This will most likely be the best hip-hop album of the year as well as a contender for best overall album of the year.

Memory Man will be one of the strongest efforts released in 2007.

Every song is steeped in melancholy, but the underlying beauty that ties it all together is in the courage of Ashworth's characters to face the unforgiving reality they occupy.

It's Frightening kicks into high gear from the get-go, and never looks back.

This isn’t just Almost Killed Me 2, it’s an exploration of what lies beyond that initial surface – and the truth ain’t pretty.

Darkness at Noon is the most exciting record to be put out this semester.

On the whole, The Sunlandic Twins makes almost everything else today seem diluted and stale.

Encapsulating everything that has come to pass since their debut with "Organix" in 1993, Rising Down is the best The Roots release to date, bar none.

This really is pretty music.

With its mind-blowing dynamics and wounded memories, bandaged up in affecting, mature lyrics that dissect relationships with a therapist's perspective, the wisdom of hindsight and an artist's touch, Let's Build A Fire is almost flawless.

Places Like This is right up there with the year's best madcap adventures into dance and rock.

The music is what makes Lupe's pretensions palatable.

It's a shame if Dark Night of the Soul ends up relegated to a cult souvenir; it's truly exceptional as music.

Although the loud tracks are the most immediate, the subtleties of later numbers like "Reptiles" prove nearly as rewarding,; don't even think of stopping play before "Gunman" shows what these pros do with a dance number.

Whether blazing a tight new trail or feeling its way in the darkness, each tune on the album heads somewhere, collectively making as much of a stylistic progression as the recording of "Our Endless Numbered Days" made in fidelity and depth.

Challengers stacks up against the pillar of "Twin Cinema" just fine; it is the more restrained of the two, equally as satisfying, and more stylistically varied.

Release The Stars swoons and sweeps until the final curtain and Rufus Wainwright has delivered music perfectly suited for the elaborate set of the world around us.

But what makes Made In the Dark their best album to date is how great the ballads are, a trick no mere techno act was supposed to master.

Thoroughly theatric, Pale Young Gentlemen's measured approach is channeled by the bricolage upshot of their composition.

If Of Montreal were previously a bit on the superficial side with their beatific pop, Hissing Fauna adds a welcome additional ingredient: a sense of gravity.

At the very least, it should win new converts just in time for the long-awaited reunion.

While the slower, wandering songs certainly make the composition and mood of the record, it's the more upbeat tracks, never Cox's previous forte, that shine on this disc.

Kieran Hebden's latest and best opus since "Rounds" is dare I also say his danciest.

Reznor and Ross have pulled off something fairly remarkable here, creating a record that could've existed on its own as an original NIN production, but serves almost perfectly as the sonic document of the evolution of an online phenomenon that began in the dorms of Harvard and eventually took over Silicon Valley.

The complex emotional duality of the disc is nothing less than penetrating. Most of the tracks are danceable as well as lonesome, and can be enjoyed in a variety of settings.

Song by song, all of it melts into your head, relentless, narcotic and detached, yet ultimately positive.

Rainwater Cassette Exchange certainly finds creative ways to transform their music and expand their already impressive catalogue, even if most of the songs are quite short and leave the listener yearning for more.

Why? the person always had unique ideas, but, for the first time, Why? the band complements these thoughts and feelings with consistency, creating an accessible, exciting and complete work.

If this is the band's "Parallel Lines," they've brought tunes worth comparing.

In a career full of perfect miniatures, Mountain Battles might actually be the Deals' best. It's certainly their most even-flowing.

The natural maturation of Ben Bridwell's vocals and songwriting, bolstered by an increase in creative control, has yeilded what is easily one of 2007's best albums in Cease to Begin.

Transference is a challenging, mature statement from a band generally known for more for refining their approach with each release.

In short, Maths + English is an ideal sellout.

Intricate and ever-changing in style, The Sea and Cake give further proof why they've had such staying power.

While the celestial exploration is briefly juxtaposed with sci-fi experimentation on the Autechre-like 'Rough Steez' and 'Phantom Limb,' those detours only here to provide respite from and not actually disrupt an ultimately delightful, delirious headtrip designed to push your fuckest of buttons.

