It’s with his newest album, Years of Refusal, that Morrissey has delivered one of his finest albums to date.

This album will be divisive amongst fans as there will be those who just want them to get back to the days of "Full Collapse" and those who have always heard the sounds of Common Existence beneath the surface over everything before it. For those fans, you will be glad Thursday has finally let all of its aggression out to release an engrossing and explosive album.

Abe Vigoda is not quite up to the level of a band like No Age, but if this EP is any indication, they do have the potential to hone and fine-tune their sound. Reviver would be a great introduction for a potential listener, and fans of post-rock will probably find a lot to like with Abe Vigoda.

Animals in the Dark is a natural progression from Whitmore’s previous stripped-down affairs.

The truth is, practically everything on Dark Was the Night is exceptionally well done. Even when they aren’t covering but contributing original recordings, everyone brings their A-game.

It’s simply constructed, confidently attempted and ultimately, radiantly accomplished. And much like that couple [on the album back cover], the album’s missteps are present but there is enough good to prove this is a solid effort.

Not only is Keep it Hid a very good album but it’s an album that contrary to popular belief, should not be ignored.

Cooper made it long enough to record one last, amazingly decorated and meticulously crafted album, Immolate Yourself, with his other half, Joshua Eustis. And with this album, not only did the tandem create something special but it just may end up being the best album of their entire career.

Unless you demand pure, cutting-edge originality out of your pop music, this is a solid debut effort.

While it’s very good hard rock and there are the little differences, the overall sound of the album is largely the same.

What Franz Ferdinand have proven is that not only do they make impressive albums but that they are capable of trying out new sounds with great skill. It’s still the same band we fell in love with, only they have incorporated more sounds into their arsenal and with songs as good as these, it’s a welcome addition.

This isn’t a tired old pro knocking one more out but rather, a superb song-craftsmen and musician in control; Working on a Dream is one of Bruce Springsteen’s best albums, period.

What’s more important is that Merriweather Post Pavilion is not just one of the finest things you’re going to hear in 2009 but that it should sit well next to albums like Kid A on lists of the best music made in our time.

The Crying Light may not be as directly moving or as astounding as its predecessor, it’s a fine album on its own.

Get Guilty is unlikely to bust Carl Newman out beyond his inherited fan-base but neither is it likely to disappoint those listening out for more-of-the-same, albeit with obvious but not crippling disadvantages.

Bird is in full control and evokes his The Swimming Hour and everyone’s favorite, Mysterious Production of Eggs, days; those days where he did everything on his own. All of the aforementioned allows him to present one of his best albums to date.

Skin of Evil, out on Soft Abuse Jan. 20, is a breathtaking, mesmerizing record, a lyrical song cycle about love and loss, affection and anger and alienation.

Major General finds us with an accomplished and very steady collection of songs.

It’s with his latest masterpiece, 808s & Heartbreak, that he has demonstrated, with impeccable skill, that he is supreme, yet again.

Day & Age isn’t a masterpiece but it ends up being their most consistent album to date and it shows true promise of growth and strength in their music.

Over the course of the album's 52 minutes, the eight tracks reveal a brilliance in construction.

In all seriousness, this is an utterly brilliant experiment that is carried out with excellent style.

The Sight Below has crafted a magnificent album and EP to help weather the darker nights and snowy days.

The Renaissance is arguably, the best hip-hop album of the year.

Stellar production yields rich sounds assailed with raw emotions. These tracks are fully developed. No doubt, the vocals may grate on critics, but there are a lot of reasons to like this split. Especially Envy. Enjoy.

It’s great music and it clearly showcases the fact that Grampall Jookabox should have a steady and successful career ahead of him.

With producer Thavius Beck’s fast-paced beats and the MC’s lively rapping, the two have concocted a worthy listen.

Simply put, it's a decent album. There are a handful of great tracks and handful of tankers. The rest is just kind of there.

The best kinds of albums are the ones that capture that fragile balance between great music and pairing lyrical wordplay. And Tronic is an album that fans of both the lyrical side and production side of hip-hop can love.

Barnes is literally all over the place and his cryptic storytelling makes for an eccentric album. And although each song may shift styles five or six times, as a whole, it’s a tightly constructed and smartly shaped listen.

Car Alarm is essentially Everybody II; an album that subtly stretches the group’s formulaic parameters with rawer production and looser instrumentation but without cementing any concrete boundary-changes.

Parts and Labor have expanded their sonic palette with Receivers and with it may find some new fans who wouldn't have been able to tolerate the overwhelming stimulation of previous releases.

