Like the best art, Strange Mercy lets you know that it means something, though what the point is is as much open to interpretation as it is a matter of its author's intentions, which is how it should be.

This latest disc really seems to cement the notion that the collective combination of the songsmiths Owens and White simply cannot do no wrong, that all of that time spent kept away from the pleasures of modern music, at least in one member's case, has simply fostered an entity that is bemused and bedazzled with the charms of the past's reflective prism.

The band trusted Crowe to choose the tracks for the soundtrack, and Crowe came through in spades.

Through sweeping up intelligent, elusive imagery into well-sequenced, compact traditional tunes, this album redeems itself.

In the end, though, it may be the power of the sound that undid this two-minded performer. Two decades on and that power, tragic as it is, has yet to diminish.

"I Love You But I Don't Know What to Say" is a perfect finale to a near perfect album by a performer who seems, at least for the time being, to have learned to focus his wide-open talents on one narrow vein of material, and in the process has struck pure gold.

It's the album that vaults him from burgeoning, brilliant protégé to titan in one fell swoop, and it hints at even greater things to come as he continues down the path of total artistic realization.

On the Water sounds as fresh and exciting as anything you're likely to hear all year.

Clearly the product of a great deal of work and expressive of a fascinating atmosphere of weight and tension, Acrobats is one of the finest returns of the year.

The album is the natural progression and refining of everything the band has done prior to it; it encapsulates and exemplifies all at once.

It's a fitting conclusion to a near perfect album that finds an artist expanding his musical palate without sacrificing an ounce of himself in the process.

It's one slightly embarrassing Nicki Minaj verse and one awkward Lil' Wayne feature (the "HYFR" one) away from being by far the smoothest hip-hop and/or pop listen you're likely to come across this year.

Part Lies, is absolutely the definitive collection to come from R.E.M. – the one to own and cherish and keep – and this one goes out to the ones who love what they've heard on the radio, but are unsure where to begin the begin.

Every Step's a Yes is more than just a worthy chapter in the Bees' astonishing collected works. It's also a single achievement I'd put up against just about anything else released by anyone this year.

This set feels like two complete albums-Some Girls One and Some Girls Two-and the sequel nearly manages to match the original's vital power.

The brilliance of El Camino lies in the fact that it is still perfectly modern, a step in the direction of legitimizing the use of vocal effects, multi-tracking and ultimately catchy choruses.

Rio is a full range of emotion, created on the spot. All these years later, Keith Jarrett remains great.

Brilliantly textured, brilliantly sensitive, unrepeatable by its very nature-this is a great example of a sound recordist's art.

The new album is a willfully modest affair, its tracks stripped to their most basic elements: a synthesized keyboard and drum machine here, an acoustic guitar or violin there, meticulously arranged female voices everywhere as a counterpoint to Cohen's own increasingly cavernous growl.

It is a truly beautiful album.

Les Voyages De L'Âme is an excellent addition to the Alcest's already prodigious output, and it establishes itself early on as one of 2012's finest metal releases.

Over the course of five albums, Goldfrapp have proved themselves one of the most imaginative, artistic and entertaining bands of this new century... [Singles] offers an intriguing introduction to one of Britain's premier pop art bands.

In their catalog, though, no album stands out more than Satan Is Real, their 1959 masterpiece that outlines and encapsulates the fragile fine lines of good versus evil, and spirituality versus the mundane.

For it's diversity, experimentation, and excellent performances, Leaving Eden is even better [than 2010 release, Genuine Negro Jig].

Message aside and from a purely musical standpoint, the new album is Springsteen's most enjoyable and freshest-sounding in ages.

Free Again: The 1970 Sessions shows Chilton working in top form in a wide variety of genres; it's as good as anything Chilton recorded-including his Big Star albums.

With De Vermis Mysteriis, the beauty of High on Fire is visible therein, as enjoyment may be found on numerous levels.

Boys & Girls is more than a debut album. It's an introduction to a band you thought you knew for years, but are just fortunate enough to meet now.

Florence + the Machine's performance deserves its spot in the upper echelon of MTV Unplugged shows.

Where Krug's output in the late 2000s was virtuosic and volatile, Bravery is poised and comparatively stoic. The record functions on tension and, for the most part, does so brilliantly.

Allo Darlin' and Europe indeed do have what it takes to be a band and album that mean so much to the particular people to whom they mean so much to.

It's a shame only Church and Remy Zero fans will be inclined to check this out because it is a masterpiece lying beyond the power of the descriptive word.

