Her fifth and arguably most consistent album to date.

In addition to Rubin's typically austere moods, the set features an all-star core of musicians (including members of the Avett Brothers) and Cash's tasteful renditions of the title track, Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times," Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day," Tom Paxton's "Where I'm Bound" and Bob Nolan's "Cool Water."

Overall, another solid effort from one of country's finest.

Trespassing continues the work of the underrated "For Your Entertainment" and allows the singer to keep unveiling his character in broad, colorful strokes.

Girls are poised to take their rightful place as one of the blog-crossover bands of 2009.

Ariana Grande's debut LP is a surprisingly varied affair for a 20-year-old Nickelodeon star with a devastatingly strong voice.

Levine's hummingbird vocals and passionate delivery are as earnest as they were on their 2002 debut Songs About Jane.

Red is her most interesting full-length to date, but it probably won't be when all is said and done in her career.

The Truth About Love is a peerlessly witty, endlessly melodic tour de force.

High Violet synthesizes the best parts of the National's past into a fantastic present

Bowie is back, and thanks to better technology, these special editions of "Raw Power" sound right on the money. But the story here is the extras.

Through it all, Finn's durable songcraft never fails to enthrall.

Comprising eight new songs plus There Goes My Baby, the new set alternately bumps and throbs as a reinvigorated Usher further paves his comeback path.

"Crows" opts for a mostly stripped-down acoustic sound that provides the perfect setting for Moorer's marvelous, R&B-inflected voice.

"Babel" reveals a band happy to remain entirely Mumford - although a larger, smoother Mumford, offering fresh nuances and textures while emboldened by the promise of the initial mission.

At 71, Staples still knows how to hang tough and shows no signs of slowing down.

The Gin Blossoms continue to concoct melodic hooks framed by a mix of jangly alternative pop-rock on the band's newest album, No Chocolate Cake.

And as on "Idol," that aesthetic is most appealingly expressed here in the material that seems the least suited for it-i.e., mushy heartland rock ballads.

Everything but the Girl fans might miss the duo's dancey leanings, but Thorn proves that her voice is enough to transcend genre preferences.

While its recent recordings have reflected a more subdued approach in the studio, band members Norman Blake, Gerard Love and Raymond McGinley never lose their knack for composing concise pop gems.

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.

An album that could've easily come from other Mississippi River stops where horns and funk pump through the bloodstreams-Chicago, Memphis or St. Louis.

The 16-year-old's follow-up to last November's "My World" shrewdly elevates him from a fleeting teen phenom into an evolving pop artist.

LCD Soundsystem principal James Murphy is at his cynical best on the act's third album, This Is Happening.

The album is signature Kelly: fantasy-filled romps, club jams and heartfelt ballads brought to life by the singer's ear for catchy beats and melodies and mood-setting lyrics.

Ali and Toumani is spontaneous and deeply spiritual, depicting two outstanding musicians who are governed by nothing but their love for their nation.

This is Stereolab for the age of the short attention span; but if it's a swan song, it's just as representative of the band's body of work as anything in its 20-year catalog.

It's not news that these guys rock, but on their first new album in eight years the Heartbreakers have their Mojo working like they never have before-which is a fine thing indeed.

It allows listeners to refamilairize themselves with the Weeknd's aesthetic, which was striking and singular to begin with.

During the 13-song set, Jones ditches the gentle piano-playing of her previous work and rises to a new level of creative boldness.

Produced by Matt Serletic, the album is a sonic delight, refreshingly different from what often dominates country radio airwaves. But the 13-song collection is still accessible enough to whet programmers' appetites.

Joy is a journey not to be missed.

It's one of Mayer's most diverse and exploratory albums yet, trying on a variety of different styles to accompany a set of particularly reflective and soul-searching tunes.

Buoyed by a favorable divorce settlement, a baby boy and a newly released high-energy dance album, Flesh Tone, the recently single Kelis is ready to bring the boys back to the yard.

Luckily, Wale never spreads himself too thin on Attention Deficit and maintains the urgency of his mixtapes to ensure that the set contains little filler.

Known for her past collaborations with English electronica band Zero 7 and more recently with Christina Aguilera, Australian artist Sia Furler shines bright on her own on her newest release.

Any listener who has experienced the emotions associated with a romantic split should appreciate the album.

The angry young woman who famously sang about setting kerosene fires and waiting with a loaded gun for her abusive beau has found love with new boyfriend Blake Shelton, and it's reflected on the diverse Revolution.

This album is one that begs to be lived with for a long period of time, its quiet details given ample room to germinate.

Manipulating her voice as much as she does her sound, Monáe widens the cast of characters and pushes along the self-explorative narrative. The ArchAndroid could be the stuff of stage or screen, 3-D without the annoying glasses.

