Songz isn't doing anything new, but when he's still delivering music this high quality it really doesn't matter that much.

The album might not be nearly good enough to launch him into any "classic" conversation, but it also not nearly bad enough to be viewed as a sign of his impending demise.

This is an album you play during a lazy Sunday afternoon, an album you reach for during a long road-trip, and in a way that's far more valuable than the month's new hottest thing.

Chiddy Bang is the sound of the younger generation, which is to say that they sound like whatever they feel like at the time, and their debut album Breakfast proves it.

Forest Hills Drive has enough twists and turns to inspire an almost schizophrenic stream of reactions.

Z is a mood piece, 10 homogenous tracks that breeze by and flow on a winning combination of sweet vocals, sweeter hooks, and the sweetest of melodies and instrumentals.

Jesus Piece certainly isn't his best album, but if it ends up being his worst, then Jayceon's doing pretty damn good for himself.

These are good songs, but we don't come to Waka for good.

That leaves us with a placeholder project while Dream sorts out some contractual "issues" with Def Jam over his delayed fourth album Diary of a Madman, and frankly I'll take this placeholder over 90% of R&B's official projects.

Her talent and voice makes up for the fact that Lioness isn't really an album, but more like a collection of unfinished business.

The Gifted is a collection of tracks from an unarguably talented emcee, but the point at which a collection of music becomes an album, a singular work with a focus and unity strong enough to truly make an impact, Wale still hasn’t reached that point.... In the meantime, we’re left with a quality album.

This is certainly his most sonically diverse album ever.

Strange Clouds isn't perhaps as thrilling as Adventures, mostly because the thrill of the unknown is gone, but B.o.B.'s second album is superior in almost every respect.

Overall, Kiss Land is a decent first full-length, but for the hype that The Weeknd had built up leading to this release, some (if not most) will say that it failed to meet expectations, especially compared to the incredible hype that surrounded his 2011 debut.

Influenced by what The Pharcyde did two decades ago, what Drake perfected a few years ago, and what many others have attempted since, Ink’s melodic tastes and rhyming style draws from all of these influencers. The problem is, he can’t quite charm like Wiz Khalifa, rhyme like Big Sean, or create art like Drake. Yet.

The forward momentum shown on previous releases continues with Because the Internet. The jokes and gimmicks show up less often and in their place are introspective questions about himself, his relationships, and his family. Most of the time it works.

While Rowland continues to define her own sound, it still feels like she's giving us who she thinks we want to hear, not who she is.

It may have been a little long for my liking, but that's a small price to pay for listening to something this remarkably unique.

T.I. is more lyrical than he often gets credit for, but it's his "swag" that truly separates him from the crowd, and Trouble Man is dripping with so much swag T.I. should bottle it and sell it.

Whatever, the point is that instead of snare hits and cymbal crashes Barker's real contribution came from behind the boards--he's got a production credit on every one of the album's tracks. By the same token he's often paired with other producers, and when it works, like on the RZA influenced Carry It, it really works. Unfortunately, when it doesn't work, it really doesn't.

Talk That Talk is both a sharp departure from her dark, rock-infused last two albums Rated R and Loud and a more easily enjoyable work.

Beyond his mic skills, King also hints at Tyga's more seriously minded side, a side that surfaces again and again throughout the album.

Kat Dahlia's My Garden is good music. Period.

The album is fun, enjoyable, and well-done.

There aren't many singers who have both the vocal ability and range of delivery to traverse a musical landscape that vast, but Brown does it all while impressively managing to maintain a real cohesion throughout X.

If he was hoping to prime his artists for individual success, he's got a long way to go. But if he was simply looking to keep Maybach's name on everyone mind via a loosely defined collection of bangers, well then it looks like Rick Ross still can't do wrong.

Radioactive [is] simultaneously the most and least mainstream friendly album of the year. It's a seeming contradiction that only someone who was supremely confident in their identity as an artist could pull off.

IV Play finds Dream delving into more sounds and styles than ever before.

There's no doubt about it, there's greatness lurking in Game, and in R.E.D. Album. Let's just hope that from here on out he'll find the consistency he needs to truly claim that greatness.

Unapologetic is by no means a bad album, it'd be nearly impossible to combine the music industry's best songwriters, producers and Rihanna's charismatic delivery and not create quality music, but as an album Unapologetic has no real core, no real theme; unless you count "making hits" as a theme.

Nothing on par with the classics but he has plenty of moments where his strengths are showcased.

There's just no contemporary precedent for music like this. And that might just be the best sign of all.

Here both the production and Nicki's delivery border on absurdist theater, at one point devolving into Nicki literally making noises.

At 12 tracks long, Evolution may lack any real oomph or spectacle, but it also contains little filler, which is an achievement in today’s singles dominated, bloated albums.

Has Jay-Z made another classic? Only time will truly tell, but my gut says MCHG will ultimately fall just short of classic status. Where does it rank among his now 15 albums? I’ve got it somewhere in the top third.

Maybe he's burnt out, maybe he just doesn't care as much anymore, but whatever the reason, Tha Carter IV just doesn't feel like one of the biggest albums of the year – at all.

After Rolling Papers Wiz' fan base should expand significantly, as should the number of rap purists angry about his lack of rhyme skills, but complaining about his "rap" skills completely misses the point.

He understands what a casual, top of the iTunes chart browsing fan is looking for, and what his dedicated fans who have been there since his bluesy beginnings are looking for. Blurred Lines mostly hits its mark when aiming for these two very different audiences, but the interspersing of slimy, pop songs with smooth as butter, tasteful ones comes off as awkward.

You know that breathless feeling you had when you ran from the cops after they broke up a house party? This album is that feeling in musical form.

While there's nothing revolutionary here, New Life is undoubtedly the work of a woman who's supremely comfortable in her own skin and own music.

Overall, Kid Cudi is refreshing and lively thoughout Indicud, proving he can go off and experiment (like he did on WZRD), yet come back to the Day & Night Cudi we have all grown to know and love.

With Joe’s distinct style steering every track, No Love Lost is a much more cohesive and focused work, despite similar fluctuations [to Slaughterhouse's Welcome To: Our House].

Lupe seems to have accepted that Lasers is not the masterpiece he originally set out to make and is prepared to move on. Maybe we should follow his lead.

O.N.I.F.C. isn't a great album, but it isn't lazy either.

Based on a T.R.U. Story isn't a great album, but was anyone expecting a great album from 2 Chainz?

It feels like Wiz is mostly coasting through this album, giving his already loyal fans exactly what they'd expect from him and not much else.

There is very little to write home about here, and for the most part it feels very hastily made.

The animal spin on Get Rich or Die Tryin’. 50 Cent attacks with that mindset on his 5th album, and it’s a solid entry in a very up and down career (in music at least).

This album is about keeping Brown relevant and making the musical man child marketable again, and on that level it's a moderate success. He's still got a long way to go before he regains his previous stature.

He’s obviously still capable of moments of greatness, but right now those moments are so dulled by surrounding mediocrity they’re becoming lost.

It has to be said though that the places where WZRD struggles most are the places where Dot and Cudi leave their hybrid sweet spot and try to go straight rock.

It's an odd, disjointed album that, despite scattered high points, leaves one wondering what Thicke was thinking when he put it together. Paula Patton deserves better, and so do listeners.

Absolutely none of the album is bad, but it's enough like Drake to make me feel like I might as well be listening to Drake, enough like The Weeknd to make me feel like I might as well be listening to Weeknd, etc. etc. etc.