Spiritualized have always possessed an impressive grandeur, but on this album it is grandeur with a purpose--Songs in A&E is the sound of healing.

It rather gorgeously hums low and disturbing, hiding in the grass like some kind of jungle cat.

Bitte Orca signifies something exciting and all too infrequent in popular music: striving for a sound that doesn't have a definite audience.

MMJ’s musical palate has radically expanded: the reverb and alt-country trappings remain, but they no longer dominate the band’s aesthetic. In nodding to U2, John McLaughlin, Sunny Day Real Estate, Mercury Rev, The Clash and countless other icons through a holistic approach to the pop canon, James and his band mates refuse to let sonics define them.

Tastefully fashionable, Saunier's truly grandiose drumming bits serve to keep the listener well entertained while never flagging as the band's backbone; Dieterich, now bolstered by Rodriguez, sharpens the material with catchy guitar riffs; and Matsuzaki's well-timed and particularly soft voice provides plenty of flavor. Never conventional, bordering on the impractical, the formula nevertheless works.

However early in the voting period we may be, Drums and Guns will undoubtedly go down as one of 2007's strongest albums.

While the record pleases on most all levels, the flavor of sound at times feels somewhat generic and a bit too lethargic, which keeps the disc from being great.

When the Going Gets Dark taps into a new kind of power for Quasi, giving them the opportunity and ambition to skronk and smash.

How does it compare to his previous three records--or eight, if you count his former band? Suffice it to say that's a rhetorical question. If Joe DiMaggio made albums... well you get the point.

There is little doubt that Silent Alarm is stellar, worthy of the praise it has received.

Celebration is pure ecstasy, a sexual, spellbinding listen that acts on you physically.

Without a heavy-handed disposition, Department of Eagles manages to convey the sentiment of another time while reaching a modern audience.

The Rapture sound amazingly fresh right now.

While Sad Songs was immediately arresting, able to knock the wind clean from those who found it, Alligator conjures the same black magic on a broader scale, readying itself to be known beyond those small circles.

It boasts the asset of versatility, possessing the buoyancy and charisma of a distinguishable party album whilst remaining resistant to the usual temptations associated with the so-called “lap-pop” tag.

If this is Lytle’s last musical missive, he’s left us with a complete, if unfocused, dossier of his genius.

The Wedding is certainly a new direction in some ways, but it’s still the same brainiac rock that Oneida has been dishing out for the past eight years.

Spellbinding and eclectic with the ability to be both eerie and gentle, Detrola is the best of the best of what His Name Is Alive has to offer.

Viva Voce have always been musically intriguing and continue their winning streak with a diverse suite of songs that come together as a cohesive whole.

Where inexperienced programmers might collapse under the weight of such complexity, Autechre utilize it with precision. As punishing as it is, it never sounds too cluttered.

This maturation of lyrical character is the Bonnie "Prince" Billy we would hope for and expect at this juncture in his career. While there may always be a darkness, it's refreshing to bask in his newfound light.

Their trademark wit is still present but less forced; instead it is more intelligent and reflective, and as the band produced this album themselves, the reward is apparent: they sound more self-assured and strong than they ever have.

Well worth the wait.

This album is not only the Like Young’s most diverse, is also its best.

The Nein has done what so many other bands have tried and failed to do. And that is that they've managed to make something so unique and off the wall seem ... well, accessible.

An entire album as powerful and immediate as Scars sounds enticing in theory, but Basement Jaxx knows better than turning a single, creative sound into a stale, contrite formula, especially when an unprecedented amount of talent is at their beck and call.

Califone’s latest offering is not to be missed and certainly one of the best albums of 2006.

Like each of Owen Ashworth’s wondrous works before it, Etiquette is intimate, often sorrowful, bedroom glitch-pop, but here it is more substantial.

The album embodies the highlights of the band's past work, and is imbued with the progressiveness that has made each successive Ladytron release a step above its predecessor.

Genuinely soulful and unhindered by a slavish devotion to traditional Americana, The Opera Circuit is a tour de force for Hinson.

