The Promise demonstrates how wide-ranging Springsteen's musical interests and abilities were when he was 27.

The breadth of new realms both singers explore is one of many highlights of a collection that is nothing short of remarkable.

Although "Queen Mary" was a strong showing, At Mount Zoomer--named for the band's recording space--is an instant classic, distancing itself from indie rock's skin-deep quirks on the way to something grander and more enduring.

Credit Condon with a vivid imagination to go with his intuitive songwriting ability, and embrace The Flying Club Cup as one of the best albums of 2007.

Jones’ powerful voice grows more compelling each time through, and every full, round bass note, horn blast and guitar fill the Dap-Kings play is, well, perfect.

Like many of Kanye's brainstorms, it's a crazy idea -- and like many of Kanye's crazy ideas, it works.

A second album as outstanding as this one is no nightmare; it's a dream come true.

The Impressionistic sound painting El-P has long threatened - and finally delivered.

The tunes are among the most musically diverse the band has recorded so far, with buoyant piano pop undercut by an air of melancholy on the opening title track, glittering beds of synthesizers on "Sprawl II," churning, punk simplicity in the guitars on "Month of May" and a propulsive rhythm driving "Half Light II (No Celebration)," layers of vocal harmonies and moaning strings floating atop the relentless beat.

"Hell Hath No Fury" has nearly redefined its genre; it takes the coke trade's dead eyes and empty hearts, found from penthouse to pavement, and turns them into music.

If anything, the group's latest is another musical masterpiece from a band known for putting out musical masterpieces.

"Friend and Foe" might be the first truly great record of 2007.

Lady Gaga has made a quintessential pop album with Born This Way.

Ire Works is one of the best metal records released this year, full of brutal math-metal freakouts such as 'Fix Your Face' and 'Nong Eye Gong' and beautifully crafted, more melodic songs, including 'Black Bubblegum' and 'Dead as History.'

It's a smarmy affair, and there's a compelling interplay between his wild-eyed desperation and her cool, clean sheen of thumps and melodies.

Although it's stylistically diverse, the album feels coherent.

A vigorous cross-section of wallop and weepers that revels in its down-home personality.

The Kentucky-bred singer builds an ideal showcase for her strengths on Sleepless Nights, unearthing a string of jewels from country's past with a passionate, pure revival of classics both familiar and rescued from obscurity.

"Whaleheart" is sure to be one of the year's finest releases, which shouldn't come as news to anyone familiar with Callahan's singular, indelible songwriting.

Dear Science finds the band pushing still further, using its big beats and graffiti textures in service of its most accessible songs to date.

No Line on the Horizon is a considered and nuanced work with significant depth beneath the dense, sometimes thorny exterior. Getting there, though, requires some work.

Pecknold and guitarist Skyler Skjelset have been writing teenage symphonies to God since they were actual teenagers, and that transcendent love of music shines through in their own songs.

There's no denying the passion and skill behind the group's fourth album, its most accessible collection yet.

Grohl often shows off his sky-high vocal range, award-winning ear for bridges and choruses and penchant for ending opuses with dark, pitch-perfect shrieks.

Songs of Mass Destruction is a crop of solid, occasionally over-refined songs in which she consistently delivers lyrics with grand flourishes even as she lends them powerful intimacy.

Her third album, collects 11 new songs that document Edwards’ growth from singer who writes songs to bona fide songwriter who has embraced the art of subtlety.

It's a loose, easy-rolling centerpiece to an album that shows, after several fussier efforts, how effectively the Decemberists can make use of open space in their music. The King is Dead--long live the king.

The Swedish indie-pop singer shows a remarkably keen eye for detail, finding surprising moments of sweetness, poignancy, and humor in a variety of situations.