The remaster reveals The Joshua Tree in all its sonic wonder, and its capturing-lightning-in-a-bottle imperfections, which makes it all the more real and riveting listening experience. ... Thirty years on, it's a complete picture of The Joshua Tree, past and present. [Jul 2017, p.116]

Heroically in-depth liner notes tell the full warty story of a label whose output still stimulates. [Dec 2015, p.119]

The odd portentous lapse and minor clunker aside, the rate of killer lines is remarkably high. [Mar 2002, p.115]

This is not a document to be eaten all at one, maybe, but it brilliantly records Dylan's skill for interpreting his own songs. [Summer 2019, p.118]

Its woozy title track, oddly sideways lyrics and often meditative vibe make it a strangely gorgeous and graceful work. [May 2002, p.114]

That they've been forgotten for 30 years seems almost a crime, because they've got just about everything real soul music needs. [Feb 2004, p.118]

Faithful singers could learn a secular trick or two. [Dec 2019, p.117]

It's so out of step with most indie rock it's as if it's been beamed from outer space. [Apr 2005, p.126]

It feels like a nimble, pleasure-seeking record which takes its grown-up themes in its stride and wants to entertain first and impress second. [Feb 2011, p.126]

It's as an articulation of grief that this record speaks most powerfully. [Jan 2019, p.106]

This broadens his musical palette, with digi-dub, moody techno and deranged dubstep adding weight to Martin's winning sonic menagerie. [Aug 2008, p.132]

It's the fiery One Up, One Down and the four zigzagging interpretations of Impressions that truly add tot he indispensability of this set. [Aug 2018, p.119]

The sound more fully formed than ever. [Oct 2013, p.114]

Psychodrama is a bold statement from a rapper unafraid to ask tough questions of himself--and the often unforgiving world around him. [Jun 2019, p.108]

Untrue lives in the present, its more complex moods showcasing the emotional range that marks Burial out as more than just another bloke with a computer. [Jan 2008, p.108]

These songs sound as if they could have echoed around soot-stained ports and roadside taverns for generations and can still cast 21st-century listeners under their spell. [Mar 2018, p.117]

A darkly uncompromising and often difficult record: uneasy, sinister, scored and scarred with sonic detritus and, in layman?s terms, a bloody racket.

A thrilling joyride through reggae's golden era and beyond. [Jan 2020, p.117]

G Stands For Go-Betweens accords Forster and McLennan their rightful place as the greatest songwriting duo of the post-punk era. [Feb 2015, p.118]

Z proves they have not lost the magical intimacy that touched 2001's At Dawn and '03's It Still Moves. [Nov 2005, p.127]

This fourth solo album is daring and hugely composed. [Mar 2014, p.115]

On every possible level, this album is a total blast. [Jan 2015, p.128]

This is maverick electronica without the headaches. [Jul 2003, p.103]

A record that finally fulfils sampling's original promise of generating fabulous new sounds from skilfully lifted bits of existing tracks.

A deconstruction of heartbreak pulling out all the emotional cogs and catches with the precision of a watchmaker. [Dec 2018, p.110]

The switches from retro punk to camp stadium rock are seemless, and Creeper prove themselves worthy heirs to the bombastic rock bands of the past. [May 2017, p.103]

Magnificent. ... Kiwanuka rewards your commitment from the first second to the last. [Dec 2019, p.104]

A fourth disc of out-takes shines a light on alternate versions and work-in-progress songs that would surface on later albums. [Dec 2014, p.123]

While he has never sounded quite so full of empathy, this is a grumpy old record. [Oct 2006, p.114]

Deep voiced, disquieting and bristling with intelligence, Hobo Sapiens is a reminder of how intoxicating an artist Cale can be. [Nov 2003, p.107]

This is the sound of RTJ staking their claim as one of the all-time great hip-hop duos. [Aug 2020, p.112]

Twenty years, five discs, but Nevermind is always more than the sum of its parts. [Oct 2011, p.133]

Perspicacious and personal, cool and colossally enjoyable, Sawayama is both a triumph over trauma and a paean to the power of effervescent pop in practically all its forms. [Jun 2020, p.98]

Yet again, Mann's songs concentrate on life gone wrong - but this is timeless stuff.