Temper, an album that stays the course in terms of facade but for the most part lacks the great songwriting that elevated "Précis" above other singer-songwriters.

Even eleven years after their breakthrough success, their music still sounds as fresh and exciting as ever; we are truly lucky.

Combining vaudeville melodies alongside a quirky pop sensibility lifts the eleven songs here above the merely angular and takes us to a unique space, and probably not somewhere everyone would want to go, but to my ears Moonwink's only real flaw is its brevity.

Through all of the musical intricacies and variances, Rossen and Nicolaus have truly created one of the best albums of the year.

Life Like may not beg for repeated listens as much as Birds Make Good Neighbors but it’s still an honest and original piece of work that is sorely needed in these times.

Once again, the Pale Young Gentlemen has crafted a singularly noteworthy record unlike anything else.

As a release for anyone else, this would be a well received and respected release. But for Ben Folds, whose first two solo outings were both phenomenal, he simply hasn’t lived up to expectations.

Overall Snowflake Midnight isn’t quite the disaster that the disillusioned might have expected.

It is a well-written, solid debut that should at least establish the band a fanbase and give them time to work out some of the imperfections.

The sonic pastiche of certain songs can be unwieldy and perplexing, with unsubtle shifts in musical styles or tones, an erratic rhythmic pace, and flat aural space. What sounds right though is Caroline’s mutable vocals that run the gamut from the eccentric, exclamatory delivery and word-twisting of Karen O to the soft drift of a subdued Polly Jean Harvey or Chan Marshall on the more serious numbers.

It’s a tight, very good album and although it’ll have its unfair share of detractors, like the rest of the band’s albums, it will shine no matter what.

Dear Science is a stirring addition to their ever proliferating catalog; a stalwart continuation of the band’s hooking groove, and easily one of the best releases of the year.

To sustain her muse beyond short-term thrill-seeking, a little more focus, restraint and better pacing is certainly required. That said, Acid Tongue is still-peppered with acts of greatness, which will no doubt grow further in stature through successive spins.

While there isn’t anything as blisteringly heavy as 'Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant’s Hem,' as gritty and grimy as 'Miss Spiritual Tramp,' or even as trippy and psychedelic as 'Hot Tip/Tough Cub,' there is still plenty to love on Furr.

Barrett combines his best strengths to deliver one of the album’s few shining spots; it’s just a shame there aren’t more of them on here.

This is a wonderful piece of work from a talented, intelligent artist, put across with all the passion of someone who's spent a long time thinking about and living with the project.

There were some hits and some misses on this band's follow-up to a somewhat commercial success.

Its occasional awkwardness and complex narrative arc may deter true devotion. However, there are still many miraculous highpoints within, which should give Joey Burns and John Convertino a sturdier and braver platform for Calexico to step-up from next time around.

Remember those old days when everything was perfect, when you were happy and all was right in your world, The Stand Ins achieves this.

His most complete album to date, Chad Van Gaalen's Soft Airplane carries aisles of contradictions through turbulence and diffused sunlight. Here, the talented artist plays to his strengths.

Although it dodges near-perfection almost deliberately, it confirms that Gelb’s maverick creativity has an astute methodology in its benevolent madness.

If you aren't at least a little cozy to the sound commonly produced by Whitney and company, you certainly won't be any more into Jaguar Love. Well, that may not be totally accurate, as I can see this being some of most accessible stuff spawned by any Blood Brothers alumni.

The album’s majestic brilliance reveals itself through subtle perfections that appear with repeated listens.

It requires headphones, or at least some form of solidarity, to enjoy the carefully composed post-rock that only a band like Apse can deliver. It can be a bleak listen at time but this is a beautiful album that should be experienced at least once.

The opening and closing tracks prove that Conor Oberst is a more reflective and personal venture as both are stripped down affairs, one summoning childhood memories while the other seems to contemplate suicide.

Overall, though, there's a lack of memorability tarring this CD. Very few of the songs sound familiar even after repeated listenings.

All in all this is a great album.

Ultimately, this is a winner and though it may not offer the new, revelatory sounds and styles that some were hoping, in the end it wins out because of its heart.

The music on Something for All of Us… is focused, melodic and utterly impressive. Not only does it sound terrific but it sounds like it was a complete pleasure to make.

Stay Positive is a true testament that good music will always prevail. One can only hope that a band like this will continue to make music for years and years to come because we desperately need it.

There isn’t anything outlandishly overdone on this album as Beck offers a more stripped down approach. These are obvious efforts to return to a more cohesive, solid form and with a steady dose of subtle harmonies, crafty melodies and hooks, interesting instrumentation and oh yeah, two songs that feature Cat Power, Beck doesn’t disappoint.

