She hasn't sounded quite so free and engaged as she does on these songs, where her vocal and lyrical mannerisms come through more forcefully and confidently.

No, MDNA can't be hailed as Madge's best ever album, and it may not contain the most thought- provoking lyrics of her career (perhaps an intentional tongue-in-cheek poke at the current state of pop music?), but it is the reigning Queen of Pop's most inspired work since Music, as well as the highly addictive record Madonna celebrants have been craving.

John has always had that deep gruff rasp, but backed by raw swamp boogie with lots of baritone sax, creepy female backing vocals and treated keyboards, he's sounding as dangerous and spooky as when laying down the gris-gris on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" back in 1968.

Slipstream is Bonnie Raitt's best album in years and one of the best of her 40-year career.

The album as a whole is not perfect; Ward's decision to follow his experimental ear results in a few excusable setbacks. But at its core, A Wasteland Companion shows yet again why Ward can be placed in the higher echelon of contemporary American songwriters.

While it's not in the vein of his riveting, pulsating classics, it's a tough, often lyrically reflective rumination set to no nonsense, simmering, often swampy blues inflected rockers with an undercurrent of taut funk.

What makes Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now such a harrowing, albeit minor, addition to his catalog is how matter-of-factly Earle presents himself.

Glasper's formidable jazz chops are the album's constant attribute.

Gloryland certainly stands as a glorious example of Americana songwriting.

This record is urgent, pissed, strident and macabre.

On Delta Spirit the record, the band capitalizes on its hard-fought inertia by presenting their cleanest and most sonically homogenous record to date.

While the album may leave some longtime fans pining for their beloved band of yesteryear, those who are willing to listen with open minds (and ears) will soon realize that Say Anything hasn't lost any of its true musical identity, but simply expanded upon it.

Ray is, above all else, bursting with heart, soul and rock 'n' roll, and that heady flush of humanity is what makes Lung of Love so near-perfectly imperfect.

Far from coming off as a dry and didactic exercise in replicating an ancient style of playing, Carolina Chocolate Drops has instead reinvigorated old-time music for 21st-century ears.

The album also has its share of upbeat songs--pop-rock flavored numbers powered by bright guitar and vocal hooks that have plenty to offer radio, but considerably less to sink your teeth into upon sustained listening.

Though this remastered 40th Anniversary Edition tightens and polishes every tone, L.A. Woman isn't exactly a studio marvel.

It's mood music with a melody, orchestral pop without the pomp, midwest Americana with Euro-classical training. And despite the title, it's far from broken.

With this impressive album of wonderfully melodic music, the band joins the growing ranks of harmony-based folk-rock outfits like the Fleet Foxes and the Civil Wars.

In flirting with frivolity en route to the sublime, the Magnetic Fields too often sound frivolous.

Lovett sounds so tired on all of these songs. All those years with Curb weigh heavily on him, which makes Release Me less of a triumphant good-bye and more of an unceremonious shuffle out the door.

Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball is that rare release that manages to fulfill, defy, and exceed expectations all at once.

All in all, then, the record showcases a dynamism present but not fully realized on their critically acclaimed (and still excellent) debut.

The only thing that the Immersion Edition is really missing is any extensive liner notes.

In the end, these four alt-folkies honor their idol's legacy, providing a gateway for a younger generation of fans to further experience and explore the importance of Woody Guthrie.

Mitchell put a permanent stamp of approval on her already sparkling reputation with the gorgeous and striving Young Man In America.

Where Roses shines the brightest is via the textures that gild the album's edges.

These songs are refreshing, loud, fun and thoughtful.

It's all as heavy and convoluted as it sounds, but the playing and production is top notch and those looking for an adventurous, unpredictable ride will appreciate Cursive's sheer depth of vision.

[A] stirring, often spellbinding mix of gospel, R&B, folk and rock.

While continuing to deliver the intimate songs of hopeless love and regret for his longtime fans, he stills finds ways to surprise as he works with his magician-like collaborator.

The Athens-based multi-instrumentalist is joined by an assortment of similarly rootsy musicians who help flesh out some of these generally atmospheric yet always moving pieces, many of which only reveal their subtle allures after repeated playings.

She's created an album that plumbs the kind of emotional depths that used to be expected from major rock artists.

[Their] biggest, most-produced and boldest album yet.

