Cole's voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama.

It's every bit as focused and accomplished as anything in Lanois' catalog, and die-hard fans will be wanting more long after the disc winds down.

The whole package ends up having this strangely alluring glimmer. It's like discovering California Babylon after being lost in suburbia.

Even more than some of the group's other albums, La Foret seems guided by dream logic, flowing and crashing unexpectedly.

Never have the usually mischievous Boredoms sounded this focused and, well, downright elegant really -- a masterful pairing of cosmic rock and spiritual jazz references.

The Oranges Band doesn't rewrite the indie rock handbook; more like they follow it in note-perfect style and form and in such a familiar way (Spoon, New Pornographers, Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, new wave influence, etc.) that your initial inclination might be to dismiss them as generic wannabes. Stick around though and you just might be won over.

It may be a remarkably summery album, but it has enough charm and depth for year-round listening.

There may be a fan favorite or two missing from the set list, but the selections are excellent overall, and it's nice to have a sample of what they sound like live, whether you've missed them to this point or just want a great-sounding souvenir.

Both intimate and powerful, Quit +/or Fight is a striking achievement.

Less Than Human might not be what a lot of people expected, but it fits its format as well as any hard-hitting two-track single, and it's a lot more functional than most other albums made by dance artists.

For all its faraway humming and quietly steady pace, Windsor for the Derby has still made a "band" album.

Rocks harder than any Crowell record in the past.

As delightfully stylish and immediate as Supernature is, it's still hard to escape the nagging feeling that Goldfrapp could make its ethereal sensuality and pop leanings into something even more compelling.

Equally thoughtful and energetic, Capture/Release shows that the Rakes have a smart, sharp voice that ultimately sets them apart from the rest of their scene.

In comparison to the dry, raw production of Transatlanticism, Plans is warm and polished, the kind of album expected from a band obsessed with the sound of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.

Though Drawing Restraint 9 is more expansive and abstract than Medúlla, it's in a similarly challenging and rewarding vein.

Why Should the Fire Die? is a brave album that warrants more than a passing glance from country and bluegrass purists, and the full support of the indie rock/folk/pop community.

West and Brion are a good, if unlikely, match.

It's less glossy than either of its full-length predecessors... and in addition to a bit of grit there is a stronger rhythmic center to what is happening here as well.

Smart, inventive, and exciting guitar pop.

Underwater Cinematographer isn't your quintessential debut album. It's too complex, too inquisitive, and too ambitious.

What they really are is a 21st century version of a good old Southern rock band who know all too well that the hills of North Mississippi are alive with real folk music.

A strong, engaging, cohesive Rolling Stones album that finds everybody in prime form.

Ultimately, Cripple Crow is a roughly stitched tapestry; it is rich, varied, wild, irreverent, simple, and utterly joyous to listen to.

Where You Live is yet another elegant and easy album from Chapman, just the kind her fan base has come to expect.

Fans of both bands will want to get In the Reins because it rates favorably with their best work.

The quiet nature of Chaos and Creation may mean that some listeners will pass it over quickly, since it's a grower, but spend some time with the record and becomes clear that McCartney is far from spent as either a songwriter or record-maker.

Gone are the big washes of sound that Don Was added to her Grammy-winning recordings, and the sound Raitt has chosen for herself is a bit edgier, far more adventurous than Silver Lining.

Takk... is still very much a Sigur Rós album, due in large part to the ever-present, otherworldly vocals, but also because the only real changes are the activeness of some arrangments.

Call it an age thing, but Siberia makes total sense for where Echo and the Bunnymen stands 20 years on as a band.

Similar to 2001's dazzlingly slick Funk Odyssey, Dynamite reveals Kay as a dance floor eclectic, inclined to grab as much from Chic and Parliament as Kajagoogoo, The Police and Terry Callier.

