They may not be as confident here as they were on their first album, but La Liberacion's best moments are direct and fun, and there's no shame in that.

If Widowspeak keep refining their sound and cranking out memorable and quietly impressive songs like they do here, they may end up being pretty special. Even if they don't, though, this album will still be out there to help soothe and thrill you when you have a post-Mazzy itch you need to scratch.

From the performances, to the songwriting, to the production, Still Living is the group's strongest, most multi-dimensional album.

For as relaxed as Mirror Traffic is, there is real structure to the songs and clarity to the production, two things that turn it into Malkmus' most satisfying solo album to date.

While Smith fans no doubt have everything contained here -- of the 18 tracks collected , each album is represented -- this disc serves as an excellent introduction to Smith's ever evolving, non-compromising art which combines high-stakes poetry with rock & roll.

B-sides and rarities collections can often help give fans insight into their favorite artists' creative processes, or at the very least, provide either a light snack between releases or a post-retirement victory lap, but when an artist as prolific as Stephin Merritt decides to clean house, it can be a little underwhelming.

The result is easily her best record yet: a soundtrack equally comforting during a lazy weekend afternoon or a hard Monday morning.

13 doesn't really feel like one of the man's most inspired or immortality-bound efforts, but rather just another reminder of Wino's prolific consistency.

Highly recommended to fans of smart jazz that remembers to entertain.

Dre's short, spoken bits end up the only speed bumps during all these twists and turns, and when you're complaining about interludes instead of the overall attitude of a Game album, you've got an obsession-free, almost relatable success that sacrifices none of the man's fire or skill.

The Blackbird Diaries isn't for everyone: it's mainstream but not sterile; it celebrates roots music without overly indulging it or neglecting pop; in short, it's catchy as hell and better than any Stewart solo project to date.

lthough the arrangements and material are monochromatic, What Matters Most isn't a failure by any means, thanks to Barbra Streisand's interpretive skills (as well as her flair for drama and her ever-beautiful voice). That said, this is not a record for those who love precocious Streisand best (Funny Girl, Hello, Dolly!).

The decision to vary the speaking participants helps distinguish each piece, and gives the album just the hint of variety it needs.

For anyone interested in underground music from the later '60s through the mid-'70s, Love Has Made Me Stronger is recommended listening.

This is a band album, and a solid one at that.

Songs and Stories suggests he's coasting just a bit, and though he's still one of the true legends of the Texas songwriting community, this simply doesn't capture him at the top of his game.

Even after a decade away, Atari Teenage Riot are still equally angry and entertaining, and Is This Hyperreal? just may be one of their definitive statements.

If the basic balance remains unchanged, the result has been a sound just enough of the War on Drugs' own as a result, which gets stronger and even more droned out and powerful as the album continues.

The result is rich and exciting without becoming overwhelming; it's loaded with charm as well as fine tunes, and that combination makes it a delight that's well worth hearing.

An audacious spectacle of vacuous pomposity as well as one of tremendous lyrical depth, Watch the Throne is a densely packed amalgamation of what Jay-Z has termed "ignorant shit" and "thought-provoking shit," with creative productions that are both top of the line and supremely baffling.

It's hard not to wish Fool's Gold had figured out how to develop and expand their approach without compromising so much of what made their debut so delightfully unique.

The problem with Jeff Bridges is, it sounds like he's trying hard to be cool, and that's all down to T-Bone Burnett, who dampens everything natural about this music with the artificially authentic.

While the sound is by no means stale, it doesn't have the same edge that the band became known for during their heyday, at times feeling more like an extension of Hey Mercedes than a proper Braid release.

It's filled with memorable, exceptionally played and produced electronic pop songs that are off-center yet targeted squarely at the heart.

Rather than being a simple throwback band, they add their own twist by way of a dark, vaguely ominous tone.

Throughout the album the sense is of rough experimentation, a kind of direct curiosity in the collision of sampled loops, echoed vocals, bursting bass, and random moments. Stallone's echoed vocals, however much a stylistic commonality in some corners, act as further random hooks, a slightly stupefied but never incoherent series of reactions.

Pitched somewhere between synthed-up '80s mood-out and electronic-infused shoegaze, the Swedish duo I Break Horses may have a slightly off-kilter name, but Hearts is a fine, if often derivative, debut album, a classic instance of a band knowing who and what they love, but not to the point of making it their own.

2011 is a year for strong albums in general, and You Are All I See deserves to be ranked among the best.