Rhine Gold doesn't sound like it's trying to create another emo anthem, which gives its tracks a genuine, unaffected quality. [#86, p.53]

The pop hits sound as good as anything McCartney did with the Beatles, but it's the ballads that make this a winner. [No. 105, p.57]

Transformation is richly and lushly inherent in everything Hegarty makes his own. [No. 116, p.53]

Cryptograms is a pleasant enough record, but it remains to be seen if Deerhunter can add up to more than the sum of its gear and influences. [#75, p.96]

Each soft, slow hymn to the darkness makes the band's beauty more pronounced. [#51, p.102]

Some songs here make more sense than others, and the musicianship, while spirited, isn't quite accomplished. [#61, p.92]

Easy crowd banter and goofy in-the-moment revisions of lyrics make Live not only a fine addition to the band's discography, but an excellent summing-up of the best of its output so far. [No. 117, p.53]

A welcome addition to its expansive discography. [No. 125, p.59]

With guitar ace Marc Ribot and pedal-steel master Eric Heywood along for the ride, she continues exploring the intersection of hope and heartache. [No. 139, p.57]

The band's linear approach might have you pining for an injection of dynamic flourishes, as the songwriting often consists of settling on a single tempo and rhythm and bouncing between two riffs for the duration. [No. 146, p.53]

Unwilling or unable to ascend the vertiginous heights of 2009 debut Gorilla Manor, Hummingbird instead buries its beak in the sand. [No. 95, p.58]

Emphasizes melodic intention in a manner that transcends electronica or the outer reaches of experimental hip hop. [#68, p.92]

The Civil War uses familiar Matmos techniques to craft unfamiliar electronic music. [#61, p.103]

This is stark music for rock adults--pure and simple. [No. 107, p.61]

It includes four instrumentals that feel wide open without sacrificing the band's essential heaviness. [No. 150, p.51]

Over the course of 10 albums, Joe Henry’s music has grown increasingly rich, complex and difficult.

The zigzagging, liquid bass is the most surprising thing on a record you expect no surprises from. [No. 112, p.61]

While they haven't really changed up their formula on this second LP, they have gotten exponentially better at brewing it up. [#82, p.59]

The pure-pop masterpiece everyone knew McCaughey had in him. [#49, p.84]

Unlike its predecessor's quirky pop stance, Hot Shots is defiantly, mindbendingly progadelic -- suitable for controlled-substance consumption galore. [#51, p.85]

Every bit as visceral and thrilling as fellow Manhattanites the Strokes. [#54, p.98]

The unrushed songs are equally appealing, gussied up with elegant guitar and piano accents and spiked with disarming lines.

It's difficult to accept him as an angry rocker. He's so great as a lovelorn crooner - heard here on "Seek It," one of the album's few moments of tenderness - that it's hard not to be nostalgic for the old Hawley. [No.91, p.55]

It's a warped ride overall, though not without some solid moments hidden beneath the surface. [No. 96, p.54]

It's hard to listen, and that makes Dear Mark the kind of pointedly painful pop that forces me [to] rush out, buy 11 albums that came before it and never get around to opening the packages. [No. 100, p.56]

Prophet has something absolutely genuine to say, and he continues to be a prime exponent of walking like you talk it. [No. 114, p.61]

Brave stuff. [No. 117, p.54]

On its own terms, Void Beats Invocation Trex is a Cavern worth exploring. [No. 128, p.53]