Ladytron's most interesting aspect is their mix of retro songwriting with distinctly modern themes.

Discardable as it may be, Mission Accomplished shows that Tricky's still got plenty up his sleeve.

This Is the Moment is both the best Donny Osmond album ever made and conclusive evidence that the former teen idol, who was 43 when it was released, is never going to be more than a pleasant, modestly talented singer.

Things We Lost in the Fire's slowly rising warmth and subtly hopeful tone not only make this Low's most cohesive, compelling collection, but one of 2001's best albums.

A hypnotic, bittersweet, transcendental pop masterpiece.

A solid heavyweight of ten skillful tracks, each one more unlike the other in form and feat, yet similar in ample amounts of prowess and poise.

Human is the sound of an artist painfully trying to sound modern but -- by trying to sound fresh -- sounding older than he ever has.

More winds up having more style and substance than its predecessor.

Frisell’s fondness for putting unusual combinations of instruments together adds to the overall effect, leaving the listener to wonder why no one has ever tried this before. Blues Dream is a lovely release that should satisfy Frisell fans as well as jazz, country, and blues fans looking for a genre bending experience.

Not bad for a placeholder EP.

His most interesting work since Teenager of the Year, Dog in the Sand sounds like a slightly slower, rootsier version of that album.

Caithlin De Marrais' graceful, yet abrasive vocals craft the dynamic of the band: well-directed musicianship without the frills of overproduced punk-inspired anthems.

Essentially, this is the same album as On the Six, only a little longer with a little less focus and not as many memorable songs. This lack of winning singles becomes a drag, since at over an hour, the record meanders much longer than it should.

2000 Years is a guitar-ripping dissertation --only it's sealed inside a musical envelope that's addressed to the likes of Adam and Eve.

Face it, if The Donnas Turn 21 sounded as shamelessly sexy as the lyrics and tarted-up images, it'd be a hell of a little rock & roll record. Instead, this inspires feelings of guilt instead of guilty pleasure.

The mix of frothy pop with a strange flavor makes this disc particularly compelling.

While the moody "Report on an Investigation" does reveal a bit more emotional depth than much of Minekawa's work, Maxi On! doesn't offer much in the way of surprises; however, it also offers few disappointments.

Returning to the green fields of pure sound study they'd appeared to desert during the late '90s, Pan sonic forged a series of intriguing sketches devoted to the polar wastes inside their computers and sequencers.

Many of these samples have been heard before, and the influences (ranging from easy listening to soundtracks to hip-hop) aren't very original either.

What makes this album so wonderful isn't so much the efforts of its star rapper but rather the behind-the-scenes cast of producers.

Live versions of "Hush," "Part of Me," "Push It," and "Third Eye" reaffirm the band's standing as one of alternative metal's most compelling live acts; unreleased studio tracks such as "Message to Harry Manback II" and "L.A. Municipal Court" definitely sound like abandoned material, but offer a look at Tool's quirkier side.

While Restless is not the crowning achievement many predicted, it is X to the Z's most-consistent effort to date.

Highlights include an 18-minute version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" and a duet with the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde on Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."

Their detuned sound and tales from the darkside are even more sinister and gripping on the concert stage, as evidenced by this 14-track set.

As the man who wrote Pink Floyd's lyrics, he is far more concerned with their meaning than his old bandmates, and you can hear that in his singing, which is emphasized without robbing the music of its magisterial power. In fact, with a band boasting several guitarists - primarily Doyle Bramhall II, Andy Fairweather Low, and Snowy White - to make up for the lack of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Waters effectively recreates the sound of his Pink Floyd work.

This soundtrack is a powerful tribute not only to the time-honored but commercially ignored genres of bluegrass and mountain music but also to Burnett's remarkable skills as a producer.

As could be expected, the set works best when the group focuses on material from its most recent forebears: rappers and hardcore bands.

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.