Tape Deck Heart may not be quite as good as the phenomenal England Keep My Bones, but it’s a quality release with excellent lasting value that will be a mainstay on album of the year lists in 2013.

Having complete freedom and reign with this record, Eisley was able to take its musical element to richer and grander heights.

Most importantly, the album extends the reaches of their previous effort and makes an even bigger dent.

Random Access Memories is teeming with life, and the multitude of genres presented as well as the production choices of the duo help the album deliver on its promise.

Wake Up starts with six successive titanic efforts is commendable but also somewhat disappointing. On the second half of the LP, the formula remains the same.

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

It's a record of favorites, but not one where you feel compelled to skip songs to get to them.

While it’s certainly not what anyone thought a new Deerhunter album would sound like three years removed from the world of Halcyon Digest, the band certainly succeeds in their goal of crafting “nocturnal garage, and the album’s high points--namely “Monomania,” “Punk,” “The Missing” and “T.H.M.”--are some of the best songs the group has ever recorded.

There is a lot to like on This Is How The Wind Shifts, as Silverstein accomplishes the tricky balancing act of progressing your craft while retaining that sound that made the band into what it is today.

While the disc is certainly enjoyable in its own write, Terror doesn’t seem to be out to re-invent the wheel--but perhaps refine the vehicle they drive it on.

The Terror is a frightening trip, a fantastically cohesive album, and one that could have benefited greatly from a bit more editing and perhaps a little better track sequencing.

Night Visions is a disc laden with buoyant choruses, arena-ready swagger and armfuls of dance floor attitude.

There aren't many artists recording today who make songwriting seem more natural and effortless than Kurt Vile.

You’ll sing along because it’s catchy, but you’ll push repeat because the lyrics are so personal.

Produced by Shaun Lopez (Far, Deftones), the sound and shape of each Renacer is clean and spacious.

As loud as What You Don''t See seems at first blush, it's really quite thoughtful.

For the most part, Ghost on Ghost is a good record that disappoints because we know its creator is capable of something more powerful.

While Migrant is Casey Crescenzo’s most accessible record ever, it’s also his most honest and real Dear Hunter LP yet.

It’s the sound of a young band coming into their own unique musical niche and making the record they’ve been reaching for since they first hit the scene in 2009.

Overall, the Recover EP is a perfect stepping stone in Chvrches’ brick road.

Wolf is still packed with signs of potential, and at this point it would be just as foolish to write Tyler off as it would be to call him one of the best in the game.

The result is the most actualized version of Fall Out Boy we've ever heard, an undeniable portrait of who Fall Out Boy is today, in 2013

At the end of the day, when you look at this album, everything just fires on all cylinders--lyrically, vocally, instrumentally.

As a full record, Paramore certainly isn't for everyone--but there's certainly something for everyone. If you're not having fun at some point of the album, you're probably not trying.

Williams seems to have mostly left behind the beach motif and the surf vibes for straight 90s alt-rock, and more often than not it works for him, but a few songs here (“Dog,” “Everything Is My Fault,” “I Can’t Dream”) fall flat on their face.

Overall, Dormarion is one of the most eclectic, fun records of the year.

Despite being fifteen years in the punk rock scene, My Shame Is True is a showcase of a band continuing to be vibrant and vital, when lesser bands have become stale and irrelevant.

Sempiternal is one of the most breathtaking and engaging albums of the year.

Give In is as strong an effort as any and the grand introduction of a first-rate new outfit.

Henry Tremain does a fine job replacing the ever-inventive Stuart Smith on vocals. His lyrics aren't that much fun to sing, but they're nice to read.

The perfect album, albums with no filler, albums that when over, leave you breathless and don't inspire you to want more music from the band, but make you want to listen to the album from the start, all over again; m b v is that album.

Whatever genre you’re into, whatever your favourite publication has said about these guys; Iceage are here to stay and You’re Nothing is one of the best albums of its time.

This isn’t an album that’s going to light people up or satisfy those who are still suffering from The Smiths refusal to reunite. However, if you take The Messenger for what it most organically is, a British indie rock album, you won’t be disappointed.

