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...

Making a record that delivers satisfaction from start to finish is a rare and momentous thing. Making any record that sounds unlike anything else is a victory in itself. To bring the two in line as Yo La Tengo has done with And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out may as well be called perfection.

Her latest, I Am Shelby Lynne, is not a country record, but rather a graceful hybrid of roots rock influences and Muscle Shoals soul that adds up to one of the most intimate, earthy and adult pop-rock records in recent memory.

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.

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.

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

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.

This extraordinarily gifted vocalist casts an unbreakable spell over each interpretation, turning it into something else entirely, and making one believe that it's impossible for the supposed original to be as significant.

The bottom-line is that while All is a good album, it isn't a great one.... All largely rides somewhere in the '80s, hitting a few heights (the ruminative "New York"), while occasionally missing the target altogether ("Peace on Earth").

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

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.

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.

Suicides offers music that's even softer and more blurred around the edges than the band's previous efforts (Moon Safari and Premiers Symptomes), deftly meshing Bacharach-influenced progressions with martini lounge instrumentation for a mix that's retro-futuristic and smooth as, well, air.

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

On Naked Self, Johnson hasn't let up one bit. His tongue is as sharp as ever, and his songs show that updating one's style doesn't have to mean dressing in this year's airwave fashions.

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.

Although it is a more orchestrated affair than the stripped down sound this band is known for, The Night is as impressive as any of their previous efforts.

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.

Smith's latest CD, Gung Ho, is the most socially relevant album to come along in eons, pointing rock back towards its ambitious past when it once attempted to affect social change.

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

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

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.

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.

Alone With Everybody is a good album with great moments.

On strictly musical terms, Bloodflowers is a disappointment. There is no daring journey to find that elusive new sound.

Though Ecstasy is gruesome, fearsome and rife with realism much in the same way as his heart-stopping shocker, Berlin (1973), Reed has a compelling way with words, and a magic touch with psycho-delic guitar riffs that dare us to follow him down the back alleys to his darkest thoughts.

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.

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.