What seems to be an unlikely pairing in the duo of former -- and future apparently--Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and bluegrass superstar Alison Krauss is actually one of the most effortless-sounding pairings in modern popular music.

It's an awesome thing, this album, and anyone, virtually anyone who encounters it will be in some way moved by the impure music it contains.

This album was well worth the wait and should win over some new fans and please the old ones too. Best of show.

Vulnicura honors her pain and the necessary path through and away from loss with some of her bravest, most challenging, and most engaging music.

A wondrous listen that tosses jangling pop and psychedelia with such ease that you'd be forgiven for thinking he could do this in his sleep.

Franz Ferdinand reveals more depth and more new directions than their previous work suggested.

This is one heavy, messy, dynamite album--one that could take a decade to be fully processed.

Tigermending hints that she just might be too eclectic for her own commercial good, but not for the good of listeners willing to follow Round's unpredictable but nearly always successful moves.

Tales of CSNY acrimony are legend, but this rancor rarely surfaced on record. Here, those brawling egos are pushed to the forefront, with all the pretty harmonies operating as an accent to the main event.

Mono is the work of a band just smart enough that sometimes the body is just as important as the frontal lobes. The Mavericks understand how to satisfy both, and Mono is an album that will keep you dancing to its beats and smiling to its wit and romance 'til the break of dawn.

Placed beside only Z, its three-year-old prelude, Ctrl is the work of a considerably less-inhibited songwriter. Rowe likewise truly fronts these frank songs that wield power as they lament lonesomeness, insecurity, and inertia.

With Reaching for Indigo, Fohr has done a remarkable job at translating a hard-to-define, life-changing event into powerful music.

Africa Speaks is breathtaking in terms of energy and scope of vision.

More Arriving is a giant step for Korwar, who pushes musical boundaries to the breaking point as his tunes articulate righteous anger, passion, pain, and pride with a militancy that emerges from the plight of human decency itself. Brilliant.

The resulting project is Headie's most complete and compelling set to date. Pulling out all the stops for an expansive statement of self, in EDNA the Tottenham great provides an impeccable portfolio of his varied sonics, concretizing his place among London's finest.

Remarkably, the most effective moments in this vein occur when the leader assumes a background position, lending synthesizer shading and warped effects as mallets and flute link and skip at the fore of "P64 by My Side." For the most part, this is a jazz date -- an inviting and beatific one that frequently evokes classic '70s jazz-funk.

Perfect pop for perfectly sad people will never go out of style, and Summer at Land's End is more proof that Glenn Donaldson and the Reds, Pinks & Purples have the market pretty much cornered.

An impeccable blend of past and present, this is essential listening for indie pop lovers of any age.

The artist born Jung Ho-seok delivers emotional depth and irresistible energy. Backed by rowdy production, his aggression, raspy delivery, and tongue-twisting bars take center stage, showcasing the rap-focused perspective that he brings to the BTS formula.

I Ran Down Every Dream arrived when McLain was 82 years old, and if it's not likely to be as big a hit as "Sweet Dreams," it sets the record straight that he was and remains an artist well worth knowing.

Pigments is not necessarily built for movement, but it's as moving as any of Richard's previous output. No other album is quite like it.

Sundial has a harsher tone than Noname's previous efforts, but it still contains many powerful, thought-provoking lines, and her skills as an emcee have never been stronger.

Releasing an album rooted in LBGTQ+ culture is an understated but clear sign of solidarity made all the more resonant because Art Dealers hits the heart, head, and groin with equal force.

Essentially, it's not that far off from The Glowing Man, which means that it's familiar territory for anyone who has spent time with the band's albums or experienced their concerts, but it's still an incredibly powerful record.

The Cords LP easily lives up to the hype. .... With the charm factor at 11, plenty of bah-bah-bahs, and a couple early-Beatles harmonics thrown in for good measure, The Cords is an all-ages bop fest that welcomes everyone but the creeps, poseurs, and haters.

The deliberately pursued contemplative aesthetic might be too gentle or slow for some, but this saxophonist and his sidemen deliver a jazz masterclass for trios.

There are no weak tracks on the entire compilation, making it essential for anyone who's into jungle in its purest, uncut form.

I Love You, Honeybear, despite the occasional double entendre, is as powerful a statement about love in the vacuous, social media-obsessed early 21st century as it is a denouement of the detached hipster charlatan.

Hecker's sound signature may still be instantly recognizable, but there is no denying that he has moved significantly farther down the path toward something else with Virgins.

Rather than being a disappointment, Be the Cowboy's point of view provides a brilliant twist, one that channels all the unease, unpredictability, and intuitiveness of Mitski's previous work--even for those who don't take in the lyrics.

While the band's subtlety and consistency threaten to work against them at times, XX is still a remarkable debut that rewards repeated listens and leaves listeners wanting more.

Let Me Do One More makes the leap from "very good" to "great," and this is pleasurable and full of grand surprises in the way that great pop music connects with the listener. You need to hear this.