Easily one of his strongest releases to date, if not his best, The Happiness Waltz is the very reason why musical history should have a small chapter for this criminally overlooked songwriter.

Home is an ambitious effort that veers in several stylistic directions. Sometimes it's terrific, and sometimes it stumbles.

The Beast in Its Tracks wouldn’t be a Josh Ritter album without at least a few home-runs, and luckily, the hits here are plentiful.

On New Moon they take a wide range of sounds and somehow make them all their own, and if you can keep up with all the "genre-hopping," this is certain to be one of the most unique and interesting records you'll hear this year.

Overall, Wondrous Bughouse is a beautiful, experimental album that never forgets that above all, music is an art form and is meant to be experience as is film, art, or literature.

These songs demand attention like they demand volume; they require the space of repeat listens and the privilege of high fidelity audio presentation.

The most amazing part about Foolish Blood is that it sounds effortless, almost as if the band could write a sequel to this in their sleep.

If you’re looking for something heartwarming in the short term or an album to warm cold nights, give The Bunkhouse Vol 1: Anchor Black Tattoo a go, however here’s hoping that the second volume of The Bunkhouse holds something a little more defined and innovative.

Hayden has arguably crafted his finest album to date.

The record is a jukebox boiled down to its greatest hits, a playground romp through the back-pages of pop music history, and in this case, the journey is well worth taking.

Regardless of the reason, Country Sleep is more immediately accessible and rewarding than most of the records from the artists listed above, a stunning surprise debut that will be sitting somewhere in my annual top ten come December.

It all adds up to a solid release that is suited better for the radio than it is among your hardcore collection.

Overall, Hummingbird is a wonderful album. Each song manifests itself in a truly attractive manner and it's a release that's very much focused in the aesthetic.

Aside from the overall atmosphere of the album, most of the time, Veronica Falls are spot on with their songwriting.

Overall, Wolf's Law largely oversteps the sophomore slump.

The twin sisters have pushed themselves creatively and musically, creating something truly special.

While the EP isn't the best material of the band's career, it shows a promising future that looked ever so bleak just a mere three years ago.

Over and done in less than 45 minutes, Crazy World is a fine album from a band who seems comfortable with their place in the landscape of contemporary music.

The first few tracks of the release are pleasant, everything is undermined by the last half.

In rippling the delving guitars and gripping drums with a tenacity that is tough to deny, The Acacia Strain find themselves again with just the right recipe--giving us a much more concentrated opportunity for catharsis in the key of anger.

Failed States is the band's best release to date.

The genius of Lights Out is that it packs a punch without any gimmicks.

From its atmospheric nineties leanings to Bellamy's consistently on-the-mark channeling of Bono, it's not too hard to imagine The 2nd Law having a similar legacy ten or twenty years down the road: not a great album, but an adventurous one.

While country music press (and even some Top 40 radio stations) champion Miranda Lambert for her spunk, zest and exuberance, the fact of the matter is plenty of female singer-songwriters have just as much spunk, zest or exuberance. Rosie Flores is no exception. Working Girl's Guitar is proof of that.

Such storytelling songwriting on Close The Distance is unmatched by anything Lancaster has ever penned--and I mean ever.

It might take a moment to sink in, but the return of Verse to both touring and recording has reaped its most challenging disc to date--leaving us with something to cherish and consider in the process.

The only time the record comes across as flawed is the manner in which certain tracks happen to run into each other, however largely, this is easy to ignore when the rest of the record is so great. Local Business is certainly the business.

Overall, The Bears For Lunch is an great record, however those extra unnecessary tracks weigh it down at points and prevent it from being excellent.

Largely, (III) is an excellent album. Crystal Castles have not just recreated their first two records, they have developed as a band and their sound has morphed greatly.

At the end of the day, I don't know exactly where I'd rank Koi No Yokan--somewhere in the top three, but really it's not important. What's important is that this is a f***ing great album.

Overall, Tame Impala have created a steady sophomore album.

Isis' Temporal is an honest and respectable attempt to not only chronicle their career perhaps intrigue a few more people in the process.

