The album is a call to arms for the digital age, and 20 years into its career, Green Day's ambition continues to dazzle.

Every one of these 15 tunes is a living, breathing creature, from the haunting, modal-tinged blues-waltz (with cello) of 'Rake' to the jaunty fingerpicking and mouthy dialogue of 'Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold' (a duet featuring son Justin Townes Earle) to the eternally elegant Tex-Mex anthem 'Pancho and Lefty.'

Electronic music duo the Crystal Method hasn't lost its flair for funk and style as found on the act's debut release, "Vegas."

It's the detail and charm listeners have come to expect mixed with these welcome surprises that keep Actor exciting.

Whatever their inspiration, new cuts like the oddly pretty 'Lose You' and 'Billionaire,' the latter of which features a fiery cameo from Shunda K of Yo Majesty, throb with unexpected vitality.

Outer South is a decently stocked serving of rambling, saloon-joint alt-country, but one that finds the freewheeling Oberst and band in need of a little focus.

The group stays true to its avant-garde musical roots with Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, the noisier, louder follow-up to 2007's "Love Is Simple."

Ben Harper is that rare talent able to not only vacation in the worlds of gospel, soul, folk and even reggae, but meld them gracefully together on both album and stage. But sometimes you just want him to rock, like he did on 1995's "Ground on Down." And at long last, he's assembled a new band that seems dedicated to just that, and it's a beautiful thing.

On 'High Price,' where she takes her vocals to an opera-like pitch, and her collaboration with the-Dream, 'Lover's Things,' whose faint tenor would seem like an ideal match, Ciara seems to go almost unnoticed. Thankfully, 'Work,' featuring Missy Elliott, has Ciara showing fly-girl antics over a house-like, clap-laden production, and the breakup song 'Never Ever,' featuring Young Jeezy, which samples 'If You Don't Know Me by Now,' pick up the slack.

The unlikely resurrection of the New York Dolls is solidified by this second recent album, an output that now matches in quantity and mirrors in quality their epic early-'70s sprint.

While Yusuf (formerly known as Cat Stevens) officially returned to the pop world in 2006 with the welcomed "An Other Cup," his re-entry has only now been fully realized with the thoroughly engaging Roadsinger (To Warm You Through the Night).

She continues to lay down the law on 'Porcelain Doll' and 'Another One,' both of which find her claiming she is a "grown woman" over a choir-like production and acoustic guitars, respectively. But not all is heartbreak on the mature-sounding set.

There are clunkers, like the half-there torch song "Life Is Hard." But the great thing about 67-year-old Dylan is that even when it's not working, it's working.

With Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Vinny Appice on drums, the lyrically macabre and demonically alluring music sounds more like a band backing Ronnie James Dio than it does an act trying to distinguish itself as an entity apart from Sabbath's and Dio's solo endeavors. Yet The Devil You Know has a great sound in its own right.

Her hushed, velvet-smooth vocals evoke a noir yearning and forlornness, her slow-burn delivery enraptures with a torch sentimentality, and her support team shines.

Parts of this remarkable debut make for decidedly uneasy listening: The drugged-out, claustrophobic glam slam that's 'Flash of Light' may be the year's most terrifying moment.

Although the roster of the newly formed act Tinted Windows is a bit of a head-scratcher--middle Hanson brother Taylor Hanson, Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos--it all seems to make sense after one listen to the supergroup's self-titled debut.

After nearly 30 years, the trio--now comprising Gore, Dave Gahan and Andrew Fletcher--still imbue every aspect of its 12th studio album, Sounds of the Universe, with imagery and sonic flourishes that make its music fresh and familiar.

Francis' production has noticeably tightened the band's sound, as Freddy Feedback's bass bounces crisply alongside dueling riffs. Art Brut may never shed its screwball charisma, but Satan is a successful step in a mature direction.

the guests' reverence for Booker T. is clear--the Truckers, as they did when they recently backed Bettye LaVette, know when to muscle up (on 'Pound It Out') and how to hang back (on moving, B3-powered track 'She Breaks,' a sweet, shimmering number filled with references to Booker T.'s awesome past).

After being the first white guy to grace the cover of a Gangsta Grillz underground mixtape ("The Greenhouse Affect" with Don Cannon & DJ Drama), this buzzed-about MC proves that suburban rap has finally arrived.

The result is a flawless blend of sunny pop, Motown, blues and jazz with the cleanest production in Camera Obscura's catalog.

The inspiring combination lifts the album far beyond tribute material into sonic territory all its own.

The Miami-bred MC Rick Ross has faced a number of career obstacles in recent months--from damaged street credibility to a multi-episodic beef--so it's all the more impressive that on his third album, Deeper Than Rap, he presents his most cohesive work yet.

The group's self-titled debut shows that it has more than one flashy single to offer.

The Canadian quartet continues to polish its spacey, new wave-colored sound that's heavy with buzzing synths and echoed vocals.

Though answers don't come easily, the process of getting to know them is fascinating nonetheless.

The repetitive opener 'Let's Be Mates' gets the album off to a rocky start, but Lady Sov quickly redeems herself with 'So Human.'