On the whole, the music on A Place Called Bad makes a strong case that the Scientists were one of the '80s best bands, especially during their swamp noise years. They had the look, they had the songs, they had the sound, and everything they did burned with the white hot fire that only the very best groups are able to harness.

At its best, the album seems to accomplish everything lagging post-shoegazers like Spiritualized or Chapterhouse once promised. However, at its worst, the album sometimes slides into an almost overkill of sonic structures

A dizzying display of a band at peak performance.

Ibibio Sound Machine have always sought to get listeners onto the dancefloor. Electricity reveals that they won't have to coax. Here, they have taken their songcraft, production, and rhythm science to an entirely different level without sacrificing their Afrocentric roots.

Jaguar II nudges contemporary R&B forward as it mixes inspirations spanning continents and generations.

The 13-song set, which includes the streaming hits "Oneida" and "Nose on the Grindstone," combines Childers' alchemical blend of country, bluegrass, and folk with rich gospel harmonies and immersing ambient field recordings.

While Chambers and Teasdale are still discovering what they can do, they're having a lot of fun finding out, and Wet Leg more than delivers on the promise of their viral beginnings.

Brilliant.

Random Access Memories is also Daft Punk's most personal work, and richly rewarding for listeners willing to spend time with it.

Soil captures a passionate, complex artist coming into his own.

It's as decadent as it is tasty -- theatricality has never been a practice that the collective has shied away from -- but there's no denying the Arcade Fire's singular vision, even when it blurs a little.

While Umbilical is still a nightmarish depiction of destroyed emotions and blind rage, its combination of production subtleties and light nods to '90s influences peel away just enough intensity to make the album Thou's most coherent and engaging work yet.

TBWPTH is skeletal, grandiose, and contemplative, a web of contradictions where answers come with questions of their own; caught between darkness and light, the U.K. legend wrings out some of his most compelling meditations yet.

While their songs still maintain the loose intimacy that was apparent on their debut AM, the music has matured to reveal a complexity that is rare in pop music, yet showcased perfectly on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Part traditional, part African rhumba, part smart avant-garde electronica, Congotronics is the sound of an urban junkyard band simultaneously weaving the past and the future into one amazingly coherent structure, and not only that, you can dance to it.

The patient flow, risky songwriting choices and mature character of the album make it the most majestic chapter of Lana Del Rey’s continuing saga of love and disillusionment under the California Sun.

One of the best chapters in an already impressive catalog; one that finds a new artistic depth as it faces some of life's eternal concerns.

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.

Phrenology is the hardest-hitting Roots album to date, partly because it's their most successful attempt to re-create their concert punch in the studio.

Wolves in the Throne Room continue to do the genre proud with contributions such as this.

While it's just as thought-provoking as the Soft Pink Truth's other albums, there's something magical in how the emotional dimensions and deep beauty of Shall We Go on Sinning So That Grace May Increase? reaffirm that positivity and creativity are the most powerful weapons against hate and darkness.

Sprawling and complex as In a Poem Unlimited's structures and styles are, it's U.S. Girls' most immediate collection to date, in terms of both sound and message.

The camaraderie of the Pistol Annies cuts deep--they're a gang, encouraging the other two not to talk about Tina, praising sobriety, realizing life goes on even when love leaves--and that gives Annie Up a bruised, beautiful richness.

Is Survived By features more of the Los Angeles hardcore outfit's furious, passionate, intensely personal sound.

American Ride is every bit as strong as Innocent Ones, if not more so.

With its beautifully chosen material and unorthodox construction, What News has that rare timeless feeling to it, effortlessly placing the ancient within the present as only the right group of artists can manage to do.

In the end the album is strangely uplifting and yes, cleansing, as he washes out the sadness, pain, and suffering he's been through and ends up on his feet, bruised but still ready to carry on. By the end of the record, listeners are liable to feel the same way. There are no barriers or guardrails here, it's an unblinking gaze into the abyss, and victory over that bleakness, that can be shared by anyone brave enough to tag along.

Cocoa Sugar mystifies before it gratifies, but it reflects a modern global chaos as much as it does a personal one.

It's serious without being preachy, cynical without dissolving into apathy, and whimsical enough to keep both sentiments in line, and of all of their records, it may be the one that ages so well.

A gift for fans who want to dig deep into the Smashing Pumpkins archive.

This is one creatively askew pop-R&B delight after another, all voiced with captivating and confident flair by a razor-sharp songwriter.

It feels like a natural step, consequently expanding the margins of Malian roots music and rock and pop simultaneously.

As it moves from reflective to engaging and back again, In Colour covers the entire spectrum of Jamie xx's music, delivering flashes of brilliance along the way.

Favourite Colours is lovely and adventurous stuff that proves the Sadies are only getting better with each trip into the studio.

A stunning debut and one of the best records of 2002.

This is a finely realized album, with a wonderful, you-can-hear-a-pin-drop sound to it, and Fulks' songs are some of the best he's written, showing once again that he has no intention of being anybody's fool.

This collection wasn't intended to be a memorial, yet this deep dive into one of his last major collaborations pays worthy homage to his skill and dedication to craft, and every moment testifies to Costello's towering respect for the great man.

