All or Nothing has all of nothing wrong with it, unless you want to make an argument that that’s what’s wrong with it. Some would, but I won’t.

Despite that frosty Ohioan echo, Mayfield is a convincing and oddly charming tour guide out into that dark. She seems to know what's out there more than we do, which makes Tell Me so great to follow.

Birthdays is the kind of record you’re not likely to let go of easily and in coming times it’s likely to be a touchstone recording for a number of singer-songwriters and a measuring stick for critics.

Truly an artifact of an artistically authentic, cold war-era radical sensibility which predates today's insipid art movements, the album is one of those which will make you think more than it'll make you dance. In this day and age, that's certainly something we could all use more of.

For all the praise heaped on Times New Viking, Dancer Enquired is the band's first truly great record.

Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood achieves a balance between uncompromising, avant-garde sound experimentation and pure melodic beauty that is among the most seamless and convincing you will hear all year.

The lyrics and vocal delivery are just as clever as the sonic landscape, and it seems as if this album might be the high-water mark for a band many will mistakenly write off as just another indie act.

He’s certainly carving out a niche that is very much his own, making for a colorful tapestry of sounds that are as uncanny as they are refined.

Wooden Shjips shoot straight into that barely circulating heart of rhythm and blues and reopen a vein of noise that it is difficult not to pump along with.

After making a million songs only a couple people have heard, it’s understandable for Thomas to harbor a little insecurity. He captures this brilliantly though in his work with City Center, and perhaps you can help him out by giving his densely-populated-yet-naked, dark-yet-glowing latest a spin.

It's a generally solid and dependable disc--not a mere cap on 25 years of music making.

In the end Dolby emerges as one of those rare artists who's managed to grow with the times while retaining his artistic vision, who has taken a prolonged hiatus and yet sounds like he never left.

Dropout Boogie is full of hearty, feel-good songs that make me think of irreverent comedies like The Full Monty or The Commitments or any film featuring ragtag characters trying to get by.

We’ll forgive these occasional dips, though, because overall Tapes is so good-natured and inclusive.

English seems to be working through some thorny relationship issues with a collection of breezy, dreamy indie rock tunes with touches of a little bit of everything from country and contemporary pop to psychedelia and Motown.

See You There is still quite a marvelous record with many more peaks than valleys.

Corrosion of Conformity is an album with all the strength and integrity of COC's very best work.

Sexy, compelling, fun, and strange, The Teaches of Peaches is one of the year's defining albums.

The Paper Chase have delivered one of the more complex, intricately-arranged productions in the history of angst rock, a sort of bastard offspring of Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine and Cursive's "Butcher the Song".

While it’s safe to say that Testimony Vol. 2 won’t catch on in today’s instant gratification-type climate, it’s an album that’s a satisfying listen straight through.

He may be an acquired taste--with a salacious grandiosity that’s bound to be divisive among music fans--but as Milwaukee at Last!!! proudly displays, Rufus Wainwright is one of pop music’s most rewarding and indelible voices for those who give him the time and chance to let his charms enchant you.

You could spend a week with Watching Movies and pick out a handful of great-to-amazing tracks for yourself, but I still find it quite a challenge telling anyone what the songs are actually going on about.

The closer, “Brighter and Bigger”, feels similar to the opener “Somewhere” and its title could serve as a metaphor for this whole album which sees Black Marble show mastery of a known palette then paint something fresh with it.

Mulberry Violence makes it clear that he has the artistic scope and emotional depth to take full advantage of the opportunities he has given himself, and the versatility to keep things very interesting.

The Light the Dead See achieves a result all too hard to pull off - it is theatrical without feeling like an act, saturated with atmosphere without being swamped in it.

The entire album succeeds so well in its refusal to succumb to dance music tropes or to wallow entirely in obscure new trends.

Listen to the whole album, though, and the complexity of life comes shining through.

While the Avett Brothers have had a productive run going on a decade, I and Love and You's new elegant musical direction and very strong set of new songs indicate that they are band that is indeed just getting revved up.

He caps off what may prove to be the best year of his life with The Apple and the Tooth, a well-deserved victory lap and a celebration of his new identity.

The him-songs fit neatly alongside the autobiographical gems on his best albums like The Houston Kid and The Outsider. But the her-songs are the ones that really resonate.

If you've ever felt suffocated by the rigid length and structure of today's pop world, you have to hear "Seadrum."

Couples clearly demonstrates that, never mind the occasional misstep and overt Blondie influences, this is still one adventurous band who won’t be placed in a box anytime soon.

It's refreshing to hear such an intelligent, thought-provoking and political album as this. The Matthew Herbert Great Britain and Gibraltar European Union Membership Referendum Big Band are to be applauded for making an album that really could only have been made by Europeans, in Europe.

A soulful, sad, yet ultimately hopeful document largely about putting a brave face in the midst of a dissolving relationship, indulging influences from Bill Fay to Charles Wright to Steve Miller, Sky Blue Sky is the rare, mature album where said maturity is seldom compromised by banality.

