The final product exceeds the hype.

"Savane" is without question one of the finest efforts in his legendary discography.

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.

Vast in scope, rich in trope and full of hope. [25 Nov 2006]

The recording is immaculate, the performance breathtaking.

Adventurous listeners are in for a treat.

Underoath has made definitive strides at progression without abandoning the muscular, broad-shouldered hardcore that made it a household name.

Never has the pair sounded more fresh and self-assured; nor has it delivered such a fully realized work before.

The backing tracks, brimming over with strings, guitars, vaguely Middle Eastern elements, and soundtrack snippets, are more musical than much hip-hop, proffering the perfect gateway to Aesop Rock's verbose world. Dig the dark sounds as you try to decipher the deep thoughts.

Between tunes Cohen recites lyrics from the next song to be performed, and these 26 tunes, delivered in his steady rumbling baritone, may have never sounded better, certainly not in one place on one special night.

Canto is a passionate mix of originals and material drawn from the traditions of Mexico, Cuba, and Peru.

The album is certainly one of 2001's finest, most memorable releases. It just shouldn't be billed beyond what it is: a deliciously fun romp that draws heavily upon influences like the Velvet Underground, Television, and the Stooges.

A brighter, bouncier counterpart to its wintry predecessor "Michigan," "Illinois" contains some of the most beautiful pop you will hear all year long.

Like many great albums, "Original Pirate Material" wasn't meant to be adored in an instant, so don't let your first impressions fool you. This cat's the real deal.

Emotion and soul run deep throughout (thanks to Staton's raw vocals), with each track an honest revelation.

"Funeral" is a modest debut, but it hints at a band that sounds like its ready to make a statement over the next several years.

A bold leap forward. [8 Oct 2005]

Not only shares some textural similarities with Radiohead's "Kid A," but rivals it as an art-rock classic.

That smile will have a difficult time leaving your face.

This enchanting album is rife with homespun reflections on philosophy, religion and the never-ending quest for true love.

Instead of coming off as dilettantish, Cale instead sounds intrigued with how these new tools can enhance his music.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is so gorgeously confident that it fulfills expectations and more.

The fact that "Complete B-Sides" rocks from start to finish speaks volumes about the Pixies' bizarre creative genius, and their focus on output rather than sales.

At first the beats are jarring. But like the Clipse's debut smash, "Grindin'," once it all clicks, it's unstoppable. [2 Dec 2006]

With the sonic reach of Pink Floyd and convincing, explosive pop in the vein of Rogue Wave and the Apples in Stereo, "Ta Det Lugnt" is thick with variety.

It's all well and good, but we've mostly heard it before.

While TVOTR now record for just another major label, their music is more distinctive than ever.

Harvey's first five discs were startlingly complete conceptions. "Stories From The City" shows the same genius -- only in fits and starts.

This intimate, often breathtakingly beautiful collection (primarily produced by the artist herself) finds solace in the calm after the storm.

Smith bundles subtlety and ferocity to create one of his heart-aching best.

Overall, the material feels more human, more honest, more assured.

Yet another brilliant pop record for the college radio crowd.

The only disappointment is the one new song, "Music Is My Radar," a rather pallid foray into disco.

The true star is Antony's raw, emotional voice, one in which you can almost hear actual feelings being conveyed.

Overall, "Fishscale" is strong, with archetypal beats creating the definitive Ghost. [1 Apr 2006]

All the elements are deftly held together by the MC/songstress' ability to make each track her own.

One of the most valuable qualities of good music is its ability to transport you to a moment in your past, a place you'll never see or somewhere that doesn't even exist. Thanks to their gloriously retro (and occasionally eerie) three-part harmonies, Seattle's Fleet Foxes accomplish all the above with their self-titled debut.

There are some truly fascinating marriages of old and new happening.... One of the best albums you'll hear this year.

At over an hour, "Decoration Day" does feel a little unwieldy. But for better or worse, there's simply not a single song here that wouldn't be missed.

This is hip-hop for another era, one that makes the present day commercial U.S. material seem even more flat than it already is.

These are songs riddled with illiteracy, cancer, unemployment, crime and consequence, fashioned by the brutal pen of one of the most promising American songwriters of the last decade.

She is simply magnificent.

Key to the magic is the delicious harmony vocals of the unlikely duo, best-displayed on the swaying 'Killing the Blues,' given trad-country depth by steel pedal ace Greg Leisz.

Quick, breezy and fun.

Bombast occasionally gets the better of the songwriting, but that's a small complaint on an album that gets nearly everything just right. [10 Mar 2007]

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more adventurous and rewarding release this year.

The band's most challenging--and rewarding--album.

Overall, this dynamic collection has something unexpected at every turn. [10 Feb 2007]

A consistently moving, subtly beautiful experience.

Even more so than her arresting 2005 indie debut, "Arular," M.I.A. comes off as a globetrotting activist on sophomore effort Kala.

A diverse collection of intricately composed pop music, in the broadest sense of the genre.

The lyrics brim with grouchy wit. [24 Mar 2007]

Welcome to Mali showcases the duo at some distance from its original, more elemental sound, but the overall feel is that of musical progress.

From the cheeky hip-hop of 'Konichiwa Bitches' and the warped bass underpinning her cover of Teddybears' 'Cobra Style' to the Kylie Minogue-esque 'With Every Heartbeat' and sweeping strings carrying 'Be Mine,' the album holds 14 sassy and sweet dance pop gems.