Overall, About To Die isn't particularly great. The EP is quite unnecessary.

Hands Of Glory is yet another right step in a discography which is yet to falter or fail. This is as essential as a bits and bobs album comes.

Overall, Young Hunger is the sound of an artist spreading himself too thin.

Title Fight isn't trying to reshape the sound of punk--they just want you to listen to better music. Floral Green accomplishes that and more.

Lyrically and musically (guitarists Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling showcase impressive tapping and riffing throughout), this is Parkway Drive at its best--combining the best elements from its previous albums and expanding on them to create an album that encompasses all your senses.

The album never gets stagnant and avoids the pitfalls of sticking to the same sound or mellowing out with age and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have quite a few albums in them yet.

Blak and Blu is the very definition of a bellwether, and the resounding answer to all of the many who have predicted such greatness.

We Don't Even Live Here is the weirdest, angriest, and best P.O.S album to date.

Waking Season is the most dynamic and affecting record of this year and probably last year (too lazy to look).

It's sexy, daring, and complete.

One Wing is equal parts raw, deranged, beautiful, and immense--it's a very primal and exhausting release; something you can feel pouring out of your speakers.

Both daring and down right difficult to turn away, consider this among the band's finest work of their career thus far.

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

Shields not only matches its predecessor in Grizzly Bear's back catalogue, but it exceeds it.

Comprised of many songs he has tucked away for years, the album is everything one might expect from a Gibbard solo album: daring, delicate, verbose and indelible.

Bad Books' II is the band finally discovering its sweet spot, as the album's eleven tracks are firing on all cylinders.

As daring as it is confident and poignant in its execution, this album captures both the Converge we know and love and a Converge we're not quite accustomed to--leaving us with an album arguably as striking and challenging as anything the band has done before.

While it may lack the immediate magnetism of Weathervanes, there's plenty of reasons to think when all is said and done, Diluvia will be the album that carries them forward and cements their status as one of New York City's most creative and rewarding indie bands.

Though it can be long and drags at times (namely "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair") Pour Une Ame Souveraine is a compelling album and another notch on the belt of an artist who continues to pursue her own agenda.

The Wallflowers have always been a band that excelled at bringing new life to things we'd heard before, and that remains true on Glad All Over.

119 is more concerned about power flexing than it is being simple, fast, direct, and catchy (and there are way less 30-second spurts than before); it has a hefty presence of East Coast ferocity, and Spielman's signature chokehold commands the band's socio-political magnitude more than ever.

Awakened makes for a reasonable continuation in the band's sound, but finds the group making a significant stride in their ability to mix their talents together while keeping the songwriting at dizzying heights.

Young Guns are vastly talented and laden with armfuls of potential. One listen to Bones proves that.

You're going to need more than a few listens to truly sink your teeth into the meaty layers and themes, but once you get it, you'll find that this is one of the most rewarding albums of 2012.

Chances are, his best work is still ahead of him, but for now, Tomorrowland is another fascinating statement from one of music's most promising young players.

Overall, The xx have created an album that is just as interesting, attractive and sexy as it could possibly be.

Battle Born is the kind of rock 'n' roll record that almost nobody makes anymore: it's bombastic and excessive and oversized, but it's also a grand and universal statement, a master class of album structure and sequencing, and a culmination of everything Brandon Flowers and The Killers have done up to this point.

Despite displaying their love of hardcore through certain parts of the album, Dinosaur Jr have created the most accessible heavy album of this year, with every track being suitable for any radio station or soundtrack.

Grace and Lies is a terrific disc and the signal of a strong new talent, but far too often the entire effort feels like a solo album and a vessel to showcase Krans' alto voice.

In short, a few stray hiccups only gives a listener more reason to be excited for the next release.

NOFX take a crack at pressing matters both inwards and outwards, succeeding in not only making a seamless expression of both sides but cranking out some truly memorable jams to boot.

The quintet has a real pulse on how to be memorable, melodic and magnificent without sacrificing their defined visions.

Maintaining the melodramatic indie that Stars do so beautifully, The North manages to channel every aspect of the indie rock spectrum, whilst creating a body of art that is perfectly coherent.