At the Crossroads delivers what its title promises: a portrait of the Organ Trio at the point where they look back at B-3 jazz history and move it ever forward.

In Case You Didn't Know is assuredly going to help Murs become one of Britain's finest national male pop stars for the next little while.

Roberts is in her own league as an improviser, a composer, and conceptualist.

Adjusting things just enough between tracks that they stay engaging without ever jarring the listener out of their cocoon of atmosphere, while deftly splitting the difference between the passiveness of purely ambient music and the active intellectualization required to fully absorb the skittering glitches of IDM.

It's a testament to the always entertaining, sometimes enlightening Murs that the album hangs together thanks to his words.

Produced by Rancid member and Hellcat Records owner Tim Armstrong, Jimmy Cliff's Sacred Fire EP is a wonderful jumble of time and place that ends much too soon.

That Back to Love is not a major shake-up is not a bad thing. Most of the songs are instantly ingratiating in some way, with none of the lighter, upbeat numbers the least bit out of character.

Stetson's transcendent and muscular ability to layer sound, breath, and rhythm in a meditative compositional style sticks with you long after Judges is over.

This Is Christmas is a joyous and affectionate affair that already feels like an instant festive classic.

Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland chronicles a typically strong, consistent Rush show.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a musical labyrinth that is well worth getting lost in for Ross and Reznor fans as well as soundtrack buffs.

An enticing listen.

You'd have to go a long way to find a better indie rock album in 2011.

For the Good Times [is] colorful and quietly engaging.

Anyone expecting the bar rock bravado of the Hold Steady is probably going to be disappointed by Clear Heart Full Eyes' subdued vibe, but anyone looking for more of Craig Finn's sprawling tales will feel right at home.

Old Ideas is a very good Cohen album; it may be great, but only time reveals that when it comes to his work.

It's an enjoyable look back at one of the main players during an interesting era of American indie rock.

Strange Weekend is a very impressive debut album, full of craft, emotion, and songs that you'll want to listen to again and again.

While each track on Cyrk brings to mind somebody else (Velvet Underground, "Genesis Hall"-era Fairport Convention, Comus, Spacemen 3), Le Bon somehow manages to make it all feel surprising natural.

Like the title suggests, Stars burns bright and fast.

Something is a different beast: wilder than its predecessor, stronger in the songwriting department, and totally, wonderfully weird.

Samson's words are the star of the show, and their ornate depictions of rural Canada, soft romantic devotion and computer programming make Provincial a quietly beautiful experience.

This album expands the very definition of musical collaboration.

100 Proof is the album where Kellie Pickler stops being a TV star and turns into a genuine recording artist: it's an album that's not just good when graded on a curve, but good by any measure.

Emotional Traffic is McGraw's most ambitious offering to date--the credits list is enormous and the range of styles on display is wide. That said, its balance is impeccable.

Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is as restrained in its own way as it is vibrant; just over 30 minutes long, it shows that Houghton knows how to leave listeners wanting more.

Every track on this album is excellent in its own way.

As distant whirs and an understated funk beat get accentuated by a classic '80s electronic handclap, the title track from Dillon's debut album almost sounds like a collation of a variety of styles from across years and locations.

There is not a single weak track on this album. It's an unusually moving and haunting document from one of the unsung heroes of American (and, oddly enough, Jamaican) roots music.

Rad Times Xpress IV is some of Herrema's most cohesive music with any of her projects, and Black Bananas pull off the neat trick of sounding quintessential and like a rebirth at the same time.

Gangrene is dirty, underground hip-hop excellence as expected, but Vodka & Ayahuasca takes it to another level, or realm.

Les Voyages de l'Âme is a great record; self- defining and alluringly elusive.

The wealth of hook-heavy pop wonders alone makes Feel the Sound a fantastic record, but the sure-footed air of confidence and self-assurance that carries the record is what truly cements Imperial Teen as more of an institution than a band.

As rewarding as his earlier slow-paced drones are, so is his incremental development as an artist with each subsequent album, I Love You being one more step along the way.

