A very aware dance/pop atmospheric soundscape that is both electronically enhanced and orchestrally enriched.

As expected, there's plenty of ass-kicking country on Wilson's third album, but it's her softer side that sets it apart. [19 May 2007]

The pair's knack for excelling amid a range of styles and approaches is even more apparent on "The Understanding," which resists the temptation to overtly court the masses.

There's really no mainstream hip-hop record out there right now that's this diverse (touching on pop, R&B, and dance) and this much focused on producing meaningful, quality music.

Perfectly imperfect and totally fearless, this may well be McGraw's crowning achievement in a career already studded with success.

His ambitions and self-awareness have grown nearly as much as his net worth. [2 Dec 2006]

This is the throat-clutching Ministry that longtime fans have been waiting for: a grand mix of industrial rock and murder metal.

Its third and most ambitious release. 'Asleep' is notable for its beefed-up instrumentation and an overall darker tone than its predecessors.

The gem of this old school-flavored set is its low-key grooves that rely on thought-out storylines and not just sweet-talking jargon. [18 Feb 2006]

With this album, Costa comes defiantly into her own.

The My Morning Jacket frontman cackles, croons, wails, wallops and stomps through the band's fifth and latest great album.

Despite undeniable similarities to other bands that arrived at this party earlier, this album lacks pretension and self-importance. [21 Jan 2006]

The band seems oddly restrained and processed through much of the album's 12 numbers.

It all adds up to a collection that successfully sets Hanson apart from the current teen-pop phenomenon that it helped start -- at least from a creative perspective.

Not known as a songwriter, Adkins has an innate ability to make a song his own, as is the case with the seemingly autobiographical 'Happy to Be Here' and the family-first 'All I Ask for Anymore.'

Trail of Dead has made the album of its career.

Jordin Sparks gets a first effort that's all over the map--and works.

When this sixth CD opens with a cataclysm of "Transformers" noises, it signals a record that's a little more unapologetically electronic than their previous ones.

When "White Trash With Money" is good, it's very good. And when it's not so good, it's still OK. [15 Apr 2006]

It's still hard to tell if he's a bluesman in a soft-rocker's body or vice versa, and "Continuum" is the sound of him trying to figure it out too.

The real virtue of Lucky One, as on all of his previous efforts, is Malo's voice, a full, rich tenor that conveys dramatic emotional sweep without gratuitously emotive technique.

This eulogy is a celebration, and Big Whiskey is a dense, humid album that, befitting its New Orleans origins, shrewdly cuts its melancholy with exuberance and vice versa.

Six tracks are leftovers from the Brian Eno-produced "Vida" sessions, many of which make noticeable, if not exactly terrifying, departures from the band's swelling rockery.

It's the shimmering beauty of the title track, an overhaul of the Christine McVie-penned Fleetwood Mac tune, where Adams and Nelson's styles most seamlessly, and quite beautifully, mesh. [4 Nov 2006]

Fire Songs proves the Watson Twins are a strong songwriting team, and one that has earned its time in the spotlight.

A disc that flows with soulful vocals showcased in clean, back-to-the-real production settings

Legend's voice remains beyond reproach, but for a guy who's an oasis of style and soul in a sea of synthetic, robo-call R&B, at times it seems like he's playing catch-up.

Garage rock at its finest, messiest and most welcomingly insignificant.