Arrangements begin with folk-friendly guitar, mandolin, and violin, only to rise into soundscapes worthy of Lambchop, if not Tricky.

West magically sledgehammers home his opinions on taboo topics over beats that are equally daring.

Dark, dusty, and ever bittersweet, Burnett's musical archaeology here is something considerably more than merely "O Brother Redux."

I Can’t Stop blows away the dust and finds more life and gutbucket flash in a seemingly inexhaustible vein.

One of 2003's best releases.

While it probably won't be remembered as his best album, The Black Album is his most personal to date and features some of his most compelling writing.

As unlikely as the collaboration [with Tim Armstrong] looked on paper, it works perfectly because the Pennsylvania native has always brandished a punk sneer beneath the corsets, gaudy hair color, and naughty girl demeanor.

Merritt's lyrics remain as sharp and funny ("We belong together/Like sex and violence," he croons on "Heather Heather"), but it's the ever-inventive arrangements--like the offbeat blend of ukulele and harmonium on "One April Day"--that make these gems especially memorable.

Committed Ja Rule fans looking for those signature hip-pop collaborations he's taken to the bank before won’t find them here.

It’s hard to remember that he once wrote well-crafted ballads of romantic infatuation.

Westerberg's not making sensitive statements or trying to write a pop song as good as "Alex Chilton" here. As such, it's the best music he's made in years.

On every tune, Mercer packs more hooks and melodic invention than most bands do on one album. As a whole, it's an even better record than Inverted World.

Amorino sounds like a lost soundtrack to some cool French film from the 1960s.

Moments of playful mixing magic are at times followed by baffling inanity.

Out of Season creates a dreamily sinister otherworld that's both vintage and timeless. [Amazon UK review]

Seven's Travels features some of Ant's most adventurous and assured production.

She is still in the forefront of genre-transcending artistry.

It’s just a shame that the lack of soul in his rotating rap deliveries tends to undermine his masterful storytelling capabilities.

For fans of Silver Side Up, Nickelback have delivered the goods once more.

More D12 than 50 Cent in terms of quality, Cheers should have been way more than simply the sum of its notable parts.

Less immediately ear-grabbing than the previous disc, this self-titled record nonetheless sinks in deeply after a mere handful of plays.

Worthy of more than novelty status.

Seal never goes all out in any direction and this coolness, combined with Trevor Horn’s perfectionist production, plants the album inescapably in the realm of adult contemporary (although this is as good as adult contemporary gets).

It may still sound beautiful, but too often Amazing Grace comes off as mere formula.

An album that's smart at every level.

If the lyrics generally lack the literary precision of Zevon’s best work, the songs take on greater weight given the circumstance under which they were recorded.

By marrying ambitious rhymes to a series of increasingly hot beats, Nappy Roots have effectively avoided the sophomore jinx.

Gil Norton's production has taken the band to new heights, allowing the music to have as much grit, substance, and dynamics as the lyrics.