Arriving the same year as the quasi-concept LP Migration Stories, Think of Spring, with its lo-fi esthetic and ambling gait, is compelling at times but feels more like a lark than a passion project.

Yet another emotional roller coaster, this is the Avalanches' longest one yet.

This set takes the intermittent collaboration between these artists to a wonderful new level of creativity, communication, and nearly symbiotic experimentation.

Many songs are led by synth lines, and the curious instrumental track "Land Surveyor" has more in common with the moon-walking electro of early-2000s Mouse on Mars than the organic electronics-tinged rock of the band's last few albums. Final track "Upside Down Bottomless Pit" has a similar blend of enhanced digital dabbling and Kinsella's patented songwriting, offering the kind of cerebral expression of beauty and despair he's dealt in since the group began.

His more ambitious second album, Mas Amable, pushes the sound even further, and arguably tops his debut. Designed as a continuous 48-minute suite, the album's smooth flow feels effortless, with very subtle shifts to the textures and rhythms as the piece steadily unfolds.

The entire record is a victorious display of self-celebration, but the impact of T.I.'s years in the rap game are felt most directly on tracks where he's matching wit and lyrical dexterity with rappers from the generation that directly followed him.

Part of Simpson's appeal lies in how he blurs genres, so it's a bit ironic that this single-minded collection is one of his best records, but it is: it's an album where the joy in the music's creation is palpable and infectious.

Tracks with amusing reinterpretations of classics by Hall & Oates, Guy, and David Banner show that the rapper had a good deal of fun while making it, too.

The album stays in one lane for the majority of its tracks, with only a few divergences from competitive flexing about wealth or sexual antics for more emotionally reflective tracks. With songs as infectious and as goofy as the smooth, midtempo trap blast "Drankin N Smokin," however, there are no complaints about how Pluto X Baby Pluto keeps the party going.

The collection's hand-curated feel is much more personal than the average best-of or streaming play list. The idiosyncratic track list shuffles the pages of the Stripes' songbook, bringing new life to their music in the process. While there are plenty of expected choices here ("Fell in Love with a Girl," "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," "The Hardest Button to Button") that still sound great, the set goes deeper with songs that are just as strong if not quite as well known.

Passionate and self-aware, Plastic Hearts is easily the finest incarnation of Cyrus' music yet.

Some listeners may prefer to only focus on one or two chapters in this series, but 5EPS confirms that all of them make the grade, individually and collectively.

This group's most striking and affecting work yet.

His cadence and phrasing often recall those of Petty, so initially it's not hard to imagine these tunes as a collection of writing demos for his departed friends, but spend more time with Wreckless Abandon, and it becomes clear how Campbell's taste and aesthetic meshed with Petty so thoroughly, he can write a pretty good Heartbreakers record on his own.

The Maui recordings don't find him exploring much in the way of anything new, but he's in excellent form, playfully relaxed and fully engaged at the same time, and Mitch Mitchell's drumming is, as always, an excellent foil for Jimi's melodies and instrumental attack, while Billy Cox's subtle but solid bass anchors this music better than his predecessor, Noel Redding.

Paradise Lost sound as inspired and restless as ever. After all of the stylistic evolution, Obsidian seamlessly and dynamically entwines doom, gothic metal, and post-punk in brilliant songwriting and arrangements that showcase the band still standing, in pure angry, desolate form.

Co-produced by the band and Juan Urteaga (Cattle Decapitation, Machine Head), Titans of Creation is as savage as it is meticulously rendered; born of the wisdom of age and rage.

While its stylistic hallmarks are undeniably part of the band's musical signature, here they pay homage to the past while simultaneously reflecting the tense uncertainty of the present and future, directly and consistently, making No the band's strongest, most visionary outing since Pink.

It's another epic statement rife with troubled beauty, presented from a slightly different angle but true to the spirit of longing and restless wonder that has defined the Smashing Pumpkins for over 30 years.

Despite its brief runtime, Be is an expert snapshot of time and place, a document of a worldwide event that manages to strengthen their connection to their listeners and push their songcraft forward with focus, heart, and humanity.

The Kennington MC puts forward some of his finest work to date, with a bold three-act that dips through the various strands of his career. While the sustainability of such a wide-ranging approach remains in question, Music, Trial and Trauma provides too strong of a tape to dispute, staking claims for the rapper across the U.K. spectrum.

While Bramblett manifests a degree of poignancy on all his records amid rowdy roadhouse rock and R&B, it is a guiding spirit on Pine Needle Fire, shot through with an aching yet grateful heart, abiding empathy, and self-effacing humor. It is exactly the kind of record the 2020s call for.

