At the very least, listening to The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 should send you scurrying back to the official versions of those three classic Bob Dylan albums. It’s his story, and it’s history, reconsidered one more time.

To Pimp a Butterfly defies easy listening, but it's deeply rewarding.

Spanning the years 1968-75, this exquisitely designed four-disc boxed set gathers a treasure trove of rare gems.

The SMiLE Sessions captures Wilson, session musicians and the Beach Boys in moments that are chaotic, loopy and remarkably in synch. It's a consistently brilliant album.

Needless to say, West has proved once again that he is most on point in the face of adversity.

This Reading appearance-released for the first time on the CD/DVD package "Live at Reading"-captured the trio's skill at turning simple power chords into some of the most memorable rock anthems of the '90s.

Perhaps that's a story for another set, however, and newcomers and fans alike will find this one remarkably satisfying

No matter what Ocean's mood is on the album, the songs sound fantastic.... it's one of the best albums of the year.

Bowie is back, and thanks to better technology, these special editions of "Raw Power" sound right on the money. But the story here is the extras.

Manipulating her voice as much as she does her sound, Monáe widens the cast of characters and pushes along the self-explorative narrative. The ArchAndroid could be the stuff of stage or screen, 3-D without the annoying glasses.

Ork was a ­scoundrel and eventually a jailbird, but no one chronicled the undercard at CBGB ­better.

Big Boi delivers an inventive, high-spirited set full of synth-funk signifiers, talk-box flair and snares.

The music is spacious, paranoid and sultry; the lyrics are ­suggestive and knotted.

The result is an album that was absolutely worth the seven-year wait, not to mention the mountain of hype atop which Apple has sat since her big comeback at SXSW in March.

Ali and Toumani is spontaneous and deeply spiritual, depicting two outstanding musicians who are governed by nothing but their love for their nation.

Sale el Sol manages to bridge the divide between the old and new Shakira with a spark that keeps you listening to the very end.

The casual nature of the sessions-Dylan coughs during "Blowin' in the Wind" and stops "Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" to correct a lyric, for instance-only enriches the experience.

The box's liner notes are a bit scant, but it's full of treats even for aficionados.

Art Angels is a marvel of meticulous, even obsessive home-studio recording, uncompromised by bandmates or collaborators.

What marks "No Devolucion" as an improvement over 2006's "A City by the Light Divided" and 2009's "Common Existence" is that frontman Geoff Rickly and his bandmates have finally written a batch of songs worthy of those complicated arrangements.

The diversity and focus has paid off, as Cadillactica is K.R.I.T.'s best and most cohesive work to date.

Blackstar is its own strange, perverse thing, the ­latest move in a boundlessly ­unpredictable career.

The achingly good Something More Than Free, captures the mix of excitement and fear that comes when the sun rises on a new day.

It's an album that seemingly could have come out in 1996 just as easily as today. Even the song titles feel familiar: "Only Tomorrow," "Is This and Yes," "Nothing Is." Having said that, it's lovely.

As strong as this album is, it’s hard to pick out a standout track.

[A] promising, unapologetically dense debut.

It's big, bold and still stands out next to anything coming from Nashville.

If there's a funnier, stranger and more touchingly bizarre album released this year, it will be a very good year indeed.

Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have made an analog album that's less of a "throwback" and more of a salute to the idols that would now do anything to hop on the duo's full-length.

At 16 tracks, this dense, complicated set covers considerably more stylistic territory than either of the band's previous albums.

Jamie xx is among other U.K. electronic-dance acts, such as Disclosure and Four Tet, that are tapping the genre's past to forge its future. But no one has nailed it quite like this.

While the sound is looser with strummed acoustic guitar, sax, autoharp and brushed drums, it contrasts sharply with Harvey's thematic adherence to war, guns, bloodshed and bleak landscapes.

On the follow-up to her 2009 breakthrough album, "Bird-Brains," Merrill Garbus (aka Tune-Yards) again creates a clamorous assemblage of warm, overdriven kitchen-sink instrumentation, field hollering, layered stacks of processed vocals and a sonic smorgasbord culled from the world cafe-only more so.

What makes this collection essential is the cohesion of the band and the setlists: The shows find the Velvets at their absolute peak as a live unit.

How I Got Over finds the Roots acting as elder statesmen in hip-hop, but its mix of nifty experiments and straightforward rap eliminates any sense of predictability.

Having defined its gauzy sound on previous albums, Halcyon Digest Deerhunter finds the group expanding it with knockout results.

Monroe sings these songs, many of which she co-wrote, with exquisite, bruised sensitivity.

