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

Waits is fearless in generating atmosphere and relentless in avoiding polish.

"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.

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

In Rainbows, the band's seventh studio album and first since 2003's "Hail to the Thief," is dense and thorny, complex and beautiful.

His double-tracked voice makes these songs truly mesmerizing.

Pacific Ocean Blue makes a strong case for Wilson's skill as a songwriter and arranger.

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.

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is even more entertainingly disturbing, a rocking psycho-carnival ride (complete with swirling organ) that clearly nods to Cave's roots.

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

These 11 songs comprise an ambitious song cycle, and the songwriting on "Neon Bible" is stronger and more focused than it was on "Funeral."

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.

She has blossomed into one of contemporary folk's most enchanting voices.

Kala is pop music without the vapidity, and political music without the condescension.

It's a straight-up masterpiece, blending indie-rock attitude and clattering dance beats with lethal sardonic humor.

The wistful tunes are the big draw here. They're masterworks of pop production, with Robyn's wispy voice weaving through spinning swirls of sugary synthesizers and hip-twitching beats that make it all but impossible to sit still.

A savvy storyteller with an acid-tipped language, Newman packages yarns in a voice that is the sonic equivalent of an Emmett Kelly clown face, naturally hangdog while subtly playful as he reminisces about life's rough patches.

The National hews too closely to established formula on "Boxer," content to revisit previously explored territory without expanding its sound.

The result is a wealth of different musical imaginings, which provides a fascinating glimpse of his creative process on Tell Tale Signs.

Stay Positive is an optimistic record that continues Finn's search for a sense of place.

Even the songs that seem simple have greater depth than is at first apparent, and the band's skill at crafting complex music in an increasingly accessible way makes Veckatimest a rich listen.

Although she finds some niches to distinguish her wild side from the likes of Gretchen Wilson - the romp "Down," for example - Lambert's abandon is never quite reckless.

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.'

There's plenty for everyone to love here, actually, and despite the silly title, Spoon's latest is worth going ga-ga over.

It makes for compelling listening, even if you're not always sure what, exactly, is going on.

This rethink has by no means robbed the band of its tunefulness, as the snappy 'Inaugural Trams' readily proves. But the dozen minutes of 'Pric,' which meanders charmingly around the musical map, are more representative of an outfit which is at its best wild and weird.

A freewheeling stylistic brew.

Beauty & Crime, an artful array distinguished by classy sonic design and lyrical charm.

We should have known. If his raspy, cartoonish voice didn't mark him as different, his quick wit, offhanded wordplay and quirky subject matter should have in a genre populated largely by grim-faced imitators.

His melodies are subtle, but don't confuse his restraint with detachment--these songs sound deeply felt.

On 'Sensitive Boys,' one of several standout ballads, he articulates the album's thematic truism: Done right, rock 'n' roll is a reason for living.

The album holds some pleasant surprises.

Jackson ties everything together with his own understated strengths, a sincere manner and grounded perspective that anchor tunes even as they brim with thoughtful passions.

They've recaptured the brash cheek of their best work on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, which the trio has elected to release before the "delayed indefinitely" Part One.

If Isbell’s departure was the cloud, Brighter Than Creation's Dark is the silver lining.

Cave comes on strong and rejuvenated.

The Atlanta pair's third album, Love on the Inside, adheres to the musical method on which the act has feasted to date, and adds occasional fresh wrinkles to its buoyant, pop-laced country.

Jay-Z sounds much more engaged on American Gangster, a collection of taut, focused songs heavy on musical references to the '70s

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

The collection presents Big Music on a manageable scale, and even if the songs reference fire, water and sky, the long-running Aussie quartet forgoes the kind of sonic grandiosity such subject matter tends to invite.

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

The uneven Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle finds Callahan's knack for twangy crispness, pastoral imagery, and stone-faced singing very much intact, though he adopts a distinct growl to utter the title of 'My Friends.'

Opener 'All in It,' a slow-building swell of voices and guitars, sets the tone for album that's unashamed of its epic accessibility.

It’s ecstatic music, surely; and intense, too, even as it’s joyful.

A delightful album designed to sink in over repeated listens.

The soul of Van Zandt is evident on all of these songs--even in the distorted voice effect on 'Lungs'--but Earle best captures his spirit on 'Colorado Girl,' a high lonesome song with rich acoustic guitar chords and wistful vocals.

For all the impressive ambition inherent in its size and scope, its working parts boil down to a testament to the fun of making music.

At a mere 33 minutes, "At My Age" leaves listeners wanting more, but then, that seems to be part of Lowe's seduction technique.

It's a record with a folky, sometimes psychedelic edge, but it's never self-indulgent or less than focused. In fact, Smoke Ring for My Halo is persuasive evidence that Vile has come fully into his own as a songwriter and musician.

The husband and wife team's fourth album with both of their names on it, Written in Chalk, makes the most of its rangy sonic palette with subtly soul-searing, rough-edged tunes that are equal parts savvy and haunting.

Lots of singers set their dating woes to hard guitars and hummable melodies - Coxon just does it better than most.

