The truth of its fineness and devastating beauty is in the hearing.

Between its fizzy lyrics, brittle guitar riffs, cheesy Casio keyboards, and primitive rhythms, the record seems very much out of touch with contemporary pop; its ebullience and innocence hark back to a time that now seems very long ago.

Loaded with pop culture commentary and often directly naming social names, The Ecleftic is sure to stir up some emotions from not only the famous, but from the general public as well.

The Dirtbombs are a rock & roll band pure and simple, and if you like pure and simple rock & roll with a dash of soul, you will flip over Dangerous Magical Noise.

[The Presidents] still make catchy, punky pop tunes, but dammit if they don't sound better than they ever did. Maybe it's because the album stands in direct contrast with the teen pop and rap-rock that dominate the mainstream rock audience, or maybe it's because their jokes are now clever and silly, the production is varied, the songs are breezy, melodic, and catchy. Or maybe it's just because in this stripped-back production, the band never sounds self-conscious.

Another 12 tracks of curiously beautiful but quite intense melancholy.

On their stunning debut, the Richmond, VA, foursome can sound as crisp and ethereal as Portishead, as otherworldly as Tom Waits, and as atmospheric as Radiohead.

The Instinct is both adventurous and accomplished and ambitious enough to suggest that this band is going to continue to push the limits one album after another.

Even though you wouldn't call the sound upbeat, it is indeed mesmerizing, tranquil, and head-bobbing.

La Bella Mafia affirms Kim's briefly questionable status as a formidable female presence in a man's world and once again turns the often sexist mindset of rap on its head in the process.

More complex and idiosyncratic than his previous full-length works (and much less danceable as a consequence), Unreasonable Behaviour focuses on midtempo jams in the verge between evocative techno, electro-jazz, and even melancholy synth-pop. If 1997's 30 was his Chicago album, this one is definitely the Detroit installment...

One can sense that she has complete control, lyrically and musically.

At its best, on songs like "Monologue for an Old True Love" or the Nancy & Lee-styled orchestral country duet with Eugene Kelly, listening to Amorino provides nearly as many musical thrills as listening to a good B&S record.

Electric Version is an enjoyable and easy listen, chock-full of hungry hooks and brimming with indie rock's classic humility.

Each of these compositions reveals not only an imaginative use of trace musical elements, but also a maturing sense of how to arrange them.

[Corgan's] joyful spirit surges throughout Mary Star of the Sea, even during its many intricate instrumental sections, and it's hard not to get swept up in the momentum, especially since it's married to his best set of songs since Siamese Dream.

A well-made, funky, fun record that proves two things -- the Hi sound lives and Al Green still has it.

These are authentic punk anthems, played by a band who actually knows how to play their instruments now.

It's a noticeably more focused effort. Though it lacks Good Morning Spider's sprawling brilliance, it's possibly Linkous' most effective, and affecting, collection of songs.

Unfortunately, the orchestral work for the film is hastily assembled as if it were an afterthought.

While Killing Joke's discography has more than its fair share of awkward and overly ambitious albums, they've once again returned to the fury and focus of their classics.

Frisell’s fondness for putting unusual combinations of instruments together adds to the overall effect, leaving the listener to wonder why no one has ever tried this before. Blues Dream is a lovely release that should satisfy Frisell fans as well as jazz, country, and blues fans looking for a genre bending experience.

A tremendous return to form.

Combining bits of distorted guitar riffs and swishing percussion, Parachutes is a delightful introduction and also quickly indicates the reason why this album earned Coldplay a Mercury Music Prize nomination in fall 2000.

V is among the band's most confident and inspired releases.

A pretty good modern rock record that will make Weezer fans happy.

In the hands of a lesser band, all the different sounds Calexico explores on Feast of Wire could result in a mish-mash of an album, but fortunately for them and their fans, it's one of their most accomplished and exciting efforts.

While it's not quite as immediate as the Snatch soundtrack or as groundbreaking as the Dust Brothers' Fight Club score, Ocean's 11 is a tight, kinetic collection of film music that's just as enjoyable outside of the movie's context.

Liars have a surprisingly unique approach that distinguishes them from other groups in their willingness to experiment with different tones, volumes, and styles, all of which make They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On an astounding debut.

Califone takes familiar elements and often combines them in unfamiliar ways without sounding unfamiliar or ever losing sight of the song.

Another stunning effort from one of rock's underground heroes.

Magnolia Electric Co. may not be the best Songs: Ohia album, but it is certainly the most approachable. It has a big, open feel certain to appeal to any classic rock fan, but retains the warm intimacy of previous albums.

An album as much about focus and precision as its predecessor was about appropriating and reconfiguring sounds and styles into a psychedelic free for all.

