Still, hate it or love it, his albums are always a, what's the word we're looking for... cinematic event.

With a vicarious and melodious debut, it's clear that hip-hop's hopeful hasn't shied from his balancing act.

Her fourth, The Element of Freedom, is full of straightforward pleas for affection that are neither outstanding nor run-of-the-mill.

Diplo and Switch clearly cherish the glitches and low-tech glory of vintage Jamaican music. But they’re much better off when re-imagining as opposed to indulging in tongue-in-cheek mimicry.

It's a typically eccentric tour de force from Mos Def. But this time, he recruits producers capable of keeping pace with him.

While The E.N.D may be the farthest The Black Eyed Peas have ventured outside traditional hip hop, the final product proves the group is best at creating their own conventions.

Blaqkout is an audible feast, filled with Quik’s rich production and Kurupt’s tenacious lyricism.

When Relapse ditches Eminem the craaaazzzyyy white rapper, in favor of a maniacal narrator obsessed with graphic rape and violence (subjects much more in line with hip hop’s forgotten horror-core subgenre than anything to do with being a superstar rapper in 2009), Em works wonders with words, expanding the boundaries of the art of rap itself.

The middle-aged MCs have forged an album that reflects their belief that skills will always trump bells and whistles. Don’t mistake it for complacency--blame it on consistency. BO2 passes the smell test.

For every legitimate contender like 'Arab Money,' there’s mediocre fare such as 'Shoot for the Moon,' where he prattles over a nondescript synth bleat from Danjahandz.

The superstar’s first album in three years is a solid, if not consistently energized tribute album to Lionel Richie.

In spite of the obstacles--both real and imagined alike--on their second full-length album, Donwill, Ilyas, and Von Pea, collectively Tanya Morgan, have crafted an expansive tour de force.

Ciara is most comfortable in the nook of choreography-driven tracks....What Fantasy Ride lacks are the career-defining highs of songs like 'Promise' and 'Like a Boy,' songs that were romantic and indelible and altogether original.

Chrisette Michele has delivered a consummate R&B album: controlled, beautiful, thoughtful, with some oomph. The cameos are sparse, the up-tempo tracks are still soulful and the perils of love are dominant.

Aside from a new number (281-206-4336!), Jones offers few surprises--the guest list is robust and his rhymes are still mediocre.

After that promising start [with 'I Love College' and 'Lark on My Go-Kart'], however, Asher loses focus. He floods the Bread Aisle with a series of interesting pop concepts ruined by bland choruses.

Chester French have deftly balanced the thrills of newness with the reliability of the old--not bad a for a couple of graduates.

Rick Ross is on pace to make his best and most complete album yet. He knows it. And soon hip hop fans will too.

While, Sov should feel comfy in this climate of likeable, marketable, off-kilter MCs, Jigsaw is too frenetic to function.

With his latest long player, The Last Kiss, the Yonkers heat spitter’s exquisite rhymes again get lost in an overabundance of boilerplate attempts at hits.

Too often these songs either sound recycled or just uninspired.

R.O.O.T.S. is a solidification of identity. And when you’re trying to keep yourself in the game, sometimes that’s all a sophomore album has to be.

UGK 4 Life is a fitting end for the Texas boys. It’s classic UGK--temperamental, turbulent, and trill...for life.

It’s a solid offering of tightly conceptualized tunes.

If after swallowing that Elixer, you still have the stamina for more, you will be amply rewarded by Minneapolis Sound, or as Prince spells it, MPLSoUND.

Her ten tracks are disposable, and redeemed only by Prince’s extraordinary production ear.

Ultimately, Hilson’s debut is simply okay, not quite the sum of its parts. She has the right juice. Now it’s just a matter of how to keep it flowing.

Those looking for timeless music on Pray IV Reign may find their prayers unanswered. But if you’re one of Jones’ longtime disciples, Capo’s got you covered.

With no real stand out single, All I Ever Wanted will be a hit with Clarkson die-hards, but is unlikely to influence any Top 40 outsiders.

The craft is meticulous, and the sound so epic, and at times, operatic, with production from Tricky Stewart (The-Dream’s silent partner in his corporation of hits), that moments on this album comprise some of the best pop music of the decade.

Songs like 'Love, Love, Love,' and 'Can't Live Without You' create the quintessential formula for a classic two-step and Wilson is sure to dazzle longtime fans with the more easygoing numbers. But sleepier tracks like 'One Time,' border on clichéd at times.