"Separation Sunday" is not only these Brooklyn transplants' best work to date (far surpassing the critically mis-hyped debut from last year), it is one of the grittiest, realest New York rock albums to come out since the Trouser Press folded.

It's a strange balancing act that Rutili and crew capably pull off, straddling the chasm between the straightforward and the self-consciously left of center.

With the addition of trumpet, trombone, and alto sax to his quartet sound, however, Frisell is on the job with a jumbo-sized sonic palette. The results, tune by tune, are as eccentric as they are intriguing.

"People" boasts an uncommon beauty and originality, brimming with tunes that glimmer with pure magic.

The group encapsulates the Atlantic seacoast just as 1980s twangers the dBs embodied the South and the Beach Boys captured California.

Though not every track works, Scott still remains at the top of her game.

Steve Earle adds yet another masterwork to his disparate collection of classics...

A masterwork of insight and delight.

Randy Newman's shock-and-aw-shucks wit is so joyfully scathing at times on "Harps and Angels" that it's hard to believe it's been nine years since his last album of new material.

Matt Berninger's murmuring, stream-of-conscious narratives are delivered with convincing melodrama, with few clunkers. [26 May 2007]

It trades in the Robert Johnson and Dolly Parton covers that go over so well live for more of singer/guitarist/keyboardist Jack White's hard-blues, garage-rock originals.

The peerless BBC archive continues to yield heaven-sent live performances, and none is more enjoyable than this two-disc set surveying David Bowie's early appearances on the British network.

A strong collection of quick, higher-energy rockers.

The material from '97 on offers many surprises, particularly a dreamy alternate take on "Someday Baby" from "Modern Times" and the strident "Dreaming of You," which wouldn't have fit at all on "Time Out of Mind. Less essential are the live cuts, which only reinforce how Dylan's unpredictable phrasing and enunciation can render a song transcendent one moment ("Lonesome Day Blues," which sounds sourced from a bootleg), then unrecognizable ("Things Have Changed") or ordinary the next ("Cocaine Blues").

Taking all the best parts of Jeff Buckley, Devandra Barnhart and Rufus Wainwright, Bird can be noisy, charming, frivolous, haunting and playful all at once.

BLACKsummer'snight is a testament that Maxwell hasn't lost a beat.

Case has never sounded as vital as she does on "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood."

This is an album overflowing with passion and tension.

Pitch-shifting strings punctuate the background like reminders of the cinema of the past, but this Portishead doesn't wink at anything, eschewing style altogether. In our self-referential culture, an album like this is an aberration. Again.

By the end of this 21-track opus, you still might not like West's self-assured declarations, but you will not be able to deny his talent.

Brooklyn's working class heroes have stepped up their musicality (harpsichord is featured on "One for the Cutters") and melodic balladry ("Lord, I'm Discouraged" is an aching prayer), while still providing their signature cacophonous anthems.

Murs' command of his rhyme scheme -- and the uniformly banging, soul-drenched beats of his labelmates -- make this one of the most engaging hip-hop records of the young year, even at just over a half-hour.

The group has already produced a barrage of great singles, but this time around, it digs in its collective heels for a worthy album, allowing the songs, and not just the musicians, to shine. [27 Aug 2005]

There are some real gems here. [12 May 2007]

[An] uneasy listening masterwork.

What makes "Source Tags & Codes" such an amazing album is how the band teeters on the edge of this implosion but always yanks its songs back from collapse at the very last second.

The Brooklyn quartet Grizzly Bear has earned a reputation for dense sonic buildups and gorgeous harmonies, and the group's third album "Veckatimest" excels on both accounts.

One of America's greatest bands has never sounded better. [19 Nov 2005]

Yearwood can pack more feeling into one line of a song than most artists can on an entire album, and the material on "Jasper County" gives her plenty of opportunity to work her magic. [17 Sep 2005]

A must-have for any fans of true alternative music and a primer for younger generations to see where their favorite bands got their inspiration.

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

[Finn's] attempt to add more dimension to his whiskey-soaked vocals is striking. And for the most part it works.

Best-known for her flame-throwing hit "Kerosene," Miranda Lambert delivers more of the same on her new album. [5 May 2007]

"One Beat" is so rich with strong new ideas that the dense disc actually takes some getting used to, a real accomplishment for a band some already view as an acquired taste.

It's his delivery -- growling, El Camino exhaust-flavored and addictive like old smokes -- that make this crackling debut easy to listen to, if incredibly difficult to file.

Throughout, he manages to dip into old-school doo-wop sounds, grand orchestral ballads and Johnny Cash-inspired country anthems, not at the same time, but almost within their own little worlds.

The overall result lacks the ebony-hued cohesiveness and experimental flair of the debut set.

A challenging, yet highly rewarding listen.

"Geogaddi" finds the Scottish duo ever adept at pushing the boundaries of electronic music without abandoning the hypnotically pacific nature of their sound.

He just may be to indie rock what Springsteen was for rock'n'roll in 1973 -- a strong, original voice whose honest and painstakingly crafted art seems destined to be a benchmark for future generations as well as encouraging the current one to stand up and testify.

It's driven by Helm's warm, amazingly rich moonshine vocals and decorated with bluesy guitar sprinkles, angelic violins and lovely harmonies by his daughter Amy of the folk-rock outfit Ollabelle.

Sure, there's a formula at work here, but it doesn't feel forced.

Wild, unfettered and bone-shatteringly loud, "Blue Cathedral" will stir any fan of extreme guitar mania.

Those who are up for the challenge will find much to admire.