Without a deft rap to go over these tracks, many of them merely drift over the listener.

Strictly for the devout fan base.

Our Endless Numbered Days is very subdued, thoughtful, melodic, and downright beautiful album and the new sound is more of a progression than a sudden shift in values, production or otherwise.

Like a guided tour through the last 20 years of guitar rock.

Overall, Jem's songcraft is only ambitious in relation to a genre often defined by a "blander is better" pleasure principle.

Madvillainy's strength lies in its mix between seemingly obtuse beats, samples, MCing, and some straight-up hip-hop bumping.

Not what you'd call an enjoyable listen, but one to be respected anyway, and also one that worms its way into your head.

A genuinely moving and wickedly fun record.

Like faith, these songs require patience, as their almost mantra-like arcs take their time to fully form.

While obviously talented and often inspired, it is unclear if the Bad Plus are avant-garde enough to appeal to hardcore jazz fans, or pop-oriented enough to grab the attention of rock listeners.

In the end, while not the perfect album that Aveo's talent promises, the removal of a couple songs would render the entire thing striking and mesmerizing, and when held to such a high standard, you can't ask for too much more than that.

Perhaps this isn't quite as strong of a selection of songs as Got No Shadow, but it comes close, and the music simply feels right.

Even in its louder moments, Milk Man is a surprisingly subtle album, and one that takes Deerhoof's music in quietly exciting new directions.

Despite some tedious melodramatics, Fall Back Open is a decent sophomore effort.

While it's not perfect -- occasionally the album's heady, indulgent feel tends to make it drag -- Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes is still an impressive expansion of TV on the Radio's fascinating music.

2004's early front-runner for art rock album of the year.

Franz Ferdinand reveals more depth and more new directions than their previous work suggested.

Once again Cee-Lo has recorded a peerless album, except this time he's recorded one that should connect, or at least deserves to.

If the music on Schizophrenic was as awkward as Chavez's singing and stance, it'd be an easy album to dismiss, but what makes it so frustrating is that he has a lot of good music on the album.

By combining elements of metal, pop, jazz, and electronica, the Cooper Temple Clause create a broad album that is subtle and meticulous as well as driving and bombastic.

Panda Park is uplifting, mesmerizing, glittery, and unapologetically psychedelic while sounding rooted in both '70s prog and skewed latter-day punk rock.

By not just defying but denying the expectations about what their music should be like, the Liars have created one of the most fascinating, confrontational albums of the 2000s.

Andy Barlow's productions have been defanged; no longer surprising and innovative, they exist as merely proper frameworks for the songs.

Like Springsteen, Phillips centers his songwriting in a kind of mythic America, an approach he used as well in his former band, Grant Lee Buffalo. But it is an approach that works only if the songs and the characters in them are believable, and Phillips' carefully considered, ornate lyrics often work against that believability.

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.

Like the best Indigo Girls work has, All That We Let In continually dwells on the dynamic of internal, emotional tumult and outward-looking, world-wondering fervor.

While Trans Am's need to express their political views and their cliché-busting approach are both admirable, unfortunately their ways of expressing their dissent aren't all that inspired.

She's in Control is dirty late-night fun simply because it has fun.