There’s nothing wasted on GHETTO GODS, as every move purposefully builds to a crescendo. Even the skits, which can easily be a distraction on any album — especially one with 17 tracks — have a reason for existing.

Squeeze is an album like no other, and it serves as a massive statement piece from SASAMI.

The elaborate instrumentation and extended runtimes of their earlier oeuvre have returned, but they’re now justified with greater attention to pacing, mood, and overall cohesiveness.

While her songwriting has always been among the most powerful of the past decade, it’s not only refreshing, but thrilling, to see Big Thief take a broader sonic direction without ever losing the raw passion that put them on the map.

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

Few Good Men builds on Saba’s quest to just live life while acknowledging that’s a loaded proposition at times.

Laurel Hell follows suit in Mitski’s determined approach, and the resulting album is a sophisticated and magnetic collection of songs. But more than that, it’s Mitski trusting herself, confidently blazing forward into the next decade of her storied career.

The rapping is impeccable, and the project doesn’t overstay its welcome.

CAPRISONGS might not be as immediately arresting as twigs’ previous work, but it shouldn’t have to be. ... Instead, it acts as her stepping stone towards recentering herself — and that journey alone should be applauded.

“What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love?” is pleasing enough, yet undeniably cliché in terms of both its music and its central topic. Those issues notwithstanding, The Boy Named If is a wonderful record and a testament to Costello’s enduring originality and talent.

The first big album of 2022 delivers like an 80 lb. baby.

For Adele, 30 is an emotional breakthrough — a refreshingly candid body of work that is revelatory. While the album is about “divorce, babe,” the record’s 12 songs go deeper.

Red has aged fairly well overall, even some of the lighter fare. ... The tracks from the vault here are stronger than those chosen for Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

Every track hits, and this album will certainly leave people clamoring for more.

Things Take Time, Take Time feels like a collection of thoughtful postcards, with us all being the lucky recipients.

Ultimately, the LP sees the band reveal a greater artistic depth, while also seeming to satisfy Rateliff’s own creative search during his solo endeavor.

Ultimately, Valentine is the perfect marriage of concept and skill at this point in Snail Mail’s career.

Hushed and Grim could have used a trim, but overall, it was worth the wait.

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.

It’s settled, comfortable, and a bit too repetitive. It’s inoffensive, which is perhaps worst of all. Equals commits the greatest sin of pop music: it just isn’t very interesting.

It’s clear that these five musicians have learned the rules and are actively breaking them, and their unpredictability from moment to moment is powerful, fun, and enigmatic. ... If Projector is any indication, Geese will be breaking conventions for years to come.

Listeners will still delight in how The War on Drugs can filter recognizable elements — the beats, the riffs, the spirit of artists like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen, and even Bryan Adams — into something fresh and grand.

The accumulation of these ideas can become monochromatic, meandering, and repetitive; apt background music for loitering in the bath. The most pleasurable and moving, even unsettling, moments on Blue Banisters arrive when Del Rey breaches, however gently, her own boundaries.

[“Coloratura” is] the song that most resembles the free spirit of Everyday Life and how much they’re capable of pulling off in a 10 minute, sprawling odyssey. Even more, it shows how resistant Coldplay are to becoming Maroon 5. If the rest of Music of the Spheres is any indication, then unfortunately, that’s where they’re headed.

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

Love is messy, and friendship can be even messier. With this album, James Blake succeeds in tapping into the ways that these emotions can be tangled together, for better or for worse.

Gaga has always been an emotional performer, and she does quite a bit of heavy lifting on Love for Sale, but Bennett’s vocals remain crystal clear. The album (unsurprisingly) is at its best when the two are together.

Its feeling lingers long after her patient request. Despite the humor, wit, and sharp-edge of illuminati hotties, there’s a definable sense of sadness throughout the album, and its resulting resonance is a major success for Sarah Tudzin and Co.

De Augustine is the perfect match for Sufjan’s gentle vocal style — the two have very similar voices, to the point that sometimes it’s almost hard to differentiate them, but the similarity works in the album’s favor and lends each duet a feeling of tenderness and proximity.

Torn Arteries has an absolutely rotten personality, but one soaked with black humor and charm — not to mention stellar riffs and performances — for those with the patience to get to know it. Those looking for unrepentant brutality can look to Cannibal Corpse, but those looking for something more complex need to taste this masterpiece of bitterness.

Lil Nas X’s 15-track rookie album is filled with raw emotion, honesty, and a lot of insight.

star-crossed is a definite departure from Golden Hour in many ways, but this effort still retains enough of that magic to feel like a connector from her previous era to the present moment.

The more valid question is whether Senjutsu is worthy of Iron Maiden’s illustrious catalog, and the answer is an emphatic yes. The LP stands out among the second Dickinson-era albums for its symphonic touches, memorable songs/riffs, and airtight mid-tempos.

Drake’s new release may lack some of the variety of his previous albums, but its concepts and musical structure make for a solid body of work.

Donda is Kanye West’s best album since 2013’s Yeezus. Those who stuck with him through thick and thin will love it, while the rest of us can safely dip our toes back in the water.