Before Arrow, I thought I liked this band; I thought I liked them a lot, even. Having seen this new side, though, a better word would be "love."

For the most part, it works. But "Warrior Man," a jumbled idea that could've been a great song, is the sort of cautionary tale that keeps this album from matching Shame, Shame's standards.

It's warmly, immaculately recorded, featuring a wealth of tasty cocktail pop atmosphere perfect for sipping wine on the couch late at night or reclining with a book in a bay window on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's fine, it's dandy, and it's completely inessential.

Ultimately, the album's roomy sound and well-observed sentiments come across as byproducts of lived experience rather than of an extensive vinyl collection.

What Happened To The LA LAs is a bit different, though hardly so different as to alienate its core fan base.

Roots folk doesn't get more organic than this.

The sparse production rightly focuses on the vocals with a backing band that's in the pocket yet appropriately reserved.

One Man Mutiny does a great job of balancing Stinson's pop-punk sheen with a bittersweet dose of aching ballads.

Bursting with enough potential singles to suggest that the most-played male artist of the last decade will continue to dominate country radio.

He comes across as a man still deep in the throes of religious and romantic upheaval, invigorated rather than intimidated by the nearness of death.

Cut half the roster on Chimes and you've got an amazing lineup of Dylan's peers and admirers.

This tribute may do a better job of conveying Clark's power than his own recordings.

Lightbody and company manage to deliver an unyielding and substantially satisfying collection of high quality upbeat tracks and atmospheric ballads.

Voyageur improves on its predecessor by feeling both more intimate and more boomingly spacious--it helps move her away from the middle.

A nice summation of Chris Cornell's career up to this point, Songbook makes for a fine springboard into the next creative chapter of his life.

With their extended songs, complex– some might say obtuse– lyrics and Geddy Lee's piercing vocals, Rush largely plays to a cult audience.

The album has a little something for everyone, from the electronic skronk of "Awake On Foreign Shores" and the Dark Lights' remix "The Stars In His Head" to the gentle, Bachian minute-long dirge, "All The Days I've Missed You."

It's meat-and-potatoes blues-rock topped with something sweeter, and it's the most consistent thing these guys have ever cooked up.

Regrettably, Break The Spell never fulfills its mission of delivering an unabashed rock effort and genuine nuggets of musical magic are few and far between.

The CD chops out the voluminous chatter, which is one of the strengths of the 1 3/4 hour DVD, but works just fine for on-the-go playback of a dynamic concert.

Beautifully-balanced and well-paced.

The warmth Nail musters vocally is matched by the pairing of production big and bright enough for radio with performances that feel unmistakably like the work of real, live musicians with personalities.

It's a pleasant, moody, laconic bordering on snoozy, stripped down affair that never breaks a sweat or escalates into a gallop.

On The Dreamer, James includes some unlikely song choices, and most of them work.

Four the Record retain all the pain and personality that drove those dark songs [of her first two albums] and redirects her energies toward some of her best and most eloquent singing and songwriting yet.

What's offered on Ceremonials is solid, even a cut or two above solid. But it doesn't move the band forward.

What truly makes the album memorable--and what makes it arguably Bondy's best--is the atmosphere that pervades every song.

It takes some commitment, and maybe a little homework, to get the most out of the album.

The music on Smoking in Heaven is simple, but these songs are also beautifully rendered with a kinetic energy missing in much of today's auto-tuned chart-topping hits.

His vocals are slightly generic yet the songs are solid and when he shifts into falsetto, you'll take a time trip back to the 60s heyday of this sumptuous and frisky R&B that moves from the dance floor to the bedroom.

McBride is still singing--and now occasionally even writing--songs that employ specific, substantial storytelling to speak to modern women's experiences.

As 25 Years proceeds, the music grows fussier and increasingly self-impressed in its jazz and world music flourishes, yet even as Sting's voice grows slightly deeper and more textured over the years, he never really evolves or develops as a solo artist.

This is the comeback album they should have released in '03.

Mylo Xyloto is fully realized and instantly revealed on first listen.

Divine Providence, music that the Creator Himself may have sent, is the best, funniest, most detailed, thrilling blast of rock and roll since The Hold Steady's Boys And Girls In America.

The "big-in-England" quartet's fourth release is more of the same that made them so admired overseas;ie trippy yet expansive psychedelic Brit-pop sung and played with attitude (some may say ego), a whip smart attention to melody and an arena sensibility/swagger that screams "rock stars."

