The collection either encapsulates Sonic Youth's most endearing or annoying qualities, depending on how one feels about the band and the spoken-word poetics from Kim Gordon.

As she evolves, Spears is wisely sticking with age-appropriate material that her teen constituency can bond with.

It all adds up to a collection that successfully sets Hanson apart from the current teen-pop phenomenon that it helped start -- at least from a creative perspective.

There's little profundity here, but "The Geometrid" is undeniably a satisfying treat of bubbly, back-to-the-future escapism.

A strong collection of quick, higher-energy rockers.

The beauty of the record is that even though listeners expect Ween to be peculiar, the band's versatility and strength of songwriting keeps "White Pepper" intriguing through dozens of spins.

A wonderfully subtle, often moving collection of acoustic tunes that illuminates Young's incomparable tunesmithing and a voice that can deliver volumes of emotion and subtext in a simple phrase.

It's no wonder that visionary artists like Brian Eno and Tricky have welcomed the act with open arms. "Good Looking Blues" finds the group combining the best elements of its past... with bluesy horns, Jamaican beats, hip-hop drum loops, and avant-jazzy excursions.

Callahan's songs occasionally lapse into banal rhyming patterns, but more often than not he masters the metaphor.

"Ecstasy" finds 58-year-old rock poet Lou Reed characteristically fixing his gaze on messier thoughts and murkier emotions -- and doing so more artfully than at any time since his 1989 masterpiece, "New York."

Easily the icon's strongest, most satisfying effort since her '78 classic "Easter," "Gung Ho" is, by turns, wistfully poetic and sharply observational.

Although the album tends to meander at times, with too many similarly arranged tracks clumped together, the individual highlights here are inspired enough to make "The Covers Record" a unique work in its own right.

There's a refreshing lack of samplers, loops, and unnecessary electronic ephemera here... [s]olid from beginning to end...

An artistic experiment that stretches the band's sound while meditating on the film's menacing malaise.

On "Machina," the Pumpkins don't sound creatively bankrupt as much as they sound burned out, uninspired, and not living up to their potential.

The Grammy-garnering producer certainly shows good taste in his selection (favoring 20th-century pieces) and obviously knows his way around a mixing board, but his make-overs are ultimately bloodless, even banal.

A gorgeous collection of intensely quiet songs filled with lush harmonies and haunting sonic atmospherics.... rarely has the group sounded better.

A sad and beautiful farewell from one of the most innovative artists of the past decade.