Once again, Hefner has delivered what is sure to be one of the most original releases of the year.

The band’s most energetic record since 1993’s Get A Grip.

Like Dylan going electric, Frank Sinatra going disco, and Kojak going bald, this is a watershed work for Nick Currie...

A rich collection of tunes that definitely will put you in the mind of [Nick] Drake--but stop one (small) step short of sheer imitation.

When you get over Everyday's new look, you still have the best Dave Matthews Band record ever.

By far the best album from the New Orleans rapper.

Though the steaming electro missives of 604 can sound a bit uniform at times, Ladytron's buzzing bin of automaton female vocals and retro machine accompaniment intoxicates with illicit ease.

The music gets gorgeously bizarre, but there is always a sleepy dog and a piece of apple pie waiting at night's end.

Her taste in cover material is slightly idiosyncratic, but that does nothing but add luster to the program...

Using sparse arrangements, usually just a few programmed instruments and her feathery voice, Minekawa succeeds in creating lush songs rife with detail, melody, and mystery.

Unlike a lot of mix-and-match groups, the tracks are filled with grooves that are substantive as they are moving.

Exhibiting a lyrical prowess which has made him a fan and critical favorite over his relatively short career, Xzibit holds his own...

The production, lyrics, and hooks make this an impressive sophomore effort from Ms. Badu.

An artist this gifted uses his skills to make music, not cling to style. While the familiar 808s and 909s of techno are rife on Unreasonable Behaviour, the music covers breakbeat, jazz, techno, beat noir, and even hints at Brazilian rhythms.

A strong, solidly melodic rock album, gorgeously written, tastefully arranged, and impeccably played.

Bjork-obsessed fans hungry for more of the songwriter's customary eccentricities might be disappointed with the brief and thematic focus of the album.

The soundtrack was clearly as much a labor of love as the film...

PJ Harvey's frequent collaborator John Parish produces, and he brings a dark, melodramatic, and very theatrical sensibility to the songs that is much more interesting--and a much more flattering setting for Carol Van Dyk's expressive but limited vocals--than the straightforward guitar churn that dominated the last couple of albums.

Stronger than 1999's terminally delicate Out Of Tune, Excuses takes a bolder and more assertive approach to Halstead's tunes, giving him a sound akin to like-minded Aussie singer-songwriter Paul Kelly.

Gorgeous melancholy is what these folks do best, and on tunes such as "The Mirror Phase," "Judah And The Maccabees," and a lullaby-like cover of "Blue Moon" from Big Star III, they outdo themselves, producing produce their finest collection since More Sad Hits in 1997.

Essence is the album Roni Size's Breakbeat Era hoped to be, a song-based, drum 'n' bass epic that works on many levels.

But even with all the billowing moods and lush female vocals, what is paramount to The Mirror Conspiracy's muse is rhythm.

What "Menace" lacks in continuity it more than makes up for with brass balls and a sense of adventure.

The vitality of these ditties is such that you'll be swept up in the excitement without much time or inclination for deep lyrical dissections, or fretting about Rancid's originality.

One of the most extraordinary indie sets since the Olivia Tremor Control's Dusk At Cubist Castle.

This may be the Steve Earle album for people who've never been Steve Earle fans before.

Forget the brattiness and occasional lunacy that succeeded Tidal's ascent to hit status. This is the work of an adult artist, and onethat's going to be sticking around.

It's always great to find a new zone-out-leaving-the-planet disc, even better when it retains some edginess. This is probably the best modern psychedelia since Spiritualized let Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space slip out.