You still get the beautiful vocal combination of Sparhawk and Parker and the traditional less-is-more approach Low perfected several albums ago. Yet now you get a band that doesn't want to get stuck in the realm of slow-core, trying new things, redefining themselves. And it works beautifully on what is, undoubtedly, a triumph of an album.

This is not Tom Waits’ best record... But the whole package... is riveting, a collection that should humble lesser musicians who only can aspire to the mantle of Waits’ discarded work.

The compositions, the choice of songs, the sequencing, his spoken word--the entire package--is a firm reminder of the immense talent Antony is; Cut the World remains another worthy release to take hold of.

An incredible record.

Bon Iver sounds distinctively matured and alive on Bon Iver: an album that even still, in the late winter, months after its release sounds magical.

Biophilia is an excellent addition to her glorious discography.

This is a terrific album, one fully ready and suited for headphones; an album that should be easily enjoyed by all and that will surely be loved by many.

A follow-up album that not only meets expectations, it blows them away.

Secret Cities has an awesome album here. Every song is a standout, while keeping an inordinate amount of cohesiveness. Everybody should love it.

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

This is one mighty album, one that will tower over others like the green shrubs that tower over the buildings on the cover.

It won't blow you away the first time, but it eventually will.

Heaven is Whenever is not just a vast improvement from their last effort but it's also a fifth album from a band that still sounds surprisingly awesome and it's just another album for a detractor to listen to and hopefully, fall in love with--it's only a matter of time.

Anyone with a love for substantive indie pop that sounds fresh with each listen would be erring by not picking up this affecting, gorgeous album.

Genre mash-ups this ambitious aren’t easy to come by; albums that accomplish that goal with the effortless grace of Eggs are even rarer.

This album is too good to dally over, because it's so good, jaw droppingly good, not a false note in the bunch kind of good.... Record of the year stuff.

A crisp, clean, and undeniably beautiful work.

There Is Love in You comes off largely as an effortless work, content to just gently glow in its own hazy bliss.

With soaring, beautiful vocals, lush layering, intricate guitars and rhythm, and a flair for the dramatic, ...It Falls Apart is both powerful and lovely, at times dark and at times soaringly beautiful, and it is truly the band’s crowning achievement.

It's always great to see one of our better artists achieving a return to form, but it's usually successful with leveled results. But on The Ecstatic, Mos Def is certainly back and he has released the best hip-hop album of the year, so far.

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.

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.

All Delighted People is very succinctly, a superb masterwork from a musical genius--with plenty more greatness to come.

A record that could easily be mistaken by record geeks as a 60s underground lost-classic... like maybe Quicksilver Messenger Service’s first album.

With Icky Thump they have proven, yet again, that being musically sound in both songwriting and craftsmanship, while knowing how to exercise instrumentation is key in making a solid album in today’s day and age.

Chesnutt has finally made an album that utilizes the full range offered by lush, fully adorned production to his advantage, accenting the strengths of his songwriting but never jockeying for position with his most distinctive traits.

It’s easily one of the best pieces of work of both participants’ careers and a mark of the incredible talent both possess.

I bet that The Milk of Human Kindness will appear on my and others’ “best of 2005” lists.

This is quite possibly Explosions in the Sky's finest moment. Buy this album now and be ready to have your life changed.

Liars have created another standout album that while dissimilar from the rest, is nothing short of amazing and nothing of a surprise from such an exceptional band.

Never has Aloha sounded so tight, so completely in control of its sound, so assured of that sound.

The music on Twins is more of the fantastically great quality we've come to expect.

With amps that are allowed to breathe with static and reverb, drums that clatter against a harsh delivery and with vocals that are unhinged and undeterred, the 'raw' adjective is a fitting superlative.

The Dodos have shaped and formed a superb blend of intricate drumming, remarkable acoustic guitar and touching vocals--this is truly something exceptional.

A work like this is only self-indulgent if its accoutrements aren't justifiable. Wilco makes every note count on this album: however miraculously, it all manages to cohere. And the songs are undeniably stunning.

In an era when few can truly be said to be following their own unique aesthetic, Sixteen Horsepower continue to pad their resume as one of America’s greatest reinterpretors of the American folk tradition.

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.

She's advanced from before and turned in a mirror translation of music from her personal life. The swagger comes in the form of knowing your strengths and for Stern, she's put all of them on display with Marnie Stern.

It suits them well that as musicians that have worked their entire career just to get noticed; for their newest album, I Learned the Hard Way, to be a beautiful representation of what real, honest and true soul music really is.

While it will inevitably be argued as to whether or not Tomboy is really a work of startling originality or perhaps just a long lost companion to Björk's Vespertine, it's hard to deny positing that we've got one of the best albums of 2011 finally in our hands.

One of the most surprising, challenging, and important albums of the year.

Feels like an honest treat for longtime fans.

Lift Your Skinny Fists… told a story, included more extremes in volume and emotion, and added vocal samples. Yanqui, thus, is more subtle, more restrained. Yet it's also more moody, more cerebral, more intense.

A far better album than it has any right to be.

Government Commissions is a must-have for any Mogwai fan, as the live version of “Like Herod” alone is worth the price of the full CD.

Rounds is a perfect mix of subdued chill-out music and up-tempo beats.

This is certainly my favorite British release of the year.

It’s certainly going to be one of the most, if not the most, fresh sounding electronic albums of the year and it’s only going to get better as time passes.

