Sleep Well Beast certainly takes the air out of the hopeful balloon that swelled on Trouble Will Find Me, but if there’s ever been a time to wallow in lush, masculine melancholy, it’s now. This beast isn’t going anywhere.

These albums are as close as we can get to traveling back in time to see one of our greatest at his best.

Side B is the more adventurous half of the album, pushing Bad Bunny’s sound into new places with collaborations with alternative acts. ... With the sun-kissed Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny continues to proudly give pop music some much-needed flavor, swagger, and sounds by way of the Caribbean.

What makes The xx and I See You so enthralling, then, may not be a particular combination of lyrics and melodies, but the notion that there’s a secret life playing out here--one we may not be entirely privy to, but one that still rings with the sound of truth in all of its complexities.

Midnights is a record best enjoyed as its own work. It’s an undeniably rich listen, the kind of pop music that feels increasingly rewarding with each pass, and it’s an album that reminds us that Swift has countless stories left to tell.

Ordinary Corrupt Human Love has moving, emotional pieces and sharp performances bolstered by a band clearly stretching out of its comfort zone successfully. The album is a refreshing new shade of their sound without abandoning the band’s core mechanics.

It's an album that makes you sad that it's not longer; sad that it can't just go on forever. This sentiment alone should indicate the caliber of album Fleet Foxes have created in Helplessness Blues.

Purple is a redemptive statement that’s indelibly human, going far beyond mere notes and music. It speaks to the deeper powers of creation: the artistic struggle to maintain, survive, and somehow have fun in the face of death, a fate Baroness defied and overcame.

It requires multiple listens. In turn, it helps the listener grow, revealing spaces where their own narrative and experiences can intertwine with his--not in a romantic sense, but an educational sense. As a result, Aromanticism has already become one of the most emotionally therapeutic albums of the year.

Making pain sound pretty and poetic is a tough tightrope to walk, but Kozelek once again takes all the right steps.

Juno is bursting at the seams with pop idiosyncrasies, thirteen tracks of controlled chaos. ... It’s also a remarkably cohesive album.

Model Citizen is a clear and cohesive step towards a post-Warped Tour, pop-punk-celebrating audience. And though some of their more specific reference points may be stuck in the MySpace era, Meet Me @ the Altar are proving that they’re right on time.

These songs aren’t for everyone, but they stand as some of the most fearlessly created music of the year--even if Brown sometimes sounds petrified for his life.

Semper Femina does not reach the soaring intensity and edged elation of Once I Was an Eagle, nor does it carry almost any of the freaked-out electricity that propelled Short Movie and allowed it to stand as a worthy successor to Eagle. But it is a strong, elegant, and self-assured album that, in its creative arrangements and lyrical world building, contains remarkable complexity and depth in terms of both skill and concept.

The ultimate beauty of Smother, though, comes from its subtlety as Wild Beasts continue to transcend conventional pop music with yet another great addition to their catalog.

De Vermis Mysteriis gets up in your face, and it never really steps back until it's over.

Good News showcases Megan the Stallion’s creative depth, her euphonious inventiveness, and libidinous wordplay.

Brighten takes it all a step further, and more than measures up to his other solo efforts. Heck, in a lot of ways, it even matches (or even surpasses) a couple of the post-Layne-era Alice albums.

Ware has the pipes to come out on top of a TV singing competition, but it's her control, style, and musical choices that make Devotion so interesting.

His development extends beyond just his writing. Pusha picks a wide-ranging group of thumping beats from noted rap greats like Kanye West, Q-Tip, Metro Boomin, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and most effectively, Timbaland.

Opeth’s chemistry feels as tight as it is playful, heartfelt as it is engaging, as they explore a plethora of intriguing and majestic sounds. The instrumentation and vocals, in both versions, serve to present emotion and instrumental wonder. In Cauda Venenum is among Opeth’s strongest albums when it comes to the band’s progressive sensibilities.

Muchacho is a well balanced listen, one that finds Houck adding new hues to old canvases and striking gold at every turn.

Goodness does more than remind of existence, it makes the promise of a new day, and even the everyday, feel more alluring.

Old Ideas, however, succeeds in largely keeping the music subservient, buoyant enough to keep things moving but not distracting any attention from the lyrics, the true star of the show.

Elaenia stands out as a remarkably assured debut album from an artist who took his time putting it together.

The album spins best when Misty is picking a fight with God or observing human nature as a screwball play, all while honoring the fact that people were given a raw deal in concept, not just execution.

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.

Big Inner is a brilliant debut, brimming with homages to pop music's past, whether it be Motown or Randy Newman.