Rather than worry about finding an answer, they’re enjoying flexing their musical skill sets, adapting them to artists who fuel their own creative energy, and bringing us along for the journey in the meantime.

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.

Screen Violence contains cathartic moments, anthems in the dark, and they approach them with tact and enthusiasm.

On If I Can’t Have Love, there’s romance, there’s sadness, there’s plenty of trademark defiance, but some of the album’s best moments are the most intimate.

Solar Power is pleasant background music, an album you might default to beside the pool, but it ultimately lacks the cinematic grandeur that made tracks like “Green Light” or “Ribs” so deeply moving.

Infinite Granite is a stunning journey from beginning to end, as Deafheaven continue to refine, develop, and even experiment with their identity. Undoubtedly, it contains some of their boldest and most heavenly material to date, and it peppers in just enough heaviness to embody the other side of their sound.

The stark, stoic songwriting coursing through Pressure Machine tells a much more layered story however, and by the time that same train can be heard approaching in the album’s final coda, it’s up to the listener to decide whether it’s a harbinger of impending doom or an altogether different way of finding your way out of life in a forgotten town.

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.

The original was proof that Nas, a cat known to bathe in ’90s aesthetics, could spin gold with a producer known for the exact opposite. KD2 fulfills that idea, as the pair double down on what worked the first time, toss aside what didn’t, and find the perfect center between 2021 and 1991.

With this collection, she proves that she was not just a shot in the dark or a blaze lighting up the sky for only a moment.

The resulting effort is a largely uneven collection of songs that span everywhere from an actual Bruce Springsteen collaboration to subdued, orchestral ballads, from ‘70s-indebted heartland rock to ‘90s-inspired slow jams.

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.

Vince Staples is introspective without being isolating, thoughtful without being boring, and innovative without being pretentious.

It cements what she does best: giving trends of the past a clever and useful update. Our Extended Play comes from a place of sincerity, relying on familiar comforts without ever feeling out of date.

Planet Her maintains the versatility that Doja’s Hot Pink performances hinted at, but it all hinges on her knack for a singalong chorus, and fits cohesively in our ever-diversifying pop landscape. The result, while not terribly profound, is an album full of bulletproof bops, with the help of some well-chosen star collaborators.

To Tyler’s credit, he didn’t rest on his laurels. Instead, he crafted a concise piece of work about a very confident adult realizing his own ego is both his best asset and indeed his worst enemy.

Death of a Cheerleader is a cohesive, emotionally affecting work. With this album, Mia Berrin solidifies her place among the newest class of indie stalwart songwriters, carving out this space in a fearless and vulnerable way.

It’s a tricky record that is perhaps more keen on being interesting than outright entertaining. Nonetheless, the experimentation on The Nightmare of Being is certainly worth celebrating.

Mammoth WVH is the sound of a young musician forging his own path and a very strong beginning to Wolfgang’s musical journey as a solo artist.

It’s their best album since their debut, capturing an energy that was lacking on previous efforts. The songs here are simply more memorable and diverse, brimming with riffs and adventurous vocals.

It’s a slow and patient exploration of grief, layered with moments of surprising melodic beauty.

Born Against is a triumphant collection of tracks from one of modern music’s most gifted storytellers.

Although Weezer’s shared love of (and debt) to the Sabbaths and Van Halens of the world is undeniable, their homages to those bands feel as scattershot as they are heartfelt.

Seek Shelter is a rich representation of Iceage’s bravery as a band.

Dropkick Murphys continue to do what they do best on Turn Up That Dial, churning out an album full of upbeat Celtic riffs and sing-along choruses.

Gojira have delivered a brisk, eminently listenable record that expands on their melodic sensibilities without abandoning their experimental tendencies, environmentalist policies, and emotional potency.

Every aspect is written and performed impeccably, with track sequencing that highlights both the variety of the material and the wisdom of its concepts. True to its intentions, then, The Million Masks of God is a gorgeously tuneful and thought-provoking gem.

When you turn on a Dinosaur Jr. record, the thinking goes, it should always sound like a Dinosaur Jr. record. I’m happy to report that Sweep It into Space does, in fact, check this box.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) states boldly, simply and perhaps, generously, that this is a story still worth telling – and a fight worth fighting.

On their second studio effort, they step out of the shadow of their influences, carving a sound of their own. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess.

Violence Unimagined doesn’t precisely deliver a standout track, but it promises an exciting and surprisingly subtle turn in the band’s legacy of brutality.

If The Offspring want to stay in their comfort zone, there are plenty of fans who won’t object, but it won’t keep them relevant. On the plus side, Let the Bad Times Roll offers hints of creative tangents that could revitalize the band next time around – if they’re willing to challenge themselves.

Throughout ROADRUNNER…, their psychedelic-saturated groupthink frequently coheres into daring and undeniably moving work, smoothing over the rough spots and small stumbles.

For the first time in a long time, the future feels uncertain and unformed. This is the music that will help us charge forward into the unknown.

