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.

How viable their politics actually are is a debate for another day, but as a hip-hop record in 2017, few will come close to creating such an enthralling and vital listen.

Universal Truths and Cycles is not only Guided By Voices strongest record in some time, it is also the best rock record this year.

An early frontrunner for the UK album of the year.

Gaye Su Akyol's artistic sensibilities lend themselves to a unique take on her perceptions of Turkey's immediate present, reinterpreting her environment in a way that scintillates and smolders on İstikrarlı Hayal Hakikattir.

Amazones Power is a fresh, modern new chapter for Les Amazones d'Afrique, and one we can only hope will set a precedent for music and social justice in the new decade.

Provocative when it needs to be, it steers well clear of addressing current world issues explicitly. It doesn't try to answer the difficult questions; rather it invites the listener to delve into their minds to find out the answers for themselves. As a result, this is an album that will resonate in five, ten, 15 years times--and they did it on their terms.

Little Sparrow contains some of the most beautiful and affecting music Parton has ever made...

13 tracks which magically blend heavenly guitar weavings with penetrating melodies.

It’s a rare record that exists due to the harmonious power of its collaborators, but the reason why it will have a lasting legacy is due to how utterly fresh it feels, making for the rare kind of album that sounds just as accessible on its first listen as it does on its hundredth.

Has a playful, at times otherworldly style which brings to mind children's fairy tales.

Together is another masterstroke from the New Pornographers, one of those rare albums that reminds even the most jaded ear of the joys of pop music.

Strummer's best solo effort and one of the best rock records of the year.

There's no other way to say it: Tammy Ealom is one of the most unassuming and perfect songwriters in modern pop.

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.

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

From sharp, wispy aches to flat, guttural releases, vocal notes move innately and curiously. She sings to discover as if every bellow imagines a peace that her spoken voice cannot. ... [An] unpredictable, nuanced album.

Big Bad Luv can hold its own next to any of the great Americana-tinged rock ‘n’ roll records of the past, from Scarecrow to Full Moon Fever to Copperhead Road.

Deafheaven’s audacity and artistry are hard to deny, which is but one of many reasons why Sunbather is an essential listen, and one of 2013’s boldest works of art.

Like the best mixtape, The Magnificent glides from songs that are destined to be underground classics, party tracks, songs to get our swerve on to, and the straight head nodders.

Pink has an amazing ability to surprise and does so again and again on Before Today.

Rare, Forever synthesizes all of Vynehall's musical instincts together into one unique vision. Both beguiling abstract and instantly gratifying it’s as dizzyingly immersive as Nothing Is Still whilst occupying a totally different sonic space.

"Illmatic" was stylistically brilliant and incalculably influential, but Untitled is a more mature, emotionally-driven, and philosophically-complex piece of work. It’s also a masterpiece.

His ability to purge himself on every track is contagious. You don't have to go there with him to enjoy this album, but don't be surprised if you do.

It’s a rare album that is not only great on it’s first listen, but just as remarkable on it’s tenth.

By turns mellow and heavy, personal and abstract, Le Noise encapsulates nearly everything that you'd want or need from a Neil Young album, and does so in a novel yet organic way.

But this isn’t a hoary breathing of air into faded songs; this is a sonic transfusion on the order of the Mermaid Avenue records.

Parasol Peak works very well as a stand-alone, audio-only experience. The music is that good, and the musicians make an exceptionally tight ensemble. But the accompanying video pays off immensely.