Granted, Step doesn't have anything as effortlessly flawless as the classic single "Judith" from the band's last album, but it does have a number of songs ("Blue," "The Outsider") that are almost as bombastically beautiful.

This body of work will be a wonderland of hits in time.

Some Girls dishes out dirty, greasy rock 'n' roll that doesn't sacrifice mood for hooks.

His crisp voice has dulled, and his inspiration has gone with it.

Instantly engaging, and totally engrossing over time.

Pretty much the same as his head-banging debut, only louder and with more keyboards.

Sure, it has a slightly confusing air to it, but with lost gems like "Ali's Waltz" and "Beautiful World" popping up along the way, that's part of the fun.

The band's equally impressive second album grooves with both a Detroit hipster sound and some spacey atmosphere.

Their whisper-thin, doo-wop harmonies, fuzzy guitars and barely-there percussion make the Strokes seem like Led Zeppelin. But that's not a bad thing.

It's an easy listen, enjoyable on the surface with deeper meanings you're willing to dig.

This is a fine final coda that's no tearjerker but a reminder of how much he matters right now.

Indestructible feels a lot less dangerous than their previous discs.

This gem glistens with bumpin' hits by Nelly, Clipse, Snoop Dogg and others.

When they crank out catchy ditties on harmony-heavy cuts like "Drifting Apart," AAF sound like a bunch of old pros--old pros who are still having a blast.

When he gets it right, the rich grooves and soulful voices can be sublime, like early '70s Curtis Mayfield or Sly and the Family Stone.

While some of it is bitterly brilliant, too many songs veer toward being overdone or naively optimistic.

If you're not already part of the Dashboard faithful, these tortured-by-love songs get to be a bit much.

A most pleasurable guilty pleasure.

There must be some kind of new world record in terribleness here.

BT's attempts at rock 'n' roll lead to schizophrenic sloppiness.

Singer Jon Bunch's vocals remain powerful and dynamic, while the songs ditch most of the weighty orchestration that slowed down previous efforts.

Mya's third album should have no problem hanging with the chart-topping competition, seeing how it's stacked with hit after steamy hit.

This is carefully architected to pack arenas.

There's little here that Our Lady Peace, Foo Fighters, Everclear and a half-dozen other post-grunge bands don't already do better.

Her third album reins it all in to a more palatable place with traditional R&B production and a healthy dose of funkiness.

He does it all so proficiently, you can't help but want to have the guy hang out in your CD player for awhile.

The Los Angeles band wants to be Radiohead so bad it hurts, but too bad--they're just too good at pop.

It's awfully hard to tell if this is actually Ashanti's new album or if it's just one big infomercial for her label, Murder Inc.