It’s Not Me, It’s You cooks up nostalgia for Allen diehards, but the elements have been shuffled and re-imagined with pulsating dance tracks that are surprisingly fitting.

Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics is proof that not only can Arie step out of her comfort zone of relationships and self-appreciation, but she can jog up a few levels as well.

The results are moderately exemplary; a project heavy in power production, but skim on memorable showmanship.

Unlike other albums maniacally programmed to target every pop niche (hello Jennifer Hudson!), Doolittle delivers one of the rarer qualities you’ll find in a contemporary album: a clear sense of who she is.

The Take Over--a post-modern sonic mash-up for Generation O--is Zion I’s best attempt at turning their underground crusade into an overground movement.

What is missing from Intuition is a balance between the party records and the slow jams. The division displays a lack of cohesiveness that separates the effort from being a great album into just a collection of potential singles.

The joyful arrangement in The Point of It All enhances Hamilton's storytelling abilities, serving as a lovely mixer to his lyrical depth and sensual, rich voice.

On his sophomore effort, iSoujaBoyTellem (Interscope), the YouTube legend attempts to sound all grown up, but for the most part, sticks to his rather unusual brand of hip-hop for the Google generation.

In fact, the flair that is championed on most Common albums is absent, leaving a vapid display of good ideas with unenthused delivery. This nonchalance has placed Universal Mind Control’s release, regardless of its intentions, in poor form, doing little for progressing Common’s ability.

If there’s something the gifted singer-songwriter might want to learn, though, it’s the art of writing more memorable song lyrics.

Tipping a decade long residency within the music industry, Spears’ “comeback” is more so a restoration than a reinvention.

In 2008 Kanye struggled through tragedy so great that it forced him to go left. And ironically, at his darkest hour, Kanye has created his greatest album to date.

Ironically, it's the more tame (and nameless) persona that's the most intriguing, commanding and sexual.

Funhouse is more haunting than amusing, but the solidarity that comes along with her recent divorce serves as the effort's muse and proves to be her best partner in life.

The brothers are nimble lyricists, delivering raps in catch-me-if-you-can fashion, exercising little patience but encouraging repeated listens.

Unexpected is natural, pleasant and brutally honest, opening the eyes of those who slept on Williams' skills.

Stylistics paralyze Hudson's debut, but it is her impassioned talent that keeps the album on life support.

Something Else--a sharper, more concise follow-up to 2006’s breakthrough but spotty, "The Evolution of Robin Thicke"--songwriter and producer Thicke is using the tones and rhythms of soul music for a bigger idea: dissatisfaction.

His struggles did make for a strong album.

Ne-Yo is a stronger, more confident man than the one many remember licking his wounds on 'So Sick' from his debut album "In My Own Words" and 'Do You' from 2007’s "Because of You."

While the new direction is sturdy and refreshing, there is something comfortably familiar about it. The vintage shoes fit Saadiq, and he wears them well.

Brass Knuckles is standard Nelly fare.

The result is arguably his best work contextually since "Death Certificate" itself.

Impressive without being pretentious, Two Men possesses an urbane strut that’s perfect for jazzheads--and their country cousins.

­This endearing debut from Imani Coppola’s latest side project deftly explores the ferocious singer’s favorite themes--race, two-timers, herself--over programmer Adam Pallin’s sprightly soul interpolations.

All pounding drums and rolling keyboards, this is the Three 6 sound at its most dumbed down. The same could be said for the majority of Walk, which avoids the experimental sounds the group dabbled in on 2005’s "Most Known Unknown" and treads more familiar ground.

Of all the newish dance acts digging on vintage disco and chicago House, NYC-based Hercules & Love Affair boast the smartest cuts and most range. [June 2008, p.66]

Loverly proves once again that she needs no artifice to soar musically. [July 2008, p.60]

But even with all the emo-passion, nearly half of this album is lukewarm.

Lay It Down is almost indistinguishable from green's past hits. Then again, maybe that was the point. [May 2008, p.74]

II Trill draws its cohesion from its production, a stew of juicy grooves, synth patches, and gumbo-thick basslines. But what makes the album tick is an emotional complexity: Like an old sage, Bun B gracefully vacillates between raw fury and weathered wisdom.

The disco ball might be unplugged, but Summer still shines. [July 2008, p.61]

While MC Naledge and producer Double-O’s impressive follow-up effort The In Crowd continues in a similarly versatile vein, the vibe this time feels less like a greenhorn B-boy coming-out party than it does a self-assured statement of purpose.

