The album flow is really smooth, as focused and catchy tracks like “Paralyzed” co-exist well with songs that take longer to unfold and have lengthier progressive sections, such as “Fall Into the Light” and “Pale Blue Dot”. The musicianship is flawless.

While she hasn’t quite inherited the pop monarchy from Swift and the other elites, Eilish’s debut makes a strong case that it won’t be long until we see her in a crown.

They’ve returned with an album that feels far from the all-encompassing anxiety of their previous records, prioritizing the unity and spirit that all four members feel for each other. ... Sometimes, it’s enough to peel back the layers of old paint and put on a fresh coat. The colors may be a bit jumbled at a first glance, but when you take a step back, they’re vivid, pleasant, magnetic.

For so long, ANOHNI had felt like a supernatural force, of this world but able to see a thread of love and hope through all the sadness. By expressing the grimmest realities, that thread becomes harder and harder to find. But ANOHNI’s music makes that struggle all the more powerful.

Earthling plants itself firmly in this moment, a trial-and-error soundtrack to one man’s maturation.

This is easily Sun Kil Moon’s most demanding album, with song structures that match the ballsy tangentiality of the lyrics.

The River Collection isn’t a glimpse of what could have been--it’s raw proof that The River sessions produced too many good songs for one album (even a double album) to contain.

Overall, the production, musicianship, and songwriting are among the best of Manson’s career.

This album definitely draws from painful places, but comes out of its explorations is multifaceted, deeply considered, and above all full of kindness. The questions it asks — what does caring really look like, how do we show one another kindness when we’re angry, how do we show ourselves kindness when we’re upset or hurt or numb — are essential ones, and we’re lucky we have Parks to guide us through them here.

It’s arguably the most modern score he’s ever composed, cutting with a minimalistic edge that might make Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross blush. Even so, the score never loses that Carpenter charm, keeping a tight grip on its origins without sneezing from all the dust.

The Bitter Truth is reminiscent of the band’s older material but also entirely fresh. It does not feel like a band going through the motions.

For its lyrical and musical scope, Malibu brings to mind a number of excellent albums, ranging from Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions to, yes, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.

Fear Inoculum lives up to its daunting expectations with songs that showcase Tool in peak performance as musicians and compositional arrangers. For the diehard fan, there’s a lot to consume here. Likewise, the album offers little respite for the uninitiated; its accessibility comes in the form of its vastness and eerie psychedelia, not through hooks or common pop structures. This is deep prog-rock as only Tool can create it.

No Fear of Time is nine great songs filled with incredible rapping. The album is a logical follow-up to Black Star’s first album and shows some things are worth the wait. The game has changed a lot from ’98 to now; however, Kweli and Bey still stand alone because, like they did way back when, they refuse to compromise themselves or their time for anyone or anything.

Dream Widow could’ve easily been a charming but disposable bit of marketing for Studio 666, or a throwaway pastiche of several legendary death and thrash metal groups. Fortunately, it transcends both of those possibilities to be a genuinely great record. The musicianship is expectedly superb, but what’s most commendable is Grohl’s ability to shift his voice from familiar grittiness to full guttural hegemony.

Harry’s House was constructed board by board, and, ultimately, it’s a lovely place to spend time in. Styles is making the music he wants to make.

By and large, We got it from Here… has the classic Tribe sound: a warm and crisp confluence of East Coast hip-hop, jazz, and more, all mixed and mastered impeccably. While some aspects of the sound are dated, others feel fresh.

Turnstile have already built a devoted following with their previous releases and legendary high-energy live shows, but Glow On takes them to a new level. It’s a fearless album that doesn’t bow to genre conventions, establishing Turnstile as the present and future of rock music.

Capping one of the strongest years a rock band has had in a while, this stands as a crowning achievement, the perfect record to close out a tumultuous decade and lead into one where the damage may be irreversible. Two Hands asks what responsibility each of us have going into the next era, offering no clear answers.

The EP moves easily through different spheres of young love, young fame and young ambition, all of it audible through coruscating backgrounds and intense vocal deliveries that channel the high-running tensions of technicolor teenage drama.

An album that has WILLOW well and truly becoming a bonafide rockstar, refusing to be boxed into one singular genre — while seeing how far each one can take her. COPINGMECHANISM is WILLOW’s most personal — and, as may coincidence may have it, hardest — record to date.

On Isolation, she never sounds trapped in another era; she sounds free and inventive. And with nary a dud to be found among its 15 tracks, Isolation deserves a spot in the dance pop and neo-soul pantheons.

Punisher is a dazzling record, one filled with sadness but not overwhelmingly so, full of moments that sting the first time you hear them but burrow deeper into the soul with each listen.

It’s a powerful start to an album where power is par for the course.

Vulnicura is smooth and whole, even as its singer lies shattered.

On his new album, Big Fish Theory, Staples continues to perfect his brand of nuanced nihilism while exploring new sounds that should put the music industry on notice that the future is now.

Sling may not have the pop-centered style of Immunity, but it’s one that features Clairo’s impeccable ability to craft intimate, emotive songs. It’s a record that’s musically indebted to the past, but it’s done so in an adventurous, fascinating way.

Despite the lower volume, Bruce Springsteen sounds positively invigorated on Western Stars. With a new sonic palette and renewed focus on the LP as a means of writing short stories, it’s easily his best album of new material since 2007’s Magic.