Napalm Death remain pugilists to the core, and it's in the crucible of that apoplexy that they unearthed the sordidly splendid Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism.

The Symbol Remains is diverse, wildly creative, and expertly sequenced, making not only a consistent return for Blue Öyster Cult but a thoroughly inspired one as well.

On 2020 Magik Markers don't just reflect the chaos of a year that felt more dystopian with each passing month; they make the most of the opportunity that difficult times provide to start fresh while honoring time-tested strengths.

A career highlight filled with well-earned warmth, Night Network is exactly the kind of album the Cribs should be making as they near their 20th anniversary.

Trip doesn't overlap much with Lambchop's original musical vision, but it finds the group picking up on the philosophy behind their early work, and it makes for a satisfying and affecting listening.

Apart from this one song ["Intrasport"], King Gizzard don't break much new ground on K.G., and while that in itself might be something of a letdown, the result is still quite pleasing.

While Megan Thee Stallion presented herself as a force to be reckoned with from her earliest material, Good News finds her triple-X-rated sex rhymes, imposing charm, and ability to make it all appear effortless reaching new levels.

Live Drugs isn't essential for casual listeners, but for fans (especially those who have been following as the band's sound grew more complex) it's another testament to their unassuming but powerful songwriting.

Even though Kirk used a restrained setup of vintage equipment to make Shadow of Fear, his vibrant energy and "don't look back" attitude keep the album sounding fresh and forward-thinking.

Portugal. The Man and the Last Artful, Dodgr crowd the space somewhat with tandem featured appearances on three tracks, but only "Nature of the Beast" sounds like it belongs on another project.

While it might be impossible for them to be as shockingly distinctive as they were back in the day, they've kept up with the times, and Fires in Heaven is a return that's as strong as it is unexpected.

There's some ambling charm to Greendale, but Return to Greendale won't convert doubters. Instead, it'll play well to the album's fans, as this sounds like a leaner, muscular version of the studio set.

Something to Lose is more like a thoughtful early-morning walk through empty city streets. The glistening production and yearning performances don't change too much from song to song, but converge into an album-length mood of reflective bittersweetness.

III is much more concise than other Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas albums, but it still reaches toward the outer limits the way that only their work can.

PLUS seems to meander as much as its predecessor, but its greater focus on rhythm helps it appear to hold together more strongly, and rapt concentration reveals that these pieces are as intricate and thoughtfully crafted as the duo's best work.

The results are mostly knotty and easy to get caught up in, though it closes on a spare arrangement of the traditional folksong "My Boy Willie" -- on which Fogarty still leaves his distinct mark.

The quality control isn't quite as tight. Some songs meander long after making their point. A greater position of the sequence, however, is filled with indestructible art that consoles, challenges, and invigorates with gospel, doo wop, highlife, psychedelicized garage rock, dub, and post-punk funk all filtered with uncommon aptitude through vintage outsider soul. Highlights are abundant.

It's a striking album of hidden layers and plenty of craft that entrances from start to finish.

This is a compelling, satisfying, richly musical statement from a gifted player developing a uniquely individual style.

In terms of both recording fidelity and songwriting, Monument sounds much brighter and more polished, and contains some of their most hook-filled songs to date. It's also more overtly danceable than their earlier records.

It's an impressive, filler-free debut that manages to be both uplifting and poignant, almost from beginning to end.

Roxanne's music is balming and refreshing, yet also reflective of an intense spiritual and physical journey, and Because of a Flower is a quietly powerful encapsulation of the progress she's made.

Jewel Box does have a bit of a scattershot feeling to it, but the title itself implies that it's a place where rarities and gems are collected. That's exactly what this set provides: some cuts are diamonds and some are zirconium, but they all have a bit of sparkle.

It's a vulnerable set steeped in longing and memory, with recurring audio from home-video recordings contributing to its memoir-like feel.

While their sophomore set was great in its own right, Impossible Weight feels leagues ahead, an introspective maturation that allows for both reflection and catharsis.

While the collaborative nature and scant length of The Makarrata Project might have some fans wishing for more of a straightforward rock album after so many years away, the band nonetheless stay true to their long-held mission with a focused, purposeful, and culturally relevant return to form.

The result is something of a quiet renaissance for him, proof that he can still weave a compelling, daring blend of trash and high art.

Stapleton could use a bit of Petty's flair -- there's not a lot of humor here, nor are there any flirtations with modern sounds -- but his straight-ahead style nevertheless satisfies on Starting Over.

Confetti is an album of brightly colored feel-good songs, meant to light your way to the dancefloor.

They don't dwell upon the past, they barrel forward with a set of turbocharged blues and high-octane rock that doesn't merely sound good, it feels nourishing.

