This is a live album the way it ought to be produced: sincere and surprising, a true alternative to your well-worn copies of the studio recordings.

Shows a sure production sense to match the ever-perceptive singer/songwriter's observations on life and love.

Populated with high, lonesome soundscapes that condense the Americana epics of last year's "Black Letter Days" into concentrated studies of tears-in-the-whiskey depression.

A stunning shot of muscular, melodic rock.

Tom Smith's emotive vocals and the dense wall of guitars strike the perfect balance between moody, underground noise and more accessible, arena-bound rock.

Saying that Jack Johnson's fourth record is languid and breezy is a little like saying the Cubs probably won't win it all this year, but Sleep Through the Static takes Johnson's über-chill, barefoot-in-a-hammock vibe to new heights--or mediums, depending on how you look at such things.

A mature effort that shines with nakedness and clarity.

It's a rich, engaging set that reveals something new with each listen.

The Miami-bred MC Rick Ross has faced a number of career obstacles in recent months--from damaged street credibility to a multi-episodic beef--so it's all the more impressive that on his third album, Deeper Than Rap, he presents his most cohesive work yet.

A recording not to be missed.

Sweepingly beauteous and mesmerizingly rhythmic, The Isness offers pleasures equally suited to explorers of dancefloors or headphones.

Shakira, of course, is unmistakable. But the coup is that each track is absolutely distinctive, even on several songs with no clear-cut choruses or hooks.

Sia still brings enough weird on Some People to satisfy old-school fans.

The result is simple and sparse, but more satisfying than heavier-handed electronic projects.

Cook bursts back with Brighton Port Authority, a project that liberates him from the "electronic dance artist" identity crisis and allows his production talents to shine.

The Brooklyn quartet Grizzly Bear has earned a reputation for dense sonic buildups and gorgeous harmonies, and the group's third album "Veckatimest" excels on both accounts.

The breakdowns on songs like "Dee-Ree-Shee" and "You in Color" truly highlight each member's technical and dynamic abilities; the crescendos emphasize their quantum power to make great art as a group.

The album could serve as an excellent point of entry for a new crop of fans.

Gore's reworkings sparkle with visceral emotion, aching vulnerability, and sublime intensity.

It is exactly what the band needs to boost itself to the next level of pop-punk prowess.

A modest but consistently satisfying affair, rich in music and message.

Nine of the album's dozen songs were written by Partridge, and each unfolds like an act of a melodious Shakespearean play -- lyrics drenched in imagery and metaphor, plots twisting through the experience of love and betrayal.

A strong effort that trades sunny-sounding rockers and breakup songs for weightier concerns of war and family, "Lights" conveys that maturity without seeming strained. [28 Jan 2006]

With his raw, raspy baritone voice, he paints vivid, usually empathetic pictures within an instrumental context that is rife with refreshing live beats and sharply drawn guitar and keyboard lines.

Toby Keith has developed into a superstar for a reason, and he keeps getting better.

A collection of blistering rock songs and alcohol-laced laments.

Harvey's mostly bare arrangements, stark vocal delivery and razor-sharp lyrics add up to a poignant, haunting rumination on what makes--and breaks--a life

While it doesn't have the cohesive impact of "Hot Fuss" or "Sam's Town," it's an appealing set that brings a bit more breadth and depth to the group's catalog.