Ghostbird is a summer album for adventurous folk fans, engaging on its first run-thru but packed with enough twists and turns to warrant repeated listens.

On Am I the Enemy?, the guys consolidate their strengths and clean up the mess that Lonely Road left behind, focusing instead on the sort of emo-influenced alt-rock that reaches for the rafters without losing sight of the ground.

Packing so many WTFs into one ten-song record is hardly fair, a bit reckless, and ultimately (amazingly) successful.

On Tha Carter IV, Wayne's world feels more like a dream than reality, but the loyal subjects of Young Money get a wild ride and the great feeling of flashing those ruby slippers one more time.

World Wide Rebel Songs, is, without question, a welcome call to arms.

Without that soulful kind of anchor, Nothing But the Beat offers the same experience as one of Guetta's numerous remix sets, which is a compliment if you're a dancefloor and a caution if you're a pair of headphones.

This frantic release gives them a kind of spastic, jagged sound that puts them somewhere between Lightning Bolt and an actual bolt of lightning, and makes Tripper an album that's more likely to wear listeners out physically than mentally.

Despite only taking a couple of years to put out a second album, Lenses Alien also feels like an altogether more grown-up record.

Ultimately, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are served well by that professionalism; they're long past the point of proving themselves, they're now longer here for a party, they're rock & roll lifers, and I'm with You illustrates they can settle into maturity convincingly.

An album that is fashionably slick, altogether tragic, and deceptively beautiful.

Their sound is dustier, more evocative of the landscape they wander; Tassili is as desolate--and as timeless--as the desert itself.

Perhaps Ghost on the Canvas doesn't revisit every high in Campbell's history, but it pays honor to his legacy and feels like an appropriate and subtly moving farewell.

Here, he reverses that dynamic, playing the studio like the virtuoso that he is, and he's come up with his best record in years, a shamelessly enjoyable piece of aural candy.

The lyrics still focus on Walker's own little world--the girls he's known, the drugs he's done, the trouble he got into as an '80s wild child--but Spade feels broader, fuller, more collective than those words suggest.

These fleeting glimpses of originality aren't enough to save the album, though, and until Olsen discovers his own voice, you'd be better served by listening to music by the artists he borrows from so heavily.

They may not be as confident here as they were on their first album, but La Liberacion's best moments are direct and fun, and there's no shame in that.

If Widowspeak keep refining their sound and cranking out memorable and quietly impressive songs like they do here, they may end up being pretty special. Even if they don't, though, this album will still be out there to help soothe and thrill you when you have a post-Mazzy itch you need to scratch.

From the performances, to the songwriting, to the production, Still Living is the group's strongest, most multi-dimensional album.

For as relaxed as Mirror Traffic is, there is real structure to the songs and clarity to the production, two things that turn it into Malkmus' most satisfying solo album to date.

While Smith fans no doubt have everything contained here -- of the 18 tracks collected , each album is represented -- this disc serves as an excellent introduction to Smith's ever evolving, non-compromising art which combines high-stakes poetry with rock & roll.

B-sides and rarities collections can often help give fans insight into their favorite artists' creative processes, or at the very least, provide either a light snack between releases or a post-retirement victory lap, but when an artist as prolific as Stephin Merritt decides to clean house, it can be a little underwhelming.

The result is easily her best record yet: a soundtrack equally comforting during a lazy weekend afternoon or a hard Monday morning.

13 doesn't really feel like one of the man's most inspired or immortality-bound efforts, but rather just another reminder of Wino's prolific consistency.

Highly recommended to fans of smart jazz that remembers to entertain.

Dre's short, spoken bits end up the only speed bumps during all these twists and turns, and when you're complaining about interludes instead of the overall attitude of a Game album, you've got an obsession-free, almost relatable success that sacrifices none of the man's fire or skill.

The Blackbird Diaries isn't for everyone: it's mainstream but not sterile; it celebrates roots music without overly indulging it or neglecting pop; in short, it's catchy as hell and better than any Stewart solo project to date.

lthough the arrangements and material are monochromatic, What Matters Most isn't a failure by any means, thanks to Barbra Streisand's interpretive skills (as well as her flair for drama and her ever-beautiful voice). That said, this is not a record for those who love precocious Streisand best (Funny Girl, Hello, Dolly!).

The decision to vary the speaking participants helps distinguish each piece, and gives the album just the hint of variety it needs.