Basinski approaches the varying chapters of Lamentations with an openness and fluidity that gels together even his most dissimilar ideas. Lamentations wanders cautiously between dark and hovering gloom, tender reflection, and moments of wistful nostalgia that almost feel gleeful. It's one of the more accessible of Basinski's offerings, and continues building on the delicate language of subtext and observation that makes his work so important.

All of his pleasantly confusing sounds align, creating an atmosphere that perfectly communicates the themes of openness and quiet excitement for the entirety of the album.

Sell Sole II finds DeJ Loaf in full capacity of her powers with an album that's consistent and controlled and doesn't relax for a second. While more songs default to her specific brand of pressurized beats and melodic hooks than brash, energetic anthems, DeJ's aloof confidence comes through even in the album's quietest moments.

The confidence that courses through Self Worth is matched by Mourn's unguarded songwriting.

Though it's a shame that their 1990 reunion album Chain isn't acknowledged, Pylon Box is an otherwise near-flawless summation of a great and unique band, and it's absolutely worth every penny of its purchase price.

It's a testament to his vision and do-it-all ability that he can work with roughly 50 fellow producers and guest artists and line up the results for an hour-long set with tracks that flow forth like they're being decanted.

The band is at the top of their game and the songs all sound great, but more importantly, the messages they're expressing have never been more relevant.

This is avant-punk for the ageless with songs that could appeal to the crustiest post-punk fanatic and those young enough to be living through their first global crisis.

The death-centered storytelling of both the lyrics and podcast excerpts works well with Tunng's ever-ambitious blend of mystical folk and futuristic pop, and ultimately Dead Club's perspectives on the great beyond come off as curious and playful where they could have skewed far more fatalistic.

While vintage '70s and early-'80s jazz-funk aesthetics are at the core of Kuroda's sound, Fly Moon Die Soon never sounds retro and often feels less like a jazz album and more like a hip-hop or electronic artist's conception of a jazz album. Of course, that hybridized quality speaks to Kuroda's alchemic appreciation for music that goes far beyond the edges of the jazz tradition.

Ultimate Mixes do deliver a state-of-the-art aural upgrade, which is a selling point for fans who have purchased this material before.

It's an album that demands close attention to catch its myriad details, but contradictorily lulls the listener into a state of distraction with its hypnotic pulse and deceptively calm exterior. As a result, the hidden textures and purposefully clashing tones of Fading might not reveal themselves upon first listen, but an album this dense and intentionally drawn just gets better each time it's revisited.

Even with the occasional programmed drums, some kind of peace is a consistently tranquil set, with enough shape and variety to the tracks to stave off ambient or easy listening claims.

Four or five less tracks and a little less time spent extrapolating on the end of the world would have made for a far more engaging listen, even taking into consideration how rare new material from Busta Rhymes can be in this phase of his work.

The faintly cosmopolitan dance-pop grooves and finely measured ballads offer few unexpected turns. They're set apart more by a lack of gospel and soul, consequently rendering Love Goes plain by Smith's standard -- unfortunate for an artist whose instrument is anything but that.

Dizzee has accomplished a lot in two decades, from pioneering a genre as a hotly tipped teenage prodigy to collaborating with pop stars on chart-topping hits, but his dedication to his craft has never been stronger, and E3 AF is proof of his lasting vitality.

SURVIVAL HORROR is one of the band's best distillations of their extremes, providing just enough brutality without sacrificing their evolving vision of how melodic and experimental a metal band can be.

Such an intense, sustained focus does mean Positions succeeds in sounding sexy but it doesn't do much outside of that: apart from the title track, few songs stand out as individual songs, the rhythm and productions are all painted in shades of grey, and Grande disappears into the setting of her own design.

Hitting the same highs as her triumphant 2000s stretch -- namely Light Years, Fever, X, and Aphrodite -- this glittery, feel-good set is nothing short of euphoric, a dozen near-perfect gems that pay respect to the album's namesake era while updating the production with thrilling results

The boogie that was the trademark of his best-known work is almost entirely absent, and while Bolan's wordplay was often marvelous, many of these artists opt to treat them as grand philosophical statements, ignoring the wit that was so much of his lyrics. A few of the performers make this work, notably Lucinda Williams, who sounds beatific on "Life's a Gas," and Nick Cave, who somehow finds a mournful nostalgia in "Cosmic Dancer."

Though Sour Cherry Bell delves into gloomier, more despairing moods than Precious Systems, it maintains a balance through radiant energy and never descends into overpowering hopelessness.

