The Vocoder on the a cappella track 'Woods' puts forth a robotic wooziness that's more about technical expression than personal sentiment. With full-band backing, Vernon also seems more social on the title track and 'Babys.' What remains from "For Emma" is a dizzying and ethereal beauty.

As Fiction Family, the two San Diego musicians find plenty of sonic common ground and, most important, a dozen richly crafted and intriguingly rendered songs.

When these guys avoid the occasional regrettable extended downshift in tempo, the angular yet danceable set combines a mixture of menace and fun volatile enough to hint that their live shows must be irresistible.

The Notorious film soundtrack not only assembles the best of the Notorious B.I.G.'s work, it includes gems like the rapper's first demo tape, two new tracks from Jay-Z and a 'One More Chance' remix featuring B.I.G.'s son, CJ Wallace.

It's that mix of sad-sack circumstances and cautious optimism that makes the Scottish quartet's debut such a rich exercise in self-aware spleen-venting.

Cook bursts back with Brighton Port Authority, a project that liberates him from the "electronic dance artist" identity crisis and allows his production talents to shine.

It's one of those rare soundtracks that holds up well independent of its film.

His reports here from the streets ('Me and My Goons'), the boudoir ('Spend the Night') and the hospital room ('Family Straight') sizzle with a stripped-down immediacy that makes good on the album's title; few MCs seem as committed to a warts-and-all presentation as Plies.

Hearing a crowd go wild for a kick drum has to do the dance community proud.

Call and Response is everything the format could and should be.

A 62-page book and new vinyl pressing complete the package for the audiophiles and superfans, but the real value is in the album itself, an important piece of the history of a seminal '90s band.

The singer does double duty as a dance diva and brokenhearted balladeer. It's no easy feat, but when Spears shoves aside the tabloid trauma and hooks up with the right producers--on this album it's Guy Sigsworth, Danja, Dr. Luke and Max Martin--she is in a class of her own.

While 'Troublemaker' and 'Holla Holla' each sound a lot like prior Akon songs (the former like Kardinal Offishall's 'Dangerous,' the latter like '07's Akon/T-Pain pairing 'Bartender'), ultimately they're highlights for that very reason.

While Everything is firmly grounded in Eno and Byrne's previous work, their mutual commitment to musical exploration ensures the album rarely sounds like something we've heard before.

It's clear from the sheer range and energy on this album that McCartney is heeding his own advice.

In the end, it seems that no matter how pained West is, as long as his one true love--himself--is intact, he will prevail in the face of adversity

This one's stuffed with massive, flamboyant beats; overloud dirty-comic vocals; and all the usual lyrical stops.

Six tracks are leftovers from the Brian Eno-produced "Vida" sessions, many of which make noticeable, if not exactly terrifying, departures from the band's swelling rockery.

Jones roars out of the box with Tommy James & the Shondells' 'I'm Alive,' a sweat-soaked jumpsuit of a song thick with fierce maleness.

While the debut showed him eager to step outside the confines of STP, he essentially has nothing to prove here, and as a result, it's a casual-sounding record.

Not known as a songwriter, Adkins has an innate ability to make a song his own, as is the case with the seemingly autobiographical 'Happy to Be Here' and the family-first 'All I Ask for Anymore.'

It may be because of its unevenness that Alone II is an intriguing look into Cuomo's complicated mind, because unlike his largely homogenized Weezer albums that have stuck to the center of late, these recordings shed light into every dark corner.

The Caribbean-flavored 'I Can't Stay' and the Duran Duran-lite 'Joyride' are much more perplexing, as is the looped chanting that anchors 'This Is Your Life.' If nothing else, this band keeps fans on their toes, and they're likely to buy in for another round.

With Rick Rubin polishing the group's garage rock approach into a sharper aural attack, T(I)NC dishes out such heady anthems.

The artist is in fine, ever-changing voice throughout, and there's certainly a ton of musical food for thought here, requiring several listens before the nuances are revealed. Worth the wait? Maybe. Worth a few hours of your time? Definitely.

It's the kind of recording that makes you wish you were there—but also makes you feel like you are.

It's the classic, more timeless R&B songs on the I Am portion of the album that seem like a much-welcomed stretch for the singer.

The bulletproof Nickelback provides affordable fun that promises good returns in hard times.