Overall very little distracts from the qualities that have made him the most durable talent in commercial yet traditional R&B music.

The outfit's three-axe attack coupled with the distinctive pipes of J.T. Woodruff find Hawthorne Heights able to go where peers like Fall Out Boy just can't.

On most of Inside In/Inside Out, the band sounds like a more energetic Thrills or a looser Sam Roberts Band, maybe even a less severe Arctic Monkeys at times.

A moody, intense, dramatic, and orchestrated second full-length tour de force.

Even more than Margerine Eclipse, Fab Four Suture sounds like Stereolab has adapted -- if not fully healed -- from the loss of Mary Hansen.

Under a Billion Suns is one of the hardest and tightest albums this band has ever made.

Immediate without sounding dumbed-down, Mr. Beast shows the band at the peak of their powers.

Ballad of the Broken Seas is a superbly crafted bit of late-night introspection that brings out the best in both Lanegan and Campbell.

The band is in top form, sounding every bit as fresh and relevant in 2005 as they did 15-years prior.

Maybe this isn't a major record, but it's thoroughly likeable record that doesn't lose its charm on repeated plays.

Pay The Devil is at the crossroads of country, blues and soul. In his voice is the authority to bring them together.

Definitely the sound of a band indie lovers need to check out immediately.

This is a document -- nothing more, nothing less -- and as such it's charming, beautiful, ragged, and honest.

A smooth, delightful whole.

Some will be left wondering just what the hell Merritt is up to -- those poor sad kids who hung on every post-rock word of the Magnetic Fields records as if Merritt's abandoned them. And then, of course, there are the rest of you who will be delighted, puzzled, and intrigued by the sheer originality of this recording.

A stunning comeback that will alternately horrify, thrill, and satisfy fans of Television Personalities, as well as fans of honest, real, and truly independent indie rock.

Close to a full mélange of all the band's various sounds thus far over the years.

It's more of a proper album than Loose Fur itself was, but having fun making music together still sounds like the main priority on Born Again, which, once again, also makes it a lot of fun for Wilco and O'Rourke fans.

Rouse sounds perfectly at ease, as if he were just playing for fun with no tapes rolling.

Yeah, sometimes Quasi get a little too carried away with themselves and the album seems a bit directionless, but that's only when they move away from the grit and into the prettier, synth-based tunes.

Maybe he's no longer breaking new ground, but his eccentricities are now an attribute, not a curse, which goes a long way in making his trademark blend of funk, pop, soul, and rock sound nearly as dazzling as it did at his popular and creative peak in the '80s.

A good album that should please fans of any type of hip-hop.

Full of quietly vibrant moments.

This New Day is an excellent companion to Out of Nothing, with only a slight drop-off in quality.

Ultimately, this album ends up being a more naturalistic take on Calexico's sound; just because it's less stylized doesn't mean it's less interesting -- it just takes a little more time for Garden Ruin's power to reveal itself.

Its gloriously, thoroughly trashy fun makes it a guilt-free fling.

Mullins' most poignant, cohesive, and diverse album.

T.I.'s fourth album isn't the leap forward he's been threatening to make, but it does carry the best set of productions he has been given to work with, and it guarantees that he won't be leaving the singles charts any time soon.