Inward-looking, mysterious, and awash in found sounds, bucolic electronics, and naturalistic imagery, Don't Shy Away is both inexplicable and compelling, and is easily Loma's most rewarding outing to date.

Burden of Proof finds Benny the Butcher fully formed after years of development and growth. There's even a marked upgrade in production compared to his 2018 outing Tana Talk 3.

Sleepless Night is as warm and comforting as a cup of hot chocolate, and while it hardly seems like a major work (and it isn't), it's thoroughly enjoyable and a reminder that you can hardly do better than Yo La Tengo in making a playlist of treasured oldies.

For all of its epic grandiosity, May Our Chambers Be Full only clocks in at a mere 37 minutes, but in doing so leaves a more indelible impression.

Effectively, this evolution is a biography in the form of archival tapes, and the results are not only historically important, they're absorbing on a sheer musical level.

It's a long album but stays on full power for its entirety, with the endlessly catchy songs of alien worlds standing as some of the brightest and strangest material the Rentals have ever delivered.

Although lacking the silly and immature content found in their early output, the group retain their cheeky spirit, using that irreverence to process a society on the verge of collapse in a manner that's still uniquely Puscifer. As the world burns, Keenan and company hold a mirror to the calamity, forcing us to face reality and figure out a way to move forward.

Each of the tracks took a while to prepare, as Frusciante would fine-tune synth patches and arrange breakbeats, but the actual recordings were bashed out pretty quickly, and they all maintain that sense of elaborately designed spontaneity, making it easily the artist's most successful electronic work.

At a compact 12 tracks, Music Is the Weapon provides just enough inspiration to get the party started, but it is so good that -- if left on repeat -- it would be enough to fuel an entire night of hedonism.

Getting into Knives reminds us he's at the peak of his abilities in the art of record-making, and reminds us it's possible for a band to be brilliant without a shred of arrogance.

Throughout what is also an evocative set, Emmy the Great conjures images of musician-studded street corners and windblown flower petals alongside characters like "Mary," the unreliable fortune teller.

This time Nothing are in full command of their sound and technique. By adding back the metal and amping up the melodies, the result is an assured and powerful album that delivers on the promise of the group's debut without copying it. Their growth as a band has been faltering at times, but now that they've arrived, it's good to see and wonderful to hear.

It shows Costello's mastery of mood and storytelling, the kind of skill he's acquired over the course of a long career, but the key to Hey Clockface is that these techniques are applied to a record that's as restless as anything Costello made in his younger days.

Earth to Dora is well-written and imaginatively produced pop for grown-ups that reminds us Mark Oliver Everett is crazy enough to try anything once -- even feeling OK for a while.

By tuning in to his past, Lopatin shares something special with his audience. Equally challenging and comforting, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never just might be the album that moves listeners who appreciated, but didn't fully embrace, his previous music.

What's best is that Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny doesn't sound like it was brought into the 21st-century kicking and screaming. It does all that and more, but there's so much mad joy at the helm -- this is a band that would close their shows with a faithful cover of the Alan Parsons Project ballad "Time" while masked and covered in blood -- that the material feels bracing, vital, and rooted in the present.

A pleasing amalgam of propulsive uptempo shoegaze, misty psych-pop, and layered acoustic songwriting, The View from Halfway Down offers an attractive compendium of Bell's accumulated strengths.

Bonamassa has plenty of opportunity to show his facility with synthesizing different classic guitarists -- there's a bit of Rory Gallagher and Peter Green to offset his Claptonisms -- but the best moment on Royal Tea is "A Conversation with Alice," a chiming bit of soul-pop where he channels the best moments of Steve Marriott.

Amidon's artistry is on full display on the eponymous album, with its sometimes-uncanny merging of timeless emotions, atmosphere, and musicality.

In spite of its musical intricacy, This Is the Kit remains a relatable portal into the human experience and Off Off On is as appealing as anything Stables has ever released.

Forgotten Days is the album that will likely unite all Pallbearer fans. Its return-to-roots aesthetic is planted in a physical base that carries the band's dark, progressive doom into a new era.

Love Is the King is his very personal reaction to an increasingly difficult time in America's history, and while he doesn't pretend to have answers, this music is his own kind of therapy, recognizing his emotions and working through them before they devour him, and he makes both the process and the challenges well worth hearing.

Razzmatazz is a masterful debut, one that shows promise for a pair of musicians who proudly wear their influences on their sleeves.

The combo of the bludgeoning sound, impressively hooky riffs and songs, and masterful, nearly over-the-top performances work together to make unmissable metallic magic.

On every track, Minus gives listeners a clear sense of her worldview and balances all the elements of her music with an organic sophistication remarkable for a debut album.