Cosmogramma may evade complete comprehension, but Flying Lotus' foreign and colorful arrangements entice even the most casual listener.

An album that could've easily come from other Mississippi River stops where horns and funk pump through the bloodstreams-Chicago, Memphis or St. Louis.

Much of the album is frenetic--full of bodies and larger-than-life. But the muted and downcast moments end up being memorable, tender and affecting.

Akinmusire has chosen to challenge listeners, exploring free territory where Smith squeaks and squawks his way into the wilderness.

Hamilton’s stage production should be required viewing for every American citizen, but this exhilarating listen is a much more practical, and every bit as enjoyable, stand-in.

So Beautiful or So What is vintage Simon, but it's also all over the map stylistically, touching on blues, African, folk, Indian and more. The music is unmistakably his, but finds the artist challenging himself melodically and with his phrasing.

Bleach is freshened up with remastered versions of unusually heavy songs like the haunting "Negative Creep," where Cobain howls about alienation and being stoned, and the pounding "Floyd the Barber," where the main subject of the eerie track is a man being strapped down and tortured by characters from "The Andy Griffith Show.

Unexpected collaborations with stateside cool kids like Perfume Genius on the aching “Jonathan” and talented Philly rapper Tunji Ige on the plush “No Harm Is Done” should charm any skeptics who might worry Letissier got lost in translation.

Only in closer Grown Ocean, with crashing cymbals and trilling woodwinds, do you get a sense that Fleet Foxes are actively trying to impress you. Even then, though, you're impressed all the same.

Newsom's wispy singing style may still be too inaccessible for some, but hardcore fans will savor the growing vocal confidence during the two-hour-plus running time. In an era of quick musical fixes, Have One on Me is a spacious artistic statement too original to pass up.

On DBD, he delivers music that can’t be clumped with contemporary hip-hop.

For all the grief and regret it contains, it's a triumphant debut, encapsulating the grit of life, ­turning it into a hell of a journey.

The sparse production recalls Cohen's 1988 release, "I'm Your Man," by throwing the Canadian balladeer's ever-deepening voice and his mix of poetic flair and pitch-black humor into satisfyingly stark relief.

The angry young woman who famously sang about setting kerosene fires and waiting with a loaded gun for her abusive beau has found love with new boyfriend Blake Shelton, and it's reflected on the diverse Revolution.

Rawlings' guitar work is an engaging mix of the decorative and functional, marvelously recorded and a perfect balance to the warmth of Welch's vocals.

High Violet synthesizes the best parts of the National's past into a fantastic present

Once the initial novelty and shock wears off of Beyoncé's impressive stealth-release feat, the brilliance and creative audacity of the album itself can sink in.

Kaputt continues Bejar's winning streak and is an early contender for indie-rock album of the year.

The Texas native reclaims her spot as one of country's most expressive and distinctive vocalists.

LCD Soundsystem principal James Murphy is at his cynical best on the act's third album, This Is Happening.

Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells is loud, raucous and unapologetic. Members Alexis Krauss (vocals) and Derek Miller (guitarist/programmer) prove it on debut album Treats.

The National had reached a level of comfort very few indie rock acts achieve. That feeling of comfort permeates every part of their new album, Trouble Will Find Me.

Those looking for vintage soul sounds or even full-on raps from start to finish will be thrown several curves here. It’s an album with numerous emotional layers as well.

There's nothing on Wildheart to make one lose faith in Miguel's promise as a major creative and popular force of the decade, but neither is there enough to feel like he has satisfied his warring sides. Instead, it's a case of his sense of space still sharpening, and the hope for his full emergence, repping for a generation that won't accept outdated double binds, yet to come.

The artist's familiar smoky vocals and the consistently rich production draw the listener in on his latest release, "Get Off on the Pain."

Vampire Weekend's most cohesive and musically accomplished album to date.

American Middle Class is a focused collection of songs.

Her fifth studio release, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, finds the singer delivering no-holds-barred lyrics about lovemaking, love longing and, at times, love lost.

What gives Brother Ali's slice-of-life ruminations their impressive heft is the rapper's eye for everyday detail and the handmade appeal of his vintage-funk arrangements.

Streisand gives her trademark romantic-ballad treatment to 13 well-known standards.

Blunderbuss isn't just (arguably) the best album of the year so far, it opens up a whole new world for him.

Pain Killer is an in-your-face album with rock bombast, though there's enough occasional twang here to keep the country traditionalists happy.

