The Promise stands on its own as a great Bruce Springsteen record; it feels finished, focused, and, above all, offers more proof that Springsteen is one of the greatest rock and pop songwriters.

Born Free goes a long, long way toward keeping that heartland flame burning bright: it's familiar yet fresh, and song for song it's the best album Kid Rock has cut since Devil Without a Cause.

There's no emo bloodletting, no expressionist confrontations with death, just exaggerated adolescent anthems and calls to rebellion, just enough drama so this could be called cathartic by a certain generation, but for most listeners it's crystallized fun, the purest rush My Chemical Romance has ever delivered.

They're playing at full strength, with the rhythm section pumping hard on the opening title track and the three that follow it.

It's a fine starting point for someone looking to discover Smith, but even if you have all his albums, it serves as a greatest-hits collection of sorts and only confirms just how awful not having him here truly is.

After factoring in the fictitious post-breakup duet with Ne-Yo (which is more like a verbal joust), the self-flagellating "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)" (a collision of oft-used samples and references that does not sound the least bit tired), and the nakedly ambitious "Famous" (where she yearns for girls to want to be like her), it becomes increasingly clear that Love Me Back sprawls and stuns in equal measure.

Light of a Vaster Dark is ultimately the most integrated, seamlessly rendered aural illustration of McCarthy's unique vision that Faun Fables has released to date.

If the Go! Team can make a record this much fun, with this much style and skill, with this many well-chosen collaborators, and with this many hit songs every couple years, by the time they are done we'll be voting them into the Brilliant Pop Hall of Fame.

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, Vol. 1 represents a further shift in Earth's evolution. It is darker -- even sinister -- and undoubtedly heavier than Bees, but it is more seductive with its mantra-like droning repetition and more elegantly detailed in its textural dimension.

There's a lot going on, but Hotel Shampoo never seems cluttered. It flows easily, so easily that it becomes an album to get lost in.

It's a light stop-gap to hold fans over until Rae's third album.

Compared to the majority of the material on the parent releases, they're placid, ambient pieces that are not nearly as disturbed but recall the quiet menace of 23 Skidoo's Urban Gamelan and The Culling Is Coming, as well as the drum-less ambient dub side of Basic Channel.

Allo Darlin' is most reminiscent of these artists' earlier, scrappier efforts, but the sophistication is there, most crucially, in Morris' songs, which strike just the right balance of clever and heartfelt, wittily specific, and broadly relatable.

Sexy, transformative, and utterly impressive, Shapeshifting is a not simply a landmark album for Young Galaxy, but an unexpected joy to listen to again and again.

The simple fact is that Daydreams & Nightmares isn't just a joyous reinvention, or coming of age for Those Dancing Days, or even one the best albums of the year--which it certainly is--but, like any good dream, it comes when you least expect it, born out of your purest desires, and haunts you for those dancing days to come.

The combination of songs, sound, and performance make this another near-perfect album from the trio. Those who have fallen under their charmingly sweet spell can only hope it doesn't take another six years for the next one.

At their best, Hudson and her collaborators provide the kind of mature R&B that is not felt merely in the mind, throat, chest, or hips but the entire body.

It digs deep into emotional territory by way of tight, almost suffocating songwriting and killer arrangements, making this one of the defining Brit folk-rock albums of the period. It holds up well in the 21st century as a true testament to the excellence of Chapman's craft.

They deliver thrilling song after thrilling song that'll have you hyping them to all your rock & roll friends as soon the album stops spinning.

The Sleepwalking Society is a stunner; a jazz-pop record with brilliant R&B and folk undertones woven throughout.

What really matters is that nearly ten years after Songs for the Deaf, Josh Homme's influence finally rears its head on a Foo Fighters record, Dave Grohl leading his band of merry marauders -- including Pat Smear, who returns to the fold for the first time since 1997's The Colour and the Shape -- through the fiercest album they've ever made.

He's merely living in his time and reporting, returning with an album that's vivid, vibrant, and current in a way none of his peers have managed to achieve.

On Deep Politics, Grails sound more like themselves than ever, while taking their music to an entirely new level.

They're one of the most consistent bands in metal, and this is a terrific example of them playing to their strengths.

While this may not make it the most immediately exciting album of Explosions in the Sky's career, it easily stands to be one of their most rewarding.

Everything sounds gorgeous, from Little Scream's hazy warble to the two minutes of rainfall, audible rush-hour traffic, and wind chimes that end the album. This is an absolute beast of a debut.

All this hurly-burly camouflages the essential truth of The Hot Sauce Committee: that the Beasties could sit on an album for two years to no ill effect to their reputation or the record's quality.

The album does not merely transcend period-piece status. It's the high point of Saadiq's career, his exceptional output with Tony! Toni! Toné! included.