For the first time in their long career, the Wallflowers sound like a band that might actually be glad all over.

Though she transforms her preferred vocal delivery from a rough street-slang dialect to full-on harmonizing on her new album, Estelle fortunately avoids this condition on most of Shine, though her all-star production staff occasionally allows her split personality layering and superstar guests to crisscross, clutter, and exhaust the mix, particularly on “In the Rain.”

Flores is a working girl whose instrument and voice labor to give you a good time and make you think and feel more deeply.

Even after years of anchoring their sound around the warped dance sensibility fans have come to expect, Famously Alive captures a band that can only do so much to compromise their magnificent strangeness.

Beach House’s revamped sound may disappoint shoegazers upon first listen, but the band’s newfound command of melody, fuller instrumentation, and excellent pacing make Devotion a better record altogether.

...Honor Is All We Know is a solid but ultimately inessential addition to the Rancid catalogue that finds Rancid back where they belong, crafting straightforward punk anthems without pretense--and next time you catch them live you will probably agree that’s just fine.

Robert Pollard Is Off to Business is a great return to form for Pollard. It has songs just as strong as anything on his Merge releases, but by living in these songs a little longer, this album feels more rooted and permanent than, for example, "Standard Gargoyle Decisions."

It still delivers the kind of frantic, sloppy, but ultimately endearing blend of garage rock, soul, and doo-wop that Sultan has become known for, albeit in small circles.

The public’s appreciation for Sturm und Drang is genuine because the music is intelligent and authentic. Lamb of God is everything a metal band should be in 2015 and so, so much more.

Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over is Demi Lovato like we have never heard before. She is sassy and carefree while serious about her identity and personhood in a way she has been itching to be for years.

8 Diagrams is as exciting as they’ve ever been.

The results are a curious mix of nostalgia and timelessness.

Giving the World Away‘s preoccupation with alt-pop sensibilities also allows for a concrete listening experience scarcely found in Hatchie’s discography up until this point, especially as she learns to trust her gut and listen to the rhythm within.

Beach Music is one of the most indulgent records you’re likely to hear all year, but since it indulges only the Philadelphian’s love for well-crafted pop songs and quirky indie, it’s nothing but an endearing delight.

Jimmy Eat World sound committed to establishing themselves as a great band, not just a great emo band.

This is album is accomplished and fun.

This album sounds more complete somhow, if simply because it is more professional: not only is the production a little slicker, but also Moon Duo's penchant for droney jams has been honed down to more precise songs that pack more punch while still getting the job done.

Far more often, though, in spite of its breadth or maybe because of it, the album sounds like the Vaccines’ most natural yet. They just might be elder statesmen in the making.

The band’s best effort in over a decade.

The Catastrophist is not the over-confident reinvention or the rote revision of outmoded past albums that one might expect after a band’s seven year recording hiatus; it’s simply the next Tortoise record, and a rather good one at that.

Moon is Merritt’s most intimate-sounding record yet, so it runs the risk of letting its low-key virtues slip by the listener. A simple remedy I found for that was to simply turn up the volume.

Etheridge adds to an already large canon of lovelorn songs a collection of tracks that are worthy of their peers.

This is an arresting album that doesn't let go of your attention.

As it is, though, it’s a very respectable compilation by one of the more clever bands in indie rock today, good enough to keep the Dresden Dolls’ fans satisfied for another year.

One who’s well worth your time getting to know.

The fact that Jaffe seems to be experimenting with musical possibilities is both the strength and weakness of the disc. It keeps the listener from getting bored. However, it also keeps Jaffe from probing very deep into any particular territory.

The Powers That B is a collection of music explicitly without a thesis, and while that’s fine, it’s harder to place in the scheme of things.

It hops genres like a frog does lily pads, it changes the palette of sounds from song to song, and it makes perfect use of every single guest that dares make a contribution.

The level of growth on Paradise Valley with respect to Mayer’s ability as a singer/songwriter is remarkable, especially considering how the first go-round of this sonic experiment happened only last year.

Though it’s an imperfect record, Eighteen Hours of Static seems more powerful on repeated listens, and really has a way of getting underneath your skin.

Marble Skies manages to retain the charming diced and spliced sound of their debut while delighting in the sheer joy of experimentation. Crucially, the band have remembered what made that mix work so well, riffing on a rainbow of hooks and melodies but nudging it in experimental directions. Most importantly, it's a whole lot of fun.

It’s hard to know at first what to make of a record that take such a pronounced left turn after it’s seemingly established itself, but as in music as in more obviously narrative arts like television, some of the richest rewards can be found in those turns.

The scattered feel at the start of the record, and the decision to use some of those songs as the lead singles, may keep people from absorbing the full work, but ultimately this ends up being a strong album and a giant step forward.

With such sparse instrumentation, these songs are still thick; there may not be a beat here to dance to but there is a lot to grab on to certainly.

The countryesque simplicity of many of these songs only asserts Gelb's standing as an alternative to mainstream country music, whether he likes the position or not.

