With only a few guest shots, plus a long track list, newcomers might find this big LP a tough go. Regardless, the ambitious Church in These Streets stands with the man's great Thug Motivation 101 while beating that album on artistic merit and meaningful lyrics.

Check the great "Extradite" ("Man, I stay on point like icicles") for instant gratification or "Basketball Wives" for an abstract take on the Miguel-flavored bedroom number, then appreciate how this album goes 17 tracks deep and never runs out of inspiration or ideas.

There are plenty of bands doing roughly the same thing as Ringo Deathstarr, but there are few who do it as well as they do. Pure Mood is proof of that.

While it would be unfair to call Dark Sky Island a throwback, it does manage to harness some of the power and creativity of Enya's early days and pairs it with both the confidence and shadows of age.

Though these songs were released over the course of 18 months, Product holds together remarkably well as it captures SOPHIE's instantly addictive, ever-evolving reimagining of pop music.

Returning fans won't be disappointed, while newcomers with a taste for blissful journeys will likely be entranced.

On Kannon, Sunn O))) illustrates through heavy sonic immersion that noise and silence are equals--aspects of circular, self-perpetuating emptiness. Like the persona of the deity, they generously receive and contain all the sounds of the world in all their dimensions of darkness and light.

Credit him and songwriting partners Daryl Simmons and Kameron Glasper, along with hall of fame-level session musicians like Nathan East and Greg Phillinganes, for ignoring the increasingly narrow sound of commercial R&B. They've done so with a satisfying album that sounds as if its organic making necessitated little exertion.

Everything flows naturally, and that ease is so alluring upon the first spin of Traveller that it's not until repeated visits that the depth of the album becomes apparent.

This rough, honest, and ambitious work is like his Raging Bull, taking the listener on a compelling, dirty journey that's also a connectable character study.

A top-notch Lil Wayne appearance plus an unofficial Lox reunion with Styles P and Sheek Louch guesting on the LP help put this one through the uprights, giving veteran Jada one of his best and most ambitious showcases to date.

Though not as "experimental" as their previous couple of records, as a whole Purple is far more focused, and it's certainly more euphoric.

Bowie's joy in emphasizing the art in art-pop is palpable and its elegant, unhurried march resonates deeply.

There aren't many surprises here for fans, save for the fact that he manages to spin the same nocturnal stories of drugs, partying, and fornicating over 17 addictive tracks without it ever growing stale.

We Are Nots may not be the last word in the phantom subgenre of weird punk, but if you want to know how to make your punk weird in the right way, you would be well advised to give Nots your attention.

City Lake is a more physical offering [than Tomorrow Was the Golden Age], but no less beautiful.

The nine pieces on the album are tense and brooding in a way unheard on her previous solo recordings, occasionally peaking in thundering bursts of fury.

The resulting combos that populate these 15 tracks range from inspired to pleasantly odd, and Wells gets points for simply making situations like this album exist. His knack for conveying mischievousness and warmth are in full effect here, with some songs falling squarely on one side or the other but more often than not aligning in combined magic.

It captures the best aspects of their past, while sounding like dream pop perfection in the present and promising more good things for the future.

The album just doesn't flow as well as his monolithic 2013 effort My Name Is My Name, but as a mere "prelude" to the next LP, it's miles above "throwaway" and comes with the quality control that would put it in the top tiers of both the mixtape and street release formats.

Seemingly out of nowhere (but actually taking three years to materialize), Bratten has crafted a spectacular, surprisingly confessional album of bone-chilling electronic music suggesting that his previous releases barely hinted at his prodigious talents as a composer and arranger.

While fans may have to make a slight adjustment to their expectations, it's a minor one, and most will likely find the results refreshing.

A heady, yet accessible amalgam of Burt Bacharach, Scott Walker, Antony and the Johnsons, and Neil Hannon's least flouncy Divine Comedy offerings, The Most Important Place in the World feels like a musical theater piece and listens like a good book (the evocative closer "We're Still Here" suggests a Glaswegian Canterbury Tales), and its dark charms are as seductive as they are thick with exhaust.

Their fusion of melancholy melodies, warm sounds, and truly beautiful vocals is still reliably magical, and the only complaint about Pleasure is that it doesn't last long enough.

Kid Wave may bear their fair share of '90s mystique, but they prove that quality always wins out and these sturdy songs are built to last.

Gorgeously recorded and mixed by Guip, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams is 44 minutes of roots music gold.

The entire album pushes and pulls in such a manner, which is completely exhausting but ultimately cathartic.

Ultimately, Death of a Bachelor marks the final transformation of Panic! At the Disco from egalitarian emo band to collaborative pop band headed with singular charisma by Urie the uncontested chairman.