For most of Valhalla Dancehall, the diversity in sound works to British Sea Power's advantage, but it also leaves the album feeling weirdly unsatisfying.

The album's top heavy, and its finest moments come when T.I.'s able to look past himself, whether it be to attack the legal or education system. The rest is frustratingly mixed.

Those who weren't sold on Gillis' act before aren't going to change their minds, but his records are consistently great, and All Day is no exception.

With these influences placed front and center in their tunes, Weekend runs the risk of being written off as a derivative clone; as a band more interested in replicating their heroes than building off the foundation they laid. Fortunately, Weekend has enough personality to ward off this unfair label.

This is one of those albums to throw on and leave on while you accomplish something: it won't demand too much of your attention, but none of it will bore you.

On the heels of the brilliant My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the misunderstood Recovery Minaj follows in style by putting out an album interested in both hip hop and music that simply sounds great.

This is the kind of album you just throw on to have fun. If anything, it proves My Chemical Romance don't need to be eccentric or theatrical to put out an enjoyable record.

Ultimately, the legacy Pinkerton leaves behind is it being one of the most emotional and raw albums ever made. It's an album that many can relate to, even if you're not on the same level of crazy as Rivers was back then.

While North is a far cry from Darkstar's previous releases, it's a nice addition to the world of electronica. This album sets the duo apart from their label mates, but retains the dark atmosphere that Hyperdub artists are known for.

Comparing him to other rappers is pointless: there are other guys with much more technically-sound flows (although Ye is as wickedly funny as he's ever been), but nobody else possesses the combination of hubris, imagination, neuroticism, and drive it takes to make a record like this.

If you're hoping for change here, give up now. Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager is also presented in five acts, and again has no real structure to justify them.

Lucky Shiner has all the facets of something good. It breathes on its downbeats, sings rickety sampler loops, and, most enjoyably, it takes its time.

Who knows whether the notoriously megalomaniacal Jackson would approve of this album-people on both sides of that argument have valid points-but as a start-to-finish collection of songs it's more enjoyable and less filler-stuffed than anything he's released since Bad, a minor miracle given the circumstances.

To be fair, she's still in the process of resurfacing, rather successfully actually, and Body Talk is a fine dance-pop album.

It's both the sleaziest album of the year and Diddy's intricate fantasy world of mistreatment and vindication presented as a bizarre mass.

After listening to Legacy it seems difficult to imagine anyone else achieving what they have whilst working with Disney studios.