This album release coincides with the aforementioned documentary, and as the details of Lovato’s rocky recovery continue to unfurl, there’s a bit of concern in the idea that this record is a bit too intrinsically tied to another very public narrative. She tells us, over and over within the album, that this devastating chapter of her life is over and gone. In the aching, tender closer, she sings that she’s in a “good place” in a track of the same name. I desperately want to believe her.

Another strong record worthy of their consistent discography. Longtime fans will find plenty to enjoy on Tonic Immobility. The supergroup’s musical personality remains intact.

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.

All in all, he has a pretty solid record of radio-ready hits, some that could double back as hazy, danceable club tracks. But MLK could have been left to rest in peace.

Chemtrails over the Country Club is a gorgeous listen: charming, clever, and vulnerable. Del Rey is as effective as ever in painting American fantasies, evoking nostalgia for realities always out of reach.

A History of Nomadic Behavior showcases a band that’s able to make its music more challenging while also being mindful of songcraft and being subtle about it in both respects.

As with most of the LP, the instrumentation and lyrics are equal parts memorable and evil. Let’s face it, memorable and evil are two traits any fan would want from a Rob Zombie album.

On Show Me How You Disappear, IAN SWEET reveals herself as an innovative artist unafraid to shine the light on deep, difficult complication and to create bright, interesting pop music that answers only to itself.

What Cave and Ellis have crafted with Carnage is a refreshing respite from chaos, a record that sits at the burning edge of dawn and anticipates destruction’s undoing.

The Melvins’ winning combination of riffs and black humor is in full force on Working with God, making the album recommended listening for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

The newly turned-up volume and heavier instrumentals of synths, bass, and drum programming still never drown out Baker’s tender vocals, which are consistently unexpected and innovative.

By introducing what could arguably be described as some of their most introspective lyrics to date into their rock and roll alchemy, Cloud Nothings delivered an album that totes an intriguing combination of coolness and comfort.

As a debut release, Cool Dry Place is remarkable. Katy Kirby has crafted a series of captivating indie rock-pop tracks, all centered around a voice with clarity reminiscent of Sylvan Esso or Haley Heynderickx, but swift and whimsical movements that feel all Kirby’s own.

There’s a level of introspection present on the record that’s hard to duplicate, and when coupled with a stunning exploration of queer relationships, it creates something truly extraordinary. And frankly, triteness is solvable, and there’s beauty in the simplicity.

On TYRON, slowthai doesn’t make grand statements or platitudes like a politician. He simply offers his own story of perseverance, hand extended and Mona Lisa smile brimming.

This album is the payoff of a risk: while this may not have been a vocally challenging album for Williams, it can be deeply difficult to share the quiet corners of the soul, the stories we might not want to tell but need to for the sake of healing.

An essential listen for fans and a fair introduction for newcomers, Medicine at Midnight feels like the rare late-career release that genuinely earns its spots within the legacy setlist.

This Lost Themes run is the best legacy sequel in this exhaustive era of legacy sequels, and if we’re lucky, the credits will never roll.

OK Human lands as a surprisingly charming collection of pop tunes whose imperfections add to rather than detract from the experience.

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.

Drunk Tank Pink is a beautiful demonstration of how musical rebellion and fury need not be explicitly lyrically tied to the current moment to speak directly to those living through it.

There will be no sophomore slump for Viagra Boys. At its best, Welfare Jazz represents an evolutionary step from Street Worms that’s tighter, tougher, and more riotous than what came before. That same evolution even lifts the record’s missteps. There are failures, but at least they’re interesting failures.

McCartney III will likely go down as one more intriguing artifact from this deeply strange year: an above-average quarantine album from one of the highest-profile artists yet to share their lockdown material. Left alone with his thoughts like the rest of the world, Paul McCartney turned solitude into something unifying. The end result has its flaws, but the sentiment certainly doesn’t.

Throughout the journey of the Man on the Moon trilogy, which is imbued with many twists and turns, The Chosen captures Cudi as victorious, finally reaching his long-awaited destination.

This record further establishes her identity as a modern poet, and the allusions to writers of old are tucked throughout. ... Mid-record songs like “cowboy like me” and “long story short” might not rise to the top either, but to say that any of these songs are weaker in comparison to others is like complaining about smudges in a crystal wine glass set — everything here is still beautiful and much better than collections you might find elsewhere.

Altogether this album feels like its own artifact in the making, ready to haunt listeners and filter its Morse code and snapshot stories through their speakers for years to come.

Nightmare Vacation is an excellent look into the many cogs that make Rico’s brain work without setting up a definitive future direction. It’s this unpredictability that makes her exciting and shows how she has enjoyed longevity in this fast-paced world.

Cyrus has always been more interesting — eclectic, provocative, upending expectations — as a public figure than as a musician. But on songs like “Midnight Sky”, Cyrus has found a sonic mode where listeners can more fully hear her distinctive voice and unruly perspective. Like her hero Elvis Presley perhaps, Plastic Hearts proves that Cyrus can be derivative and still be an original.

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