What's most heartening is that Harris is not only making some of the finest music of her career at a time when many artists would be treading water, but she's delightfully confounding our expectations at the same time.

Like an ambitious version of the Scud Mountain Boys, they manage to appear out of nowhere in your living room, play an intimate set, and invoke every ghost from a 20-mile radius through your front door before leaving as quickly as they came.

Even if it seems unassuming and underwhelming upon its first listen, Baby I'm Bored with each spin reveals the uniform strength of the songs and the sweet, understated charms of Dando as a performer.

So, the ballads are smoother than ever, and their dance numbers hit harder, all in an attempt to keep their throne. It works, even if it takes a couple spins before you can discern the future singles and even if there is a bit of filler on the record, since the Backstreets' material isn't just stronger than that of their peers, but their voices are stronger, all adding up to teen pop that is unquestionably the state of the art.

While Coverage isn't always successful, it is always admirable and likeable, and certainly puts Moore on the right path for an interesting, successful career.

An album that breaks little new ground, but further entrenches the Method as America's finest producers of dance music made for rock & roll people.

Although she remains by far the most interesting figure in hip-hop, This Is Not a Test! has more filler than Elliott's allowed on a record since 1999's Da Real World.

Just below the surface, all the quintessential Get up Kids qualities are there: melody, intelligence, and lyrical sincerity.

They have smarts and energy to burn as well as a bunch of songs that are right up there with anything Interpol, the Rapture, or Hot Hot Heat have done.

What is impressive is that the trio manages to sound contemporary using only piano, bass, and drums, and without resorting to electronic gimmicks.

Whenever Everlast lays back and spins stories and tall tales on his own, his blend of folk, rock, blues, rap, and pop culture clicks.

At least half a dozen cuts will vie for slots on a future best-of.

Byrne leaves behind all the international rhythms that have dominated his solo work and turned in an album of moody, subtle beauty.... This is one of the strongest albums of his solo career.

A soft and amiable album that frames Jones' "soft-focus Aretha Franklin" voice with a group of songs that are as classy as they are quiet.

The good stuff is strong enough that anyone who cares about Lou Reed's body of work, or Edgar Allan Poe's literary legacy, ought to give it a careful listen.

Much like the musical equivalent of Todd Solondz or Harmony Korine, Xiu Xiu set out to disturb their audience in pursuit of higher artistic goals.

As the man who wrote Pink Floyd's lyrics, he is far more concerned with their meaning than his old bandmates, and you can hear that in his singing, which is emphasized without robbing the music of its magisterial power. In fact, with a band boasting several guitarists - primarily Doyle Bramhall II, Andy Fairweather Low, and Snowy White - to make up for the lack of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Waters effectively recreates the sound of his Pink Floyd work.

Though the album could use a bit more grit and grime, it's still remarkably solid.

It might not make for a great listen, but its swagger and white-trash style make it the second-best record in his catalog.

The album is held back by their insistence on simple songs and simple vocals that keep the record earthbound and solely the province of the already converted.

If anything, Clones puts an end to any thought that the duo randomly selects a track from their beat bank when collaborating, since it ably demonstrates how their skills can adapt to any conceivable personality.

Mount Sims manages to kick down some boundaries and offer a throbbing, sensual slab of neo-electro that isn't afraid to offer some self-aware laughs.

If it's difficult to focus in on what FC Kahuna does best, it's probably because it's all done well.

Overall, Standards has a few detours for fans conscious of any band's "progression," but plenty of interesting songs and great musicianship for less vested listeners. Though it doesn't develop the evocative or impressionistic side of Tortoise (as heard on TNT), the band is certainly as inventive as ever

The most alluring aspect of The Platform is the array of finely-crafted beats-

This balance of elements, along with Elf Power's ragged but insistent groove, make Creatures a study of harmonious contradiction and unlikely balance.

Make no mistake: This is a country album, but it's closer to what the music might have become rather than to where it has sunk in its current doldrums.

By focusing less on quotidian (i.e., boring) experiences of the proletariat and more on less-tangible allusions to death, troubled romance, and loneliness, Wagner's music is simply more approachable and meaningful, if still hard to puzzle out in its specific intent.

In 2001’s current crop of R&B singers, Blige’s voice is truly inimitable. It’s husky, strong, soulful and full of maturity. Make no mistake, though, this lady can still flow like no one’s business...

The album's long-delayed release only makes its joyous sound that much more refreshing; its inviting mix of gentle and fuzzy guitars and Kozelek's empathetic vocals make it the Painters' most hopeful, accessible work.

Essence sounds full and rich even in its quietest moments, and her sweet-and-sour voice blends with the arrangements with subtle perfection.

