The surprise on the set is how well the new music holds up against the vintage material.

Smith bares more than his vocal cords on this record. Every story of unrequited love that's been put to song is powerful in its own right.

Push and Shove is a celebration of No Doubt's love for all things 80s pop and the Southern California ska scene.

An album that required a painstaking process to complete but sounds infinitely effortless in its pop arrangements and flicked-off soul ruminations.

Grizzly Bear contributes a typically gorgeous psych-folk incantation called "Slow Life" (with guest vocals from Beach House's Victoria Legrand), and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon duets with St. Vincent on "Roslyn," which could warm even a vampire's heart.

Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros may be on an indefinite hiatus, but the group's enigmatic singer Jon Thor Birgisson, better-known as Jonsi, is filling the void with his first solo album, "Go."

In many ways, Coldplay's sharp left turn is also its most listenable album in years, an evocative concoction of sullen phrases, sparse arrangements and powerful themes.

Throughout this quick follow-up to last year's "Something Else," Thicke reveals a side of his personality that's flashier and funnier than the Oprah-appropriate image that was cultivated with previous hits. Musically, too, he flexes an eclectic streak last heard on his underappreciated 2003 debut.

The set is a nice welcome back and a new beginning for the singer.

A tight, spirited follow-up to 2010’s bluesier, less essential Mojo.

Don't let ["Accidental Racist"] dissuade you. Paisley still knows how to have a good time and standout singles "Southern Comfort Zone" and "Beat This Summer" continue to showcase this.

The album is loaded with luscious orchestration, motivational mantras and playful sex metaphors. Its taught 10 tracks bring to mind the record Justin Timberlake could have made last year, if he had dared to leave anything on the cutting room floor.

Midnight Memories, the third full-length from the "X Factor"-formed quintet, follows up on what worked best on last year's "Take Me Home," and tosses in some proficient new ideas to keep listeners eager for the band's continued evolution.

Don't mistake the softness for weakness. While nothing is as biting as the aging hipster takedown 'Femme Fatale' (from his 2006 set "At Home With Owen"), he pulls out the knives and slices pseudo-intellectuals on 'A Trenchant Critique.'

On the new collection Williams is sharp-tongued, wide-eyed and warm-hearted as she blends domestic bliss with her usual propensity toward the dark and mournful.

Her 10th studio album, "The Age of Miracles" (and second on Rounder following a run with Columbia that yielded five Grammy Awards), adds a familiar yet essential new chapter to her rich catalog.

Other guests include Linda Ronstadt ("A la Orilla de un Palmar"), Van Dyke Parks and Los Tigres del Norte (who both appear on "Canción Mixteca"). The result is as thrilling as it is enlightening.

With the dust having settled around Zakk Wylde's unexpected departure from Ozzy Osbourne's band, better attention can be paid to Order of the Black, the new album from Wylde's Black Label Society.

On her debut album, The Family Jewels, Diamandis backs up her bark with a promising bite.

In the rural wasteland of southwestern Texas, producers Dave Sitek (of TV On The Radio fame) and Nick Launay brought life to an album that's challenging and conceptual, yet also playful and raunchy.

Coherently channeling R&B, techno, disco and rock music as a pop artist while discussing sex, drugs, lust, God, fame and creativity, Lady Gaga has offered fans her most sonically and lyrically diverse album to date.

The Scissor Sisters' third nightlife-themed album, Night Work, is a return to the glittery, flamboyant pop of the group's 2004 self-titled debut

Patty Loveless has an innate soulfulness that can't be taught, bought or won on a reality show. That's one of the reasons-along with sterling musicianship and inspired song selection-why her new album, Mountain Soul II, is a must-have for fans of Loveless and roots music alike.

How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, is a slap-upside-the-head reminder, a collection of heartfelt confessionals, evocative insights and provocative position statements.

The extent of K.R.I.T.'s achievement on his proper debut can be lost in the consistency of his output, but it is a stirring triumph nonetheless.

This Atlanta-based R&B crooner has utilized the extraordinary sweetness of his voice to get away with plenty of lines that would sound irredeemably sleazy coming from other singers.

It's 'party of one' music to overthink with and lines to quote when angry at a significant other--the soundtrack for hard times.

It’s a more consistent album than his debut--for better and for worse.