While one could argue Lord-Alge’s mix brought the band their first Billboard Hot 100 hit in “I’ll Be You”, time has proven that hit didn’t really bring them any long-term success. By scaling back then, Wallace has created an album that truly fits with their narrative, and that’s probably worth more now than then. After all, time has been very kind to The Replacements, who continue to build upon their legacy with each passing year, and Dead Man’s Pop is a welcome addition.

Her biggest fans may prefer less direct writing, but it makes St. Vincent her most widely appealing album to date, an infectious work that doesn’t ever feel like a compromise.

An album like RTJ2 is rare. Decades from now, this album may just be revered as one of the best hip-hop records of our era, the total synchronicity of two talented artists reaching the apex of their prime.

It’s sad and sweet and lovely and brutal.

Rat Saw God is the type of kaleidoscopic album that offers up something new to appreciate with each listen. It’s a record worth hearing, recommending, and obsessing over – Google search results be damned.

Woods embodies the cultural makeup of Chicago, tackles the multiplicity of identity, and balances her dominance with flawlessly selected features that build her up. ... This record could be the basis for a college course or used as an actually accurate history book.

The complexity of Run the Jewels 4 is its strongest asset. Killer Mike and El-P, just like their listeners, are still trying to navigate nefarious ideologies while remaining steadfast in their desire to destroy them. Their latest work is a political manifesto that antagonizes a system that never had the marginalized and vulnerable in mind. Though it comes several albums into their discography, RTJ4, with its empowering proclamations, buoyant production, and ferocious soundscapes, feels like just the beginning of something even greater.

SAWAYAMA appears poised to be one of the best pop albums of the year and sets Sawayama up as a pop force to be reckoned with.

The challenge of teasing audience expectations and controlling an artistic persona would seem far greater. With this EP, twigs pulls it off expertly, fracturing and blurring her musical self.

Black Origami is an album that, like its predecessors, will be savored and analyzed for the rest of the year. It’s a lock for best albums of 2017.

All Mirrors is a successful example of how being bold and staying true to yourself pays off. Undeniably, this is Olsen’s most cohesive, self-aware, and searing album to date, and the era of Olsen is far from finished.

Even when Parks tries on different hats, Natural Brown Prom Queen still manages to feel cohesive and genuine. ... Meanwhile, songs like “Ciara” and “Freakalizer” feel like hits ahead of their time.

While Coloring Book successfully channels the musical conventions of African-American church tradition without sounding dated or pastiche, the album also subtly chronicles black history and uses it as inspiration for artistic freedom.

On his new album, Big Fish Theory, Staples continues to perfect his brand of nuanced nihilism while exploring new sounds that should put the music industry on notice that the future is now.

Musgraves hits one high note after another on Golden Hour; her talent as a songwriter and melody-maker is second to none, and each song is thoughtful, well-formed, and a delightful experience on its own. Together, the tracks on Golden Hour add up to an honest, cohesive musical experience that will linger in your mind and heart long after the final notes have faded.

It’s groovy and funky and sultry, and it takes things seriously while still being joyful. It encourages freedom of form, in the sense of both body and art. It’s the perfect second album for Christine and the Queens.

The interplay between Crutchfield and Lenderman’s voices makes the tunes all the more memorable, and his guitar work on tracks like “Evil Spawn” adds a certain bite to Waxahatchee’s sound that helps distinguish the record from its predecessor. It’s such subtle shifts that make Tigers Blood so remarkable.

The interludes are all derived from the same sonic template as the songs, so the borders between tracks can be hazy, giving the album a meandering feel. That said, ultimately there’s something refreshing about Solange’s dreary, almost funereal compositions.

When I Get Home is universal because of Solange’s deep respect for her own home. The way she switches beats and flows constantly surprises, even on a tenth listen, unraveling new riches each time. Solange’s latest mystifies and stuns, leaving you awestruck as she cements her legacy as a true generational voice.

With their latest studio album, Slipknot have released one of the strongest albums in their career. When it comes to We Are Not Your Kind, Slipknot live up to the title.

The Idler Wheel succeeds in creating a singular world more daring than any of Apple's previous records and one of the most daring pop records in recent history.

The story he set out to tell ends up linear and cohesive, remarkably so, even for people who don’t speak Korean and experience the album first solely as a sonic journey. ... This collection is a body of work people will turn to for years to come.

As perfect as Illmatic is, there are plenty of crevices that can be explored and different musical avenues to test Nas’s verses/scriptures.

By further broadening their scope of sound, HAIM create a wide window for listeners to find something of resonance within Women in Music Pt. III.

There’s little that’s playful inside Superunknown. It sounds more like Black Sabbath running for their lives, about to crack under the pressure, but then, at the last minute, escaping--and thriving.

On folklore, Swift has come of age, emotionally and sonically, and proven herself — not that she needed to — as not only an exceptionally autonomous auteur but a nimble collaborator with an ever-broadening palate.

To Be Kind does as much soul exposure lyrically as it does musically, Gira’s simple, howled lines finding the vein incredibly easily.

Ultimately, Valentine is the perfect marriage of concept and skill at this point in Snail Mail’s career.