This is guilt-free bass bliss for a post-genre age.

Fiasco turns Food & Liquor II into one long tirade -- everything sucks and no one's going to fix it.

While Fantasia delivers a soulful, laid-back album with tinges of gospel, her distinct voice is most enjoyable when singing heartfelt ballads.

For all their diversity and maturity, these songs couldn't have been written by anyone else, and this welcome return shows that the three years since the last Bright Eyes album have been well spent.

Her fifth and arguably most consistent album to date.

On Music for Men, the band's devotion to being itself has finally found it a place in the mainstream.

Bingham's writing is filled with stark images and canny observations, which is evident on such tracks as "Self-Righteous Wall" and album opener "The Poet." Look for this gifted young artist's star to keep rising.

It's a quick listen, clocking in at less than 45 minutes, and the 10 tracks are laid-back--perhaps too much.

Frontman Ben Bridwell's airy vocals and cozy lyrics have stayed consistent, but the impressive production work by the band and Phil Ek places the gorgeous melodies front and center without sacrificing Band of Horses' rustic power.

By closing the song with unadorned strings, Basement Jaxx seems to be finding feeling in its new efficiency.

The new ambition found on "A Chorus of Storytellers" has led the Album Leaf to its best execution yet.

This Is... Icona Pop, like Carly Rae Jepsen's "Kiss," may someday be viewed as a full-length that included one pop masterpiece, but that underscores the delectability of the treats Icona Pop has sprinkled around that triumph.

There's a spare but exotic flavor to the 11 tracks on Die Antwoord's new album, $O$, which was first released on the Internet and now comes in a spruced-up major-label version that's noticeably polished but retains the subversive and exotic vibe of the original.

Clearly, Lambert has talent, but on Heart she's merely scratching the surface.

He can sound awkward navigating Swift’s vernacular of haters and mad love, but when he plays up his strengths--the fingerpicking and strings on “Blank Space,” or changing the “Style” lyric “James Dean daydream” to “Daydream Nation,” a nod to Sonic Youth--the universality of great songwriting shines through.

The 13-track set, produced by Jay Joyce, assures us that she's more than OK, with a still-luminous voice that can make the phone book sound like Puccini.

Majid Jordan’s best quality is its intimate feel, sounding like each song is the extension of a conversation and is to be heard by a specific set of ears.

Get ready for a set of convincing, honest music, on which the Colombian star often unabashedly professes her love for boyfriend Gerard Pique.

The album likely won't convince anyone who's already written off Best Coast, but it's a new high for a band many thought had peaked years ago.

Blake Shelton's new six-song album, Hillbilly Bone, may be a marketing and sales experiment by Warner Bros. Records, but fans of the Oklahoman artist won't be disappointed.

Ambition nods to Ross' cartoon grandiosity in "Miami Nights," where Wale details his collection of luxury goods over a jubilant horn riff. Characteristically, though, the album heads in plenty of other directions as well.

This time the quintet holed up for two months in a Northern California cabin, and the resulting collection from the idiosyncratic singer/songwriter is intimate, experimental, and ultimately accessible.

While it does have a couple of moments, much of the album sounds like he is just, filling out paperwork.

The band's classic, downtuned stomp could easily pass for an unreleased track from the "Dirt" era and is sure to keep longtime fans feeling pleasantly dystopic.

For the listener, disconnecting will be all but impossible.

It's not surprising that his first new album in five years, "Tha Funk Capital of the World," is epic in scale, from its 16 mostly woofer-shaking tracks to the generation-spanning guest list.

A natural progression from 2008 release "Sleep Through the Static," the new set features more electric guitars and a brighter, full-band sound while still bringing plenty of singalong acoustic romanticism and breezy melodies.

Jennifer Hudson has never sounded better.