If last year's Under Construction was a little weird, then This Is Not a Test! is barking mad--in the greatest way.

Clever? Yes. Stupid? Possibly. Essential? Absolutely.

[Dylan's] most cohesive work in over a decade...

Minimalist folk rock in its purest form.

It's quite possibly his best album since 1982's Nebraska.

Gorgeous and intimate, the 14 songs on her debut disc ache with romantic maturity and a smart, slow-jam sexiness that belies the fact that, at 22, Jones is hardly older than Britney.

Tak[es] on the state of global affairs in a way that is both surprisingly direct yet somehow reassuringly weird.

Weird, wonderful and, yes, super.

The band's equally impressive second album grooves with both a Detroit hipster sound and some spacey atmosphere.

The duo's collaboration on Van Lear Rose is unexpectedly gripping, a raucous slice of vintage Nashville fuelled by Lynn's down-home wisdom, twangy gee-tars and White's inspired hand at production.

It is the sound of Interpol as reinterpreted by Tom Waits--a breathtaking album with bite.

Instantly engaging, and totally engrossing over time.

An album that is as lovely as it is seductive.

Injecting the album with plenty of soul, gospel and throwbacks to that old-school Motown sound, producers like the Neptunes, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and guests like Eve help round out what's possibly the best R&B album this year.

The band turns each song up to 11 and lets its rabid hometown fans provide thousand-strong backing vocals. It'll make you want to yell "Woooh!" too.

A soaring, orchestral pop masterpiece.

On bluesy new tracks such as "Stubborn Beast" and "Moonshiner," she conjures a sensual, serious confidence that suggests she's ready to depose Cat Power as the queen of indie teardrop ballads.

A funky, soulful flashback to the works of outspoken jazz and R&B greats like Gil-Scott Heron and Miles Davis.

A warm serving of elegant late-night ballads that infuse acoustic and pedal-steel guitars with back-porch rhythms and arrangements.

Just like the architects behind Kid A, they take all these creepy elements and make something totally excellent.

It's stripped down (and we're not just talking about the jumpsuits), simple and the songwriter's best work in ages.

Fundamental is the group's most inspired album in nearly a decade.

It's okay, you can believe all of the fawning reviews you're going to read about this album. Because when still-kicking '60s soul legend Solomon Burke puts his earthy baritone to lyrics written by some of today's most critically acclaimed songwriters, it's simply magical.

Now the melodies are sharper, the scissor kicks are higher and the grooves are, er, groovier.

A dynamic piece of work.

Maxwell's latest finds the steady and seductive soul-provider drawing more from the class of Marvin Gaye than the trash of R. Kelly--with a touch of spirituality thrown in.

Even the geeky ballads will put a smile on your face and a Bic lighter in your hand.

There's nothing quite like the sound of a band at the top of its game.