The songs on Thickfreakness are all near masterpieces.

With absolutely perfect production, the end result is one that’s embracing, textured, warm, and still fun.

Sometimes the best albums are pieces of high art to be appreciated from afar. Others are treated like your favorite movies, invoking feelings of when and where you first experienced it. And yet others are treated like books that are so distinct in invoking another time or place that you are escape into them often and without fear. Canary is that kind of album.

This album includes boasts a brilliant storyteller, amazing music, and, most important, beautifully delivered lyrics.

One of the best albums you'll hear in 2003.

Antics is a very strong record that is home to a number of truly incredible songs.

With Random Access Memories, the duet has returned after a long hiatus from proper studio albums, with another triumphant winner.

The album's diversity is certainly key and essential to its value but for some it might lie entirely in Pecknold's flawless voice.

Not only the best Album Leaf album to date but one of the best albums of the year.

Built On Squares is a refreshing slice of musical Valhalla.

Yet with such a superb back catalog and a stellar new record to boot, the question now becomes how – or if – Okkervil River will be able to top itself the next time around.

Ghost is at the top of his game, both in terms of flow and lyrical luminosity.

Each and every single song on here is sprinkled with a certain something to make it outstanding all on its own.

The group continues their fantastic, totally unique song structures, lyrics and instrumentation, resulting in the next evolution of a Decemberists album, and it does not disappoint.

This is a punishing record that manages to be both incredibly dense and yet highly listenable.

Although Veckatimest might be more of an emotionally-driven album, Shields continues to showcase a band that is somehow--as good as they currently are--simply getting better and better, regardless of the location, the circumstances, regardless of the schedules.

Real Gone is incredible because of its songs, some of which stand among Waits' finest work.

Hot Fuss is a multi-faceted, consistently interesting and enjoyable synth-rock album with strengths across the songwriting, singing, and playing fields.

As much as I loved Amore Del Tropico, The Spell comes across even more striking.

It’s another astounding album from a great band and one that we should get much, much more music from for many years to come.

Inches is not just a great concept; it’s a legitimately great rock record in most every facet, and it's Les Savy Fav’s best release outside of Rome (Written Upside Down).

A New Day at Midnight is not White Ladder part 2, but it does bear certain similarities, namely emotional, beautiful music matched with equally beautiful lyrics, and, of course David Gray's unmistakable voice.

Guero is Beck’s most enjoyable long-player because it doesn’t pretend to be more than what it is: a fun collection of disparate, delicious songs.

While many electronic acts are trying their hand at folkier compositions and attempting to squeeze warmth from the digital realm, The Knife's Silent Shout opts for ice-cold distance. The record suffers nothing for it, instead coming out monolithic and beautiful.

Their soul is in no way hurt by the production but instead, this is one of those many times where Danger Mouse’s production has truly aided in creating a terrific album from start to finish.

This is a magnificent debut, filled with endless melodies, memorable hooks and plenty of toe-tapping moments.

Educated Guess is an absolutely stunning creation, although it did take a few listens for me to begin to fully appreciate what I was hearing.

This quintet of musicians are making a name for themselves and with Hospice, they have remarkably made one of 2009’s best albums.

The intelligent songcraft on Days is remarkably strong and with enough luster to continue, here's to hoping the desire never runs dry for Real Estate.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is painfully short; a lean, black-tie rock album, and one of the year's best in a year full of great records.

For now Bundick has accomplished many great feats and with Anything in Return, the first great album of 2013.

Please allow yourself to get lost in its sweeping scope of wonder because it is definitely sprawling. But mostly, we knew he’d be diverse, we just didn’t know it would be this good.

Summer Sun stretches Yo La Tengo's musical boundaries even further than before, as well as reaching back to tie-up loose ends from past master works.

It’s a sincere album that is as friendly and rewarding as any of their previous works.

Brilliant.

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.

The Sunlandic Twins is a dizzying, exhilarating, and almost endlessly fun ride, breezy almost to a fault, romantic and lighthearted.

It’s really hard to find anything wrong with the way Case has presented everything and it’s evident that she is only beginning to reign in all of her strengths. It’s an exceptional trait when you’ve been able to combine so many tremendous aspects into one supreme collection of songs.

With Port of Morrow Mercer digs deep in forming a polished and almost, muscular relationship with the music.

Both more deeply melodic and somehow more resigned and melancholy than his previous albums, White’s latest may just be his best.

While it may still fall short of the high-water mark established with Clarity, Jimmy Eat World’s latest is still a strong contender for the best album of 2004.

The best treat in any kind of music following is when a band who’s been dabbling in greatness for a while finally comes to the plate and smashes a home run over the fences.

The band merrily rips through song after song with skill and zeal, all the while cheekily brandishing a wit that's equal parts irony and earnestness.

This is one of the most unique, inviting, and ultimately thrilling song cycles released this year.

Musically imaginative, robustly performed, and drawn from a golden well of warmth and intelligence.

Will be among many year-end best-of lists, and deservingly so.

Whether or not you love their music, Brothers represents a champion sound for the duo, one that covers all of their best strengths onto a terrific album; you can’t ask for a better present than that.

Blue Cathedral's shifting textures and long, sub-orbital freak-outs signify no lull in purpose for the Comets on Fire. It does signify a step towards a maturation of sound for a band now with three releases under its belt - specifically, a perfect place to be.

The self-titled album brings the listener into a glorious sound world of first rate noise-pop and never lets go.

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.