Teeth Dreams fits squarely in the band’s wheelhouse, generating the same sundrenched feel as their past records while simultaneously cultivating a sound and direction that is new for the band.

The unrelenting force of these songs almost becomes too much, but Waterfall is over before you know it and somehow leaves you begging for more.

What we end up with on Cope is not only an album that’s worth the wait, but one that seems to be pretty distinctly illuminating a path: soft-to-loud, simplicity over complexity and emotional release through power chords.

Just like the three-eyed beast that graces the cover, Wolverines is a mean and lean punk rock record that sets the bar once again.

Ledges is the kind of record that sounds great from the very first listen, but over time, as Gundersen’s words begin to cut deeper and take root, it transcends the mere prettiness that is so often the bread and butter of singer/songwriter records.

Issues' debut album is not only a more cohesive effort, but it's the immediate answer to naysayers who say claim the band will immediately fade away into irrelevancy.

This album may be a step up from his previous outing, 2012's God Forgives, I Don't, but Mastermind hints that the Rick Ross story may have nowhere else to go.

It's incredibly insular and sure of itself, but it's also smartly innovative.

Rooms Of The House is an album that refuses to be pigeonholed or boxed in by someone's standards of "what post-hardcore should be." Instead, La Dispute span multiple genres, tempos, and inspirations over the course of LP3, resulting in an album that's equally exhausting as it is enchanting.

This is Clark's most daring, uncompromising, infectious, and adventurous release yet, as St. Vicent features a musician challenging the very idea of what it means to be an artist in 2014.

Guilty of Everything is the sort of first album that takes itself too seriously in the most endearing way--it's something that must be purged before a band can move on.

It may not be groundbreaking or shocking, but it’s quite a good record nonetheless.

With albums as comfortable and likable as Twin Forks, there’s simply no reason to mourn Carrabba’s decision to give this new band his full focus for the time being.

Like its predecessor Indestructible Machine, the album belies her age and finds the singer churning out songs that are wise beyond her years.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few pitfalls outside of just weak hooks. The pacing of the album feels a little off, and it starts pretty early on with "Los Awesome" being a jarring change from the opener "Gangsta," though the former is much more enjoyable than the latter.

Wether or not Little Red is better than On A Mission is up for debate; the former is a much more consistent and even listen, but the latter features much higher highs and lower lows.

This is as good as any album post-punk/garage rock has produced in quite some time.

Morning Phase actually matches Sea Change in melodic beauty, and it might even surpass it in production quality, but the cryptic, repetitious lyrics of songs like “Blackbird Chain” and “Heart is a Drum” fall so far short of the devastating heartbreak that Beck wove on songs like “Guess I’m Doing Fine” and “Lost Cause” that it’s impossible to see this record ever achieving the classic status of its predecessor.

Cult unleashes some of the band's tastiest riffs and strongest songs yet while broadening Bayside's musical palate.

Ostensibly an album about finding hope and navigating through the pathways of solace, Augustines is a shimmering, first-rate slice of pensive and passionate indie-rock.

Nothin’ but Blood, the latest album from crass cowboy Scott H. Biram is a lopsided effort with some of the best songs Biram has ever written and some of the absolute worst.

For a band as talked about as they are, Voices needed to be a lot better. For now, it’s just okay.

If you want a refreshing, imaginative, heartfelt record which manages to be fun and emotional at once, So Long, See You Tomorrow provides everything you could want. Bombay Bicycle Club are the best at what they do.

The album represents a triumph for Have a Nice Life after six years of mostly silence, and is a more-than-worthy follow-up to Deathconsciousness.

Temples are a promising band that definitely has a great record--or perhaps several--in them, but this one isn’t quite it. It certainly does make for a colorful and fun listen though, so just unplug and enjoy the ride.

Kozelek’s rich, detailed lyrics here are revelatory, and the way he delivers them, in his sad, low, heartrending baritone, is nothing short of entrancing.

Echoing themes that bubble beneath the surface of all his work both with TSMZ and Godspeed, Menuck spins vitriol and tenderness, desperation and hope into a narrative that is both vivid and somewhat frightening.

Overall Wig Out at Jagbags isn't exactly a disappointing release, especially since it's far better than the breed of record many other artists multiple decades into their respective careers make. It is a frustrating one though.

Whereas Sinners... felt transitional, Cavalier Youth feels thorough; these tracks are freshly waxed and radio-ready.

Metropole is very close to being a masterpiece, falling just short of their own standard set by The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Sophomore albums always find bands trying too hard, struggling to live up to their magnum opus and Mind Over Matter has all the hallmarks of exactly that.

Transgender Dysphoria Blues has an universal appeal that will resonate with anyone.

