Taiga is a surprisingly approachable album.

Yellow House is a keeper.

Nightcrawler is essentially a sequence of fourteen overproduced songs that bleed into one another. Mind you these are not bad songs... But there is an overwhelming feeling that he is merely going through the motions.

Although not nearly as hot as early 2006’s Donuts, The Shining shows for a handful of great collabo’s and bangin’ beats and further paves the way for Dilla’s powerhouse legacy.

Through all the fascinating genre shell games, the constant on Trying To Never Catch Up is a smart pop sensibility that rarely expels an unoriginal thought.

Kill Them With Kindness works on some levels, but overall it lacks the gravitas of other contemporary pop specialists like... Stars.

Overall, the diversity of the production overcomes the same-ness of the verses to make Feedback worth a listen.

A dazzling collection of songs, Putting The Days To Bed cements Roderick's reputation as one of the best songwriters working today.

The good far outweighs the bad on this lack-of-thread-concept-album, and if you are dying to hear a modern day take on the 70’s soft rock band, check out Midlake.

Cansei De Ser Sexy is an intriguing group with a lot of budding talent and real potential.

The Audience’s Listening is artistic, witty, comprehensive, technical, but most important of all it isn’t pretentious.

Listening to The Avalanche is a lot like going back to visit old friends - familiar, cozy and safe.

Fail[s] to constantly engage the listener.

Dusk and Summer’s over-the-topness is relentless – most any second-banana Blink 182-er would sell an expendable internal organ to use one of these songs as a set-closer.

Dr. Octagon has once again put hip-hop under the knife and performed surgery on it.

Despite it’s pitfalls, Mo' Mega has great entertainment value.

A grand experiment in vocal manipulation, Son makes Bjork’s Medulla seem like child’s play.

Imperfect as it is, you still have to admire Free To Stay as a gleeful paean to the joy and freedom of being young and a happy.

Operatic in scope, ruthlessly ambitious in its range, The Paper Chase have dropped one the most unique and substantive records of the year.

One of the best albums of 2006.

Overall, A Hundred Miles Off is less intense than one may expect; there is no "The Rat" on this record.

While there isn't much variation in instrumentation or sound, the impeccable, thought-provoking lyrics more than make up for it.

Throughout, Cee-Lo’s crazed Muddy Waters-meets-Al Jarreau tenor drools soul and exudes liquid-nitrogen cool.

Now then, aside from all that, "After the Garden" and "Families" are right up there with "Rockin in the Free World" for displays of board-stomping bravado, which is of course much less the goal here than raising awareness.

If you are a long time fan of the Danielson Famile... Ships will not disappoint.

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

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

Though he may not have the experience in years, he more than makes up for it in the way he crafts his songs.