If this is Lytle’s last musical missive, he’s left us with a complete, if unfocused, dossier of his genius.

The Wedding is certainly a new direction in some ways, but it’s still the same brainiac rock that Oneida has been dishing out for the past eight years.

Spellbinding and eclectic with the ability to be both eerie and gentle, Detrola is the best of the best of what His Name Is Alive has to offer.

Viva Voce have always been musically intriguing and continue their winning streak with a diverse suite of songs that come together as a cohesive whole.

Where inexperienced programmers might collapse under the weight of such complexity, Autechre utilize it with precision. As punishing as it is, it never sounds too cluttered.

This maturation of lyrical character is the Bonnie "Prince" Billy we would hope for and expect at this juncture in his career. While there may always be a darkness, it's refreshing to bask in his newfound light.

Their trademark wit is still present but less forced; instead it is more intelligent and reflective, and as the band produced this album themselves, the reward is apparent: they sound more self-assured and strong than they ever have.

Well worth the wait.

This album is not only the Like Young’s most diverse, is also its best.

The Nein has done what so many other bands have tried and failed to do. And that is that they've managed to make something so unique and off the wall seem ... well, accessible.

An entire album as powerful and immediate as Scars sounds enticing in theory, but Basement Jaxx knows better than turning a single, creative sound into a stale, contrite formula, especially when an unprecedented amount of talent is at their beck and call.

Califone’s latest offering is not to be missed and certainly one of the best albums of 2006.

Like each of Owen Ashworth’s wondrous works before it, Etiquette is intimate, often sorrowful, bedroom glitch-pop, but here it is more substantial.

The album embodies the highlights of the band's past work, and is imbued with the progressiveness that has made each successive Ladytron release a step above its predecessor.

Genuinely soulful and unhindered by a slavish devotion to traditional Americana, The Opera Circuit is a tour de force for Hinson.

The Grind Date is almost shockingly excellent. This is De La Soul at their most focused – no skits, no filler, no weird interludes.

Carousel Waltz is an extremely personal album, sublimely disguised as a sweet bit of pop fluff.

Wincing The Night Away covers all the bases and proves what loyal followers have known all along, that The Shins are, for better or worse, rock stars.

The album is a whole effort, not just one or two overachieving songs that make the entire thing seem better than it really is. Along with Brazilian Girls, one of this year’s hotter electronic releases.

Different and perhaps more mature than S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D., this recent release from Out Hud measures out a liquid pulse, fervently paying homage to their antecedents and feverishly shaking their asses.

A Weekend in the City showcases what all the band's initial buzz was about, but twists and filters what might have been expected, leaving them open to praise for different reasons.

It's really hard not to get excited about this. Perhaps the bar just gets raised as I get less and less surprised by your typical garden-variety rock, but this sounds like a band hitting their stride and bashing out a great record.

All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone is an intensely atmospheric album, and stands as one of the band's stronger releases.

Distortion is really a triumph of the evening-out.

Though the songs eschew familiar structures, their triumphant, readily accessible moments occur with surprising frequency; multiple hooks litter the lengthier compositions, and the shorter pieces usually contain at least two winsome passages.

A captivating release from start to finish.

The tracks are both individually strong and do work as a whole, though not in the way the group necessarily intended.

There are no apologies necessary for this wonderful debut album.