Jacksonville City Nights still ranks as one of Adams' stronger albums, not just because he's returning to his rootsy roots -- after all, this isn't alt-country, this is pure country -- but because it maintains a consistent mood, is tightly edited and well sequenced, and thanks to the Cardinals, has the easy assurance of Cold Roses

If Certified has one problem, it's the overabundance of features that eats up too much time.

While the first half of the album may sound like a watered-down Blazing Arrow, everything picks up when the duo unveil two of the grooviest message tracks since Stevie Wonder's "Livin' for the City" in "The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown" and "Black Diamonds and Pearls."

The album seems to be one of her most consistent records and one of her best.

Leaders of the Free World is a bit more rock & roll than not, with guts and heart, because Elbow have finally embraced their powerful, surrounding space this time out.

It's a collection of simple but warped electronic pop music, where Kid606 spins a tight hook into five or six minutes of chugging or swinging bliss. No more, no less.

They'll change your life.

On Collisions, the band wipes the sleep out of its eyes and produces a set of songs that is more inspired and vital, even if it's equally embittered and dejected.

There's nothing new or surprising here, but it's a completely satisfying listen thanks to the strong material, sustained mood, and Strait's unhurried, confident performance.

While Wilson's always refreshingly brash as a vocalist, the arrangements are only satisfactory.

Witching Hour is the album that Ladytron always seemed capable of, and its dark, dreamy-yet-catchy spell makes it the band's most sophisticated, and best, work to date.

Despite a few sleepy moments on the album's second half, Strange Geometry has more flair and movement than Violet Hour, and perfects the band's ability to be uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time.

Even though the manic intensity that characterized work like Reveille is missed a little here, The Runners Four is still a far cry from typical indie rock; in fact, it sounds more like one of Deerhoof's older albums played at half-speed than anything else.

This is the Dirty Three as you have never heard them before.

The group sounds freer than ever before, almost as though they've never bothered with rock in their lives, and have only happened upon a bare few LPs before beginning their recording career.

With this outing, Harvey establishes himself not only as a fine composer, but as a songwriter.

One of his more satisfying solo albums.

A Time to Love finds the two halves of Wonder's adult career finally coming to home to roost in peaceful harmony with one another, and it's one of the finest records he has done in decades.

It's simply unlike anything else out there -- except perhaps Just Another Diamond Day.

Ten Thousand Fists does start to sound the same after a while. But those bloody zombies aren't going to stop pouring though the doorway, so it's a good thing it has at least 12 burly alt-metal rockers.

A radical -- but successful -- departure, We're Animals might have slightly fewer instantly memorable songs than In My Mind All the Time, but it shows that Numbers are continuing to develop and experiment in ways that make this album exciting in a completely different way than their previous work.

Even though there are no radical changes here, Gimmie Trouble sounds more like Adult. sharpening its edges than running in place.

This is for all the listeners who liked Phish's good taste, eclectic nature, and Anastasio's playing, but never liked one of their albums.

There aren't many bands around that manage to create music as good as this out of such familiar and somewhat obvious sources.

There's no pushing of the envelope because there doesn't need to be. Aerial is rooted in Kate Bush's oeuvre, with grace, flair, elegance, and an obsessive, stubborn attention to detail.

But if 12 Songs does occasionally come across as slightly affected in its intent and presentation, it also is inarguably Neil Diamond's best set of songs in a long, long time.

Dios (Malos) emphasize their way with hooks and downplay the hazy sonics of Dios for an album of sunny, instead of smoggy, Californian pop.

They prove that rock & roll as urgent, trashy, and fiery as the Stooges' first three albums, Back in Black, and Appetite for Destruction can actually be thoughtful articles of democracy and righteous rebellion.

Quite simply, Alive & Wired captures a great band on a great night.

Country, garage rock, American poetic bile, and sheer venomous energy fuel this terrific set that ranks among Oldham's finest moments on record.

Kicking Television is the best sort of live album -- a recording that doesn't merely retread a band's back catalog, but puts their songs in a new perspective.