There's no doubt, though, that the Mermaid Avenue albums played a major role in sparking a revival of interest in Woody Guthrie-both in his home state, his country, and the world at large. And that renewed interest has finally allowed people to see Guthrie for who and what he truly was and continues to represent.

While the record maintains a strong sense of uniformity, it never lapses into monotony, thanks largely to the poetic turns of songs such as "Blackbird" and "Slow" but also Rumer's consistently powerful performances which culminate in a singular and impressive artistic statement.

With A Different Ship, Here We Go Magic have clearly and undeniably arrived at the port of entry to indie rock's pantheon of top shelf acts – an utterly shattering release that anyone who likes forward-thinking music must have.

World, take notice- Prophet is your latest masterpiece. While it may be too complex to ignite a full-blown movement in the alternative genre, the fact that it exists as all is cause to celebrate.

Death Dreams is another stellar album from another stellar band that has come out of one of Canada's most fertile music scenes-an essential and raw purchase for rock lovers everywhere.

Biokinetics remains their unequivocal masterpiece.

R.A.P. Music, a few slightly faulty hooks aside, is a definitive statement from Mike and a legacy changer for El-P.

Banga serves as a glorious refresher on Smith's talent as musician while also upholding her reputation as a writer.

If you only know them through “Come on Eileen” then I urge and implore you, give this a listen and then work backwards through the rest of their catalogue. You’ll be rewarded.

Americana is, finally, Neil Young's best and most complete record since 1994's Sleeps With Angels.

In Our Heads could be the best thing we've heard from them.

The Cherry Thing is a marvellous album.

Tigermending has everything that a superb record requires: heart, soul, mysticism, unpredictability, and complexity, which is never sacrificed for accessibility.

Exciting and stellar... What a way to show the kids both in 1992 and in 2012 how it's done, Bob.

It isn't often that audiences are given so much all at once from such a young artist, and listeners will find Is Your Love Big Enough? worthy of many repeat listens.

A slam-bang dance pop album of the first order, MTMTMK is technically an Africa-meets-Western-pop hybrid.

Sure it comes with its imperfections, but it's this humanity that makes music so life affirming. Like all great rock bands that have gone before them-allow Baroness the opportunity to change your life. They just might succeed in doing so.

Blur 21: The Box documents [the band's evolution] with a staggering breadth of material-even the B-sides and unreleased material feel uniformly strong. It's a complete and necessary document for a band so important to their country's music and to music in general.

Despite its girth, Shout! Factory's The Complete Beat isn't really complete....Complete still gives you three Peel Sessions, a mini-concert, and some fine dubs and 12" mixes along with the original albums.

This is brave, beautiful music that can appeal to just about everybody with either a working brain or an ass to shake. If you have both, this should be your next new obsession.

Nothing on America feels forced, and notably, Deacon never loses that underlying essence of fun that has followed him throughout his career.

A political broadside aimed at the hostile takeover of America by Wall Street traders and greedy corporate raiders, it's guaranteed to please anyone inclined to give it a sympathetic listen.

Ware gives her most understated performance on the record, and ironically her most anonymous, but the track's hypnotic, uneasy lurch calls for this delivery.

If Black City represents the dark night of Dear's soul, Beams is the neon-lit dawn of an accomplished artist at the height of his creative powers.

It would be easy to think this might be the final great outing from such an important reggae music figure, but part of Rebirth's lore is that it sounds so fresh.

The resulting product is not only the best album of the band's career, but an album that very well may shape the future of the genre, influencing an entirely new generation of bands just as they did nearly a decade ago.

It is innovative but still rooted in a firm roots tradition. It is socially committed but not predictably or boringly so.

In Theatre Is Evil, Palmer hasn't just topped her best releases to date. She's done it with room to spare.

[Shields is] an album that unveils deeper levels of emotional impact and aesthetic dimension for a band that continues to challenge and captivate in ways that are entirely their own.

Fanatic here reclaims folk music from the Mumblefords, teaches all rock bands how to actually rock, and continues Heart's legacy of being, quite frankly, one of the best bands we have ever had.

This is a superb, must-have album that places Ty Segall firmly at the centre of the garage scene and continues his extraordinary evolution as a multi-faceted, multi-talented musician.

Undeniably one of my favorite albums of the year, METZ shines brightly, like a Molotov cocktail at the moment of impact.

Lamar concentrates the ideas of hip-hop narrative and nonfiction into such a form that's shocking for how simultaneously accessible yet full of depth it is.

