Beyond unnecessary remixes, there are joyous discoveries to be had here.

"Yr Atal Genhedlaeth" is undoubtedly a charismatic prize for die-hard Rhys/Super Furries fans, but for drive-by listeners, it's just an interesting appendix to the band's body of work.

[A] pleasant surprise of an album.

Not only is this one of the best new-artist debuts in recent memory (think Dixie Chicks in 1998), Lady Antebellum's self-titled set will go down as one of the year's best, period.

Perfectly Clear is not only persuasive, but down-home, old-school country.

The lush arrangements on 4:13 Dream don't build a Wall of Sound so much as a whitewater, where heavily distorted guitar and effects share momentum with fluid melodies and memorable pop hooks.

One would think the standard tension/release moments would get tiresome, but most of the album has an energy that makes you forget about anything that might seem redundant.

Since barreling into parts unknown, the further advances made by Sean Booth and Rob Brown have been subtle at best, and the most intriguing sounding bits of their eighth album, "Untilted," usually arrive in the midst of something more familiar.

Fans of Wilco will certainly oblige Kotche's singular visions; fans of "Being There," maybe not so much.

JSBE fans will recognize this rechristened and evolving Blues Explosion and are very likely to enjoy it just as much.

Without question, Stillmatic is the artist's most complete album since he debuted eight years ago with Illmatic.

Pitbull's signature combination of clever, in-your-face Spanglish lyrics and frenetic dance beats is at its best on this album, where he plays to his less excessively crude sensibilities.

Play[s] out like a fresh discovery that's strangely familiar--a '60s soul in a 21st-century outfit.

The densely produced layers of previous works are gone in favor of a big and bright fun-house feel.

The seemingly ageless Australian rock combo mostly employs its same tried-and-true formula on the audio side of the Black Ice equation.

"Underneath" spotlights a more mature, melodic pop-rock Hanson.

A debut recording as fine as this one deserves immediate attention.

There are more examples of cover albums gone wrong than gone right. Thankfully Glen Campbell's new set, which finds him ably putting his own twist on tunes from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, U2, Green Day and John Lennon, among others, fits into the latter category.

Corner is sort of like ["Ruckus'"] older cousin, as it finds Galactic enlisting a monster guest list of MCs to rock over its densest grooves to date. You'd think the results would vary more than they do.

Even with the added string section, Gray has not lost his knack for combining lovely melodies with bittersweet lyrics. [17 Sep 2005]

"Ecstasy" finds 58-year-old rock poet Lou Reed characteristically fixing his gaze on messier thoughts and murkier emotions -- and doing so more artfully than at any time since his 1989 masterpiece, "New York."

While dancehall novices may find some of the material redundant, "Back to Basics" is a traditional dancehall album in every sense of the word. It's rhythmic, sexual and unapologetically raw.

Lovebox veers more toward the rock and soul spectrum than previous efforts.

Willner's soulful production, elegant and layered, recalls Daniel Lanois' work with Emmylou Harris. [17 Feb 2007]

Ben Harper is that rare talent able to not only vacation in the worlds of gospel, soul, folk and even reggae, but meld them gracefully together on both album and stage. But sometimes you just want him to rock, like he did on 1995's "Ground on Down." And at long last, he's assembled a new band that seems dedicated to just that, and it's a beautiful thing.

The strengths of "All Rise" are understatement and simplicity; while George may not shock you, it's because she never meant to.

We haven't heard such a melodic Swedish act since ABBA.

On her confident fifth album, the multiplatinum hitmaker attacks her recent divorce in all styles.