Habits & Contradictions, the album, lives up to its title, which could throw some, but the complicated rapper always seems to convert more than he scares away, and you can blame his keen, exciting, risk-taking, vintage-styled, and deep set of skills for that.

Overall, Clay Class gives the feeling of bridges being built and dots being connected.

Overall, there is a fine balance of sounds, feelings, and textures on the album, enough to make Hospitality both a vindication of promise already displayed by the band and hope for further greatness.

It's all very definitely Walkabouts in its sound -- with some glorious lyrics from Chris Eckman

Despite the lo-fi nature of the source tape, which was made in an ad hoc manner by a local friend, the sparse setting--just acoustic guitar and banjo--gives Dalton's distinctive voice plenty of room to do its thing.

Fresh and surprisingly accessible despite its quirks, Visions is bewitching.

Libraries retains nearly everything that was memorable about the Love Language's debut as it improves on what McLamb accomplished before.

This album comes to the listener as a gift wrapped in tattered paper, making it all the more precious to receive.

For the most part, Out of Frequency is a joyous and effortlessly vivacious slice of Scandinavian pop which yet again brings a refreshing, childlike quality to the '60s retro table.

This is a treat not just for Air fans, but aficionados of film music and science fiction, too.

Dense, powerful, wild, yet immaculately rendered, Animal Joy blends the expansive, cinematic scope of contemporaries like Other Lives and the National with the arty drama of "San Jacinto"-era Peter Gabriel.

An album that feels looser without ever feeling lazy.

A record that stands out as a career highlight in an already very impressive and inspiring career.

Instead of trying to fit into the past, Van Halen are using their history to revive their present and they succeed surprisingly well on A Different Kind of Truth.

Intimate without being voyeuristic, and approachable without being patronizing, sparse without being cold, Barchords manages to balance all of these elements beautifully, merging plaintive folk and bluesy soul with just enough pop to make the whole thing go down smoothly.

This is a beautiful and loving tribute to one of jazz music's great tragic genuises.

Tennis are making some of the best pop music around in 2012, and that's plenty good enough.

The Bats have managed to maintain a ridiculously high level of quality throughout their career, and Free All the Monsters is as good a record as they've ever made.

Her flow is rock-solid but nimble and complex and apparently effortless despite the weird and shifting beats.

It's one of the most affecting works to date from a brilliant, one-of-a-kind band.

This is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor and, for all of its melodic sheen, darker and moodier.

Arrow is a brave and powerful work from an artist who isn't about to give up on her vision, regardless of where it takes her.

The Russian Wilds is Howlin Rain's most accessible recording, but enormous ambition and musical mastery of rock & roll's mighty past make it an essential one, too.

I Will Set You Free is the sound of Adamson's liberation as a songwriter, producer, and arranger.

Patience (After Sebald) succeeds as beautifully evocative music to accompany the documentary, as another distinctive entry in Kirby's Caretaker discography and as an inspired blending of different works that makes its own statement.

With this album, Windy & Carl are more controlled, focused, and confident than ever before, offering up their best work to date in an evolution that may just prove to be without limits.

It results in his most adventurous and fulfilling work to date.

One of the most impressive aspects of the whole endeavor is the fact that a bunch of South Carolina musicians were able to spiritually transport themselves so definitively to a Southern California state of mind.

Sleigh Bells may have topped themselves here, but it's a case of more being less.

The trio has crafted a record that measures up to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy musically and delivers enough emotional charge to power a small town for a month.

While Learning's haunting storytelling remains singular, Hadreas is as brave an artist as ever, and Put Your Back N 2 It is a heartening follow-up in so many ways.

His songs are delicate but strong, faint yet persistent, and have a deep, almost inexplicable emotional pull.

It's an honest record, stripped of artifice, and it will hit you hard if you give it a chance.

While it doesn't sound at all the same, fans of Robert Fripp's Frippertronics (Let the Power Fall) or Henry Kaiser's guitar-with-delay work (It's a Wonderful Life, Where Endless Meets Disappearing) should really enjoy this.

Ghostory is as lushly layered as ever, with spectral textures and propulsive dance rhythms, both programmed and played, equally affecting.

