This is Animal Collective at their finest folks, inviting everyone in to see them at their peak and loving the freedom that comes with being on top of the world.

[A] thrilling and possibly definitive album, it's impenetrable, multifaceted, and irrepressibly imaginative.

["The Magician" is] an astounding piece of music that has to be heard to be believed, and cements The New Sound as a triumphant success for Greep’s burgeoning solo career.

'Prisoner' is unquestionably a captivating LP where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, since the cohesive nature of its songwriting is clearly intended to suit a beginning-to-end listening experience and enhance longevity.

Lisbon is an album from a band finally using the full palette of their talents to adapt and come out the better for it, and that's a pretty picture to behold indeed.

Carrier, finally, brings that emotional subtext to the front, and the result is a Dodos record that is thrillingly translucent and crushingly intimate, almost uncomfortably so. It’s love and loss, as straightforward as you please.

It may be early, but get ready to etch their name alongside some of the all-time greats. Bright Green Field is already an album rife with the qualities of a classic.

There isn’t as much outright variety as there was on Impossible Past, but there are subtle refinements that make Rented World perhaps the most musically solid album the band has released.

Tomboy is every bit as good as it promised to be, and more.

By combining these previously worked on sounds in new ways Thursday have created an album that is not only new and unique, but also unmistakably their own.

Even more than any of their previous outings How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident bridges the gap between efficient noise rock, whip-smart comedy and timely social commentary.

Go Tell Fire to the Mountain and WU LYF by extension soar on how excitingly singular they are; I want nothing more than to love this, just this, forever.

It’s safe to say that, Person Pitch just might be album of the year (so far, at least).

A rousing vessel in which Wolf has finally had the chance to channel his newfound zany confidence into his most extravagant and captivating record yet.

It seems that Blue Lambency Downward while sonically easier to comprehend has become Kayo Dot's most diversely opinioned album.

Harlem River Blues is Justin Townes Earle's crowning moment. It's relaxed without being tiresome, vintage without being gimmicky. Most importantly, it's great. The songs are great, the lyrics are great and there's not a weak song on it.

Listening to the joyous simplicity inherent in the album's mood, you get the feeling that love, for all its pitfalls, really is the simplest thing in the world to feel; you need only to be inside your house, the city without, the falcons overhead, the days stretching off into the future, and listen.

The point is that MAYA has to be taken as it comes, culture jam and all, and it's precisely at this point that it works out to be one of the most refreshing albums to hit the shelves in a long, long time.

What truly elevates Relaxer for me is that it finally feels like Alt-J is extending their creative reach.

An Evening With Silk Sonic lives up to its billing as a true experience: it’s sexy, ever-so-smooth, and radiates confidence and charisma. ... An Evening With Silk Sonic marks the pinnacle of Bruno Mars’ and Anderson .Paak’s respective musical careers.

You, You're a History in Rust is nothing short of an experience; emotional enough to take the listener on a journey, and subtle enough so that not a moment of the record feels contrived.

It is perhaps the most unforgettable work of her career.

[Moms is] about lamenting family trees and the things that created us worse for wear. Together, Harris and Seim have created a rock album punching the stomach the way their lyrics do.

There is both a braggadocios confidence and an honest humility across all of If My Wife New I’d be Dead, a masterfully created dichotomy that is at the center of everything that CMAT creates.

There’s not much else to say that you shouldn’t already know: thick, melodic and endearing, Life...The Best Game in Town is essential listening.

On paper, not a lot differentiates Saintseneca from the glut of indie-folk bands that saturate the scene. Unlike the rest of the crowd, however, the band offers up an unparalleled sense of wonder within each song.

Themes and lyrics aside, the record is simply full of great songs.

The Hazards of Love is shockingly good.

It is easily one the band’s best album and possibly the best album of the year.

What ultimately hits hardest is the aesthetic singularity of everything here.

Magdalene sees FKA Twigs reach a wholly satisfying pinnacle that is unlikely to be rivaled by any of her peers in 2019.

In its execution, the record is near flawless, an essential distillation of the sounds of Gonzalez's youth, nostalgia and melancholy and happiness all mixed up into a sparkling pop stew.

It's a dark, gorgeous, twisted, spine-tingling experience that is able to pull off such a decelerated pace because it owns that pace entirely, injecting it with haunting rhythms and naturalistic beauty.

Musical transcendence is a rare thing, but you can literally feel the weights being lifted on this album. It’s all so lush, airy, and pristine; a soundtrack for second chances.

I feel like I can whittle away my days listening to this album and only this album for the rest of my life, and never have to feel anything except what this album makes me feel. Which is to say, everything.

Good music that works, effortlessly, and is even easier to love.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding its creation, Curse Your Branches is Bazan's best album to date.

