While nothing on Repentless reaches similar heights of mayhem, overall the album is more focused and fierce than its predecessor, 2009’s Hanneman-assisted World Painted Blood.

Muse fans will have a hard time being disappointed by "The 2nd Law," and rookies have a new perfect place to jump in.

The album, which comes in 10- and 18-track editions, sounds better on paper than in reality. But there is the odd moment-such as "Railroad to Heaven," with Solomon Burke at his God-fearing best-that rises above its creditable but decidedly rote surroundings.

Even though Crash Love isn't terribly progressive in scope and the band's '80s idolatry might one day run its course, the set is another highlight in a discography that's as consistent as it is expansive.

There are enough brains and brawn to make this an "Asylum" any head-banger would be crazy to avoid.

A phenomenally successful career as part of a duo doesn't guarantee success outside of it. But it should certainly come as no surprise that Ronnie Dunn doesn't slouch or stumble on his solo debut.

In an already impressive, multi-platinum career, Blown Away is a landmark achievement.

The pair's cryptic lyrics can get lost in the shuffle at times, but Bechtolt and Evans offer enough interesting musical ideas to keep the listener engaged.

It’s essential listening not so much for its quality--uneven, if generally high--but for the strange place it occupies in Morrissey’s discography. Not since 1991’s “Kill Uncle” has he given us anything quite so puzzling.

Sea of Cowards is even wilder, with grungier guitars ("I'm Mad," "No Horse"), greasier synths ("The Difference Between Us," "Gasoline") and funkier neo-John Bonham beats from White himself ("Jawbreaker," "Old Mary").

Displaying impressive vocal polish from outspoken frontman Scott Weiland; blazing guitar solos over tight, crunch-laden instrumentation; and grungy takes on Lennon/McCartney melodicism, STP asserts its place among seminal hard-rock chameleons.

The chemistry works as expected, even if it never exceeds, or even reaches, the sum of its artists. There's no transcendent moment here, because the project is essentially a meeting of opposites who mostly stay in their lanes.

His highly anticipated sophomore album succeeds in mixing its safer stylistic choices with its relatively bold ideas.

It sounds good on paper, but the album unfolds as an undifferentiated wash of music, without the big toothsome melodies that have lifted John's music for decades.

[2012 album, Shrines] was a fun record, like listening to Madonna at half speed with your face in a strobe light. Follow-up Another Eternity does little to expand this aesthetic, but for those who enjoy hearing top 40 pop sounds refracted through a funhouse mirror, that's probably not bad news.

Grizzly Bear contributes a typically gorgeous psych-folk incantation called "Slow Life" (with guest vocals from Beach House's Victoria Legrand), and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon duets with St. Vincent on "Roslyn," which could warm even a vampire's heart.

While it's too early to tell if The Pinkprint is a classic, it's safe to say it's her best album to date. Minaj was finally able to out-rap herself and purge issues she's struggled with in private in her most exposed fashion yet.

They never supersede the originals, but hardly suffer in comparison.

Overall, Carey's throwback vibe on Memoirs is refreshing and much welcomed.

Golden contains several songs that sound custom-made for rolling the window down and turning the volume up.... However, any Lady A disc has to contain at least a couple of heartbreaking ballads, and they don't disappoint here.

The overall sound might be slighter and less sprawling, but it's also more sharply focused.

The set may not feel as catchy as Ra Ra Riot's well-received debut, but fans should appreciate the band's musical growth.

Most important, it's big fun, whether you buy into the high concept or not.

It's similar to Pitbull's newest album, Planet Pit, which blends everything but the kitchen sink in a frenetic jumble that's facile yet unadulterated fun.

Lantern is a beautifully restrained--by HudMo standards, that is--concept album that mirrors a full day, yawning awake with palate-clearing drones and ending ecstatically in the wee hours of a club utopia.

As first impressions go, Know-It-All is a charismatic balance between dreams and reality that makes its author stick out in the most impressive way.

Throughout this quick follow-up to last year's "Something Else," Thicke reveals a side of his personality that's flashier and funnier than the Oprah-appropriate image that was cultivated with previous hits. Musically, too, he flexes an eclectic streak last heard on his underappreciated 2003 debut.

After 20-something years of rap and dance running in mostly parallel lines, Kid Sister's imagining of their intersection is fresh and unapologetically fun.