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.

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.

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]

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]

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]