The band's sixth studio album, Alter the Ending, is a perfectly blended concoction of acoustic melodies, graceful harmonies and powerful anthems wrapped around the story of a man trying desperately to save a failing relationship.

Jollett and company do it one more time, most definitely with feeling.

The Monitor probably could've borrowed more firepower from the ironclad battleship for which it's named, but the album nevertheless meshes old-fashioned themes with a modern twist.

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

Rock act We Are Scientists typically has a good sense of what hits, but on its latest album, Barbara, the band begins to figure out what misses.

The duo strays into territories of pop predictability with lines like "The music stops/And the music drops," but jj's sophomore effort is nonetheless charming and imaginative.

The quietly brilliant set translates the dance-rock explosion through the lenses of two guys who have lived the dance scene from the beginning.

Hawthorne Heights' rediscovery of its heavier roots may be what longtime fans have been yearning for, and also what the band needs to recover from past personal struggles.

For something drawn from so many obvious sources, Amoral is refreshingly original.

Her debut album, Just Like You, has no shortage of commanding pop-rock tunes, but Iraheta really shines when her spirited voice breaks through the precise production.

Like a true woman, Ledisi keeps growing as she takes the good with the bad.

The delicately crafted "Coming Home" is Maiden's most effective power ballad ever, while "The Man Who Would Be King" delivers a slice of medieval mayhem. And the jam section during the cut "Isle of Avalon" suggests a metal take on the Grateful Dead. With all that, The Final Frontier boldly goes where few metal bands have gone before.

Nestling welcomed experimentation among familiar tunes, Beam is hedging his bets with Kiss Each Other Clean.

Overall, Believe sinks its tendrils into the listener's brain by riding the dance music phenomenon and offering some whizz-bang production alongside Bieber's sticky-sweet singing voice.

Plenty has been said about how well They Might Be Giants' playful, absurdist rock translates to kids' music-and the band's fourth offspring-focused effort is no exception.

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.

It's a worthwhile reinvention, but a little more noise wouldn't have hurt, either.

Olson is still processing some pain, but there are plenty of bright moments.

Strange Weather, Isn't It? is not life-altering fare, but the album's 40 minutes of club-approved funk-rock signals another noteworthy entry in the band's discography.

Balancing these cheery influences with the melancholy prose is the name of the game. The lively accordion and clanky piano on the song "Shadow People" recall Bob Dylan's 1974 country-folk single "Forever Young," but the cheerfulness seems to contradict Dr. Dog guitarist/vocalist Scott McMicken's strained lyric: "It's the right time for the wrong company."

Consider Eric Clapton's 19th solo album a largely successful bid to be all things to all people, including himself.

The set is full of the Deftones' usual energy and showcases singer Chino Moreno's knack for alternating between screams and sweet vocal delivery over heavy, complex guitar work.

Aside from arrangement updates and catchy synth touches, the Bird & the Bee play it straight as George fetchingly channels Hall's vocal groove.

While "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" certainly captures the Saturday afternoon matinee spirit of his 1998 solo debut, it's also a different kind of creature.

The 11-song set draws from some of the Big Apple's more established rock outfits, but still keeps the DIY feel of the Whigs' previous albums.

The group's poppy guitars and thick, layered vocal harmonies occasionally improve upon some selections of the vastly diverse material.

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.

As a series of off-the-cuff side projects have shown, though, Jones' musical interests are more varied than they might appear, a fact that's demonstrated neatly on ". . . Featuring," which collects more than a dozen of her collaborations with a wide range of other acts, including Willie Nelson, Belle & Sebastian, OutKast and Foo Fighters.