Agitations makes wrecking balls out of playground jacks in that it uses the same amount of destructive velocity as it does stimulate youth.

With its laid-back atmosphere and relevant lyricism, Thank Me Later is a hip-hop album that successfully balances commercialism with art.

Like a rare, truly-great creepshow, it's the type of harrowing ride I want to experience again and again.

That we're still able to observe the funloving side of the band while also getting to see that there's more to them than that is what makes Two Thousand and Ten Injuries such a charmer. That their compositions sound more precisely constructed and flat-out better this time out doesn't hurt either.

The beauty of an album like Don't Let The Sun is that in between the rickety monuments to group songwriting, there is a simple and subtle message of camaraderie.

In the Pit of the Stomach is truly a feel-better record--in whatever way that resonates with you.

If you’re already a fan of the band, Hold On Pain Ends delivers in every way.

The Big Deep shows that The Sleeping will not be pigeonholed into one genre, and the track that best sums this up is final track (and lead single) "Young Vibes...Don't Run Away From Me." Still full of the urgency you've come to expect from The Sleeping, but it also incorporates all the progress shown throughout the album, thus creating a nice balance between the old and new.

Getting Paid is nothing but a precise groove of excellence.

Guest appearances on any type of album usually generates some negativity but the ones on Adventures really shine and freshen it up a bit.

With serenity so hard to come by, an album like Down the Way is all the more satisfying.

Parallax is one of the best albums I've had the pleasure of hearing all year.

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.

With tunes this infectious and an overarching aura of well-being, Forever Today is a favorite to be the feel-good album of the spring.

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

With a record this charming, one can only hope they last two more decades.

They have dared to venture in the loud, the textured and the big sounds, instead of the more minimal, tangy and clean indie rock we are hearing far too much of these days.

While less varied in the style department than its predecessor, Thursday is another intimate look at the Tesfaye and the life he lives as The Weeknd.

Much of My Brother's Ears/My Sister's Eyes does tend to bleed together for the most part, but it's a wonderful blend of an experience at that.

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.

Awesome As Fuck captures the intensity of a live Green Day show while giving you a nostalgic throwback into what made you fall in love with this band in the first place.

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

This album is perfect for those days when you just want to keep to yourself, when you feel like no one can be trusted. It's for anyone who has ever had the desire to forget their responsibilities and just make some damn music.

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.

Once More 'Round the Sun is the band's most accessible record yet in a lot of ways. The choruses are catchier, the guitar solos are flashier, and the production, while not too overdone, isn't too raw to leave any recognizable barrier to entry.

What Saaab Stories lacks in quantity is easily made up for in quality.

There's no real logical conclusion as to what it all means, and The Roots understand that. That's part of why they made the album so short; so that you can put the time in and come to a conclusion yourself.

Lese Majesty is an entirely different beast than Black Up, and the group manages to continue sticking out in the hip-hop world for their incomparable creativity.

With Love is the most focused and refined release from Zomby yet, which is quite the feat considering it's a double album.

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

Absent Sounds is one of those records where favorite songs change by the hour. And it’s also a record that understands your perceived meaning is the most important one.

A tangle of influences and contemporaries; yet she manages to keep space in which her frail breath of a singing voice can survive.

Though there is a good chunk of filler ("Wesley," "Target Heart," "Go On," "The Game,") the memorable songs mark this disc as something worth purchasing and something worth coming back to.

Run The Jewels 2 is the logical follow up to Run The Jewels; it's bigger, bolder, and feels like a punch to the gut that you'll be feeling for weeks.

While unquestionably delivering more of the goods fans are sure to get excited about, on their new record, Los Campesinos! also prove they aren't one-trick ponies, boasting some welcome musical and conceptual range.

Nikki-Nack is an outstanding successor to W h o k i l l and the year’s most memorable pop album yet.

The palpably effervescent joy of Rae Sremmurd feels untainted by the ills of reality and stands against a backdrop of contemporaries like Shmurda and Chief Keef who use their as a way of combating the grim reality of inner city rot.

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.

Her melodies are always on point and her voice is as strong and confident as ever, a very large and noticeable step up from the teenage True Romance.

The album is a perfect mixture of the band's first two records, blended with an equal part of their rock swagger and part their post-electro swing.

Jinx leaves the band with more paths to explore going forward; they may either continue to refine the warmly gothic sounds found here or may embrace a different facet of Sports. It seems apparent after Jinx that they will deftly execute whichever option they choose.

A fist-pumping, hip-swerving rock record that roars with energy and makes for a most exuberant return to form.

It is a wonderful debut effort, and all of the buzz and the attention they have garnered up to this point is likely only the beginning for AlunaGeorge.

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

Big guitars, big hooks, and JT Woodruff's best vocal performance yet.

If You're Reading This It's Too Late comes with all of the baggage and experimentation a mixtape brings while managing to surpass the quality of most artists' output.

The album is, on face value, yet another rap record about the artists success in overcoming the hobbling obstacles of the drug industry. Stale as the concept is, Future breathes life into it by twisting it into his own image and owning it fully.

The surprise is in just how much White Crosses succeeds at blurring the dividing line between punk rock ethos and boistrous radio rock.

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.

They create sophisticated and charming indie/pop songs that occasionally have moments of calamity and moodiness. Their hooks are compelling, their lyrics often thoughtful, and because they explore the topic of love and heartache, they're bound to resonate with many who give the intimate, Love Notes / Letter Bombs thirty minutes of their time.