Vol. 3 is the best of these singles collections yet, with some downright gems and curious if imperfect steps into the unknown. Most importantly, it shows that Dwyer and Thee Oh Sees are far from settling into a groove, even as the band seems to be more locked in than ever.

With its smorgasbord of texture and tones, Neuroplasticity is a real contender for Canadian Album of the Year, and no one will be surprised if the Polaris shortlist calls Cold Specks’ name yet again.

The pop sensibility behind all this sprawling, sweaty R&B, mixed with a heavy dose of the roadrunner speed and snarl of garage punk, is what drives the haphazard beauty of this album.

If Crystal Castles has a weakness, it’s that many of the songs contained within have appeared previously on earlier singles, EPs and splits. Still, it’s hard to complain when the album draws so much strength from these songs, even if they are the exact same versions that early adopters have been wearing out on their turntables for years.

Judy is as wide-eyed and upbeat as indie pop will get this year. When it sounds this fresh, Cornershop’s brand of revamped revolutionary retro is well worth a reprise.

Finding Forever is a winner, lean and mean and without a minute of wasted space.

The result is a wild and unpredictable album, Watersports, which navigates styles and time-periods like a patient veering in and out of consciousness.

Again and again, it’s the harmonies that make Careers a compelling listen and, through their atypical approach to a fairly staid genre, elevate these songs from good to great and, in the process, create one of the better albums to come out this year and one of the best examples the genre has offered thus far.

Lion is overflowing with vitality, crunch, volume, emoting, and everything that makes Peter Murphy himself.

This is pure country music, Texas-style, meant for the state’s distinctive dance floors, nightclubs, dive bars, and open-air venues.

As on his ambient albums, the overwhelming impression is of serenity and tranquility. Laraaji's ease with himself is infectious, and he's never anything less than lovable.

Geography feels like the start of something. It's not necessarily going to break big, at least not yet; there's no big pop single here, there's very little crossover potential. Nothing here is going to become ubiquitous. Even so, you can see it coming for Misch, maybe an album or two down the road.

Not everything on this EP is stellar material, but the five tracks together are greater than the sum of their parts, because they come across as a murkier, more varied rewrite of Guns Don't Kill People…Lazers Do. With any luck, this is a sign of things to come, and not simply an experimental lark.

Armed with an urgent edge that arrives with fuzzy guitars, an indie softness that ebbs and flows across the album’s entire runtime, and the succinct moments of lyrical genius and vulnerability Tigers Jaw have always delivered, Charmer is 2014’s best emo record so far.

For once, the band’s chemistry between melody and noise is the driving force of their sound, and for every beautiful moment that pops out of the record, there’s another disturbing or uncomfortable one to match it.

It really is quite difficult to believe that the band behind Free the Bees is the same one responsible for Sunshine Hit Me; while one record isn't necessarily stronger than the other and both are equally eclectic, they seem to be jumpstarted by wildly dissimilar muses.

Not much of a surprise, the atmosphere is mostly the same on By-the-Numbers. Surprisingly, this leads to some revelation.

With 12 songs in a brisk 37 minutes, nothing overstays its welcome, and there are enough changes of pace to keep listeners from starting to tune out. It’s impressive that the quartet is still making music this good as they enter their fourth decade of existence.

They’ve finally made an album that’s comparable to their insane shows. Tomorrow’s Hits will run you ragged and you’ll love every second of this mad ride.

Hexadic II is another fresh turn for Chasny as Six Organs of Admittance. It seems no matter the path he takes, he always covers a lot of ground.

Saviors probably won’t bring in a lot of new fans, but it will attract lapsed devotees from the past 30 years to check out the band again. These songs will also fit snugly at these upcoming marathon concerts, fitting in snugly between the full album performances of Dookie and American Idiot without sending thousands of people scurrying to the beer lines en masse.

Like Lightbulbs, Ventriloquizzing is more formally straightforward than Transparent Things, but here everything works and Fujiya & Miyagi nail a much wider range of textures and emotions than they had previously.

While The Anniversary may not have set out specifically to jump ship from emo, they have traded in the chaotic compositions and off-kilter vocals for a more straightforward rock sound.

While his lyrics are both timely and powerful, the album's power lies as much in the superbly crafted grooves and songs, which are the best Franti has delivered yet.

A surprisingly refreshing and playful album's worth of electronic dance-pop.

It's beat-filled melancholy, an affirmation wrapped in a lament, it's the Coldplay record that the R&B set have never had.

The main issue with Rainier Fog, though, is that the band never climbs from the very bottom to the very top of that mountain and gives us all of their range. They stick relatively close to base camp, a well-stocked, but comfortable mid-point that largely eschews dynamics.

His obstinacy in its coordination and preoccupation with labyrinthine rhyme ensures that Drogas Wave is another good Lupe Fiasco album that should have been great.

Here they are in sonic competition with a dense mix of world-class musicians, making the overall result great, but washing out the instrumental singularity that they are known for.