James Blake is an essential for anybody interested in witnessing how pop music can and will continue to change, progress, and grow into something new with time.

This is the best album for 2011, and not just the last two months.

It's easy to lose yourself in the countless studio takes. Little gasps of pure genius here and there. The slow dissolution to it all. The echoes of things to come. It's a history lesson come to life, and that's part of the reason the collection here works so well.

While that record [Pomegranate] was expansive and full of divergent genres and characters, This Is Our Science condenses the process into a tight 40 minutes of rhythm and revelations.

It shows that the Some Girls era was, and remains, one of the most productive of the Stones' career.

There's more than enough here to disavow thoughts that this is a needless cash grab by Corgan.

Even though other recent interviews and richly realized tracks like those imply that Ocean's songwriting is just a vessel, his own devil is still in the details, and that's what makes his music compelling.

We now have an album from him so masterful that it'd be greedy to ask for much more.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness doesn't need rose-colored lens for appreciation. The album's success still lies from all the stylistic risks the band assumed, especially in comparison to music other alternative bands were creating at the time.

m b v creates a new timeline for My Bloody Valentine, and one that recalls the past in a broader and bolder light. They’re better for it, their catalog is stronger for it, and by album’s end, they’re still the best at swirling guitars.

What makes Rumours so remarkable and relevant is that it remains fragile and passionate 35 years later.... From a historical, archival standpoint, this package is extremely valuable, as Rhino left in the studio banter and rough cuts from the recording sessions; you get to overhear Fleetwood Mac as they make the record.

They [Ghostface and Wu-Tang Clan] are truly a hip-hop enigma, and Apollo Kids is just another piece of proof.

This is a high-personality disc, one that avoids cliches and cheese while also being steeped in tradition and an immense dose of adorableness.

Kaputt is the sort of record that arrives only once in a while: an expansive world that captivates you from beginning to end, impresses you with its self-awareness and cohesiveness, then releases you from its grasp when it's all over.

In fact, it's very hard to determine what the actual standout from this album will be, because literally every track is full to the absolute brim with the genius of seasoned veterans

Anyone can recreate a sound, but Yuck succeeds where most bands fail by digging under the surface to capture the spirit and magic that made the music of their beloved idols possible.

This complete command over their craft really sets these Orange County natives apart, resulting in the kind of record that grabs you at first listen and becomes more meaningful every time through.

To date, the Foo Fighters have never tried to reinvent the wheel, per se; they just want to keep it rolling. And that's just what Wasting Light does. For that purpose, Foo Fighters give us a solid record from open to close. The drought is over. Rock is back.

Whichever route you choose, one thing remains unflinching: this album is guaranteed to please.

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.

Director's Cut can be seen as new work, because some of these songs are very different to their earlier versions in tone and scale; both sets of work are equally brilliant, but here there is even more clarity of purpose,

The album is a shoo-in for being a timeless great, no matter what we say. Vernon's got the magic touch. But it's lacking that original sense of urgency that flowed so freely in and out of For Emma, making it so genuine and so incredibly listenable.

Their sense of naked honesty makes them so vulnerable that it is hard to believe they put it down on record, but that is part of their intriguing beauty; their willingness to fall is because they are pushed by the hands of true experience, and they also create the softest of musical landings for themselves and us.

Between doing more of the same old goodness and boiling everything down to its most essential lethality, Beyoncé also makes room on the album for more grandiose tracks that would sound right at home in Broadway musicals.

While instrumental, the recurrent use of a glistening fanfare motif, present across the album's six tracks, gives these pieces a much stronger sense of cultural and biographical identity than most vocal music.

Every number attempts something at least a little differently, and succeeds for the most part.

At this point in their career, Loewenstein and Barlow had found the perfect balance between their creative powers, and it shows quite brightly on Bakesale. To that end, any amount of extra proof that Sebadoh can dig up to prove that point should be welcomed happily.

Even without the bonus disc full of rare goodies, this remastered version of Lifes Rich Pageant is required listening.

Equal parts futuristic space jazz fusion and hip-hop that does well to bridge the seemingly disparate corners of Thundercat's sprawling resume, Apocalypse is one of those rare modern jazz records that's remarkably unpretentious without having to cheapen the daunting complexity jazz is noted for.

With each album, her willingness to push the envelope in both halves of the equation grows, as if she trusts her audience to in turn trust her enough to follow her further along the path.

The album's use of vocal samples, something less prevalent on Resurgam, feels incredibly fresh, and produces some of Fever Dream's best moments.

Though Biophilia is hardly easy listening, even by Bjork's challenging, outlandish standards, there's little doubting it'll stand as one of the more rewarding albums of her storied career.

Going back to the well is generally frowned upon, but given the depth of Waits' well and the crispness and vitality drawn from it on Bad As Me, it hardly seems to warrant criticism that he has chosen to rummage through his past and revisit what he never had the heart, or mind, to throw away.

Musically and lyrically, Achtung Baby sounds as fresh and relevant as it did 20 years ago.

What makes Parallax a fully realized album is, in contrast to its compact musicality, the expanses and voids Cox explores.

Part Lies is a goodbye to the fans who have been around for years but a hello to those who missed out the first time 'round. And that is all truth.