If the whole record were as explosive as these final two songs, it might have been Switchfoot’s best. As is, Fading West feels like a somewhat minor release from a band that has never lacked for dependability.

These guys have created a pop-punk album that isn't timeless, but that's not the point. Wishful Thinking, by design, tells the story of a point in time, one that only has meaning because it won't last.

For a stopgap release that no one expected, assembled from outtakes, B-sides, and covers that all but the most ardent Bruce followers would call inessential, High Hopes is still a remarkably cohesive and consistent record, and serves as a wonderful way to kick off 2014.

The title track kicks things off with a familiar formula, with ghostly vocal samples and static noise building into a beat that kicks off, and from there things start to feel a little less familiar than they have in the past.

Place A Wilhelm Scream into whatever brand of punk genre there is, it doesn't matter. It is unquestionably the best album released this year in whatever genre you choose

This is plainly Beyoncé’s most personal album yet, one forged in the fires of public miscarriages, a wrenching journey that does as much to combat this years Yeezus-led political misogyny as it complements with its own version of black empowerment and self-love, one that is staunchly, inclusively, womanist.

Memorial is arguably Russian Circles' best work to date. It's certainly debatable, but this is undeniably an staggeringly strong output for a band on their fifth release.

With her second proper full-length, Dessa has been cemented as one of the most important voices in not only hip-hop but all music today.

A Christmas Album captures the essence of any early Bright Eyes album whilst putting a new twist on festive favourites.

With Common Courtesy...love it or hate it as you will...A Day To Remember is getting started all over again. And the album ensures that this band hasn't yet seen the peak of its popularity.

While his best songs may yet be scattered about the internet or buried in his friends DJ sets, Guilt Trips works better as a cohesive whole than anything which has come before, yet leaves you clamoring for more.

There’s a real dynamic arc here, not just for the album as a whole, but also within each and every individual song, and whether or not you’ve gravitated toward county music in the past, that unrivaled depth of passion makes this record an absolute essential.

It’s not going to be a new favorite album for anyone other than Avril Lavigne’s most ardent admirers, but a handful of great summer mixtape songs and a few other exercises in mindless pop fun are still enough to make Avril Lavigne the eponymous singer’s best record in nine years. That might not be saying much, but it's a step in the right direction.

Direct Hits is a solid, predictable, and wholly enjoyable look back at the Killers’ tumultuous first 10 years.

Often misty eyed and always misty, the sophomore album from Blood Orange makes a compelling argument that a stroll on the beach can be as affecting alone as it is alongside a partner.

Matangi can be looked at as a return to form, but it's more fitting to think of it as a "getting back on track" kind of record.

MMLP2 makes it more plain than ever that Eminem is among a growing number of rap superstars who are little more than vestigial pieces shoehorned onto radio by inertia alone. The main takeaway of MMLP2 is that Eminem fails to realize that the formulas that worked so well for him in 1999 are at best tired and tame today, and can't be saved by his lyrical dexterity.

Burials is an album you’ll want to replay, especially as the days get darker and the weather gets colder.

True to its name, this record is one of the finest debut pop-punk records of the last five years and easily among the top tier for the genre this year.

Save Your Breath have released one of the best albums in the genre this year and one of the only ones I think can truly be called a throwback to its golden age.

It's a very satisfying record, and it's the type of album where every song will probably be your favorite at some point, and you'll almost certainly have each of them stuck in your head at some point in the next week.

When it's all said and done, I have a feeling Jaar's solo career won't be the only thing he's known for, as Psychic has put Darkside up there with some of the best groups making music today.

An album with too many cooks in the kitchen and not enough good songs to recommend.

They’ve re-affirmed their place as one of the best bands in the world and have created an album that is insightful, emotional, fun and just damn amazing.

Into It. Over It. have become a group that show us that the innermost workings of one mind can represent so many. All different. All the same.

For a group of guys who are now 22 years on from their debut album and 15 years past their prime as one of the biggest and most important groups in rock ‘n’ roll, Lightning Bolt is a strikingly stellar set of songs that belies the band’s democratic nature.

It sprawls and can feel tenuous, even precipitously close to collapse under its own weight, but the moment of calamity never arrives. It stands instead as a monument not to the person who has erected it, but to the multitudinous influences that brought it into being.

Its a testament to the fact that Tim Hecker is one of the best artists making music today, constantly pushing his sound to new heights while keep his signature style at the core of it all.

My Name Is My Name is one of the best debut albums of the year, but since Pusha T is far from a new artist, he's got a leg-up on many of the newcomers to the genre.

It’s easily his most exhilarating and challenging record to date, keeping you on your toes throughout by juxtaposing subdued verses with huge, soaring choruses.