All Mirrors strikes an impressive balance between familiar and strange - resulting in an album that's startling and breathtakingly beautiful. [Nov 2019, p.109]

Most of what's here is great melancholy rock, but sometimes held back by Wilson's willingness to play the perennial prog-rock boffin. [Mar 2015, p.118]

Leftism is tough to improve on. [Jun 2017, p.114]

Perfectly encapsulate what Astronaut Buzz Aldrin described as space's "magnificent desolation." Includes new LP, All Mankind, making it truly indispensable. [Aug 2019, p.119]

Paranoid, doomy synths temper the classicism of Christinzio's luxuriant Harry Nilsson songwriting. [Jun 2020, p.94]

This lean, tightly structured follow-up ramps up the intensity. Built around raw, electronic productions, it also showcases his ability to rhyme with devastating candour over wildly varying beats. [Aug 2017, p.111]

The result is an album that balances sophistication with a satisfying pop sense, and emotional heft with a lightness of touch. [Oct 2018, p.110]

It's '80s synth-pop in spirit rather than form, miles away from the make-up clad silliness of electroclash and much more interested in muching about with present day technology than simply recreating the past. [Jun 2004, p.98]

We Are Not Your Kind marks a supremely confident reassertion of their capacity to pulverise. [Sep 2019, p.116]

With Merriweather Post Pavillion, Animal Collective have refined their distinctive vision, once again proving they are ahead of the pack. [Feb 2009, p.1114]

Mixes melancholy and might to a rare degree. [Sep 2002, p.104]

Almost entirely instrumental, but full of a subtlety often obscured by words. [Jul 2005, p.114]

Without diluting the pair's roots, the 1 tracks weave a binding spell that feels just as familiar to Western ears as African. [Mar 2010, p.108]

The original beats are still as fresh and inviting as a newly changed bed. At 10 tracks, Illmatic is satisfying lean and cohesive--remarkably so for a hip-hop album with five producers. [May 2014, p.125]

A defiant record from a band who've made a career of doing their own thing: Enter Shikari have upped their game again. [Feb 2015, p.108]

[Fuzzy Logic] has aged well. [Dec 2016, p.117]

Pusha T and Malice are deft wordsmiths who deliver lean, whip-smart couplets. [Mar 2007, p.111]

Opinions will still be divided--Murdoch as literary giant or self-important art school berk?--as, over 25 tracks, there's evidence of both. [Jul 2005, p.129]

A bastion of control and quaking vulnerability that strikes a match against its sombre surrounds. [Jan 2019, p.113]

This zeitgeist-friendly genre-hopping proves the trio are moving with the times, but it's satisfying to note that when they return to their starkly simple, powerful melodic trademark sound on closer Hallelujah, Haim remain in a league of their own. [Jun 2020, p.94]

The songs sounds just as fierce 20 years on. [Jul 2014, p.124]

What a wild trip. [Jan 2014, p.133]

Songwriting thus warm and wise can't be as easy as Musgraves makes it sound. [Jul 2013, p.108]

The result is a pitch-perfect homage to the old master, whose voice resonates as powerfully as it did a decade ago. [Mar 2020, p.120]

The lasting impression os of music full of a magic and panache that a mere compilation album can't quite reflect. [dec 2008, p.136]

A leap forward. [Apr 2004, p.120]

Putting it on is less like listening to an album and more like scaling a mountain. [Jun 2014, p.121]

Building on 2015's explosive comeback album Freedom, War Music offers further proof that the gamble paid off, with Blood Red mixing Marxist doctrine and surging riffs to stunning effect. [Dec 2019, p.114]

Marling's seventh solo LP has the clarity, mastery and quiet strength of a folk-rock classic. [Jul 2020, p.110]

A boundlessly entertaining expose of what happens when you mix fine words with excellent melodies to make great songs.

