Their album is little more than thirty minutes and eleven versions of the same song. But damn if that one song isn't a good one.

The material is perfectly suited to Hammond's subtle syncopation and sauntering vocals. The warmth of the recording makes it seem all the more like listening to a master storyteller sharing tales that have been passed down through generations.

The combination of bombastic musings and ethereal compositions is not simply a grab bag of past accomplishments, or a recycling of what works, but a record that yields a wholly different result: An easy sounding album, upbeat and surprisingly positive with not much forced.

The White Stripes' songs are so strong, so deliciously simple, it's genius.

This of course is the power of mountain music, the weight it gives to simple instruments and simple folk, and for all of Parton's talents, singing in this medium may very well be her best.

A collection of near perfect (and brief, yes!) lo-fi pop tracks that openly mine the sonic groundwork laid by The Cars, Squeeze and even Led Zeppelin.

Emotionally generous to the point of near biography, the Red House Painters win over listeners with their ability to dress even the most depressing song in lyrical warmth...

Here the trio trade in the constant reliance on the fuzzed out guitars that led the charge of their steady rise through obscurity for the more subdued moments that have occasionally reared up in past projects.

The weaknesses of this ten song collection come in the occasional over orchestration found on some tracks that would do well in succumbing to the subtlety that Lynne and her producer Bill Bottrell have mastered in other spots.

It's impressive enough that Wainwright doesn't have the whole orchestra playing at once. But his well thought out arrangements are only the finishing touches on songs that would have held up even if he was given little more than a guitar and a pocket tape recorder to work with.

Alvin injects these historic tunes with his own modern flavoring that keeps them fresh in light of their aging repose.

Smith makes a valiant effort to match the austere beauty of XO... Still, he falls short on the most important element of his songs, the vocal melodies.

What is most striking about The Sophtware Slump, besides the band's resonating compositions, is its subtle approach towards invoking a strong cathartic response. It's at times a sleepy record with songs that only work as an afterthought, or only make sense when you can focus enough attention on what the band is actually saying. But it has just enough on the surface to strike an initial interest that unfolds, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, into the many brilliant aspects of this album and band.

This is more of simply Hersh and an acoustic guitar than her last effort (1999's Sky Motel), but that just gives the appearance of other instruments greater effect. The emotional weight of her often unorthodox sentiments comes from subtle mastery of dynamics.

Yes, they tried something different, but they kept it accessible. Just as with the last album's guitar-rock-on-tranquilizers, if Kid A's mood music changes the world it will be precisely because it is mainstream, not because it is revolutionary.

Even the ample cast of guests on The W seems less like a blatant attempt to boost its first week sales than simply a welcome attempt to add to its stylistic diversity. The result is something almost as rare as getting the entire Wu-Tang Clan together: a mainstream rap album that actually sounds like an album instead of a long-playing single.

Not as immediate as Keep It Like A Secret, or as unified on the sonic surface, but with enough patience, Ancient Melodies of the Future resonates on a level that connects the band's body of work, while also taking it a step further.

So at 68 he's still able to churn out songs that are immediately likable, if not instantly classic. For a man who's seemingly suffered from every ailment imaginable in the past few years, his signature baritone remains as strong and expressive as ever, too.

One of the better albums released this year...

In The Mode is far from an innovative lyrical masterpiece. But then, it's not supposed to be. The rapping, singing, and general noisemaking of vocalists Dynamite MC, Onallee, and guests Method Man and Rahzel serve a far more critical purpose than merely adding hollow words. Unspectacular in their own right, the vocals here are what bind together the bursts of musical thought into a fluid whole.

Furtado occasionally comes off sounding like a modern day Billie Holiday with her crisp, yet subtle vibrato filtering through a slick production that holds the record together. But while one can easily detect a smattering of her worldly intentions, it's the big one eyed pop monster that seems to win out in almost every instance.

This self-titled effort is the kind of wall-to-wall spitting, snarling aggression that they haven't fully unleashed on the world since Let's Go.

A haunting through line of notes that impact wonderfully in stirring the darker recesses of the mind.

There are times when a few rough edges might make these songs more compelling.

The tight focus on craft and detail within the simple compositions and deep emotions Mojave 3 display on their third album, Excuses for Travelers, is something to take note.... Halstead's writing compares closely to Wilco, and Hank Williams on occasion...

Lyrically, Haunted progresses from timid to defiant, and ultimately to triumphant. Musically, Poe drifts confidently from trippy beats and spacy sounds to straight ahead rock and mellow, melancholic numbers, though not always in such a way as to strictly parallel the dramatic flow of the album's lyrics. All that means, though, is that this is a dynamic collection of songs and not merely the kind of high-minded rock opera that quickly goes from interesting novelty to pretentious joke. Ignore everything but what comes out of the speakers, and you've got a pop treasure that is as innovative and insightful as it is immediate and unforced.

Much of the time, Amnesiac ends up sounding more like a work in progress than the band's crowning opus.

Restless isn't about explicitly depicting the good, bad, and ugly of street life. It's more like a hip-hop carnival, with Xzibit acting as both ringmaster and main attraction.