Given her current partnership with the crossover kings at Big Machine, one hopes that an album of pop covers might loom in McEntire's near future. (How great would she be on "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars?) Until then, we'll have to make do with "All the Women I Am," which offers another welcome helping of her well-established sound.

The set features several strongly tropical numbers, like the gentle 'Cancao de Amor' and a fine cover of her father's original bossa nova classic 'Bim Bom.'

An album that works better as a musical koan than it does a hip new collection of indie folk.

The guitar legend still plays with the energy of a teenager-albeit a highly talented one-just starting out. And when he gets his dander up on such tracks as "Too Soon" and "Let the Door Knob Hit Ya," Guy can still diss like a street gangsta

With its serene landscapes and beautiful imagery, listening to The Golden Archipelago makes waiting for the tropical temperatures of summer all the more difficult.

Although it may not be a punk album through and through, songs like "The Stick" and "Where Was My Brain?" embody the genre's spirit with pounding drums, frenzied guitars and rushed deliveries (the former cut clocks in at less than two minutes), while "Mourning in America" mixes the genre's chaotic arrangements and political bite with Leo's usual power-pop flare.

She may be changing direction, but that swagger is still intact.

When It's Dark Out marks a vast leap forward: His cadences are more agile, his boasts more boastful, his guest list tighter (Too Short, E-40, Kehlani).

Every song comes and goes in less than three-and-a-half minutes (and most in a lot less) as the band makes up in ramshackle charm what it lacks in glossy production.

On Storyteller, it’s striking to hear her respond to varied musical textures by expanding her repertoire, toying with inflection and phrasing, and bringing new wrinkles to the characters she’s inhabiting.

Her willingness to own every step and misstep, and to show her audience how the rough times helped her become the woman she is, makes Confident a surprisingly compelling listen.

With her third Sire album, the deliciously attractive Far, Spektor again shows how original she is, finding the gleam in modern life with its contradictions and confusion in a uniquely colloquial manner.

Auerbach offers a more sedate take on the "Born to Die" template, lightening the orchestrations, ditching the hip-hop beats, and presenting Lana as a perpetually scorned pop-noir fugitive--part Neko Case, part Katy Perry. It's a delicious contrast that makes for a surprisingly great album.

It's rare when every member of a band can claim both vocal and instrumental contributions to an album, and even more rare when each contributor is exceptionally talented.

Even with the hiatus, the effort is remarkable for its maverick spirit and pop unorthodoxy.

It's not the challenging listening experience that such recent albums as "Orchestrion" (2010) and "The Way Up" (2005) provided, but "What's It All About" is Metheny at his most genteel.

Caracal is the kind of effort that diehard fans might convince themselves to appreciate, and then never play again.

Its new album, "Dirty Side Down," plays to all of Widespread Panic's strengths, from the intricate weaving of John Bell's and Jimmy Herring's guitars with John Hermann's keyboards to a stylistic sweep that spans from the epic, prog-like opening suite "Saint Ex" to breezier fare like the title track and the spritely gallop of "Clinic Cynic."

Its muted mood and tempo may be initially disappointing for an artist who's been at the forefront of pop and, often, innovated it.... A closer listen, though, shows Rihanna harnessing the moody, intimate sounds for a novel purpose: to open up and let us peer into how complicated her adult life has become.

As on Volume One, Ward's performance and production excel, and his song arrangements move effortlessly between heart-rending and cheery.While Ward's musicianship remains the magic behind She & Him, Deschanel's lyrical growth on Volume Two proves she can hold her own alongside a well-respected partner.

Stuff Like That There shows that Yo La Tengo is, remarkably, still effectively the same band it was a quarter-century ago: graceful, centered and eager to play its latest finds.

It's the airtight beats of Danger Mouse and the surreal songwriting of Linkous that make this a fascinating set.

With Closer to the Bone Kristofferson digs deep into his long and troubled past to bring listeners one of his most beautiful moments.

The Black Dirt Sessions delivers even more grit and lyrical heaviness than its predecessors, revealing a desperate, wayworn side to McCauley's songwriting.

It's his understanding of the niche he's carved for himself--a love affair with darkness and sludgy rock braced with stripper-worthy blues rhythms--that makes his continued output worthwhile.

With a voice that seems to work with many genres, James' set is reminiscent of hits from late-'90s pop acts, but with a more mature, sexually charged attitude and influence from country and hip-hop.

Although the new set may lack the wide-eyed naivete that made the group's past efforts so endearing, the newfound maturity makes for a compelling set of songs.

During the 13-song set, Jones ditches the gentle piano-playing of her previous work and rises to a new level of creative boldness.