For all its flaws, Beach Slang’s debut is a fun and absolutely engaging listen.

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.

It's musically complex and ambitious, but flashes of powerpop shine through, making this Aloha's hookiest effort to date. Its pop aspect is more nocturnal than sunny, though, with its colors showing subtly vivid in the twilight.

Hollandaze is a compelling enough release on feel alone, an album that smartly incorporates a subtle sense of tension, preventing its gauzy textures from devolving into directionless bliss-outs.

Just Be Free is a wonderfully functional album, displaying Queen Freedia at her very best.

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.

If I had to describe Scurrilous in one word, it would be indulgent, and that's not a bad thing. When you have this much talent, I want to hear it.

We Do What We Want is far from perfect – the track sequencing is awkward and doesn't feature the technicality of previous albums (this is where they really miss Shelton) – it is still unlike any other Emery release.

When the band puts their best foot forward ("Monkey Riches," "Father Time," "Applesauce," "Mercury Man," and "Pulleys,") they sound like an outfit deserving of all the hype and praise bestowed upon them.

All in all, it's a solid debut effort and one that never spares on electronic dramatics and an extensive array of far-ranging ideas.

The Jayhawks are still crafting music that should be emulated. And that in and of itself is why Mockingbird Time is worth its 50 minutes.

While Goblin is a slow, 75-minute mental breakdown of Tyler, Blackenedwhite is a brisk, crisp, and energetic hip-hop record, clocking in at barely 30 minutes.

They accomplished their mission. They made a record that doesn't have one radio hit, let alone a single and yet is stronger than their previous efforts.

There's much to like about Office of Future Plans, though I suspect its appeal beyond being a throwback to the golden age of angst-ridden but pop-sensible rock music may be rather limited.

Pyramid of the Sun not only remedies the sporadic deficiencies of Inventions for the New Season, it does proud the legacies of Jerry Fuchs and Manuel Gottsching; it also serves as both a challenge and heuristic experience for the alarmingly proliferating post-rock contingent.

Exmilitary is an abrasive and traumatic ordeal, rife with production that's on-point but completely jarring at the same time.

So while the disc may not his best album, it is still one that makes you think and challenges you.

Shed is the right album for those who don't want their pop-punk bands opting for breakdowns.

As far as comebacks go, you can't ask for much more than the sturdy set of vibrant pop songs The Feelies have bestowed upon us.

Once you let it sink in that this isn't the same band from the early aughts, then you can start to appreciate Taking Back Sunday as a solid rock record – their best in 7 years.

While sticking to his A-game has served him well so far, it's worth noting that the songs themselves just aren't quite as resonant this time out, resulting in an album that's merely very good instead of incredible.

It's nice to have a few good new tracks to add to the collection from one of the scene's finest.

Much like the band's discography in general, Little Joy is new pair of shoes you have to comfortably break into. Best played as background for a while, you'll find yourself losing track of your tasks and picking out some beloved tracks and parts in time.

Nothing continues the trend of unique and fun music the N.E.R.D. name has become synonymous with.

Myth seems like one of those albums that can really thrive in a post-critical world.

On their second go-around, the production is a lot cleaner and the transitions move a lot smoother.

Overall The Fire is the essential Senses Fail record to own. Time and time again, Senses Fail proves that whatever doesn't kill only makes you stronger.

Spills Out is a satisfying album that puts a unique spin on otherwise trite indie-pop touchstones and a marriage of dissonance and charm seamless enough that, at times, it's almost difficult to tell one from the other.

As you might imagine, it's yet another interpretation of classic surf-rock, but as crowded as this scene seems to have gotten lately, most of its practitioners do the style quite well. Surfer Blood are no exception, and their varied approach makes for an intriguing album.

Don't worry about your legacy Beyonce;4 has solidified your already stable position as pop's queen, and I don't think anyone will forget your name for quite some time.

Lyrically, Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic have never been stronger, and they play off each other with a unique composure that's rare nowadays. The production from track to track varies enough to keep things interesting, but it unfortunately begins to bleed together after multiple listens. Still, Are You Gonna Eat That? is an amazing return to the scene for both artists.

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.

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

Nothing, and nobody, is broken beyond repair, and Unbroken showcases that beautifully.

There will surely be those who really want to hate Pedals, and they won't have any difficulty finding justification for their scorn within the album's ten tracks. Nonetheless, it's a winning return, though perhaps not entirely worth the wait.

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

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

Hurley is a reminder of why we fell in love with Weezer in the first place--the power-pop anthems, grungy rock songs, the gawd-awful yet quirky lyrics--it's all here.

Though it may be Mac’s tamest experiment yet, it also lends credence to the idea that he truly is this year’s grand romantic.

However, despite losing a key member, the Red Hot Chili Peppers come out triumphant with I'm With You.

Coming in at 11 tracks, Gemini, Her Majesty doesn't contain a single song that you'll want to skip.

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

In Colour is neither a faithful regurgitation nor a distasteful bastardization of the past, but is instead a charming, effective attempt at bridging the gap between the two.

As has always been the case with City and Colour, this record is at its best when it forgoes sonic evolution for the bare bones simplicity of human emotion and the warm, gentle wash of pleasant nostalgia.

Kinsella has, yet again, created music as an art form and has provided us with a soundtrack to all of those moments between the events.

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.

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

With strong songwriting, restrained arrangements, potent vocal work, and terrific production from Jay Joyce, Mr. Misunderstood is a deep, nuanced album that will appeal to fans of folk, country, or rock and roll in equal measure.