Gambino can really rap. Scratch that; he can really, really rap, plus sing and emote and put on a show better than 90% of his hip-hop counterparts.

While looking for 50 Words For Snow, she has found 50 other original ways to express herself effortlessly, creating another intriguing piece of work.

It's pretty impossible to be disappointed with the result here: crisp remastering of the original 10 songs, plus 18 Gish-era tracks, demos and live versions, many of which are being released officially for the first time here.

This collection captures a beautiful set from a legendary group that remains vibrant and continues to look forward into the future.

The service Temporary Residence Limited have done in making these nearly lost classics available again is downright admirable, turning out a set that's a must-have for post-rock fans.

With Attack on Memory, Baldi's never felt more alive or more authentic.

Despite all of the weirdness, this is a band that deserved to have their story told, to receive mass attention rather than merely cult status, and this box set should achieve that.

Dedicated to the late Vic Chesnutt, Mr. M will stand as one of Lambchop's finest, most cohesive, and easiest straight-through listens yet, despite its intermediate tendencies.

Sleigh Bells take one of the most confident and surefooted steps forward a band could take for a follow-up album, eschewing the storied sophomore pitfalls in favor of a sharper, fuller sound.

Sweet Heart, Sweet Light covers a broad aural spectrum from surrealistic haze to outward pop and as such, is some of Jason Pierce's and Spiritualized's best material since Ladies and Gentlemen.

Like Icky Mettle before it, reminds modern listeners of just how unhinged their sound was, especially when compared to those that came after them.

With Kill For Love, it almost feels like the man's true thesis, as if he's strung together all his ideas, feelings, and sounds into one colossal being that acts less like an album and more like a highly organized archive.

Bloom culminates six years and three albums of anticipatory ache with subtlety and meticulous song placement that unfolds if you let it.

Where Post-Nothing melts into a hazy dream, Celebration Rock does exactly what it claims to do-it burns on and on like the best sort of party.

No matter how far into the ether they push, no matter what new form their music takes, there is a core Liars sound, and they've never sounded more aware of that or as ready to take on the challenge of reaching into that center.

The Idler Wheel succeeds in creating a singular world more daring than any of Apple's previous records and one of the most daring pop records in recent history.

While the highs last time around ("Slow Burn," "This Ain't A Scene") still feel a bit higher, Twenty Five, even while it grasps at noise and disorder, comes together as a fully formed, mature statement of an album.

Women are all over A Thing Called Divine Fits, but at its many hearts the record celebrates "a very brotherly" relationship.

This album redefines Swans by gathering the best of its past and re-centering the music on impulse and interplay, built with a preternatural sense of how long to let a section develop before moving on to the next idea

Transformed in both sound and spirit, Sun is a passionate pop album of electronic music filtered through a singer-songwriter's soul.

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

A revitalized take on noise-rock that honors the originating genre while eschewing its occasionally stifling boundaries.

Shields growls and purrs in ways Grizzly Bear has never before.

All We Love We Leave Behind stands tall within Converge's discography as yet another glowing example of how to make art out of aggression.

Where Minaj is fantastical and over-the-top, Haze is understated and raw.

Resounding with enchanting vocals, a distinctly dusk-singed ambience and a keen precision thanks to its percussion, Blue Lines transcends the spills onto the dance floor and tinny thumps from laptop speakers, possessing a cosmic ability to remain a masterpiece 21 years after its release.

Hummingbird proves that these guys are maturing into a sound that's both singular and wrenching with severity.

Mountains is a simple name for a band. But it's also an utterly mysterious one that stretches implications across eons. In the right setting, Centralia just feels that deep and rich.

Honeys is 36 minutes of an excellent band doing what it does best, approachability be damned.

Richly arranged, masterfully sequenced, and full of brooding, Push the Sky Away combines the stately beauty of The Boatman’s Call and No More Shall We Part with the intensity of Grinderman/Lazarus-era Cave while managing to sound like neither.

Sacrificing recklessness is different from sacrificing passion, and New Moon cements The Men as one of the most exciting rock acts today, no matter who they’re listening to or, most importantly, who they’re redefining.

Spaltro pleads and howls her way to the crux of the matter, finds her own way out, and leaves a poetic map behind for the rest of us.

It’s an album that provides tangibility to an incredibly complex feeling.

Learning how to untangle one of the richest experimental albums of recent memory becomes a challenge well worth the undertaking.

Its ambrosial melodies and austere instrumentation edify his canon of work, which has long been rewarding for its risky sensibilities and perseverance. Yet that’s what makes Wakin so curious; it’s Vile’s most derivative record to date.

Vol 3: To See More Light is his strongest and most cohesive collection in his career, aided in large part by the head-turning vocals of Justin Vernon, who appears on four of the 11 tracks on the album.

Already so many people have been championing 2013 as the strongest year for music in recent memory, and they’re not wrong, but here’s an album that has the punch and wit to stick around with the best.

Time, life, death, religion, New York City, and New York money are big topics to tackle in a 45 minute pop album, and Modern Vampires doesn’t even attempt answers to the questions it raises. Instead, it’s content to expound upon the Vampire Weekend aesthetic in inventive, imaginative, and undeniably successful ways.