Draft is brisk and jaunty, but also finds Dilla at his grimiest. [Apr 2007, p.132]

The risks he takes with the production are a big part of the allure of God's Son. [Feb 2003, p.135]

It sounds like Cee-Lo has found his sonic better half in Danger Mouse. [Jun 2006, p.162]

Doom satiates as both a producer and a lyricist. [Jan 2005, p.84]

Shining brims with clear-cut and fully resolved ideas. [Oct 2006, p.138]

After being imitated for the last seven years, Wu-Tang Clan returns with another chamber for today's soft and silky rap. But don't get it twisted though. Despite their last album, Wu-Tang Forever, leaving fans uneasy, the Wu's third collective work, The W is crammed with nothing but Wu-bangas.

Beyond Badu's self-appointed role as a teacher, what she does best is create really good music.... It should come as no surprise that Mama's Gun's organic feel comes from the team that helped produce D'Angelo's Voodoo. However, the most important sound of all is her unmistakable voice, making all of her songs like ornately crafted gems - even the unintelligible ones.

Here Nas is on autopilot, churning out uniformly solid but unexceptional material. [Oct 2004, p.183]

Impressive without being pretentious, Two Men possesses an urbane strut that’s perfect for jazzheads--and their country cousins.

Sophisticated compositions and insightful lyrics. [Nov 2004, p.162]

This is his most conventional and guest-heavy work, but also a rewarding reminder that independent hip hop was once something more than a curio. [Apr 2007, p.128]

Rising Down bangs like no Roots work since their popular, populist breakthrough "Things Fall Apart." [June 2008, p.65]

The album is a celebration of LaVette's vocals--burnished, bruised but resoundingly unbeaten. [Nov 2007, p.96]

Excellent. [Oct 2006, p.142]

The Boys make earnest, delicate and occasionally gloomy synth-pop, but they want the pain to be danceable. [Nov 2006, p.161]

Though a few recycled cliches stall the disc... Murs's payback is a big payoff. [Jun 2006, p.164]

Size earns his crown as he breaks through the jungle unscathed on In the Mode. He rises above mainstream neighbors Tricky and Massive Attack to take credit for an eclectic mix of what would have been one painfully long trip if left to any old Limelight DJ.

Ne-Yo is a stronger, more confident man than the one many remember licking his wounds on 'So Sick' from his debut album "In My Own Words" and 'Do You' from 2007’s "Because of You."

In spite of the obstacles--both real and imagined alike--on their second full-length album, Donwill, Ilyas, and Von Pea, collectively Tanya Morgan, have crafted an expansive tour de force.

Disorienting and sometimes brilliant. [Jan 2007, p.109]

While the new direction is sturdy and refreshing, there is something comfortably familiar about it. The vintage shoes fit Saadiq, and he wears them well.

Still, hate it or love it, his albums are always a, what's the word we're looking for... cinematic event.

The middle-aged MCs have forged an album that reflects their belief that skills will always trump bells and whistles. Don’t mistake it for complacency--blame it on consistency. BO2 passes the smell test.

Unlike other albums maniacally programmed to target every pop niche (hello Jennifer Hudson!), Doolittle delivers one of the rarer qualities you’ll find in a contemporary album: a clear sense of who she is.

Sure, the DFA treat their sources irreverently, but their updates are better. [Nov 2006, p.165]

A significant step forward. [Oct 2003, p.179]

Loverly proves once again that she needs no artifice to soar musically. [July 2008, p.60]

They grab hold of genres long stuck in straitjackets and, if only for a few minutes a pop, let them run amok. [Mar 2008, p.99]