Comprised of tracks recorded with Rick Rubin right up until Cash's death in late 2003, American VI is a fitting send-off for the Man in Black.

The lyrics on Carrier stand as the most meaningful in their catalog, making their newest album stand once again as the band’s best yet.

Fans will love it; hipster kids can hear what the Strokes would sound like if they suddenly had the subtlety bludgeoned out of them. [#21, p.100]

Fun the way a dance floor should be. [#22, p.102]

It's this balance of aggression and harmony that make El-P so engaging--and Cancer for Cure so triumphant.

This is freaky, transcendent stuff. [Spring 2008, p.94]

The reasons we love the Parisians-by-way-of-London rockers are only partially for their adolescent kitsch and filth. [Winter 2008, p.97]

A study in subtly, Tamer Animals proves that more of less isn't just memorable--it's damn near magical.

Loyalty To Loyalty proves that, through it all, the Cold War Kids are a keeper. [Fall 2008, p.90]

Raw, crunchy beats and ugly, monster flows delivered in a punk album format. [#9, p.110]

Ranging from the epic to the understated, Menomena manages to be innovative and accessible.

Broder has created his own brand of amalgamated Americana: moody, mixed up and damn beautiful. [#6, p.85]

Goddamn if the entire mess doesn't sound great. [#12, p.93]

Though Maps is ona simple level known for James Chapman's spacey and cinematic sound, the new direction--or variety of directions--are all equally as wonderful, even if they are unrelated. [Fall 2009, p.106]

The Prodigy has been treading water for a few years, most likely looking for the inspiration, sentiment and spooky samples which they now unleash on Invader Must Die--a treat for anyone with a thirst for the twisted and ferocious. [Winter 2009, p.92]

Rather than coming across as note-for-note recreations, each song takes on a new, softer life with Houck's delicate vocals. [Winter 2009, p.98]

No, this is the real shit--classic lightning riffage, hearkening dub rhythms, and a perfectly insane H.R. and Co. following the great spirit to hardcore heaven

While it’s likely that Push the Sky Away will not cause the seas to part before him, it will surely ephemerally deliver us from this evil wasteland of vacant contemporary culture and mutilated morality.

Their greatest album. [#17, p.93]

With Tomboy, Lennox valiantly accepts the responsibilities he once invoked on Prayer, now seeming to possess answers to some of the questions as well.

Lonerism is a dense slab, and much may resist exploration on the first 5, 10, or 20 listens, but the swaths that pass through even the most garbled neural net are nourishing enough to sustain a considerable journey.

The end result is a kind of low-flying elation that only these experienced noirists could deliver.

There are a few failed experiments... but these failures are punctuated by astounding moments. [#14, p.95]

As on 2004's Last Exit, their arrangements are deftly drawn, precisely executed and drenched in pretense-free pop. [#22, p.96]

Pure and unabashed pop bliss. [#21, p.102]

Coherent and musically mature even as it kicks you around a bit. [#5, p.88]

Francis... [is] a complex, fantastically literate and genuine wordsmith and poet. [#14, p.99]

Darnielle has not lost his talent for storytelling. [#15, p.99]