Mandatory Fun is not necessarily among his must-have albums, but it's another solid addition that with satisfy any fan and win over some new kids through these big hit parodies and viral videos.

This album is violent, dark, full of anger and explosiveness--and one you shouldn't miss out on.

Baldi's lyrics encapsulate those tenets just as well as the music he and his bandmates create.

No Coast is a record that encapsulates their evolution pretty well, as a record that allows space to let the music dig in to your skin, and also, as one to show that there's no need to fear change.

A lot of sounds to take in and some head-scratching here and there, but overall, Bemis takes a brave step in a good direction.

With so many amazing tracks on tap, it's hard to single out which is deserving of repeated listens because they all are.

Beauty & Ruin is more impressionistic than, say, the Mountain Goats' Sunset Tree, but it's still a vivid, moving story about dealing with abuse.

At 10 tracks, Savage Gold is lean enough not to wander, diverse enough not bore, and certainly heavy enough to smash skulls and pillage minds.

This behemoth (double album or double CD) is an intriguing release which really requires the listener to get involved.

The music might be slightly quieter simply because it isn't amplified, but it's not any gentler than his usual stuff. By contrast, Osborne seems to be going out of his way to make these recordings as combustible as possible.

This isn't a radical leap forward, as with some of the other releases. This is quite clearly a self-definition.

It works overall, but his nasally delivery over such a lengthy drone tune will test some listeners. But no matter how much Miller tweaks his approach, he still nails the finished compositions.

Despite a shift-up in sound, the new roads dug out by Weatherbox are littered with elements of the old trails.

While nothing too original, Loom still acts as its own thing.

It is a skillful, daring, side-step into a new plane that leaves the band with far more aspects to explore than when they started.

The indie-DIY feel is prolific enough to allow the majority of their sound to sink in as it's noisy in a good way and yet, a bit harsh when it comes to lyrical exposure.

It's quite hazy, quite crowded but it works. It really does.

The distant vocals and a plethora of noisy, crashing cymbals keep a frenetic pace throughout the first half of Psychic Mess which tapers out to a slower second half.

Floor is no longer Torche's prologue, and a new narrative where they coexist is forming.

This album is much more interesting and engaging than Diaper, but just like with that album, the dancey, synth-heavy songs like Airplane's "TMNT Mask" are absent.

With a sense of humor and punk tilt, Under Color of Official Right decidedly makes Protomartyr one of the better acts of its kind going on.

Give Indie Cindy an honest listen. If you have to, just pretend it's the new project of Frank Black, Joey Santiago and David Loverling.

Happiness Is has some great tracks, but ultimately is probably the group's weakest showing overall.

This album is arguably their strongest music to date and they manage to shoot the most cathartic of bullets at you.

This is the Hold Steady's guitar album, in a discography full of guitar albums. Crank it.

Reverie Lagoon: Music For Escapism Only feels like a well-walked bridge for the band but as a gauge for them, it's unpredictable to say where they'll go from here. It's not a bad thing.

This is far and away the best record Ragan has done.

Cope is a loud dose of poetry which I can see stretching its musical arms very far and very wide.