It's a sleekly presented modern-rock album with no shortage of bruising guitars or catchy choruses.

Auerbach offers a more sedate take on the "Born to Die" template, lightening the orchestrations, ditching the hip-hop beats, and presenting Lana as a perpetually scorned pop-noir fugitive--part Neko Case, part Katy Perry. It's a delicious contrast that makes for a surprisingly great album.

It's not the challenging listening experience that such recent albums as "Orchestrion" (2010) and "The Way Up" (2005) provided, but "What's It All About" is Metheny at his most genteel.

With a string of hit singles under her belt, Perry has aspired to create a multi-faceted full-length and has consummately succeeded.

[Morello's] contributions feel inventive, versatile and natural, like an extension of the direction Springsteen was already moving in.... Aniello's production work definitely enhances and does not distract from or obscure the tracks.

It's rare when every member of a band can claim both vocal and instrumental contributions to an album, and even more rare when each contributor is exceptionally talented.

Crystal Castles aren't as cold as they appear to be, but they are calculating--(III) is an expertly produced album that, at just nearly 40 minutes, leaves fans wanting more.

Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder, Peaches and Lenny Kaye are along for the ride, helping Collapse Into Now stand tall in R.E.M.'s richly diverse canon.

The Beach Boys mastermind's dip into the world of George & Ira Gershwin is a love's labor that makes plenty of sense and opens up at least a few of the tunes to illuminating interpretations.

The 14-track set's distinguishing characteristic is a soul flavor of the Muscle Shoals variety, a smooth fit given the role of frontman Patterson Hood's father, David Hood, in that community as well as DBT's own work with Bettye LaVette and Booker T. Jones.

There's a little less bluster and bravado on Toby Keith's latest album, American Ride, and it's a welcome turn.

Produced by renowned adult contemporary producer Tommy LiPuma, American Classic-Nelson's finest album since 1998's "Teatro"-contains 12 timeless melodies that bridge the gap between Nelson's love for Django Reinhardt and Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys.

The set may not feel as catchy as Ra Ra Riot's well-received debut, but fans should appreciate the band's musical growth.

A manifesto for the synthesis of dance and hip-hop, French DJ David Guetta's new album One Love turns out top 40-friendly songs while remaining true to dance club culture.

While many artists sound anything but comfortable breaking these kinds of musical barriers, Cullum proves once again that he sounds most like himself when the walls come tumbling down.

Vampire Weekend's second album, Contra, finds the New York-based band pushing its eclectic, intellectual indie rock further using a mash-up of musical genres, clever wordplay and emotional heft.

The act should be credited for not hewing to the tried-and-true formula it pretty much invented with previous releases but many of the double-disc's 18 tracks feel like they are embryonic rather than fully formed.

The artists' masks are designed precisely to keep us guessing about what's going on in their heads, but who knew it was this?

It still warms the blood to hear those trip-hop synths roll on the slow-burning "Flat of the Blade" (with some acid loops thrown in for good measure), but Massive Attack's arsenal has expanded and the resulting onslaught is nothing short of brilliant.

Dylan's newest album, Women and Country, explores fuller arrangements that better complement his simple but significant lyrics.

Country singer Reba McEntire doesn't miss a beat on Keep On Loving You, her debut album for Valory Music.

What he's got, now, is an invigorating change-up record that shines in an already impressive discography.

Only in closer Grown Ocean, with crashing cymbals and trilling woodwinds, do you get a sense that Fleet Foxes are actively trying to impress you. Even then, though, you're impressed all the same.

Judging by the delivery of those poignant lines, it's hardly a stretch to imagine Bieber racking up more hits in the next decade to come.

With lyrical themes of global economic distress and romantic bliss, British pop-punk band the Futureheads bring a more refined sound to its fourth album.

Once gratuitous fillers are skipped, gems appear, especially on the closing half, where Brown is lucid about his tabloid love life.

Ultimately, the electronic-free approach on the closer of the trilogy results in the Magnetic Fields' most organic effort to date--and it doesn't stray too far from Merritt's pop-leaning background, making it the most successful of its synth-free siblings.

While Lamar dazzles with precise storytelling, Q conjures attention with brusque physicality. Both MCs are aiming for different marks, and although Q's style is too unkempt to produce an album full of clean shots, his misses on Oxymoron are often just as compelling.

The artist's familiar smoky vocals and the consistently rich production draw the listener in on his latest release, "Get Off on the Pain."

Some of the music occasionally leans toward being overwrought, but mostly Love Lust Faith + Dreams--along with its Leto-directed visuals--invests itself fully and artfully in its own vision.

What gives Brother Ali's slice-of-life ruminations their impressive heft is the rapper's eye for everyday detail and the handmade appeal of his vintage-funk arrangements.