It's been a long wait, but like reborn armies in the night, Third has the blare of revolution. [June 2008, p.70]

Lidell reaches back further than he has before, appoximating Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, and even Jackie Wilson, elegantly nodding to his clarion-voiced heroes while never allowing the album to become mired in mere tribute. [May 2008, p.72]

Rising Down bangs like no Roots work since their popular, populist breakthrough "Things Fall Apart." [June 2008, p.65]

Mobb Deep's Prodigy has embraced the chaos, pain and disarray that's cursed much of his life and used to power an angry, pained, and ironically vital album, H.N.I.C. Part 2. Prodigy's physical self may be incarcerated, but his music has never sounded freer. [Apr 2008]

Her debut, which has dominated the charts overseas, is polite to a fault. If Whitney'esque is what she aims for, Lewis hasn't quite found the the F-U-N in fundamentals. [June 2008, p.66]

Five albums in, the Keys' reference points stay the same--Hendrix, Zeppelin, White Stripes--as their sound, now produced by Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse, grows even bigger. [May 2008, p.74]

The finished product has glorious results. [May 2008, p.69]

While DK's quest for pop domination falls short, the club-friendly Dollhouse cements their posh appeal. [May 2008, p.70]

They grab hold of genres long stuck in straitjackets and, if only for a few minutes a pop, let them run amok. [Mar 2008, p.99]

Ultimately, he sounds confused--he wants to bare his soul and boogie on, but the boogie isn't nearly enough. [Mar 2008, p.97]

Rarely does rock music feel so simultaneously orchestrated and raw. [Mar 2008, p.98]

Vampire Weekend have suceeded in putting the hips back in hipster. [Mar 2008, p.98]

She sounds reawakened by the calm. [Mar 2008, p.98]

Finally the loverman is back. [Mar 2008, p.100]

Face Off is more fun than forced, full of exuberant dance ditties and training -bra snapping lullabies. [Feb 2008, p.86]

The Boatlift solidifies Pitbull's position as one of the most diverse party MCs aound. And little else. [Feb 2008, p.86]

It reeks of generic blandness. [Feb 2008, p.86]

When all three work with the group, they invigorate Red Carpet....But when Danja is left to his own devices, problems arise. [Dec 2007, p.108]

Their lush signature harmonies remain intact, but these pedestrian readings ['Got To Be There' and 'War'] rarely deviate from their inspirations. [Dec 2007, p.112]

Though Exclusive skirts the sophomore slip-up, it leaves its protagonist uncertain: Ease on down the road, or look at the man in the mirror? [Nov 2007, p.91]

That Brave on the whole is almost unapologetically poor isn't surprising--Jenny's never made a viable Album of the Year. But never before has the fly-girl-cum-cover girl been so listless. [Dec 2007, p.107]

His self-titiled debut, a collection of mostly butterscotch ballads, is deliciously liquid in rhythm and blues. [Nov 2007, p.96]

With a thin vocal range and punchy delivery, will sings and raps his way through half-baked funk vamps like 'She's A Star,' failing to effectively update the sizzling 'Thriller'-isms to which he's clearly in thrall. [Nov 2007, p.94]

Even while wearing her sexuality like an honor roll sticker, Ndegeocello is dazzlingly delicate. [Nov 2007, p.98]

The album is a celebration of LaVette's vocals--burnished, bruised but resoundingly unbeaten. [Nov 2007, p.96]

While there's something joyful in the cacophony, the songs remain window dressing on the spectacle. [Oct 2007, p.94]

He's largely a victim of his own goodwill, sounding consistently exuberant, even when the message--'Politik Kills,' say--seems to beg for more. [Nov 2007, p.98]

His is an intrepid sound, taut and gorgeous. [Oct 2007, p.92]

This once-fiery, if rambling, thinker now sounds like a man cooled off. [Sep 2007, p.130]

The majority of Kala is limp and unfocused. [Sep 2007, p.133]

Eardrum lacks cohesiveness. [August 2007, p.75]

Suddenly with these [guest MCs] additions, a sound that felt dusty and dilapidated is now exuberant. [Sep 2007, p.137]

Forever captures Common maturing graefully into his--and hip hop's--middle age at a time when many peers are either talking retirement or being forced into it. [August 2007, p73]

A resurgent Prince unleashes his strangest yet most alluring rock project since 1988's astonishing "Lovesexy." [Sep 2007, p.137]