It is a testament to Devine’s self-awareness of his ability as a songwriter that Bulldozer is not bloated to compensate for its lighter fare, and he sticks the landing with aplomb.

Morrison’s occasional lyrical forays into cheeseball territory can detract from the record, but taken as a whole there’s more to like here than there is to hate.

John is still going strong and better than ever. A few listens to The Diving Board proves exactly that.

Bangerz is at times touching and at others a blast--but for a disappointingly large portion it’s as annoying as her detractors had hoped.

He still has an ear for production and his voice remains a pliable tool, but to keep himself tethered to an aesthetic he defined and completed within a year is to do himself and the listener a disservice.

Yours Truly is more tempered and less likely to put you in a beaming state of catatonia.

The different moods and soundscapes take awhile to digest and let sink in, but every trip back to the dim dance floor has your feet leaving the disco with fresh moves and new accolades.

Wherever you place Adult Film in the Kasher canon, it’s hard to deny that it’s one of the best albums of the year, and arguably his most versatile yet.

11 tracks of stick-to-the-roof-of-your-eardrums music that sounds all at once immediate and laid-back.

Danny Brown is taking the route everyone wants an artist to take: putting out forward thinking, self-expressing art that is setting the bar rather than merely attempting to reach it.

If you're willing to take the time and patience required to give this album the attention it really deserves, you'll find the rewards will exist long after you turn off the album.

Timberlake throws every influence he’s ever touched at the canvas here, and he somehow gets away with it.

MGMT is truly the sound of two artists in the studio with the goal to entertain no one but themselves.

Nothing Was The Same is the best Drake album yet.

Is Survived By is a genuine, life-affirming piece of art that’ll move even the blackest of souls.

Last year’s stellar Battle Born, felt considerably more vibrant than Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action ever does.

Saves The Day is another feather in the cap known as the band's illustrious career, marking the return of the band we all fell in love with many years ago while successfully beginning the next phase of the band’s career.

Mechanical Bull is the sound of real life. It’s the sound of Kings of Leon realizing that sometimes where you were is better than where you ended up.

He has done his best to deliver the kind of care-free, gaudy rap album that will be blaring from the speakers of house parties everywhere for months to come, and B.O.A.T.S. II #METIME readily delivers on that promise.

Its 10 songs meander by with enough sense to not stick around, and other than the grungy rock-out moments of “Nightwater Girlfriend,” we barely notice anything.

This is what those album reviewers mean, when they talk about setting the bar high.

More than anything, Moving Mountains feels complete.

AM is a tight and focused record that sounds huge and retains Turner’s personality and charm in a way previous releases haven’t always done.

Yes, the lack of production and general scuzziness of the record is reminiscent of what we’d like to hear from No Age, but aside from this the music lacks excitement and inspiration.

For everything Smith lacks in wordsmithing, his bandmates make up for in straight up dramatic songwriting.

Repave is integral to retroactively understanding Vernon's canon and also establishes a path forward from the runaway success of his past.

It’s an enchanting odyssey that is steeped in the tantalizing mysticism of the unknown.

Though Ty Segall often seems like he makes records at inhuman paces, Sleeper indulges his very human impulse for a good wallow, and proves that there’s more to the man than the distorted ripping guitars would make you believe.

Simply put, this record already feels timeless.

In a genre that seems to be heading downhill in quality and popularity, Norma Jean pump enough blood into it with Wrongdoers to keep it going.

When listening to Doris, you're going to want to have lyrics nearby or else you're going to miss well over half of what's being said. It makes for an album that's hard to listen to without putting in some effort, but the results speak for themselves as Doris proves to be both a rewarding and engrossing listen, even if there are still a few kinks to be worked out.

With Tracing Back Roots, We Came As Romans have shown just enough progress to make me believe that LP4 could be the game changer they’re looking for.

He still lacks the kind of technical rapping skill that made A$AP Rocky reach star status. Regardless, A$AP Ferg has constructed an album that surpasses the quality of Rocky's Long.Live.A$AP from earlier this year.

While the album doesn’t have the dynamic genre-hopping sensibility that made both Continuum and Born and Raised instant classics, it’s still a solid set of songs that follows one of today’s best songwriters as he establishes a new comfort zone.

Whether or not it's as good as The Luca Brasi Story is irrelevant, though at this point the two are about even. The highs on Luca Brasi are higher and the lows are lower, but Stranger Than Fiction is a much more consistent listen.

With Archambault’s vocal performance stronger than ever before, the band sounding fresh and the lyrics seemingly closing out this chapter in their career, Letters Home is one of the most thrilling albums they could have created.