A complex yet intriguing soundscape.

Other artists may be bigger than Shakira while others may make more fully realized albums, but as of 2005, no other pop artist attempts as much and achieves as much as Shakira, as this often enthralling album proves.

If rap-metal were ever meant to evolve, See You on the Other Side is the record that does it.

For what it is, The Greatest is exceedingly well done, and people who have never heard of Cat Power before could very well love this album immediately. However, it might take a little more work for those who have loved her music from the beginning.

Clearlake got it right this time out. They have has never sounded as triumphant as they do on Amber.

A mature and workmanlike metal monster-piece.

It's not a radical departure for Belle & Sebastian -- there are several intimate, folky numbers that would comfortably fit on their previous records. But having these tunes surrounded by songs that successfully stretch the group's sound gives The Life Pursuit an unexpected, wholly welcome vitality.

Theatrical and heartfelt, Celebration is a fully realized debut that promises even better things to come.

This is Electric Six's strongest work to date, and the fans who have stuck with them through their trials and tribulations won't be disappointed.

Every bit as compelling as contemporaneous efforts from likeminded electronic artists Daft Punk, Lemon Jelly, and the Orb.

Film School isn't breathtakingly original, but it is well made.

This is right up there with his best.

Detrola is slightly more subdued than some of His Name Is Alive's previous albums, but it's still a reminder of how much their beautiful, strange, oddly moving music has been missed.

There's nothing really new or earth-shattering about this album, but that's not a prerequisite for great rock & roll.

It's proof that while many try to emulate him, there's no substitute for the crankiest, funniest songwriter in pop.

An amalgam of Streethawk: A Seduction's glam rock posturing, This Night's guitar-heavy psychedelia, and Your Blues' apocalyptic wordplay.

Highly recommended.

Soft Money has a firm foundation, with SP-1200 fetishism being just one small sliver of its appeal.

Overall very little distracts from the qualities that have made him the most durable talent in commercial yet traditional R&B music.

The outfit's three-axe attack coupled with the distinctive pipes of J.T. Woodruff find Hawthorne Heights able to go where peers like Fall Out Boy just can't.

On most of Inside In/Inside Out, the band sounds like a more energetic Thrills or a looser Sam Roberts Band, maybe even a less severe Arctic Monkeys at times.

A moody, intense, dramatic, and orchestrated second full-length tour de force.

Even more than Margerine Eclipse, Fab Four Suture sounds like Stereolab has adapted -- if not fully healed -- from the loss of Mary Hansen.

Under a Billion Suns is one of the hardest and tightest albums this band has ever made.

Immediate without sounding dumbed-down, Mr. Beast shows the band at the peak of their powers.

Ballad of the Broken Seas is a superbly crafted bit of late-night introspection that brings out the best in both Lanegan and Campbell.

The band is in top form, sounding every bit as fresh and relevant in 2005 as they did 15-years prior.

Maybe this isn't a major record, but it's thoroughly likeable record that doesn't lose its charm on repeated plays.

Pay The Devil is at the crossroads of country, blues and soul. In his voice is the authority to bring them together.

Definitely the sound of a band indie lovers need to check out immediately.

This is a document -- nothing more, nothing less -- and as such it's charming, beautiful, ragged, and honest.

A smooth, delightful whole.

Some will be left wondering just what the hell Merritt is up to -- those poor sad kids who hung on every post-rock word of the Magnetic Fields records as if Merritt's abandoned them. And then, of course, there are the rest of you who will be delighted, puzzled, and intrigued by the sheer originality of this recording.

A stunning comeback that will alternately horrify, thrill, and satisfy fans of Television Personalities, as well as fans of honest, real, and truly independent indie rock.

Close to a full mélange of all the band's various sounds thus far over the years.

It's more of a proper album than Loose Fur itself was, but having fun making music together still sounds like the main priority on Born Again, which, once again, also makes it a lot of fun for Wilco and O'Rourke fans.