Ships is the best explosion of greatness yet from one of our most unique voices. [#20, p.100]

The U.K. sensation weaves her tales of wizards, horses and magic in a warm bearskin coat of Kate Bush sensibilities, piano playing that’ll bring you to tears and instruments that only real musicians understand, like the harpsichord.

The one-man result: breezy soul tracks with pop structures, chill vocals and a grab bag of flourishes recalling everything from McCartney to Prince.

A massive concept album that is so gluttonously huge-sounding that it makes The Wall sound like a Sebadoh record. [#10, p.94]

Familiar yet thrilling, Blunderbuss is a masterful introduction to a man we've known all along.

[The Ravenonettes] help to remind us what makes harmless romantic music like Bobby Fuller and the Ronettes so perfectly dark. [#6, p.88]

For now, via tracks like 'High Noon' and 'Mother Nature,' they continue to ride high in the saddle on much the same sine waves they engineered in the previous millennium. [Summer 2008, p.100]

While Boxer lacks a knockout punch like last album’s 13th round uppercut “Mr. November,” all scorecards still have the National besting David Berman to remain indie rock’s “Great White Mope.”

Wildly alive, majestic and by turns brooding and raucous--often within the same song--The Stage Names burns with all the loneliness and adventure of a never-ending road trip.

What remains are incredibly sharp and distorted fist-pumpers, chock full of guitars and monstrous drums, and a handful of slower numbers that fall short of matching the impact of songs like 'Everlong' and 'Learn to Fly.'

Naturally, there are moments that regress into mere riffs on the band's million-old forerunners, but attitude intermixes with ambiance on Nouns in a special, timeless way. [Spring 2008, p.99]

A gorgeous, bona fide gem. [#11, p.92]

If this record doesn't break in a major way, it will not only be a shock, it will be a damn shame. [#17, p.99]

It's familiar but refreshing, evidence that a dinosaur genre like "post-rock" can still sound vital.

'Allelujah!'s symmetrical sequencing-two 20-minute suites, two 6-minute drones-is as stark and stout as anything the band have released to date, unflinching as it stares extreme horror dead in the eye.

Bradford Cox's jagged, swirling atmospherics reach an apotheosis on this hazy but blissful offering.

The Blue Album is buxomly abundant with the Orbital's usual cinemascopic electronic psychedelia. [#12, p.100]

Schizophrenic, stark, and even with its pretentious theatrics, this is an amazing record. [#9, p.104]

[Many] of the songs submerge the rock and roll swagger of Your Arsenal in dramatic atmospherics, making ofr an astonishingly immediate visceral experience. [#20, p.91]

Despite all of the concentrated production, these mellow, easy-going songs still sound completely effortless. [#15, p.97]

With lyrics appropriated from an e.e. cummings poem of the same name ["Dying is Fine"] contrasting with bouncy guitar riffs, the creation feels fresh; the past, unforgetable. [Summer 2008, p.91]

You have not only a Bjork that's fun again, but an album that is simultaneously politically charged, esoteric and glossy with mainstream appeal. [#25, p.88]

Like Animal Collective, though, this is a challeging and often times terrifying music for those who don't yet speak the language. Trying Hartz, which collects tracks from each Danielson-related release up to 2004's "Brother Is To Son," works like a language lab for those who want to walk around in Smith's cities. [Holiday 2008, p.98]

They arise triumphant with their own footprint in the soil of rock and roll. [Winter 2009, p.91]

You may say, with all its funky breaks and organ spells, that The Mix-Up is the last album you’d expect the Beastie Boys to make; but really, it could’ve been the first.

Let's just say the word "repulsion" doesn't fully sum it up. Enjoy the violence. [#16, p.96]

Annie is to Kylie Minogue as Kasabian is to Primal Scream: same song, different packaging. [#16, p.97]

It's exactly the record that everyone hoped Spoon would make. [#15, p.98]