As you might expect from a Seeger album, the songs on At 89 take on some of the problems faced by America in 2008, and while the music is sometimes touched by melancholy, Seeger's faith in his fellow humans shines through clearly.

Despite the politics, there are still a few more of the ethereal masterpieces Thievery Corporation have made a hallmark in the past.

More expansive than "Friend Opportunity," not quite as sprawling as "The Runners Four," Offend Maggie is among Deerhoof's most balanced albums.

is a spooky yet beautiful offering by one of our best musical poets; a true outsider trying to come in from the cold.

City of Refuge never succumbs to the silence that so obviously surrounds it. Even appearances (overdubbed after the initial field recordings) from Sufjan Stevens, Jana Hunter, Scott Tuma, Dawn Smithson, and Ero Gray feel unobtrusive, resulting in a strange, sad, but ultimately compelling collection of hopeless Western indie folk.

Admittedly, This Is It... takes a bit of work to get through the first time, but it gets easier, resulting in a compulsive, even obsessive desire to it play again and again, ultimately leading to the assertion that "there is nothing else on the planet remotely like this!"

This is easily some of the Kaisers' finest--and most consistent-- music.

Gossip in the Grain is LaMontagne's most adventurous recording, yet in many ways it's also the most focused and well executed.

Pebble to a Pearl is a bit of a gem, a true blast of retro-soul that helps push Costa out of the nu-diva pack and into her own distinct groove.

Yes, there are slight differences between this and her previous work, but fortunately, she's still retained most of what made her special in the past.

The Chemistry of Common Life, is a lush, expansive masterpiece that dismisses the theory that punkers have to follow a concrete formula of short and fast songs with raw-edged production.

The beats are excellent as well, loping and stuttering and falling over each other in Madlib's best Drunken Master style. Although there are plenty of instrumentals, at least three-quarters of WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip is given over to vocal features.

Hovering in the shadows comes Apse's Spirit, a mesmerizing album where the shrouded world of Gothic gloom meets the outer stratosphere of space rock.

Koushik has a few contemporaries doing something similar (Nobody, Four Tet, Caribou), but apart from Caribou's Andorra, none of them has come up with an album as good overall as Out My Window.

This is a splendid recording of ten fine songs from an artist poised to become one of the leading singer/songwriters of the day, and if it lacks the sense of surprise that accompanied her first effort, Angela Desveaux & the Mighty Ship is on repeat listenings an even more satisfying work.

The first disc, Elephants, pitches its tent closer to the Happenstance camp with lushly textured ballads, while Teeth Sinking Into Heart plays up the singer's debt to rock artists like PJ Harvey. The latter CD is the biggest surprise here, as it displays a swaggering confidence that wasn't as evident on Yamagata's previous releases.

Victory Shorts is an assured, confident, and quite often brilliant album by a band that is clearly influenced by the past but never falls prey to easy nostalgia.

Smalltown Supersound has done fans of the band and of the modern shoegaze sound a huge favor by putting them together and putting them out, extras or no.

Their brisk, efficient indie rock hasn't changed radically, but the insertion of an instrumental here and an electronics-heavy track there makes for needed counterpoint.

It's easily their most fully realized project to date and rather than simply a pastiche, they've managed to create something that's completely their own.

"Hold on Now, Youngster" is still the more magical of the two records, it's the one to play when you want to feel joy, but We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed has more depth and feeling.

Fans of the goofy rock send-ups Hughes and Homme did on "Peace Love Death Metal" and "Death by Sexy" might think the pair are taking themselves too seriously here, but they add just enough maturity to the mix to make Heart On a consistently great album.

Ferndorf's appeal is closest to the work of Bertelmann's FatCat labelmate Max Richter: Richter and Hauschka both have a remarkable talent for honing in on the sweet spot where classical, avant-garde, electronic and pop music meet.

This album is a big step forward for Department of Eagles, a playground of sound that celebrates the pull of memories and music.

The album wholly warrants Snow Patrol's fame, presenting a band that aspires to pop/rock grandeur without developing the accompanying ego. As a result, this is the group's best work yet.

Peace Queer is a short and bittersweet gem, a rant that's funny enough to make the venom sting all the more and a cry of protest with joy and compassion in its heart.

Microcastle proves that Deerhunter can make music that sounds very different from what they'd done before, yet still feels of a piece with their body of work.

These are modest pleasures but these days Ryan Adams is all about careful measured craft instead of big statements, a trade-off that makes his albums more predictable but also more satisfying as Cardinology quietly proves.