Though it's hard not to miss the gloriously messy sprawl of Pavement at their peak, this carefully crafted, languid recasting of their signature sound is effective and winds up as a fitting, bittersweet farewell for the best band of the '90s.

The fact that the emotional extremes are few and far between makes the album difficult to wade through -- its impact would've been tripled with about half an hour lopped off, but where to begin?

How Sweet It Is is a rare example of an album of covers that doesn't sound like a holding action, and makes clear Joan Osborne is still an artist well worth watching.

The album is always fantastical and innocent, a meeting of magic and technology.

A significant departure from the band's previous works, marking a new approach to songwriting.

Mystikal really couldn't ask for better production, overall -- all the tracks have bouncy, ass-shakin', club-ready beats, and nearly all have quite catchy hooks

Ultimately, the disc is a mix of Afrocentrifugal explosiveness -- not only from the music, but also from her powerful lyrics that make the political personal and the personal political.

This cuts back significantly on winding jams, upping the ante with tight songs and performances, a clean muscular production, and a lack of vocal histrionics from Popper

Practically a concept album about the bittersweet nature of nostalgia--specifically, nostalgia for, you guessed it, summer.

Like Kid A's little brother, Manic Expressive pops and gurgles through spacey, multi-textured compositions.

Living Outside is as conscious a follow-up record as there can be, but it's likely also the record Sense Field would've made anyway, even without the band's mainstream ascendancy.

Satisfying but rarely challenging, Quixotic is a fantastic start to a solo career, and its display of range, talent, and charm suggests that Martina Topley-Bird has an endless well of creativity at her disposal and that she is most likely destined for greater things.

Cuts into raw indie rock with spells of country and folk, while allowing Brock to explore a varying scope of sounds.

Just a set of productions that prove, once again, Bell is the most imaginative producer in British techno.

While it's not as diverse as Spanish Dance Troupe or as immediate as How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart, Sleep/Holiday is just as lovely and heartfelt, and another fine addition to Gorky's Zygotic Mynci's body of work.

A greater combination of accessibility and subversion would be nearly impossible to imagine.

Buzzle Bee might just be the group's most out-there production yet, as the Llamas churn out eight tracks full of gorgeous symphonic-pop arrangements and aloof, lazy melodies that dart in and out of all kinds of studio tinkering.

This variety is what makes The King of Nothing Hill so enjoyable -- it revels in being both fun and furious.

A swirling, beautiful, and warmly complex road trip of an album.

The results are goofy but undeniably exhilarating.

The most amazing thing about A People's History is the diverse styles represented throughout.

Given the right frame of mind, Closer has the potential to be the most powerful Plastikman album -- an alternatingly cathartic and mind-wrenching place to lose yourself in.

There's a sharpness that was absent before, a shift in focus and time that's strict in design.

It's an evocative and wildly creative, but not immediately accessible collection.

Built to Spill expands on the big sound that they crafted with Keep It Like a Secret.

Both dreamy and earthy, complex and immediate, and challenging and soothing.... The Sleepy Strange is the band's most cohesive work to date, yet it keeps all of the spontaneous beauty of their previous releases.

This time around the beats seem darker and more synth-oriented, giving it an edge reminiscent of the bass-heavy G-funk sound.

If any one album can be said to pick up on the surreal funk explorations of latter-day Miles Davis, Uninvisible is it.