Black Pumas created a daring and enticing sophomore album that not only surpasses expectations but makes us feel silly for having any to begin with. .... These ten songs do more than avoid a sophomore slump, they cement Black Pumas as a creative force willing to risk it all if it means their vision comes to fruition uncompromised.

13 spell-binding, genre-pushing tracks. .... Atlanta is the mesmerizing, psychedelic outing we all hoped it would be, and then some.

Weird Faith is a stunning amalgamation of experiences and how a new relationship can contain just as much confusion as it does happiness. For 12 powerful tracks, Diaz navigates beautifully structured arrangements while keeping her head on a swivel, making sure everything isn’t falling apart. Weird Faith needed to be good and Diaz did more than make a good album, she penned an opus.

Javelin is a poignant snapshot of Stevens’s journey to this point in his career and pushes the boundaries of his art to their most jaw-dropping and potent. Javelin is another technicolored and honest feather in Sufjan Stevens’s hat, a feather that feels freeing and warm as the artist gives us some of his best work in years.

Le Bon’s genius, at a time saturated with nostalgia and gated reverb, is to borrow more from mood than technique. Pompeii moves towards Talk Talk, Kate Bush, and Richard Butler in how it emotes, but also achieves their same level of timelessness.

That! Feels Good! nimbly catapults Ware from being beholden to What’s Your Pleasure?, to cementing herself as one of the most agile and important dance artists working today. ... A punchier and more immediate album than What’s Your Pleasure?, slicker and far funkier, but equally iconoclastic.

There was no coasting on any front in the formulation of Long Gone. “Disco Ears” is decidedly peppier all around, though hardly redolent of the environs its title suggests or the beat-laden leanings of Redman’s Elastic Band in the mid-2000s. Instead, it is, like “Statuesque,” an unpredictable progression rendered with utter fluency all around, no less in McBride’s basswork or Blade’s drum activity than the lead instruments of their long-standing comrades.

This feels like Tumor’s masterpiece, an opus that has been laying dormant deep in the artist’s creativity waiting to be freed at the perfect time. They pieced together a tracklist that, despite the frantic nature of these songs, stays consistently chaotic even in its most mellow moments.

It’s big, ambitious and beautiful, by far the best record Weyes Blood has made and also happens to be one of the best records of the year.

“Route 66” and “Mannish Boy” are just two of the blues-rooted tunes on which the Stones cut their teeth, but that only renders more impressive the relish and attendant polish with which they imbue them here. ... Scintillating.

Yes, we’re barely into 2019 and already likely have a candidate for one of this year’s strongest albums.

This well-conceived, important album unsurprisingly features a wealth of inspired playing both from the band and the guests. It will likely stand as a landmark recording for Shabaka Hutchings, who continues to blaze trails as one of today’s leading music artists.

Its very existence provides valuable insight into the creative process. In the end, that’s the most enduring of all possible additions to Petty’s legacy.

Messages of love and peace, so prevalent during the late sixties and early seventies come through stellar arrangements of “The Creator Has a Master Plan,” originally associated with Leon Thomas and Pharaoh Sanders as well as the traditional gospel chestnut, “Wade in the Water.” ... This recording will likely still emerge as one of the year’s most important.

Not surprisingly, this is as personal, maybe even more so, and autobiographical as any of her output. It’s not far removed from her excellent 2011 Revelation Road either. ... This recording is a huge reminder that Shelby Lynne is not only one of the most fiercely independent artists of our time. She’s clearly one of our best singers too.

While Black Hole Superette follows a concept, the LP seems to double as a victory lap for Rock, as he showcases his raw talent and earns legendary status.

Her work is built around the truths of her perspective, not just that each song and its themes resonate with her, but that every tragedy offers nuance to life. Zauner has given us her strongest album yet and so far, the best album of the year.

This first set that comprises three Lloyd originals and the traditional often performed, exquisite “La Llorona.” It’s a masterpiece of saxophone tone and spiritual playing, punctuated with scintillating solo spots from Lage and Clayton. ... The second set is a clinic in deep R&B and blues.

The chemistry shared between The Roots vocalist and Danger Mouse on Cheat Codes is so high caliber that it’s almost impossible to believe the two artists walk amongst the common man. The term “God Level” is thrown around a bit within the hip-hop community, and once people hear Cheat Codes, that saying is going to have a new definition.

With the help of super-producer John Congleton, shame created a new blistering, no-nonsense sound. These 12 songs are face-melting, immersive, clunky in the best way possible, and more than anything, they’re wildly cathartic. .... It is the arrangement behind these words that drills their points into your soul.

Springsteen gives us the E Street Band at its rawest. The songs deal with loss and perseverance, but the arrangements make them sound like anthems.

The Last Dinner Party was able to craft an LP that combines their wide range of influences and filters them through their own artistic lens. This birthed an album that both rocks hard and emphasizes what pop song structures can become when placed in the right hands. We will all remember where we were when we first heard Prelude to Ecstasy, an album that is seemingly just the start for an innovative and daring young act.

It’s fair to say that songs like the sunny “Dave,” the shimmering “Strange Land” and the album’s final send-off, the alluring “Alchemy,” recall the best of Jackson’s cosmopolitan style, and each succeeds exceptionally well as a result. No fooling, Fool ranks among the best works of Jackson’s judicious career, and that’s a solid recommendation in itself.

Each poetic song on The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We paints a powerful picture that is made more captivating by the orchestral and choir arrangements. It’s a risky record, but one that pays off much better than trying to be rid of a soul.

El Viejo is a stunning character study of gamblers and loners moving from card game to card game, perfectly bridging modern Americana with the likes of Jerry Reed, Del McCoury and Marty Robbins with a Springsteen-like sense of storytelling in three-minute bursts.

Small Medium Large is a must-listen for fans of experimental and improvised music. It showcases the quintet’s remarkable synergy and individual talents, making it an album that listeners will eagerly revisit.

It is a statement of unwavering faith in tradition. Rather than breaking any new ground, it is a graceful and honest interpretation of these enduring compositions.

A fun, invigorating ride through the carefree minds of DOMi Louna and JD Beck.