The set includes virtually every imaginable permutation of the album--a remastered stereo version and a radio-only mono mix that boosts the bass and makes for an overall punchier sound--and two-dozen-odd outtakes, demos, single mixes and “remastered early versions” that are fascinating but have been available for years. Where it gets really interesting is the two concerts.

By using the lineup shift as a chance to explore different terrain-namely, eschewing pop choruses and traditional vocals-Underoath's sprawling, at-times disquieting music is newly realized.

While that post-9/11 set had a fantastic first single ("Ch-Check It Out") and nothing else close to its level, the group's latest lacks a standout track but is a consistent hodgepodge of slimy beats and no-nonsense rhyming.

Sonically it's a super-charged take on the girl-group sound, with thundering drums, multilayered vocals, heart-wrenching lyrics and loads of echo-all of which contrasts with her honeyed voice.

Patty Loveless has an innate soulfulness that can't be taught, bought or won on a reality show. That's one of the reasons-along with sterling musicianship and inspired song selection-why her new album, Mountain Soul II, is a must-have for fans of Loveless and roots music alike.

Caribou's newest set, "Swim," which contains more electronic elements than its pop-traced predecessor, is a major step forward for Snaith.

There are no immediate anthems like whokill's "Bizness" or "Gangsta." But these 13 tracks hum and bounce with contagious enthusiasm, posing a challenge worth rising to.

Debut LP We Are King finally gives the act room to stretch its crushed-velvet sound to its outer edges. The three voices often swirl into one, with lockstep harmonies that make challenging, constantly shifting melodies go down easy.

Leaps and bounds over the act's earlier material, "Teen Dream" allows Legrand and Scally to truly come into their own while leaving the listener aching for more.

Once again, TVOTR channels something unique and forward-thinking.

Clearly, Kem isn't self-conscious about his love of love--and we love him for it.

Red Hot + Rio 2 takes some time to absorb, but it's sure to tide you over until the next Red Hot compilation is released.

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, Lennox's fifth studio LP, is his most direct and accessible statement yet.

It's arguably the most potent lineup since Josh Homme put QOTSA together in 1996, and it's embellished on the band's sixth studio album by guests.

The Monitor probably could've borrowed more firepower from the ironclad battleship for which it's named, but the album nevertheless meshes old-fashioned themes with a modern twist.

Making the most of Capitol's Studio B--a Los Angeles landmark where Sinatra recorded--Dylan captures his band live, with stirring intimacy. As curator, he gets credit for avoiding obvious hits like "Stardust" and "Fly Me to the Moon," instead picking "Why Try to Change Me Now?" and the show-stopping closer, "That Lucky Old Sun," an old sufferer's plea for relief

What follows is Doris, a slow (rarely rising above 70 bpm), introspective album where Earl Sweatshirt combats pressures when returning to a life of stardom after time spent at a Samoa-based boarding school for troubled youths. 


Despite its numerous flaws, Compton is still one of the most engaging listening experiences of the year.

Their ­second album sharpens their ­instrumental attack, while singer Jehnny Beth exposes her bloody heart.

It’s a more consistent album than his debut--for better and for worse.

Entirely produced by the Black Keys (except for the Danger Mouse-helmed song "Tighten Up"), the pair's latest album, Brothers, lures with its spooky throwback sound, preternatural grooves and dark bluesy jams.

Deerhunter isn’t repeating itself: This creatively restless group doesn’t stand still for long.

Bowie and producer Tony Visconti, who helped shaped his sound in the 1970s as well as produce seven T. Rex records, have struck gold in creating a work that is modern and well-connected to the artist's fabled sonic-past.

The music is at its best when it emulates an animated conversation, one voice leap-frogging the other with no one losing sight of the central theme.

This smart four-disc package commemorates the concert's 40th anniversary with a pristine remastered version of the original recording, five previously unreleased songs from the same show and an entire disc devoted to the fiery opening acts, B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner.

Vampire Weekend's second album, Contra, finds the New York-based band pushing its eclectic, intellectual indie rock further using a mash-up of musical genres, clever wordplay and emotional heft.

The brothers have tapped into the amorphous joy at the heart of dance music, and have peppered Settle's masterfully executed tracks with that feeling.

Don't mistake the softness for weakness. While nothing is as biting as the aging hipster takedown 'Femme Fatale' (from his 2006 set "At Home With Owen"), he pulls out the knives and slices pseudo-intellectuals on 'A Trenchant Critique.'

New York duo the Books continue their tradition of using intriguing vocal samples behind folk-and electronic-based compositions on fourth album "The Way Out." This time around, the group also mixes jazz-fusion with quirky dialogue that ranges from meditation speeches to intimate voice mails.