Ultimately, the great thing about the '80s vibe on Rooms Filled with Light isn't that Fanfarlo have aped their idols, but rather that they've found a way to make these Day-Glo, spiky-haired melodies feel utterly contemporary.

Carnivale Electricos is a crunchy, rowdy recording with some beautiful twists and turns by its guest performers.

These catchy, desperate, searing, and searching songs aren't always the most accessible, but they show exactly why this band has such a dedicated audience.

Gregory Porter's sophomore effort confirms the talent that was so apparent on his debut.

Overall, Colours is a joyful and inventive record which suggests Scott may have finally found his forte.

This sampler offers plenty of quality listening and anyone who hasn't given Sultan's music a listen will find this CD to be an excellent starting place, delivering music that's wild, ambitious, and soul-satisfying all at once.

Melodic and mercurial, immaculate and overwrought, it's not for everybody, but six albums in, Lacuna Coil have proven themselves more than worthy of both the attention of commercial rock radio and the adoration of the progressive metal community.

On first blush, the album's lack of anything with the prancing grace and energy of "No Clear Reason" is a minor disappointment. After a couple spins, however, that notion is replaced with anticipation for Ozanne's next move.

The result is a wonderfully immediate album that feels like a Saturday night house party--complete with moonlight, dust flying from the carpet under the feet of dancers, and crickets and night bird calls out the open windows.

Toward the Low Sun is crushing in its sadness, unrelenting in its sweetness and pure aural emotion.

mately, despite his loftier intentions, this works perfectly well as another excellent Chuck Prophet collection that for most listeners only marginally adheres to its stated concept but is no less impressive because of that.

Mouse on Mars sound only like themselves on Parastrophics, an album that's a rebirth and a welcome return for one of electronic music's most restlessly creative acts.

On first spin, Break It Yourself may sound like a typical outing, but repeated listens unveil an assembly of songs that are as verdant and mercurial as they are rooted in the Bird tradition.

Lovett is relaxing into the songs and sounds he loves, and he hasn't sounded like so much fun in years.

Acting as a kind of crossroads between the old C.O.C. and the new, Corrosion of Conformity feels more like a distillation of their career than an evolution of their sound.

Pre Language is some of Disappears' most confident, most accessible music yet.

With Open Your Heart, the Men achieve the elusive balance of growing their sound without diluting the intensity and attitude that made them great in the first place, weaving together their influences with fresh ears and a nuanced touch, making for one of the year's most satisfying listens.

If you're in the mood for a few laughs and some well-directed anger from a guy with something to say and a knack for saying it well, Todd Snider is just the man you've been looking for.

They're in an increasingly crowded field but hover well above all of their contemporaries.

The sonic growth and confidence White Rabbits display here prove they're moving in the right direction.

Every melody is blanketed in psychedelic sounds, giving a unified feel to the record, even if the music isn't always easily containable.

Come Back as Rain may be the perfect summer soundtrack for listeners looking for a less cerebral Band of Horses, a more ecumenical Fleet Foxes, or just a damn fine group of musicians with a knack for kicking out youthful, country-tinged pop songs without an agenda.

Normally, a live album without a ton of rarities would be a hard sell to fans of the band, but We All Raise Our Voices to the Air is such a strong set of performances that even Decemberists diehards might have a hard time passing up on this one.

Between the Times and the Tides cements Ranaldo's role as a dreamer and poet who can remain true to himself and reveal new things at the same time.

Between the exquisite wordplay and dusky melodies, there's plenty to return to in these tunes.

While their detachment makes the Chap a unique group and perhaps something of an acquired taste, We Are Nobody delivers some of their finest songs yet.

The album is a blissful, laser-toned experience where Poxleitner's sweet voice is expertly wrapped in stylish, multicolored hues of fluorescent keyboard squelch and bass guitar shimmer.

Spoek makes the "hard truths" sound like "real talk" while putting some of the world's most innovative rebel music underneath.

Thanks to Zdar's sure-handed co-production, Bainbridge's skills at synthesizing the past and present, and a batch of songs that really stick to you after a couple listens, World, You Need a Change of Mind ends up being a very pleasing, very interesting record.