A phenomenal record by a band at a creative peak that's as fully realized and as utterly terrific as the myriad other peaks they've hit during their brief but already illustrious career.

One of the best albums of 2008, Dear Science, is an album you can ramble on about for nearly 600 words before you realize you forgot to mention 'Golden Age,' arguably the best song on the album.

With its obtuse rhythm and the inevitably impenetrable lyrics, Om offer their own truth, one with many questions and answers.

Havilah will remain as yet another great record from one of the most talented acts currently playing rock music.

Integrity to the fans, the fun tongue-in-cheek of the album and the no-*** rock n roll makes Here and Now a standout record for 2011, and may even win Nickelback some new fans.

Their anti-rave anthems have simply improved beyond what anyone could have possibly hoped for, and Sepalcure is set to turn a lot of heads, in and outside of its constantly argued over genre.

Red – both in its original form as well as with these welcome additions – is an absolute triumph.

In short, LSD is a poignant celebration of nearly fifty years of music, and one hell of a send-off for a true pioneer of the industry. .... It’s certainly turned out to be one of 2025’s best releases.

The Most Lamentable Tragedy is the product of one of the best punk bands of our time making music in their prime, and when you factor in the level of ambition present, you’re left with a rock opera for the ages.

For its obvious melodic strengths, though, EP is a tease, slowly removing one layer at a time until its heart is revealed.

Japandroids' (or JPNDRDS) first full length--Post-Nothing--is the perfect embodiment of the post-teen angst, excitement, anxiety and fuck-it artlessness of finally packing your bags and moving on, wherever the destination as long as it’s at least a million miles away from home.

The dreamy sensation and emotional relevance of Futures is apparent here, and the catchier tracks (especially the designated singles) sound as natural as they ever have, at least since Chase This Light.

The level of emotional proximity, at times, will be enough to make you fight back tears.

obZen is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging record, and is without question an early contender for metal Album of the Year.

2011’s Prologue was a high water mark that The Milk Carton Kids struggled to match throughout their discography – a classic case of peaking early. However, fifteen years later, I can safely say that they’ve finally eclipsed it.

If Alligator was The National's first masterpiece then Boxer is surely their second, a 12-song journey that thoroughly exemplifies everything that a modern rock band should be capable of.

For its new fond feeling and its quick animal stride, t offers something that we can all be swept up in, and all from the moment "Animal Life" gets close.

It’s Marissa Nadler’s most ambitious undertaking from a lyrical perspective, but she pulls it off brilliantly while simultaneously delivering an album that sounds so lush, sweeping, and powerful that all of the subtle, intricate melodies are merely the cherry on top.

Converge has become synonymous with consistency, and the band's latest effort proves that after seven albums they still have what it takes to put their listeners through hell in the best kind of way.

Our Earthly Pleasures, in contrast to the water-tight radio punk of its predecessor, overflows with ideas, even if it’s to the detriment of the material.

There’s plenty to be pleased about here.

More than just a pretty acoustic record, Harris, through Grouper, has created a startlingly vivid and brooding shoegaze gem that works in spite of its length and first impressions.

The Myth of the Happily Ever After serves as an excellent and shockingly ambitious outing from a band that seemed to be trending in all the wrong directions not long ago. With this album, they’ve reclaimed control of their story.

Despite its hyperactive tendencies and its scale there hasn't been another record released this year as gorgeous and completely owned by a band as Everything.

St. Vincent is a challenging art pop album that convincingly balances the beautiful with the ugly, and ultimately stays human despite its futuristic leanings.

At this point in time, Act IV marks the pinnacle of a storied career for The Dear Hunter, and places them squarely on steady ground with nothing but bright lights on the horizon.

Skullcrusher’s first album may not present a doormat saying ‘welcome’ in bold letters, but it presents one of the most rewarding sonic experiences of the year for those willing to open its undefined doors.

Patient, attentive listeners that take the time to find Magus’s secrets will be justly rewarded, as there’s a lot to be dissected here.

Not much on this album is immediate, and that’s a little disappointing, but more than any other National work, Trouble Will Find Me hints at depths upon depths hidden beneath the surface of thirteen very pretty songs.

This newfound willingness, even ability, to just be nakedly emotional and let the melodies lead is the best weapon this new Black Country, New Road have at their disposal. Isaac Wood, who once seemed right on the edge of slipping into complete post-ironic-irony with his spoken word drawl, sings the entire album in a delicate quaver which is a perfect fit for this new vulnerability.

In short, it’s a shining example of personal and musical growth. There’s something to be said for toeing the line between fervent experimentation and enjoyable song craft; here, Let’s Eat Grandma walk it effortlessly.

