What we're witnessing is a woman bowing down to nothing but her own muse. [No. 149, p.61]

The anthology does yield insights, especially where Mar is concerned. [#82, p.51]

It's bolder, more focused and just all-around more rocking [than 2008's Party Intellectuals]. [No.98, p.59]

Less, in this case, proves to be much more; Jurado's songs just cut closer when unadorned. [#58, p.95]

The treat here, as with all of his Bootleg releases, is the rarities. [No. 149, p.54]

While every cut is identifiably Spoon and the album will satisfy hard-line fans of the band, a fiery R&B element is now a significant component. [#55, p.88]

There's aren't a whole lot of songs here that really stand out on their own.... But the members of Tam Impala possess such boundless energy and obvious, puppy-like enthusiasm that it would be downright churlish to dismiss them. [No. 92, p.81]

The set is exhaustive, but it's not an overdose. [No. 144, p.60]

His boldest, most impressive statement to date. [No. 114, p.55]

An airbrushed return to the imagination hinterlands of an expressive impressionist. [No. 126, p.57]

Fleet Foxes' full-length debut showcases a gift for folk-adjacent mini-epics that evolve in unexpected directions yet never lose their organic center. [Summer 2008, p.102]

What a glorious sound it is--the highs and lows (sonically and emotionally) are crisper and better defined. [No. 150, p.50]

It’s one of his best, a stunner that knocks you out without raising its voice. [No. 129, p.55]

Kudos to producer Tony Visconti and the tight jazz team around them for making Blackstar dynamic. If Bowie indeed knew time was tight and death’s release was imminent, this treatise to magic and loss is a gorgeous way to say goodbye. [No. 129, p.52]

The noise that's here is lovely, heartbreaking, expansive and raw. [No. 97, p.58]

Even My Woman's back half, which features Olsen's two longest, most challenging songs to date in "Sister" and "Woman"--though neither come anywhere near "White Fire" levels of morose--succeeds largely due to Olsen's remarkable ability to make her loneliness sound like so much more than just that. [No. 135, p.61]

The members of Fugazi exercise a controlled intensity that exudes grace, their concise-yet complex songs experimenting wisely. [#52, p.87]

This is an album of mostly beatless soul whose heart nevertheless pumps vividly and loudly throughout its 17 tracks. [No. 136, p.61]

The playful Dig!! Lazurus Dig!!! stands among his most mature albums. [Summer 2008, p.98]

The music remains solidly Southern, using all three chords, but the lyrics reach for new levels of cussedness and vulnerability. [No.99, p.57]

beyond his original albums lies three newly cobbled CDs of magic realist pop and frisky showboating folk that are endlessly fascinating. [No. 101, p.54]

Too Bright highlights the moments of buoyancy that dotted his first two outings--both of which sounded nothing if not dour on first listen--and setting the stage for Hadress as one off the most compelling new American songwriters of the last half-decade. [No. 115, p.61]

Another step in Hood's continually compelling sonic evolution. [#52, p.89]

Low is the heaviest band in rock. [#48, p.100]

Seven bonus cuts from the same project make it more than worth picking up even for those who've worn out the original. [No. 101, p.58]

This heady mix of stratospheric rockers and inventive, smart and slyly revolutionary lyrics yields Les Savy Fav's best album yet. [Fall 2007, p.101]

There's a candor here that hasn't always touched the Icelandic singer/composer's electro-dreamscape output. [No. 118, p.52]

It's that rare sort of just-about-perfect record that demands to be played over and over again. [#53, p.82]