The songs are rooted in Chicago but the narrators are generic types who don't say much, who clip their exposition to fit verses and choruses rather than the other way around, and that strategy ends up making their songs relatable and powerful.

Incendiary and intelligent, it is an album that propels an already lauded band into the realms of the truly legendary.

Never before has the producer been as sharp (or as murky) at the boards as he is here, seamlessly tuning long-winded drones with slavedriver clangs into hypnotic locked grooves.

The eleven tracks on Long Slow Dance pummel with grace, remain powerful though small in stature and ultimately treat listeners with an immense amount of care.

This fit and lean version of Deftones have turned negativity into vibrant positivity and channelled it into their cohesive and textured seventh full-length, Koi No Yokan--a record that will forever sit high upon Deftones' burgeoning list of impressive achievements.

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! sells itself.

Celebration Day, it pleases me to say, is a resounding triumph.

The overall effect of Rare Chandeliers is probably the most enjoyable straight up rap exhibition since Curren$y's Pilot Talk.

This creative group of misanthropes have emerged a devastating proposition.

What Antony and the Johnsons' music attains is that rare moment after the pain and hurt and abuse and ridicule and resentment and exclusion begins to fade and you yearn for someone to love you without exception and unconditionally.

The girls can be proud that their efforts have produced the best record of their career, and quite possibly, one of the best records of the year.

The fact that after six full-length LPs Cult of Luna can still deliver an opus as challenging, engrossing and intricately layered as Vertikal is a testament to the abilities of this Swedish collective; a band who have now earned their place as one of the most essential in progressive metal.

This is the best, most sincere, most skillful piece of pop music making you are going to hear in 2013.

This will likely be 2013’s most necessary debut and will undoubtedly stand as one of the years best ten months down the line.

Romano builds that most welcome of atmospheres: a straight-ahead, honest collaboration between like-minded artists committed to the songs.There is simply no note out of place.

The veritable smorgasbord that forms this album is made up of a great many influences, but when all of them are put together, the result is a musical statement that’s innovative on every imaginable level.

The hooks and riffs are just so, so pummelling and intoxicating, it’s as though every element of this record was plotted and constructed to maximum effect. And yet, Antipodes is an all out effortless feeling effort, with a natural flow that feels almost as though it was pulled out of a magician’s hat.

While it still remains potentially unwieldy and awkward for a casual listener, it brings an order of chaos to a chaotic sound, representing the best of all Autechre’s work in a cohesive distillation. For devotees who are willing to gaze into the digital abyss, Exai holds unfathomable depths.

It’s better than much of what has come out thus far this year.

This is a brilliant album created by a music virtuoso that will cement Tyler’s solo reputation earned from his 2010 debut, Behold the Spirit.

There are a few moments that don’t feel too far removed from regular west coast tropes (“A Bove Crenshaw”, the opening/closing duo “Doin’ Nothin’ / Doin’ Somethin’”, and “Ronal Morgan”), but most of your time spent with NoYork! will be a decidedly original experience.

This is a fun record, one whose effusiveness only reveals itself slowly, with repeat listens opening up more and more emotional layers hovering beneath its sleepy atmosphere.

The Knife has created a work of art that’s not just a dream waiting to be realized, but a living, breathing reality that’s waking you up to what’s possible in the wildest of imaginations.

This is music with myriad dimensions and complex themes, but it never unravels or feels too heady.

Her stunning brand of Americana pop translates the 21st century breakdown into something worrying and sweetly touching.

As the album moves forward, the number of moments, musical and lyrical, that sneak up on you and tear you apart increases.

American Kid successfully recaptures Griffin’s acoustic roots in haunting and moving fashion.

Once I Was an Eagle is a bold work that, in theory, shouldn’t work--a lengthy, near-concept album about emotional availability--but Marling makes it into one of the year’s essential releases.

Innocence is Kinky might be a more clear distillation of Hval’s vision, but that’s only because the gaze is fixed so intently from performer to perpetrator.

It’s hard to see anyone besting Settle for the title in 2013, and it’s just as hard to argue we need much more from a record than the unadulterated joy pulsing through every beat here.

Though demanding repeated listens, Tomorrow’s Harvest distinguishes itself by making intense commitment (e.g. What’s the better way to enjoy it, headphones or stereo, broken-up “side” listens on vinyl vs. one full immersive CD spin?) a welcome task for the summer of 2013.

It’s dirty as hell, and you’re gonna laugh your ass off.