Although Jack's Mannequin hasn't been able to match the balls to the wall gusto of Everything in Transit, its 2005 critically acclaimed debut, People and Things is easily the most musically cohesive album in the band's catalog thus far.

Marriage, fatherhood, L.A., and devotion to Sri Sakthi Narayani Amma may have mellowed the former Noise Addict leader, but Lee continues to release engaging, if slightly more introspective, work.

Even as he enters his 60s, Waits still sounds as lively and as cagey as ever, indulging both his most brazen and his most sentimental urges to upend all of our expectations.

The songs that stand out here are the ones that have the most authentic feel.

Combining their soft and sensual harmonies and energetic, pop song craft into a set of lovely songs, Beauty Queen Sister confirms The Indigo Girls are still making invigorating and emotional music, have plenty left to say and show no signs of slowing down or easing into nostalgia.

Modern Art stands as one of Sweet's most mature works, displaying his unique gifts as a songwriter and musician.

Despite two new numbers near the end of this album, New Blood feels, despite it's occasional avant-garde touches, like another holding pattern from an artist who has not been particularly prolific since his 80s commercial heyday.

Soaringly tuneful rock is back on this brilliant, cohesive CD.

In Reverie, Joe Henry and his group have created a raw, raucous and messy masterpiece.

Everyone acquits themselves admirably with highlights being Chris Isaak's sumptuous "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and Imelda May's rocking "I'm Looking for Someone to Love." However a closing trash-up by Monty Python's Eric Idle is painfully unfunny and borderline disrespectful to a still influential artist who deserves all the accolades he receives.

Even though there's nothing here Randy Travis didn't do first, McCreery flies the C&W flag proudly, singing hummable cherry picked songs that spotlight his impossibly deep voice and backwoods spirit.

Her voice flutters, bounces, and hiccups through the twelve songs on Metal, and her singing is dynamic and never boring.

It's a solid, not spectacular album with a few very fine songs.

That sense of hostile irony may be one of the most underrated qualities on Nevermind, whose sly dismissals and cagey lyrics sound like an extension of Cobain's scabrous guitars and Dave Grohl's thundering drums.

The famed slide guitarist and world music enthusiast releases his most incisive and sardonic political album.

Elsie sounds like a step down from his Gaslight Anthem fare, lacking the emotional and regional details that make that band's songs sound so lived in.

This is a solid album that will make fans happy without an instant classic like "Waiting For The Sun" or "Blue."

Jennings' songwriting is at its best in Minnesota when reflecting this troubling sense of uncertainty and contradiction.

If Wilco (The Album) was the band tempering their experimental nature into something more accessible, The Whole Love refines that approach and showcases the full range of Wilco's considerable abilities.

If there's more of this stuff in Pearl Jam's vault, here's to hoping the guys sticks around long enough for Pearl Jam Thirty.

In the end, though, whether you're a Bennett fan or a follower of one of his duet partners, this album is nothing extraordinary, and it will be a rare listener who gives this disc more than a couple curious spins before turning to something from the Bennett catalog of yesteryear.

As enjoyable as the album may be, this band needs an audience of excited, cheering fans to transform these songs from 1s and 0s into transcendent experiences.

The Chili Peppers try to strike that same balance on their latest, I'm With You, which may turn out to be a minor installment in their canon but still accomplishes the impossible.

American Goldwing is an all-around great listen - one perfectly suited for late fall nights on the porch or holiday road trips - and it may even be the band's best record to date.

Songs with poetic yet plainspoken lyrics about found love and lost souls twist in unusual directions and often take a while to absorb. But repeated spins are rewarded with sharply realized words atop melodies that, like most of the gems in his catalog of eight solo albums (along with work in the previously mentioned bands), entice you back for more.

The production is clean and not overly slick but the memorable hooks with sweet harmonies come fast and often, resulting in a relatively subtle set that at just 30 minutes leaves you wanting more.

Strange Mercy is more mysterious than its predecessors, the references more obscure, but it also feels more personal.

For every well-placed mandolin run or B-3 organ riff, there's something equally tacky to balance things out.

Nick Lowe continues to age gracefully and for those still yearning for the Basher of yesteryear, there's always the Labour of Lust reissue that came out earlier this year.