As the record comes to a close, it's impossible not to note the true creativity exerted throughout the entirety of Codes and Keys.

Ditching the psychedelic rock for an album that mines from disco, synth-pop and R&B in equal measure is a move that is sure to alienate some of the Tame Impala fan base, but the fact that Kevin was able to stretch himself into this kind of new territory is undeniably a feat in its own right. It's just icing on the cake that Currents also happens to rival Lonerism as Tame Impala's masterpiece.

The result is a record that feels as weighty as a work of literature, but also as enveloping and beautiful as the best albums that the folk music genre has ever produced.

Bigger, badder, and louder than ever, Ex Lives will go down as the definitive Every Time I Die record.

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.

It'll be difficult to find many albums that can top the type of creativity Odd Soul contains, making it one of the essential must-have albums of 2011.

It's the bold, adventurous and grandiose album that the Top 40 charts needs right now.

This album is more than just an album-of-the-year candidate, this is a disc that is far-reaching, endlessly appealing and as strong as anything that's been released in the Americana genre in the last half-decade.

The album is 55 minutes of simplistic storytelling, Oberst’s ever recognizable vocals and a whole lot of heart. If you’ve been an Oberst fan at any point of his career before 2009, it’s a record that’s easy to fall in love with.

Shad's most recent album, 2010's TSOL, builds right where The Old Prince left off, and is even more impressive.

The album lives up to its title in every way and should prove essential for old and new fans alike.

In a year that's produced an overwhelming amount of great music, Simple Math is another outstanding painting worth the public's attention.

Simply put, this record already feels timeless.

This is a truly magnificent record, and I think it’s going to end up being the album for which we remember Vampire Weekend.

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.

Given the proper attention and respect, Letlive's The Blackest Beautiful will reveal itself as a masterpiece--a record that will redefine your musical preconceptions and tastes for the better,

These songs aren’t just lovelorn poetry or odes of heartbreak; they’re full stories, five-minute films, expansive novels written in staves, rests, and music notes for the rest of us to bleed to.

While the lyrics are what everyone will talk about, it’s Hall’s voice that makes them work. That insistent yelp, straining to create melody without being beholden to it.

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

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.

This is something that has no expiration date.

One of the most unique, reflective, darkly humorous, and brilliant records to grace ears in a while.

Their talented musicianship signals they are out of step with their peers experimentally as grindcore architects; likewise, Darker Handcraft will trap you easily in frenetic whiplash mode.

The Maccabees have returned as a highly evolved beast more than ready to be released into the wild world.

Walker has truly outdone himself with an album that captures all the nuances that made "Letters And Meadows" shine, and extracts them bit by bit to give every individual track its own breath.

It's a take it or leave it, and for arguably the most consistent band in the scene over the last decade, Major/Minor is a triumph. What else and to whom do they need to prove anything anymore anyway?

Diamond Eyes is full of layers and dimensions, making it an auditory treat that listeners will want to continue to indulge themselves in. This is an album you can blast from my car stereo and then later dissect through headphones.

The elements of the band complement each other instead of over-powering, thus making Ø (Disambiguation) brutally beautiful and instantly memorable.