The ever-shifting tone of Speak to Me asks the listener to keep up with the Lage's quirks and mood swings, but the sum of its parts is quite dazzling.

Able to make the timeworn themes of sex, drugs, and rock & roll and the basic guitars-drum-bass lineup seem new and vital again, the Strokes may or may not be completely arty and calculated, but that doesn't prevent Is This It? from being an exciting, compulsively listenable debut...

This is no nostalgia trip or callous comeback. It's a giant exclamation point on the end of a brilliant career. It's also a tribute to the everyman genius of Phife, a widescreen look at the record-making skills of Q-Tip, and most importantly, it's a pure, undiluted, joyous thrill to have the Tribe back and still sounding this vital.

Hour-plus length and stylistic variety likewise signal that SOS could be the overreaching kind of highly anticipated follow-up. Still, it's an advancement from Ctrl in every respect apart from cohesion

While the double-disc edition is quite a handsome thing in its own right--the Super Deluxe Edition is something special thanks to the alternate version of Quadrophenia, which contains six songs cut from the final album.

There's a distinct community theater vibe to the whole affair... but the majority of Illinois is alarmingly earnest.

These six discs certainly illuminate the studio albums they appear on, but their evolutionary processes in studio and on-stage make this set an essential companion to the previous volume.

Carrie & Lowell is the most harrowingly personal work Stevens has offered us to date; it also ranks with his most skillfully crafted albums despite its spartan approach, and it's a sometimes difficult but profoundly moving work.

The brothers and sisters in arms, longtime partners (Thomas McElroy, Taura Stinson) and new associates (Brook D'Leau, Daniel Crawford) alike, play in service to the vision of one eminent artist, helping him convert grief to artistic brilliance.

The first and lasting impression of No Cities to Love is one of joy, a joy that emanates from a group who realized the purpose and pleasure of being in a band during their extended absence.

While nothing here is quite as creative as Laila standout "Jesus Coming," the MC's lyrical marksmanship, top-tier mike command, and service to her people and culture are indisputable.

Being able to hear any previously unreleased Broadcast music is a thrill, but discovering the raw brilliance of the music on Spell Blanket is a true privilege.

They grew up strong and they grew up fast, so fast that their recordings retain a visceral force that makes The Complete Beat something more than a dream come true for fans: it is a convincing argument for their greatness.

Joni Mitchell's powers as a songwriter and creative spirit are unparalleled at every step of her journey, but her output in the '70s was on a higher plane, even for her. Archives, Vol. 3 reflects this with behind-the-scenes material just as storied and worthy as the music that Mitchell was making during one of her finest hours.

Already masterful at creating sad, smart songs, Bridgers reaches new depths with Punisher.

Rio is therefore the new standard by which the pianist's future solo recordings will be judged, and perhaps also sets the bar for any other player who attempts the same.

They've emerged from a quagmire that could have ended the band and ended up writing their tightest album yet.

Fleshed out by these extra tracks, 1989 [Taylor's Version] confirms the lasting strength that Swift's songwriting was achieving in this one of many blooms, and serves as a lovely reminder of when she officially stepped into her place in the pop culture continuum.

Going two for two in the 2020s so far, Deftones maintain their position as one of the greatest bands of their generation. Throw on a pair of headphones and get lost with Private Music.

Ork Records: New York, New York is a superb evocation of a vitally important time and place in American rock & roll, and it's fun, eclectic listening to boot.

Socks is a durable holiday gift, but one that's immensely more fun and enjoyable than its wry title implies.

Though club-phobic listeners may find it difficult placing Skinner as just the latest dot along a line connecting quintessentially British musicians/humorists/social critics Nöel Coward, the Kinks, Ian Dury, the Jam, the Specials, and Happy Mondays, Original Pirate Material is a rare garage album: that is, one with a shelf life beyond six months.

She makes a stylistic sharp left turn with the more reserved, acoustic-leaning The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, a quasi-country album.

The concerts all have excellent sound. While this box is only essential for hardcore Dylanophiles, it's immeasurably valuable for the way it illuminates a wildly spontaneous period in the songwriter's career.

It's a lovely album to get lost in, offering sounds which might go unnoticed on the first few spins, but will rise up as repeat listens make Manzanita's insular and mysterious dreamworld a more familiar place.

The melodies on Alice are easily the most direct Waits has written since Blue Valentine, but are more elegant than even those found on Foreign Affairs or Black Rider.

Like Aretha Franklin, Linda Jones, and Otis Redding, Staton's voice is the sound of emotion being ripped from the human heart and offered, bleeding and broken, pleading and yearning, to the listener.

It's no surprise that Staples puts as much of herself into the rest of the songs. The selections span over 60 years, and in most cases suit Staples as much as those who first recorded them.