It's not as poppy as some of his other albums, but it is more focused and appealing, and one of the stronger testaments to his ornery talents.

Skull Ring doesn't always capture Iggy at his best as a lyricist, but here what he says isn't half as important as how he says it, and he hasn't sounded this right -- and had music this potent backing him up -- in a decade.

The Rising is one of the very best examples in recent history of how popular art can evoke a time period and all of its confusing and often contradictory notions, feelings and impulses.

The Long Winters get happy on this one, and Roderick's vibrant, newfound confidence as a showman and songwriter allows the Long Winters' sound to finally gel.

The Convincer is a laid-back record that simply feels good.

Ultimately Creature Comforts is another starry refraction in the cosmic music that Black Dice have claimed, one that hasn't failed yet in dazzling.

MacIntyre's wise abandonment of the kitchen-sink approach would've benefited this album even more if he had kept the running time below 45 minutes or so; at an hour, some of its nuances are bound to be lost in the shuffle.

The music is livelier and almost exuberant at times, and certainly more varied that on the last album.

Ultimately, Fever to Tell might be slightly disappointing, but it delivers slightly more than an EP's worth of good to great songs, proving that even when they're uneven, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are still an exciting band.

Even for fans not needing much convincing, Get Ready is a "grower," an album whose focus on sublime songcraft and introverted delivery reveals its secrets slowly and after many listens.

[A] mesmerizing debut.

Kid A is easily the most successful electronica album from a rock band -- so much so that it doesn't sound like the work of a rock band, even if it does sound like Radiohead.... Despite its admirable ambition -- ambition that is all the more impressive in 2000, the year when most bands simply stopped trying -- Kid A never is as visionary or stunning as OK Computer, nor does it really repay the intensive time it demands in order for it to sink in.

A few too many songs share tempos, melodies, and moods to make this a great Kristin Hersh album, but it's still a very good one that her longtime fans will appreciate.

It blends the stripped-down sounds of Pod and the Amps' Pacer into a collection of strangely intimate, feminine garage rock.

Between Here and Gone quietly demands the listener's attention and dives deeply into a labyrinth of emotions before emerging as a validating, affirmative, and instructive experience; it is an album not only to experience, but to hold on to.

Bows + Arrows may not be a drastic change from Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, but their music, built on loud guitars and organs and strange reflections and remembrances, is so unique that drastic change isn't necessary, and simply having more of it around is more than enough.

A simplistic tour de force through a myriad of proven gangsta rap motifs. Beginning with the standard "I'm Bout It" variation, this time titled "Bout Dat," Master P and his post-Beats By the Pound production team -- primarily Carlos Stephens, XL, Ke-Noe, Myke Diesel, and Suga Bear -- move through the motifs without making them seem too clichéd and, more importantly, performing with an aura of confidence and poise, two attributes sorely lacking on Only God Can Judge Me.

Banhart's music is utterly unselfconscious and poetic.

It's some of the band's fullest-sounding work, rich with strings and keyboard flourishes... The Rising Tide is one of Sunny Day Real Estate's -- and 2000's -- most impressive albums.

The Remote Part captures a divinely aged five-piece.

The downside to a more refined and mature record is that some of their ramshackle charm and energy has been lost. Not enough to make the band bland, but if they take one more step toward professionalism the next record may turn out that way.

Like a latter-day Digital Underground, Black Eyed Peas know how to get a party track moving.

Filled with vocoders, stylish neo-electro beats, dalliances with trip-hop, and, occasionally, eerie synthesized atmospherics, Music blows by in a kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style, and substance.... an appealing, addictive record.

Stone, Steel & Bright Lights manages to capture Jay Farrar at his apex as a solo artist, while at the same time reminding fans of why his solo work continues to be so frustrating.

Save for the unfortunate hip-hop slip-up of "Prego Amore," this is an excellent set of mellow electronic pop.

A Rush of Blood to the Head might not instantly grab listeners, but it's not tailored that way. It pushes you to look beyond dreamy vocals for a musical inner core.

You can fault the album for feeling much like a scatter-shot collection rather than a planned full-length, but forgiving the lack of structure of dancehall albums yields spontaneous rewards when you're dealing with a talent like Beenie.

The most natural and best record they've ever made.