Frontman David Draiman shows that he is an ample singer, refraining from the quirky vocal squallings that graced Sickness for a more straight-ahead croon.

Bittersweet World is a party worth attending, but not much is missed if your invite got lost in the mail.

Her 12th studio release, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, finds her in full command of her expanded arsenal, creating an overall sound that's as psychedelic as it is classic.

Isn't so much a revelation as it is a ready-made crowd pleaser that delivers on the familiar.

The duo wisely experiments with a wider variety of moods and melodies.

The sexy, solid set is glued together by danceable beats and Minogue's knack for picking great songs and producers.

While the production is good, the divergent styles and lack of cohesion add up to a somewhat schizophrenic offering.

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.

Sweepingly beauteous and mesmerizingly rhythmic, The Isness offers pleasures equally suited to explorers of dancefloors or headphones.

Here's a group at the top of its game.

We may be more entertained at times by Rock's extramusical affairs, but the "Devil" should still be given his due as a clever and creative musical force.

Moonwink is a very good album by most standards, except by comparison to "Nicely Done."

Volume and snappy nods to '70s arena rock cannot obscure empty angst and lazy rhymes.

Gone are the trip-hop-skewed beats, gone are the electronica mood swings, and gone is the band's signature downbeat vibe.... In their place are sunny rhythms, buoyant melodies, and hip-twitchin' beats...

The group seems incapable of integrating these traits into something new. It's either Morello re-writing his old licks for bash-and-thud Rage-style rawk or Cornell's more straightforward tension/release confessionals.

Jim Jones may be rolling out his fourth studio album (and first major-label release) with off-Broadway plays, documentaries and a movie, but don't get it twisted—the Harlem-born rapper hasn't lost his grime.

"Play" is light-years more enterprising than Diddy's sample-happy history might suggest.

As he did on last year's "Mail on Sunday," Flo Rida spends most of these 13 pop-rap confections pondering the finer points of his growing bank account and his incomparable way with women. The best cuts are those that mirror the MC's usual themes with even more familiar sounds.

Free Somehow, which marks the debut of new-ish guitarist Jimmy Herring, is no less of a tease, boasting three or four memorable songs (none mightier than 'Airplane') and the rest serviceable filler.

"The Listener" is a low-key, early morning album, perhaps something Lou Reed would have created had he spent his career playing saloons in Tucson, Ariz.

Unfortunately, he's traded some of his cutting-edge British mergings (R&B, hip-hop, two-step, rock) for a more crossover-friendly (read: formulaic) approach that doesn't fire on all cylinders.

The overall mood is a bit more pensive and solemn. [26 May 2007]

Alphabutt is a children's album, 15 songs in 27 minutes that have a breezy, unconditional innocence and more than a little silliness.

With Blink-182/+44 bassist Mark Hoppus producing, Fight does pack a wallop, enveloping frontman Jordan Pundik's angsty relationship paeans on a dozen compact, dynamic and hooky tracks in a mere 35 minutes.

Those who embraced "Fallen" will doubtlessly fall even harder into "The Open Door."

Like so many Young albums, there are the tracks that rise to another level (the 'Ragged Glory'-like 'Just Singing a Song' included) and there are those destined to be forgotten. True to himself, though, Young is inspired throughout.

Beyond ballads, "Black & Blue" crackles with funk-inflected uptempo ditties that are notable for their rough edges.

This record isn't for casual listening, so those checking out the Mars Volta for the first time should take it slow to prevent a sonic hangover.