Children Running Through is Patty Griffin's masterpiece thus far.

The ten-song set is a non-stop whirlwind of chugging, downtuned riffs, urgently screamed vocals, and machine-gun drum performances pushed to the front of the mixes.

It's no turning point in a field populated by dozens of elder space cadets and mood architects, from Massive Attack to Spacek to Sa-Ra. As a flawed first step from a young newcomer, however, it's impressive.

As a collection, Shore emits a sense of coming through something and arriving anew with the welcome bruises that foster greater understanding and compassion.

Like faith, these songs require patience, as their almost mantra-like arcs take their time to fully form.

Kala nearly makes "Arular" seem tame in comparison, magnifying most of its predecessor's qualities as it remains bracingly adventurous.

Ultimately, if there's any disappointment to be had with this near-perfect album, it's that it still towers above subsequent efforts as the unequivocal climax of Rage Against the Machine's vision. As such, it remains absolutely essential.

It sees her collaborate with German producer DJ Koze on a measured and balanced collection that takes in deep house, art pop, disco, and soul.

This glorious weirdness was present in Harding’s earlier work but feels like the main event on Train on the Island. It never intrudes on what can be enjoyed as fantastically crafted songs, but accentuates the beguiling personality that makes them more than that.

All the pieces here slot together beautifully, and using more voices creates more complex layers of vocals that only add to the pieces.

It all makes Freedom McMahon's richest album yet, as well as his most accessible--as the sound and scope of his music grows, so does its humanity.

In sum, Spirit Moves is a welcome departure for Douglas, who has been working with his longtime electric band and more recently with his great Keystone group.

An especially poignant return for Waterson, who endured a harrowing illness that left her in a coma after their last release as a duo, Anchor is a powerful performance arriving late in her career and is a testament to both her strength of will and creative voice. ... For her part, Eliza nearly matches her mother's earthen elegance as a singer while turning in some of the most natural and sympathetic fiddle work of her care.

Tracks like "Scraping My Feet" nail the balance of advanced beats and gorgeous, stirring melodies present in IDM at its best. The entire album is refreshingly devoid of any lingering notion of fitting in or following any rules or trends. James' vision is hers alone, and it's a powerful one.

The 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival is widely regarded as a legendary event among blues purists, and this set lives up to the hype; anyone who loves the blues raw and direct will be thoroughly knocked out by this collection.

Saturn Return hews closely to the evocative, Southern gothic swoon of its predecessor, 2017's splendid You Don't Own Me Anymore, but it does so with the dividend of confidence that the latter effort had to earn.

It's clear Cream went out on a peak, but it's also evident that the tensions between the trio were too great for them to regroup for another tour or album. Thankfully, this fine box preserves their glorious farewell, which happens to double as the best document of the band's on-stage prowess and might.

While Dry: The Demos doesn't hold any huge revelations, its small differences and riveting performances are treasures for die-hard fans who have the same passion for archiving that Harvey does.

The record works as a tribute to the music of Michael Yonkers, hopefully inspiring anyone who isn't familiar with his work to do some investigating, while also providing Dwyer with the creative boost and general head clearing he needed. Best of all, it's a blast of an album that fuses what's great about Damaged Bug and Oh Sees into one giant behemoth of sound and vision that's impossible to ignore.

Though it was stitched together from outtakes and covers, From an Old Guitar is a fully satisfying album filled with the spirit and vigor that has made Dave Alvin one of the enduring heroes of the Americana music community.

Though known for her Ella Fitzgerald-esque skill at interpreting songbook standards and French chanson, Salvant has proven herself a literate and nuanced songwriter in her own right. She brings all of these aspects together yet again on Ghost Song, this time adding in more contemporary cover tunes and other folk traditions she hadn't yet explored.

A concise, direct statement about how the world has shaped him, Hugo is Loyle Carner's most accomplished work to date.

The Other Side is one of T-Bone Burnett's warmest and most emotionally resonant works, and if it's less ambitious than the Invisible Light albums, it's a powerful example of what he does best as a songwriter, a vocalist, and a producer.

Who Waters the Wilting Giving Tree... is a nonstop flow of stunning ideas and performances, without ever getting so heady that the fun and strangeness become alienating.

Not everything on V works--"Weighed Down" and "Gathering" lack the focus of the album's highlights--but the songs that do are some of the Horrors' most exciting yet.

Nobody on the album overshadows Price, who sounds as forceful, commanding, and even as funny as ever.

There isn't a wasted moment on the album, an expertly crafted triumph that succeeds by balancing addictive production and a concentrated thematic focus. Beyond the technical, Use Me is also an inspiration, a cathartic rebirth for Gunn where she can take full credit for doing all the work, embracing the pain and cleaning her wounds with strength and confidence.

For all its entertaining art-pop feats, Isolation is just as remarkable for serious moments like "Killer," in which Uchis reaches a high degree of anguish that only real-life experience can arouse.

Segarra has wound up with a distinctive album, one that operates equally skillfully on an emotional and intellectual level.