This is a magnificent album.

There's no way you won't be listening to this CD on repeat for anything less than two weeks straight.

Black Letter Days is a truly special work, and should be treated as such. Don't let the best record of the year go overlooked.

The whole album is as musically stirring and creative as anything TMBG have ever done, and that’s saying a lot.

Having covered so much territory, the album leaves you completely fulfilled--like any nightclub act--but ready to do it all over again the next night.

With this album, the deejay only adds to his rep and further solidifies his place amongst Hip-Hop's elite producers and turntablists.

Burn and Shiver shows Azure Ray maturing and improving the quality of their craft while settling into their familiar, pleasant formula.

A summery pop journey, complete with mellow melodies and gentle guitars.

Rarely has a record balanced such quality lyrics with such pretty music; it is also a rare occasion when a record can be both deeply sad and uplifting at the same time.

An album whose scope, diversity, wit and heart make it instantly the best album of 2002.

“Weeds,” an excellent tune which compares the English working class to this type of plants, is only one of the various epic, melodramatic tunes in the key of Scott Walker (who produced the record) present here that use elements of nature to symbolise aspects of modern society and the human condition itself.

If the young, brooding Waits had done this score it would have been too much--too miserable--but our older, wiser Waits possesses the perfect combination of cynicism and idealism to pull it off.

What saves her from getting HACK stamped across her forehead is how she chooses to approach the material, meaning she's turned down the notch a couple decibels for the duration of the trip.

It’s a confectionary delight, from start to finish: sometimes intelligent, sometimes emotional, always likeable.

Mount Eerie doesn't work outside of its concept and, to the detriment of the songs, the album is so intensely personal that melody and song structure give way to abstract conceptualism.

One of the best hard rock albums of 2002.

For people friendly to western pop traditions, there is little or nothing in the music to dislike, and lots to sing along with.

The Notwist are, for me, the band New Order never had a good enough singer, or a creative enough programmer, to be.

On a level of pure listening enjoyment, Boy In Da Corner isn't quite an Original Pirate Material; but it does succeed in establishing that Dizzee Rascal deserves a place right at the forefront of the UK Urban movement.

As usual, Public Enemy's lyrics are relevant, intelligent, unyielding, and punctuated with skillfully crafted accompaniment.

Sea Change is different (and, in a way, less interesting) than everything Beck has previously done, but he has a rare gift that he shares with precious few artists, Prince and Bob Dylan amongst them: no matter what he does, Beck will always be interesting.

With The Sea and Cake, the question is never whether the album is good or bad, but whether the album is good or excellent. One Bedroom then is a good album.

The band continues with a strong electronic feel without compromising the integrity of good, raw musicianship.

For the first time in their careers, Sonic Youth are willing to stand for something and give it to you, no frills. No more hiding behind black shades and pretending you're Lou Reed, no more “let's try to make the scariest noises possible from our guitars” sessions, no more poses. Sonic Youth have grown up.

While there is nothing new on Alice, the songs he develops are well-structured, elegant and as bawl-worthy as ever.

With one album, Alicia Keys jumps up from the most overrated R&B artist since Michael Jackson to the best young talent R&B has seen in a very long time.

Somewhere within the radio-friendly, xylophone-banging tracks, Badly Drawn Boy finds space for artistic experimentation and growth.

With each successive album Eminem finds new depth and excitement within the same themes and structures he used way back on The Slim Shady LP, so even if new songs contain earmarks of Eminem classics, they still feel reinvigorated.