Gorgeous and personal, the band has delivered a record that is not only the product of years of trial and error, but also the rarity of a truly talented storyteller.

Without a doubt,Stranger to Stranger is a testament to an artist who refuses to be ordinary and pigeonholed. With this LP, Paul Simon has created his best work in many years.

Heartfelt and engaging.

The results of these experiments can be on the nose, like doing a gender switch on Brazilian extreme metal act Sarcofago.... Others take a little bit of unpacking.

With Here And Nowhere Else, they’ve thrown the first punch, and it hits you square in the jaw.

Orquídeas is a masterful ode to Uchis’ ancestral roots. A project that artfully skywalks across a variety of Latin genres, including dembow, bolero, salsa and reggaeton, the project proves to be her most sonically ambitious to date—and boasts all-star level features to boot.

Bach: Sonatas and Partitas Volume 1 is beautifully played and uplifting to listen to from beginning to end.

He was better known for his studio acumen and production work than his own songs, yes, but his solo albums are revered among those lucky enough to have heard them. The Hex will only bolster his legacy.

While his band has grown into a post-punk monster, Casey, too, has moved beyond his personal frets and frustrations and developed into a lyricist capable of clear and compelling commentary. He’s a voice worth listening to. It took a while, but thank goodness he found his way to the front of a band.

In and of itself Truth Liberty & Soul is a fantastic performance. But better still, it provides a counterintuitively good look at what was special about Jaco.

There’s nothing for Danilova to hide behind here, and having her so present throughout this album is breathtaking.

Snider has always followed his own path, always been the champion of the underdog -- the patron saint of all the wonderful weirdoes out there.

It’s an infectious album that blooms repeatedly throughout, unfolding in muted, endearing aural hues; simultaneously sad and celebratory, and always charming.

Somehow, she makes gothic folk, gloomy doom and grim noise feel above ground. The odds of these kinds of sounds bubbling up into the mainstream are slim, to be sure. But on Hiss Spun, Chelsea Wolfe makes it imaginable.

An album that feels like a logical next step for the Memphis singer-songwriter, but never overreaches. And overreaching would’ve been easy.

Intimate songs like these needed such intimate music behind it. You’ve been invited in to the confessional and your job is to listen, learn and support.

More than a reclamation, Outlaw suggests the miles traveled imbue a more fluid application of his roots attack and tattered romanticism.

Overall, Thrashing Thru The Passion is musically looser than previous offerings—fewer ballads, the big rock numbers less lush and more compact—but it also makes it accessible to new listeners, who can then work their way back through albums like Heaven is Whenever or Separation Sunday.

It’s Marling’s sense of immediacy that makes Short Movie so evocative.

It stitches psychotic school dance vibes among the surf garage in a hurried splendor.

Microphones in 2020 contains some of the year’s best, most reflective and probing lyrics. Elverum’s mastery of language is impressive thanks to his ability to capture an intangible, fleeting feeling without coming across as pretentious or out of reach.

This is the first album where his artistry seems fully realized, both in terms of subject matter and performance. Witty, balanced and highly charged.

Like New Orleans itself, the album understands how to strut. But it also knows its manners. For all his funky pedigree, Toussaint comes off as a picture of elegance.

Likewise is a record full of little, unrelated moments that manage to create a world of their own when put together. That world isn’t always pleasant—it’s often an anxious and distressing one—but it’s also full of vivid color and meticulous detail.

Superstar proves itself a tightly knit satire of celebrity, effective thanks to Rose’s sharp storytelling and her calculated use of distortion, which highlights the artificial quality of the protagonist’s new surroundings. ... Among these key storytelling points are some of Rose’s most brilliant moments yet as an indie-pop artist, a dizzying kaleidoscope of her own vocal talent and colorful artistic choices.

Seemingly able to kick out a chug-a-lug stomper with absolute ease at this point, the best moments on Infinite Arms center around Bridwell’s growing confidence in the his deadliest weapon: his voice.

The album’s crisp production captures every nuance of Hendrix’ technical wizardry—drums snap and guitars burble in simpatico, offering a hazy and heavy backdrop to road-trip yarns (“Stone Free”), flirtations with bluegrass (“Crying Blue”) and show-stopping covers (“Sunshine of Your Love” and “Bleeding Heart”).

MS may have temporarily slowed the Athens, Ga., musician’s output, but it has not diminished its quality.