It's fairly apparent throughout the album that Anberlin was definitely in their element, as Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is exactly what mainstream music needed: a challenging and engaging rock and roll album anyone can relate to. Their songwriting and musicianship have never been better.

Upon repeat listens, there's not one point of Halcyon Digest that feels like it was overly thought out.

It was obvious the writing for this album was at its earlier stages when Camu passed away, but the production does a very good job of making up for the low quality of the vocals. Fortunately, Camu's fantastic voice still breaks through. I love distorted, uneven recordings, but fans of cleaner audio work may be put off by the album's overall quality.

They may not be quite as distraught as Smith was, and they certainly opt not to strum as fast as he did, but the shared sentiment is still there. And on The Unfazed, that sentiment carries a savory beauty.

The Valley is equally intimate and gorgeous as it is rough and realistic.

Light, more than anything I've heard lately, sounds complete and self-contained, and like most of the TV on the Radio catalog, it largely transcends genre. No other context is necessary. Nine Types of Light simply is what it is.

What sets Fucked Up's new album aside from their previous records though is the accessibility and bright tone throughout.

It's doing more with less, on a level that simply demands attention. That, ladies and gentlemen, just might make Dawes something you'll pass on to your children.

If she maintains this faith in her abilities, her albums will continue to awe, inspire and provide tough competition for the rest of the world.

The best thing about Lenses Alien: its incessant begging for you to spin it again.

If you have the patience to wait and persevere until Paradise fully blossoms with you into something spectacular, rest assured, it will be a record that won't stop giving when it finally does.

There is a sense of urgency and maturity here that few in the genre will be able to replicate. So forget the throne, The Devil Wears Prada doesn't need it to prove that they've released the best metalcore album of the year.

Whether it was "the right way" or not, all of the days that we have waited for Neighborhoods have been well worth it.

Every song on Soul Punk bleeds confidence and assurance--that these songs are what Patrick Stump is happy creating--music that he's proud of.

As one of the last big album releases to close out 2011, it's highly fitting that Ceremonials should be considered perhaps the most beautiful and absorbing of them all.

It'll be difficult to find many albums (regardless of genre) that stimulates as many emotions as Camp. Years of hard work and perseverance from Glover has finally paid off and Camp is the culmination of all that, making this one of the best albums of 2011.

During the 30 odd minutes of Avalanche United, you hear a revitalized band that's eager to take over the country and at the top of their game.

Uncompromising, gritty and intense.

Seeker Lover Keeper is a beautiful, harmonious and captivating listen from start to finish.

It's not all slow and mid-tempo numbers that litter the forty-five minute duration of The Slideshow Effect. There are also moments where the band is unafraid to lift the urgency, to create a semblance of sustained momentum, and to incorporate a few timely hooks and memorable melodies along the way.

The duo shows an uncanny ability to write engaging pop nuggets.

The musicianship and songwriting is easily on par with Magic and exceeds the output on Working On A Dream, and as a whole, Wrecking Ball stacks up considerably with The Rising, which to this day I consider a top-5 Springsteen album.

Twelve Years is a record that can and should become the soundtrack to many a young person's life in 2012.

The combination of his idiosyncratic creative mind with his highly personal and conflicted lyrics has resulted in something spectacular.

The combination of Vigil's honest, yet relatable lyricism and the powerful instrumentation make for the band's most powerful statement to date.

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

With Painted, Narrows sophomore release isn't just a bunch of vets attempting a comeback, they're showing listeners why their names are already synonymous within the scene to begin with.

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.