The fact that the end results sound similar to Go's machine-made rivals proves to be a double-edged sword, however, both attracting fans for its genuine approach and repelling others for its similarity to manufactured pop.

James Shaw and James Ford are still enforcing limitations on their sound, and while they may be smoothing out a few of the rough patches that would make a more interesting record, their sophomore follow-up is a worthy heir to the original.

Time to Die is far from a bad album, but unpredictability still suits the Dodos better than trying to fit into a more recognizable indie rock mold.

Yorn and Johannson cut their album long before She & Him, but surfacing in its wake, they can't help but seem a bit like the polished, polite answer to the twee, precious charms of Zooey & M. Ward. Break Up does trump Vol. 1 conceptually, chronicling the dissolution of a romance as a series of duets, and Scarlett is a more-than-worthy foil to Yorn.

"Black Holes and Revelations" may be a more commercial record, but The Resistance is Muse's most realized effort to date.

This first official release is a soul searcher and may require more patience than your everyday debut. Still, the chilly, complicated Man on the Moon perfects the futuristic bleak-beat hip-hop Kanye purposed a year earlier, and rewards the listener with every tripped-out return.

It says quite a bit about Nelly Furtado's ambitions and skill when her Spanish detour winds up being arguably her strongest album yet.

[They were a creature of the studio and it] resulted in alternate mixes and instrumental scraps, the stuff that enthralls fetishists, sometimes justifiably so. Those are the listeners who will find Keep an Eye on the Sky most rewarding, but anybody who has loved the band will find something to cherish here.

While the pieces that put the orchestra at the fore are the most dazzling, Central Market is a tour de force that only grows more fascinating with repeated listens.

That said, unlike early proggers who favored meandering instrumental doodling over succinct songwriting, Porcupine Tree always favor the importance of memorable songs over flashy solos, which certainly makes the group one of the top modern-day prog rock bands.

Manafon is a quiet yet forceful stunner, a recording that, if heard, is literally unforgettable.

It's appropriate that the billing for this band is the Dynamites Featuring Charles Walker, not Charles Walker & the Dynamites, because that's what Walker sounds like on this disc, a featured performer rather than a dominating one. Thus, an album by the group is basically a calling card or souvenir of their live show more than a standalone entity.

Shudder to Think's zest in their return is palpable, this live recording both a fan essential and a good starting point.

Those who power through this album, though, will be richly rewarded by ASDIG's diaphanous, highly intelligent take on noise pop.

Loyal hip-hop heads with a taste for the old-school boom-bap shouldn't think twice and won't be disappointed.

This wasn't the kind of record that lights up the charts--which could account for the reason it didn't appear on the shelves in late April 2002, as expected, and only earned an official release in 2009--but in many ways it's superior to the released Amplified.

Moneen's 2009 release, The World I Want to Leave Behind, is certainly a sign of the times in the rock world--intricate musical bits are combined with emo-like vocals, and in the process, the group never forfeits the importance of melody.

Knopfler's distinctive conversational baritone begins calmly intoning lyrics, and eventually there are examples of his melodic fingerpicked guitar style on both acoustic and electric.

It'll doubtless put some smiles on some faces as it goes, but it neither reaches for more nor tries to be anything less. Perhaps it is enough, but does it have to be?

Here, on Blood and Candle Smoke, he's perfected this method of songwriting and learned to record in a completely new way, to boot.

The limited palette and relentless attack wind up a little wearying, especially when married to brickwalled masters.

So Far Gone shows that Drake is for real, and works as a tantalizing teaser for his first full-length record.

Blood of Man sounds like that album's [2004's "Use Your Voice"] companion piece, merging the same traces of folk, roots rock, and small-town storytelling with a simple increase in volume.

With Two Dancers, the Wild Beasts move from fascinating to accomplished, and that they did so just over a year after releasing "Limbo, Panto" makes that achievement all the more impressive.

As fine as those nearly 16 minutes of controlled chaos are, it's the first half of Popular Songs that you're more likely to come back to, where by thinking in a small space Yo La Tengo have challenged themselves a bit and beautifully risen to the occasion.

One of Hart's sharpest decisions is to keep everything short--17 songs over the course of 45 minutes, which if not quite Ramones level is still pretty brisk--while ensuring each piece has its own individual character.

11:11 reveals a true musical and sonic expansion without Rodrigo y Gabriela losing sight of their strength as an acoustic duo. Awesome.

The Blueprint 3 isn't a one-man tour de force like the first. Jay is upstaged once or twice by his guests, and while the productions are stellar throughout--Timbaland appears three times, and No I.D. gets multiple credits also--it's clear there's less on Jay's mind this time.