Her songs are challenging, expansive and cinematic, turning minimalist melodies on their heads and redefining the limits of pop. [Oct 2013, p.103]

Bad As Me is as accessible as it is intelligent. At their heart, these are classic pop songs. That they're coated with his trademark wonder and weirdness makes them more special still. [Nov. 2011, p. 130]

For the most part, though, the excellence of what's here is less a matter of particular details than the way they combine to produce long stretches of real magic. [#361, p.104]

Each St. Vincent album has outclassed the one before, and her fifth is no exception. [Nov 2017, p.106]

This utterly beautiful balm of a record feels less like a confessional, and more a vessel for warmth, serenity and worldly wisdom. [May 2020, p.114]

No two tracks are the same, none could be anyone else. This is one irresistible party: the joy Adebimpe was looking for is right here. A great, great record. [Oct 2008, p.154]

An album full of playful daring. [Aug 2006, p.115]

Sometimes I Sit And Think is littered with wry, smile-inducing couplets and wonderfully mundane detail. [May 2015, p.114]

This is essential listening. [Mar 2017, p.112]

Wicked Grin is a bona fide revelation.... A rambunctious joy from beginning to end.

Most tracks follow a simple formula: the vocal from Don't Stop by the Stone Roses + layers of chimes + dog barks + crashing drums = mess. [Jun 2003, p.100]

The swampy exotica that was draped around both 1995's To Bring You My Love and '98's Is This Desire? has been forgotten: as proved by the likes of Big Exit and the pleasingly frantic Kamikaze, the dominant sound is that of a three-piece garage band, fused with enough production panache to prove that Harvey remains an admirably intelligent auteur.

Sleazy listening at its best. [Jun 2020, p.106]

The melodic flow of Alchemist;s beats perfectly offsets his partner's raw, unfiltered delivery. [Aug 2020, p.107]

While 1992-2012 is no substitute for the seamless ebb and flow of dubnobasswith myheadman and Second Toughest In the Infants, there are some glorious moments. [Mar 2012, p.114]

You wonder how many guitar bands in the interim have matched the standard set here. [Jun 2012, p.119]

That's The Spirit will make them mainstream stars, no question. [Nov 2015, p.104]

The production values here exceed most of the finished works: not so much blueprints as purpleprints. [Summer 2019, p.118]

Uneven as it may be, Black America Again is a stirring reminder of the Chicago MC's relevance. [Feb 2017, p.113]

Highly eccentric and blisteringly beautiful--a record destined to worm its way deep under the skin. [Jun 2019, p.117]

It all makes a good starting point for anyone intrigued by one of the most consistently experimental indie bands of the last three decades. [Jan 2015, p.139]

This is a record of real substance. [Dec 2019, p.111]

Exhaustive notations render this essential for enthusiasts. [Oct 2016, p.115]

Even more mesmeric and deep into Nick Drake territory: intense and slightly damaged. [Jun 2004, p.94]

Vespertine quietly proves that cutting-edge production and human contact aren't mutually exclusive. [Sep 2001, p.109]

This is largely intense, liberated stuff. [Nov 2004, p.111]

Once again, Radiohead have proven themselves priceless. [Dec 2007, p.107]

Compared to their early work, disappointing. [Jun 2005, p.118]

While the mix of influences could produce self-indulgent noodling, songwriter Kevin Parker's ear for a tune keeps the songs focused. [Nov 2012, p.106]

Jamie is a thrilling first step into her future. [Oct 2019, p.106]

Yet for all the walks-ons, this remains a two-man show that celebrates the MC/producer relationship at the heart of hip-hop--and allows both talents to shine at their brightest levels. [Summer 2019, p.113]

They've re-emerged, stronger, more focused and full of headspinning ideas. [May 2012, p.106]

As harrowing and honest as some lyrics may be, though, the intensely beautiful Southern Sky at least offers his "crooked arms" some redemption. [Sep 2012, p.104]

This 147-track box (plus 92-page booklet) is thankfully packed with predominately great music. [Oct 2017, p.113]