This sense of loneliness haunts Kozelek’s best work, and it’s in full force throughout April, arguably the finest album of his career.

Perfect for the learned music scholar, the Goth mom on the go and the curious young listener alike, Still In A Dream: A Story of Shoegaze 1988 – 1995 is a masterpiece in the art of box set compilation, one that sets the bar high for any enterprising opportunist looking to anthologize an entire subgenre.

Take your time, shift your sonic expectations and enjoy some of the most daring, creative and truly beautiful music ever recorded.

A masterful sophomore disc on which every weak rhyme, guest and beat has been ironed out through months of hard work and several blown deadlines. [Oct/Nov 2005, p.120]

Third is far and away the best, most punk thing in the Portishead catalog: a deeply transgressive album that bears a passing similarity to its predecessors but leaves most of the baggage behind in favor of a full-blown reset.

A unique, remarkably ambitious 22-song cycle. [Aug/Sep 2005, p.114]

Full of lush harmonies, grandiose orchestrations and poignant lyrics, these ambitious songs have lost none of their innocent melancholy over the last three decades.

We keep hearing that rock and roll is a feeling, right? The Stones inhabited that feeling seamlessly here, mainly because the murk fizzed and fused those seams together.

With the 25th anniversary edition of London Calling, Epic/Legacy has outdone itself.

This is not easy listening; on the contrary, it requires a real commitment from the listener. But it’s a commitment that’ll be amply rewarded.

Each edition of the Sgt. Pepper’s reissue features the new Stereo Mix that was lovingly crafted by Giles Martin, the son of the Fab Four’s producer George Martin. And it is a marvel. ... You’ve heard these songs hundreds of times but they have never sounded this present.

The songs on The Cutting Edge are just as brash, bristling and amazing to hear as they were when they were first unleashed half a century ago.

Bright Future, though, is not only her most impressive solo album to date, but it’s also a genuine competitor for the best album she’s ever been involved with.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters is exactly what so many expected it to be: brilliant. ... Fiona Apple can do with a piano, a handful of percussive items and her urgent voice what some could only hope to do with an entire orchestra.

They've constructed something beautiful.

Her newfound embrace of violins, violas and cellos elevates her shadowy, often synth-infused rock to extraordinarily goosebump-inducing heights, making All Mirrors her third consecutive (and likely best) masterpiece to date.

In the world of Prima Donna, black death is radical. Author Paul Beatty came to the same conclusion in his satirical novel The White Boy Shuffle, but Vince does it in 20 gripping minutes. Never has so much been done with one little light.

We’re going to be talking about this album for years to come.

As a remastered package, the Butch Vig-produced Gish does deliver for both hardcore fans and casual listeners. What's so unique about the package isn't only seeing the band's first attempt at a full-length recording, but it also fills in the space between Gish and the amazing jump that is Siamese Dream.

The standout package here is unsurprisingly Siamese Dream, which is filled with an abundance of demos, alternate b-sides and acoustic versions of songs. One needs to look no further than Corgan's newfound onstage confidence in the "Live at the Metro, 1993" DVD included in the box to see that the Smashing Pumpkins have gone from a band with great ideas to a band with great songs.

She has never sounded more confident. Van Etten’s fourth album marks the true arrival of a singer who’s been on her way for a long time, and thinking of her as anything less than a career artist is certainly a vast underestimation.

Popular Problems is a fine addition to that legacy. At 80 years old, Leonard Cohen is just beginning to hit his stride.

In an era of hype and hyperbole where such a word has lost its meaning, Old Ideas is in the truest sense a masterpiece.

The good news is that the extras that come along with the albums are fantastic. There’s not much that the completest won’t have heard, but most people will be really happy to have the best of the band’s B -sides, extended 12-inch versions and EP extras collected on three CDs.

With all the hype and fast tracking to fame, it’s astounding that the rest of the Coming Home holds up to such unreasonable expectations. Bridges pays homage to an era so judiciously and so personally that it’s hard to fault him as derivative.

You Want It Darker is better than either of those records [Old Ideas and Popular Problems], and may contain the best music he has created since Various Positions came out in 1984.

Messiah churns the “old school” in ways that bristle with vitality, yet are as fresh and urgent as anything on radio.

My Bloody Valentine successfully followed up a decades-old classic with m b v, an album that stands as confidently, beautifully and masterfully composed as its predecessor.