the alt-folk trio from Vancouver, Canada.

Scotland-born Nick Currie recorded this latest collection of strange pop tunes in his new home of Tokyo, then handed them off to John Talaga (Super Madrigal Brothers) for remixing.

A bit of a concept album (set as a play about sex and relationships), 'The Ugly Organ' is the Nebraska band's fourth LP, following 2000's acclaimed 'Domestica.'

Named after the setting of the 1985 film "The Goonies," 'So Long Astoria' is the major-label debut (and fourth studio LP) for the power-pop five-piece. Included here is a cover of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer."

No, it's not *that* kind of drum'n'bass album. Instead, Rhode Island's Lightning Bolt literally consists of just two instrumentalists on drum and bass, and together the pair generate an experimental sonic fury on this, their second full-length.

Portland, Oregon's The Thermals recorded this "no-fi" (otherwise known as "very, very, very lo-fi") debut album direct to four-track at the house of founding member Hutch Harris.

The veteran prog-rock outfit led by guitarist Robert Fripp returns with their first full album of new material in thee years.

The third solo album from the former Junior M.A.F.I.A. member utilizes production and vocal contributions from Swizz Beatz, Missy Elliott, Timbaland and Method Man.

The sophomore release for the Brooklyn rapper features appearances by the ubiquitous Missy Elliott, Ashanti, M.O.P., Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg.

Jason Molina rocks out a bit more on this latest offering, which finds the singer-songwriter backed by the same musicians on the 'Mi Sei Apparaso Come Un Fantasma' live album. Steve Albini produces, and to quote the official press release, "This is the first Songs: Ohia record with more than one song that could be played at a strip joint or monster truck show."