Rounding out his catalog, Jay Stay Paid makes a worthy addition to any hip-hop aficionado’s collection.

Mostly though, this ethereal mix of multi-layered and textured dream-pop is frothing with jangly and heavily reverbed guitars, amid shoegazing drones and electro-style beats, that displays Atlas Sound’s sense of adventure and pop experimentation while providing the listener with countless entertaining spins.

I cannot overstate enough the cross genre appeal that is contained within Sentenced to Life. There is literally enough here for everyone; while it lacks a black metal vibe I feel it would still be relevant enough for those that jam out with corpse paint.

With engaging songwriting, creative instrumentation and melodically special music, not only is Actor everything we imagined it would be but Clark has redefined the definition of pop music.

This album shows that these guys have plenty of room to expand stylistically while still absolutely owning blues rock.

Be Still Please is the best work of McCaughan’s career.

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

On Metals Feist combines the sublime magic of her voice with songs that feature equally strong compositions to render an album that is easily one of the best of the year.

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

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.

Not a career-changing collection as such but a quietly redemptive revelation that satisfyingly sustains its author’s veteran status.

Overall, this is sophisticated pop with a folky twist crowned by a heaven-sent voice.

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.

The more I listened to Tanglewood Numbers, the more I liked it.

As Perfume Genius, he's [Mike Hadreas] developed a strong second album with Put Your Back N 2 It, a modestly personal release.

All in all, for The Clientele this is another great album in what’s getting to be a long line of great albums.

As is to be expected in any collaboration of this type, there are a lot of good ideas to be found, and it’s worth hearing, even with a few missteps.

The music married to these wonderful lyrics is touching, gorgeous and stunning and there is no doubt in my mind that Atlas Sound has created, arguably, the best album of the year.

While Embryonic shares with Brew many of the spontaneous bursts of chaos that made that album such a jarring listen, you can rest assured that this beautiful mess was--thanks to Coyne and his admitted control issues--a very calculated affair.

Not a slow spreading psych filled with guitar soloing, but instead an orchestra of miniatures, Infinite Love presents a joyous world which is always bright and never boring.

With the absence of anything quite as moreish as say “Tweet Tweet Tweet” or “No One’s Bothered” it may go for less instant satisfaction but it’s undoubtedly still worth tucking into as part of the steady Sleaford Mods diet.

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 the end, most of the songs on MM..Food? are of typical Doom quality (for the uninitiated, that means â??excellentâ?), but the album is severely bogged down both by a few duds and by a trio of interludes in the middle of the album.

Packed with a convincing fusion of craftmanship, camaraderie and charm, We’re Not Talking certainly never comes close to a sophomore slump.

The album sounds amazing.

The Bravest Man in the Universe doesn't need much of a buffer as it quietly approaches its essence with backing tracks, loops, bouts of acoustic guitar and piano all holistically orbiting around the central component of the album, Womack's unblemished vocals.

After all those years that people remarked and possibly, tried to shut him out, Stevens has returned with what just might be the best music he has ever crafted.

It's this sort of wide-eyed optimism [heard on "Near Death Experience Experience"] that lends Break It Yourself immediate appeal.