As a guitar record, Pretty Years perhaps doesn’t reach the delirious heights of LOSE, but the melodies here are more consistently grounded in pop roots, however ripped and dusty they may appear. ... One of 2016’s best albums.

It's cerebral, labyrinthine and self-involved.

The Hardest Part contains some of the most genuine sounding country/pop that has been released in quite some time.

Deciphering the message in her words relies on just how much time the listener is willing to devote to the album, but with music this brilliant, the task seems all the more alluring.

Remarkably devoid of pretensions, Free Your Mind is a dance record boiled down to its most essential, body-shaking elements, and the purest distillation of Cut Copy’s music and their ethos yet.

Brockhampton's simplest album, a choose-your-own-adventure funhouse where the experience is as hilarious or as touching as the mindset you go in with.

The content is raw, warm, personal, acid-tongued, poetic, and, given Young’s age, remarkably accomplished.

The song is always so compelling, so rich and vibrant, so immaculately layered that in the end it doesn't really matter. Gorguts, as usual, have created a death metal masterpiece.

Dropping some fresh experiments as always, we are left to discover new bits every year. This is one of their best records so far and an easy contender for album of the year in the genre’s category.

There's some very remarkable playing and composing found throughout The Vigil, and because of the diverse range of sounds and styles that the album chooses to work with, there's something for every jazz fan to mull over.

It’s full of charming melodies, carefully placed harmonies, and biting lyrics from two of the most influential songwriters around. Some days you just get lucky.

The shockingly honest debut is more comparable to the work of Sharon Van Etten than any of Williams' contemporaries in the pop-punk scene; not in the music itself, but the way both women use music as an outlet, in the aftermath of years-long relationships where they were demeaned and made to feel worthless.

With Heaven :x: Hell, what Sum 41 has given us is a true grand finale, and it's one worth reveling in.

Two new tracks make this compilation all the worthwhile, with the devilish funk of "Fill My Mouth" being one of the best tracks the band has ever released, and the creeping incantation of "Queen of the Underground" wrapping up this collection of essentials from the Swedish collective.

The White Album manages to deliver on the promise showed by The Blue Album and Pinkerton without spending the entire time treading on familiar ground. Glowing with shades of the band’s past while differentiating its approach, The White Album sounds like a Weezer revitalized, reloaded, and ready to rock out like it’s ’94.

There’s little to fault here in all honesty; it plays everything right and does so with a near flawless execution. Though one could argue it’s a little one-dimensional in terms of almost exclusively working with one style, as I said earlier, it nails the way these songs are presented.

An album that nearly matches its predecessor in quality while going with an entirely different formula to achieve its greatness.

This is a special piece of music, and one that is all the more likely to impress because of how unexpectedly it departs from the formula laid out in Part 1. As both a standalone piece and as a counterpart to its predecessor, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2 is a towering achievement.

One that sounds like a veteran band falling in love with playing music and being friends again. This newfound comfort outside the comfort zone yields some truly spectacular results in the album's staggering midsection.

In the long run, How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? will be remembered as a success of chemistry and careful balance. ... They sound confident and ebullient, and even the darkest moments are tinged with the hope that community and collaboration can bring: the sound of musicians reveling in the sheer, simple joy of making music, with brothers or with the family that they chose.

Terje’s cocky, frisky songwriting skills shine, and It’s Album Time easily clears the high bar the producer set for himself through his remixes and EPs.

Ten tracks, forty minutes really is the perfect package for a pop record that oozes sophistication while not taking itself too seriously, and that knows when to trade the bomb-ass-thicc with lovers' lullabies.

Without over-embellishing it at all, you won’t find too many albums in the quintet’s chosen genre that betters the quality, consistency and diversity of Nerve Endings.

The band have since long cemented themselves as absolute songwriting savants in the genre and here on album number 10, they successfully build upon that legacy without skipping a beat. Though at times lacking ambition, the finest moments of Private Music are absolute all-timers – poised to throw a wrench into any “top 5 Deftones albums” list for the foreseeable future.

Young Fathers don't owe us anything except themselves, which Heavy Heavy feels like a true and warmly sincere extension of, a hand extended from the light across the dark, if we're willing to let go and take it.

On The Living Infinite, Soilwork have simultaneously stepped back to their past while maintaining their current sound, but they have also diversified their formula more than ever before--and they did so without a single filler track.

The results are daring, but she’s succeeded in making the best pop album of 2021, thus far.

It's the very definition of a grower, and this record has something Born to Die never had: more reflection.

What makes the trio’s unique blend of noise and hip-hop so effective, however, isn’t any kind of obvious messaging, or an attempt at allegory. It’s that you don't have to read it in any particular way.

The album captures the artist in scintillating form with its potent mesh-up of gutsy inventiveness and great maturity.