Captures different shades and moods of the band's thus-far five-year career quite nicely.

With their fifth record, Blonde Redhead finally emerges from the shadows of Sonic Youth's post-punk legacy by avoiding the expected detunings, distortions, and shrillness of the genre. The three-piece manages to create a record that is subtle, tuneful, and sublime.

But even though the group perfectly defines the way that so many British art-school bands have sounded since the late '70s, in Electrelane's hands it still seems fresh.

As with most records, there's a bit of filler that could be trimmed to make a great record into a phenomenal one, but it's easy to forgive when the quality is so high.

After a few listens Walking With the Beggar Boys reveals itself as a near perfect little pop record.

Fans and involved listeners are definitely rewarded with increased dividends after multiple listens, but even they may wish for an album that harked back to the simpler days of the Premiers Symptomes EP and Moon Safari.

In the end, while not the perfect album that Aveo's talent promises, the removal of a couple songs would render the entire thing striking and mesmerizing, and when held to such a high standard, you can't ask for too much more than that.

One of the best New Order albums they never made.

It's this prolific, homegrown vibe paired with a knack for downright catchy pop that makes Lone Pigeon Scotland's answer to Ween.

Oldham concentrates on crafting unremittingly introspective and confessional material in a spare, old-timey format. As sometimes happens on the recordings of his kindred spirit Cat Power, such unstinting uniformity can be a curse as well as a blessing.

Fortunately, Air learned from their mistakes -- or, at least, their limitations -- leading up to the recording of third album Talkie Walkie, and the happy result is a solid middle ground between both of their previous records.

Marshall?s sparest album yet, The Covers Album uses guitar and piano as the only foils for her malleable, emotional voice.

With their second album Vapor Transmission, they return to deliver another set of electronic-laden rockers, but this time out they do so with slicker production and improved songwriting.

As rewarding as it is unpredictable.

Naturally, it would have made more sense if it appeared in late 1996 or 1997, since it sounds like a simple step forward instead of a great leap into the unknown -- the kind of record that was bashed out in a few weeks by a band desperate to deliver a sequel to a hit record.

Onelinedrawing, in general, may be a bit too saccharine for some listeners, and it lacks the classic power pop levity of a Brendan Benson or Weakerthans, but The Volunteers is a wildly inventive record that can stand tall beside earnest peers like Saves the Day's In Reverie.

Aereogramme combines abrasive guitars, feedback, and distorted vocals into rock that, in its own way, is as crunchy and dynamic as Weezer, though as decidedly outsider as Mogwai.

While their beginning might have had many labeling Elliott as just another emo band, the growth and beauty in their albums continues to show their remarkable resiliency and evolution.

A genuinely moving and wickedly fun record.

This easily stands alongside his first three albums as a set of classy, near-irresistible pop for listeners weaned on classic and college rock, which is a wholly welcome surprise.

It’s hard to think of too many contemporary bands that are making such unapologetically sunny, pop-tinged rock and roll.

Walks the narrow path between playful adventurousness and tuneful accessibility with ragged elegance and swaggering confidence.

These lo-fi crunches carve out a retro-minimalist experimentation not often found in musical eroticism.

The music flows, the production doesn't overplay its hand, it's pleasingly melodic, tempering tempers the extremities of Jagged Little Pill while retaining the character and, as such, it's easy to groove on the sound without listening to the words.

He's no Elliott Smith yet, but if he expands his songwriting and subject matter, he could be a future heir to the indie-wuss throne.

Hotline holds together remarkably well as an album, due to good track selection and intelligent segueing; in fact, some of the songs actually run together quite smoothly, with no break between songs. Rarely does a rock band forge such a strong identity so early in their career.

In Our Gun has all the elements that made their debut so great, and then some.

Adding some variety to their tempos would make the band even more impressive, but with More Parts Per Million they've created a bracing, charming debut.

Imagine Bauhaus' "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" massaged by classic 4AD discord and you have the mysterious blend of On! Air! Library!

The band's sound is both fresh and nostalgic, and so pretty that it seems overly harsh to criticize them too much at this point. It's just that Ratatat is good enough to suggest that, with a little more diversity, the group could do even better things.

The collection is both definitive and diverse.

This French-Swiss duo pumps out retro-'80s-style disco beats and silly lyrics, creating a fun, goofy, ironic vibe that is sure to be a hit in Europe and perhaps in America.

Murray Street's first four songs rank among the most consistent, and consistently exciting, work in Sonic Youth's career, so much so that the album's shorter, more rock-oriented songs feel a bit anticlimactic.

The songs are sharper, the production is layered, and the performances are as compassionate as ever, resulting in their finest album since Vitalogy.