Sometimes the album's constant zigzagging can create a bit of a discombobulated effect, but Medicine have never been the sort to adhere to any rules but their own.

Restorations have left everything on the table with LP3, and the enormity of their vision as a rock band has largely been realized.

It's the layering and attention to detail on these tracks that further reaffirms that Black Milk is now firmly in his own lane.

Under Pressure finds Logic breaking out as an all-star emcee, raising the bar higher than anyone could've predicted.

Yet because the beats are so fierce and the flows so varied, there is no slogging through this 39-minute hurricane. It's been a minute, but RTJ have reminded us that, yes, rap music can be fun and opinionated simultaneously.

The songs, although well assembled, lack the edge that the band is known for, which could be hazardous.

Once More With Feeling… acts as both a great introduction for new fans, highlighting their DIY aesthetic and their ability to subvert their own song structures, and as a nice addition to Ought's already great discography for existing fans.

This is a perfect match of old school talent and righteous inspiration.

The Calgary-born singer and songwriter showcases an even wider palette on her debut full-length, Sound Of A Woman.

The production is top notch, Tip is rapping tighter than ever, and clearly knows who and what to work with, but the rare glimmers of originality and risk only further exposes the safeness of this Pharrell-tweaked new T.I. album.

Soused is a powerful and arresting album that will appeal to fans of Scott Walker's later work.

Purists will always pine for Sonic Youth and their glory days, but with a band and album this good, who cares about the past?

Though it does eventually get bogged down under its own excess, considering the weight Slipknot had to shoulder to even get this album out, it's a considerable accomplishment and a lovely eulogy to their fallen comrade.

As a rock and roll journeyman, Lanegan's interesting direction on Phantom Radio is commendable even if it is not entirely magnetic.

Tough Love is a tour de force album, one that nails heartache with sophistication and class.

With minimalist lyrics, easy-going beats and subdued horns, Ford's songwriting and voice shine through, tempting to you to press the repeat button.

Single Mothers sound consistent throughout this set of ten beer-soaked songs, but after just 20 minutes, that consistency is far too homogenous and one-note to be interesting.

On their debut, Museum of Love have created a tight debut that seems more interested in its primal appeal than it does its cognitive.

All of this freedom has culminated in a stellar debut full-length for Arts & Crafts.

Seven albums in, Stars may not have very much left in the way of surprises, but the subtle pleasures of these songs offer considerable rewards to those of us who have stuck with them.

Macy Gray is back, easily delivering on expectations.

A record that prefers to build up intensity before letting it ebb away, doling out flashes of propulsive rhythm in snatches and grasps rather than in the four-on-the-floor anthemic grooves favoured by so many bands these days, Sleeping Operator feels out of time, apart, distinct.

Bestial Burden is immensely captivating and exquisitely structured, another unique offering from an unparalleled artist.

No one ever accused the Melvins of being boring--despite calling the record Hold It In, it's overflowing with ideas and creativity.

As it stands, it's a very good record that builds on and expands the musical ideas presented on his debut.

This new record still finds them wavering. By not taking a side, they fall flat in the middle.

Unflesh is a bold and assertive statement for what pop music can do in 2014.

Unraveling is cut from a richer, darker cloth than their earlier works, making it a bold departure and a tense new direction well worth exploring.