Fluency aside, with the first in what is hopefully a long line of releases, Fever Ray knocks down more walls than it puts up.

These 12 songs are beautiful in their bucolic simplicity, and elegant, too, in their tidy melodies and warm flickers of emotion.

The prog-rock elements that begin the disc and surface throughout help to make the familiar sound fresh.

His best so far.

Even if her vulgarity is her main selling point, she's more than just a novelty act.

However much Los Campesinos! need a good editor--both for its music and lyrics--a red pen would only ruin the fun.

It's a very consistent record, with lots of wide-open spaces and quivering quietness, and just about every sound seems to fit perfectly exactly where it sits.

Produced by Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy, Staples' latest is a joyous celebration of life and faith on traditional gospel songs and tunes by Tweedy, Allen Toussaint, John Fogerty, Randy Newman and Staples' father, Roebuck "Pops" Staples.

A charming collection of breezy, hook-filled pop songs.

It's by far his most personal album, but "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" keeps the self-absorption to a minimum, in favor of vivid descriptions and up-tempo music that's catchy and engaging regardless of whether you're invested in the difficult back story.

They strike a forceful balance between elemental and ornate.

Hegarty wrote and helped to arrange all the songs on The Crying Light, and his writing bears the same pensive sensitivity as his singing on what amounts to a spellbinding album.

The circuitous path to success has done the band good: it's given Brown and company time enough to develop a winsome country-rock style without undue meddling from the major-label mediocracy, and it shows on You Get What You Give.

Helm’s voice is still poignant even if it’s nowhere near as strong as it once was.

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.

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.

The Lady Killer doesn't have the same tightly focused future-soul sound as Green's other project, Gnarls Barkley, but that gives the singer a chance to show his wider ranging musical appetites with elements of vintage R&B, irresistible pop and even a couple of sleek spy-movie riffs.

American Music Club return with a quieter but no less excellent addition to a catalog that stretches back to 1985.

Aside from standout individual performances, what makes this vibrant session click so naturally is the collaborative spirit bonding these two great American artists tapping into the rich, varied legacy of our popular music.

Fans of Dulli and Lanegan should happily devour the Gutter Twins, but even better, newcomers are in for a smooth, memorable introduction to two of the darker characters in rock today.

Auerbach shows his vocal range again and again, actually singing instead of just howling at the moon, and his knack for warm production is impressive.

The emotional outpouring on display dwarfs what most vocal "emo" bands do.

It's been a long time since Radiohead made records with an eye toward anything more than satisfying the band's own creative impulses, if it ever did. Those who are prepared to stick it out, though, may well find The King of Limbs worth the wait.

Folk and rock collide in happy fashion as McKenna celebrates the commonplace on the rugged title track, setting vocal grit alongside flowing organ and a punchy backbeat.

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

It's a gruff, sometimes paranoid album with a decidedly subjective point of view, but Rising Down cuts no corners as its tells some hard truths to a society that is only too happy to stay in the dark.

The only thing missing, really, is the visual context. That's a big piece of some of these songs--it is a TV show, after all--but even so, Flight of the Conchords the album is a thorough, and thoroughly entertaining, overview of Flight of the Conchords the band.

The real difference between this album and past Dears efforts, though, is not so much musical directness as Lightburn's lyrical attempts to become the spokesman for the dispossessed.

Whatever the sound, his songs are unfailingly catchy, and his smart lyrics and lovely melodies make them stand out even when they're understated.

Derek Trucks Band has produced its most commercially viable CD to date.

"Tio Bitar" is an excellent follow-up to "Ta Det Lugnt," offering another far-out trip courtesy of Ejstes and his musical magic.

An incisive and funny introduction to the 21-year-old English singer.

"Hip Hop Is Dead" feels bloated and a little self-indulgent at 16 songs, not all of which are as essential as the first few, but that doesn't change the legitimacy of the point Nas is trying to make, or the guts he shows in making it.

The Way I See It doesn't break any new ground, but it's a very well-executed homage that serves to remind that classic soul is timeless.

Singers with powerful voices often gravitate toward material that lets them prove it, but Neko Case demonstrates the power of subtlety on her latest.

It's a deliberate album that never sounds over-thought, and it's moving without even a hint of cliché.

It's a compelling record in the same way as Green Day's "American Idiot" was: Each shows a band pushing itself to grow, and succeeding far more than anyone could have reasonably expected.

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.

It's Sonic Youth's most compelling album in years.

If you haven't discovered him yet, there's no better time than "Time Being."

Whether rollicking through "St. James Infirmary" or reflecting on "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," Wilson is in top-form, always sounding quite loverly.

Few songwriters are capable of making misery sound so elegant, and even desirable.

This time, the strong songwriting and astute musical arrangements combine to make Mann's latest her best album so far.

The difference between mediocre and magnificent Morrissey records tends to be the music, and by that measure, Years of Refusal is the strongest of his three '00s comeback efforts.

Black Mountain pushes its songs further on In the Future, experimenting with druggy synthesizers and shifting musical dynamics on complex arrangements that veer from hazy psychedelia to brutal riffage.

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

Accelerate serves notice that R.E.M. intends to stay that way.