The Grind Date is almost shockingly excellent. This is De La Soul at their most focused – no skits, no filler, no weird interludes.

Carousel Waltz is an extremely personal album, sublimely disguised as a sweet bit of pop fluff.

Wincing The Night Away covers all the bases and proves what loyal followers have known all along, that The Shins are, for better or worse, rock stars.

The album is a whole effort, not just one or two overachieving songs that make the entire thing seem better than it really is. Along with Brazilian Girls, one of this year’s hotter electronic releases.

Different and perhaps more mature than S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D., this recent release from Out Hud measures out a liquid pulse, fervently paying homage to their antecedents and feverishly shaking their asses.

A Weekend in the City showcases what all the band's initial buzz was about, but twists and filters what might have been expected, leaving them open to praise for different reasons.

It's really hard not to get excited about this. Perhaps the bar just gets raised as I get less and less surprised by your typical garden-variety rock, but this sounds like a band hitting their stride and bashing out a great record.

All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is an intensely atmospheric album, and stands as one of the band's stronger releases.

Distortion is really a triumph of the evening-out.

Though the songs eschew familiar structures, their triumphant, readily accessible moments occur with surprising frequency; multiple hooks litter the lengthier compositions, and the shorter pieces usually contain at least two winsome passages.

A captivating release from start to finish.

The tracks are both individually strong and do work as a whole, though not in the way the group necessarily intended.

There are no apologies necessary for this wonderful debut album.

The songs are emotive, and yet have catchy hooks; they are at times unrestrained and at others, calculated.

Boys Night Out and producer Lou Giordano (Sunny Day Real Estate, Paul Westerberg, Taking Back Sunday) still have taken a fragile overarching concept and pulled it off, delivering one of the strongest rock releases of the year.

Here more than ever, the songs come before the samples; while the samples and sounds still accompany everything, they are now more like a third band member than leading player. This gives The Books a newfound depth of subtlety.

Although the new parts of their "new" album aren't the best, the band certainly deserves some praise and attention for the marathon of 2006. The Broken String will be noticed by at least a few people.

It’s similar enough to past efforts that one can trace his artistic trajectory with a steady arc, but it’s the point in the arc where the slope takes a radical increase, making the name change seem like an appropriate signifier.

Folky, orchestral indie-pop that's surprisingly effervescent and hopeful.

While Veckatimest contains just over fifty-two minutes of some exceptional music, it lacks one critical component that's essential to any form of art: emotion.

Each of the eleven tracks within Grand Animals can be broken down and taken apart as a stand-alone piece--individually they hint at manner of pop rock sounds--but none carries enough weight to eclipse the album.

As with other Crooked Fingers albums, Bachmann’s stories really command most of our attention here, and they serve to elevate his songs beyond just being clever pastiches of pop music.

Whoa, is it ever tough, but wow, is it ever great.

The strength of Person Pitch is that it really doesn't matter what label might be affixed to it; quite simply, it is a gorgeous album from beginning to end.

A delirious fever-dream of an album that continues to impress with each consecutive listen.

It is incensed, dark with disappointment, and shows a startling new side to Sleater-Kinney; while its intensity makes it one of their best albums to date, it isn’t here to make friends or fans.

The instrumentation is superb, the record feels unforced, and the music is heartfelt.

If there is a problem with Some Loud Thunder it is the album’s lack of consistency.

An hour or so later I finally succumbed to my bed, content. I can only imagine Riceboy does so in kind.

Mixing breeds of folk, psychedelica and white bread hip-hop, Why? is genetically predisposed to the same experimental tendencies as Pavement, Grandaddy, Enon, the Beta Band and They Might Be Giants. Each song is a musical Frankenstein, pieced together with live parts of the bodies of all those acts.

Hometowns has an earthly fragility, folksy without being folky. Score another one for Canada.

So if some of the songs sound a little too catchy, it’s because they’re supposed to. Kweli’s trying to draw you in for something important.

A River Ain’t Too Much To Love has more in common with great books than it does with great rock albums; it’s intelligent, introspective, sensitive and best experienced in a very quiet place.