At first, it may sound void of the instantly accessible pile of hits from Dookie and the handful more from Insomniac, but the album's social conscience and cunning lyrics make it a Warning to be heeded.

It plays like an enjoyable variety show, since, as opposed to star turns, Willie's company puts in guest appearances, creating a strange mixture of not enough or a little too much (save for Willie's solo turns).

It's Like This finds Jones and her top-notch team of instrumentalists doing justice to the brilliant material she's selected, creating a musical wonderland where timeless songs meet spirited, lovely performances.

The real genius of Almost Famous, however, is the inclusion of the exquisite and infuriatingly overlooked Led Zeppelin ode "That's the Way," as well as David Bowie's rare (but not impossible to acquire) live cover of Lou Reed's "I'm Waiting for the Man." And herein lies Crowe's smoking gun with which he shoots himself in the foot. If these songs are worth having (and they absolutely are) and are the best that Almost Famous has to offer (ditto), so too are the entire albums from whence they come, Led Zeppelin III and Santa Monica '72.

the album shows that the group has the power to whip audiences into a frenzy with beats and loops that feel remarkably organic and spontaneous.... Everything should be required listening for those who question the validity of electronic in a live format.

His latest release pops to life with the Beatlesque piano beat of "Humble Bee" and maintains a buoyant atmosphere throughout.

Packed to the brim with all sorts of surprising twists and turns, Jean's Ecleftic plays like a cheeky earful of the multi-culti future of hip-hop.

Though G.O.A.T.'s songs are all new, they do bear more than a whiff of the familiar, with the rapper looking back in time to invoke the tried-and-true formulas which have brought him chart-topping success throughout his storied career.

The group spiffs up their sound and takes it cruising in a modern direction -- proving that there's plenty of life left in them yet.... The caveat? In updating their grooves to sound like everybody else's, the band has succeeded in -- well, sounding like everybody else.

Fast, furious and full of wicked good fun...

This is true hepcat music -- shaken rockabilly, stirred swing, chilled Big Band and it's finger-snappin' upbeat all the way through.

Alone With Everybody is a good album with great moments.

Brown has mixed the best elements of '60s British flower power rock, a la the Moody Blues, with a new century's technology to create a potent, dream-inducing electronica brew.

Summer's tunes have the sweetness and light of Burt Bacharach's finest.

A complex, heavily textured album that aims for the stars.

There's a lot going on sonically with this album, but it feels cohesive -- all its disparate elements are beautifully brought together by O'Connor's overriding openness and passion.

Moment for moment, there's not a more significant collection of songs to spend your life with...

Transcendental Blues epitomizes musical craftsmanship; it simmers instead of sizzles, meaning it's solid throughout and has no shortage of good songs... [w]hat is missing in the mix here is Earle at his angriest...

Make no mistake, the vibe here is strange and quirky -- the band's affinity for the naïve sometimes makes for an odd listening experience. But once you've settled into it, Peasant reveals itself to be a thing of beauty -- its nakedness comes to seem like the most natural thing in the world.

Songs don't get any better than this, and with the exception of Elliott Smith, no one plays a sad song sweeter than Tweedy & Co. -- it's always a thrill to hear a band maturing into its prime.

There are songs on Mathers that are very, very good; as a result, when Eminem misses the mark, it feels incredibly frustrating, because you know what he's capable of.

NYC Ghosts & Flowers yields no easy accessibility, as it becomes darker and more abstract by the minute.

The disc doesn't just contain one or two Top 40 hits, but rather a proliferation of truly excellent songs.

It's an album of textural terror, a musical abrasive applied to the slick multinational machinery, via hard beats and sonic density, angry politix and dance-floor decline.

Silver & Gold is as pretty an album as Young's created yet...

Songwriting and production throwbacks granted, the Apples send the repackage down a new stretch of road with full-throttle performances and the soon-to-be legendary pipes of singer Robert Schneider.

It's a sweeping, gorgeous masterwork that draws upon a collage of pop flavors from the last four decades, brightly burning the eternal singer/songwriter flame and touching down for a couple of power pop punches.

The album still bounces and skips via the ska signature with which No Doubt have marked the world, as in "Staring Problem" and "Home Now," but their forum is much bigger now, encompassing artful guitars, lurking bass and more interesting drum patterns.