This album is not a quick or necessarily easy listen, but it is one of the better ones that I have had the pleasure of listening to this year.

This is a winner in so many different ways; the music is impeccable, the sequencing is seamless, the production inhales and exhales life and the overall sound is killer.

Whether it is the new production, the new sounds, the new language or maybe just the unique cover, everything works for Sigur Rós; on Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is something exceptional.

Taken as a whole, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea stills far short of the Silver Jews’ seminal statements--namely 1998’s "American Water" and 1994’s "Starlite Walker"--but its mix of mischief and melancholy provides more than enough to keep David Berman in the game he continues to reassuringly and unpredictably play on his own terms.

Each track is unique, thanks in part to Markus Acher's peculiar voice and The Notwist's ability to seamlessly blend acoustic pop and electronic rock into a genre-bending, intriguing, and sometimes catchy, electro-fuzz pop, resulting in an uncommonly captivating album that gets better with each spin.

Sure, you can kind of tell--except for the finale--they each sing four songs and their styles are unmistakable; however, they result in one tight, unified, startling beast of an album--it’s downright astonishing.

This is an excellent release from an already accomplished band.

Minor misgivings aside, All I Intended To Be is another assured latter-day Emmylou Harris long-player.

Lo-fi recording and lackluster production force the songs to rely on the comforting characteristics of the understated indie-twee-folk, of which there are too little to make it real appealing.

This is great music from a fantastic UK band.

All in all, this is pretty good album and it is by no means horrible.

With their self-titled debut, Fleet Foxes have attained this and have delivered one of the best albums of the year.

With Rook they have fashioned an album that is melodic, tender, outstanding but above all, captivating. One thing is for sure, this is one of the best albums of the year.

Everything on Lay it Down is gorgeous, memorable and absolutely stunning.

All the Saints pound out lumbering hard rock. And it sounds good.

This isn’t a horrible album by any means, but it also isn’t very good. Sitek has done an astounding job of creating misty atmospheres and it’s these small touches that aid the album in becoming an interesting listen.

The Lucky Ones is a solid record chock full of classic sludge, pissed off yelps, and witty (almost existential) lyrics.

Arm’s Way is an exceptional album in its own right that serves as overwhelmingly convincing evidence that Islands is no one-hit indie-wonder and still has enough talent to get them exactly where they want to go.

The eleven original songs all sound distinctively unique and yet, uniquely familiar all the same. And even when Oldham covers a song, he is able to make it sound like one of his own.

A testing album like Boo Human is in due course enjoyable because of Kinsella’s impressive musicianship and work ethic.

On its own, it has some great moments, and it is a very good pop/rock record.

In lyrics and music, The Long Blondes have managed to put out a sophomore album just as addictive and catchy as their debut "Someone To Drive You Home."

This isn't just a novel idea that is haphazardly hashed out but rather, the work of two impeccable musicians and it's a fine addition to either musician's catalog and a brilliant one at that.

Once the blissful excitement of 'Brain Burner' closes the album you will realize that with Nouns, No Age have not only delivered an intense blend of experimental/noise/ambient rock but they have very clearly delivered, arguably, the best album of the year.

Water Curses is fantastic because it can serve multiple purposes and it isn’t an EP that only fans will enjoy.

Blue Lambency Downward is best played in the background of your day. When it becomes interesting (and it will many times), your ears will perk up and you’ll be impressed. For the slow and boring intervals in between, feel free to focus on something else.

The album is consistently strong from start to finish with enough outstanding material to vault it into classic status right next to "Dummy."

It’s absolutely astonishing that after so many years of excellent and superb music The Roots are still one of the best bands around. With Rising Down they have not only proved it but they have silenced all of the doubters and haters out there; this is really a special band.

The 15 tracks presented are a perfect addition to any iPod and would certainly serve well as background music to any hipster wannabe party you throw.

This is a matured and musical hip-hop duo and whether it is the fine contributions by Tom Waits and Tunde Adebimpe on separate songs, Ant’s soulful and majestic music, or Slug’s illustrious and poignant story-telling; it’s all superb.

See You in Magic's tracks are so consistently good that determining the album's best poses a challenge.

These songs sound more like parts of songs that have been extracted from something bigger and more fully realized.

The results are far better than you'd imagine.

Fans of previous M83 albums should still enjoy Saturdays as it doesn't veer too far from the template established on the past few albums.

Dig Lazarus Dig!!! delivers a platter that is both powerfully-arcane and invigoratingly-fresh, that serves as possibly Nick Cave’s best ‘main-course’ studio release with The Bad Seeds for quite some time.