Father John Misty

I Love You, Honeybear

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Caustic retro-pop confectioner Josh Tilmann finds true love on his second outing under the Father John Misty moniker.

— James Christopher Monger

Blackberry Smoke

Holding All the Roses

New Rounder

Pop/Rock, Country

With producer Brendan O'Brien, these Southern rockers deliver an album of great songs fueled by killer riffs and hooks.

— Thom Jurek

JD McPherson

Let the Good Times Roll

New Rounder

Pop/Rock

The Oklahoma rock & roller's sophomore album of literate, rootsy, old-school R&B.

— Matt Collar

Rhiannon Giddens

Tomorrow Is My Turn

Nonesuch

Country, Blues, Folk

The Carolina Chocolate Drops leader goes solo with a handsome, slyly inventive interpretation of female-fronted American roots music.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Michelle Chamuel

Face the Fire

The End / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

The Voice contestant transitions from runner-up to album artist on this satisfying debut.

— David Jeffries

Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks

Team Love Records

Pop/Rock

Smart debut album from upstate New York twee punks zips through 19 love songs in 22 minutes.

— Fred Thomas

Juan Gabriel

Los Dúo

Fonovisa

Latin

El Divo of Juarez returns to the studio to reimagine many of his hits with an all-star cast of vocal guests.

— Thom Jurek

Duke Garwood

Heavy Love

Heavenly

Blues, Pop/Rock

On his fifth solo album, the British singer/songwriter and guitar slinger delivers a darkness-drenched future blues.

— Thom Jurek

Gretchen Peters

Blackbirds

Proper Records

Country

After entering the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame, the artist delivers a wide-ranging, career-defining album.

— Thom Jurek

Raheem DeVaughn

Love Sex Passion

eOne

R&B

Another distinctive mix of modern and nostalgic R&B with heartfelt expressions and side-splitting come-ons to spare.

— Andy Kellman

Ricky Martin

A Quien Quiera Escuchar

Sony Music Latin

Latin, Pop/Rock

On his best offering in more than 15 years, the superstar delivers a collection of global dancefloor grooves and killer ballads.

— Thom Jurek

Sisqó

Last Dragon

Massenburg

R&B

The Dru Hill singer picks up almost exactly where he left off with his previous solo album, despite an almost 14-year gap.

— Andy Kellman

6 String Drag

Roots Rock 'n' Roll

Royal Potato Family

Pop/Rock, Country

First album since 1997 from South Carolina alt-country heroes captures their loosely tight sound with style and commitment.

— Mark Deming

St. Vincent

St. Vincent [Deluxe Edition]

Concord Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

A fascinating mix of directness and artifice, St. Vincent's fourth album is her most satisfying yet.

— Heather Phares

Peace

Happy People

Columbia

Pop/Rock

Solid second album buzzing with optimistic guitar melodies that belie the introspective lyrics.

Vijay Iyer / Vijay Iyer Trio

Break Stuff

ECM

Jazz

The pianist's long-standing trio expertly demonstrate the concept that "a break in music is still music: a span of time in which to act."

— Thom Jurek

Crushed Beaks

Scatter

Matilda Records / Moshi Moshi Records

Pop/Rock

Now a trio, the band balances lush dream pop atmospheres and rambunctious indie rock on its first full-length.

— Heather Phares

The Fireworks

Switch Me On

Shelflife

Pop/Rock

Noise pop at its finest from a band made up of members of Pocketbooks, Popguns, and Big Pink Cake.

— Tim Sendra

Jeff Austin

The Simple Truth

Yep Roc

Country, Folk, Pop/Rock

Yonder Mountain String Band leader goes solo with this reflective yet still playful progressive roots album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

A Year With 13 Moons

Mexican Summer

Electronic, Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

A massive step forward for this abstract sound artist, incorporating minimal rhythms into his textural shoegaze pieces.

— Fred Thomas

Johan Agebjörn

Notes

Paper Bag Records

Pop/Rock, New Age

Album that combines the producer's dual interests in new age and dance music, blending them into an emotional yet relaxed tapestry of sound.

— Tim Sendra

Kath Bloom

Pass Through Here

Chapter Music

Pop/Rock, Folk

The East Coast singer/songwriter takes her music to California and collaborates with a younger cast of players to dynamic result.

— Thom Jurek

Kodaline

Coming Up for Air

RCA

Pop/Rock

Pretty, pleasant variation on Coldplay's sweet, sincere school boy pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lightning in a Twilight Hour

Slow Changes

Elefant

Pop/Rock

Debut record for Field Mice/Trembling Blue Stars founder Bobby Wratten's new band, full of his trademark melancholic indie pop.

— Tim Sendra

Jon Ellery / Luke Haines / Josh Whitehouse

Adventures in Dementia: A Micro Opera

Outsider Music

Pop/Rock

The eccentric British ex-pat offers a brief, madcap "micro opera" about a Mark E. Smith impersonator on his fourth consecutive concept release in four years.

— Timothy Monger

Cypress Grove / Lydia Lunch / Spiritual Front

Twin Horses

Rustblade

Pop/Rock

Three complementary groups split this album of dark, romantic album of originals and twisted covers.

— Thom Jurek

Martin Sexton

Mixtape of the Open Road

Kitchen Table Records

Folk, Pop/Rock

The celebrated singer and songwriter hits the highway with this loose concept album about the nomadic life.

— Mark Deming

NOFX

Home Street Home: Original Songs from the Shit Musical

Fat Wreck Chords

Pop/Rock

Songs from a punk rock musical that, while catchy, ultimately feel a little bit too polished and sterile.

— Fred Thomas

Original Soundtrack

Fifty Shades of Grey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Republic

Stage & Screen, Pop/Rock

The soundtrack to EL James' Twilight fan fiction-turned-international literary sensation emphasizes seduction over S&M.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Retox

Beneath California

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

The San Diego hardcore group delivers another needle-sharp set that is brutal, fast, and concise.

— Timothy Monger

Robert Earl Keen

Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions

Dualtone Music

Folk, Country

Texas songwriter pulls together a band of bluegrass pickers for a guitar pull where they cover a set of traditional favorites.

— Mark Deming

Erwan Castex / Rone

Creatures

InFiné

Electronic

The French-born producer mixes the serene, the cinematic, and the otherworldly on this excellent third album.

— David Jeffries

Egyptrixx

Transfer of Energy (Feelings of Power)

Halocline Trance

Electronic

The Toronto-based producer continues to create excellent off-world techno on this 2015 LP.

— David Jeffries

Steve Tyrell

That Lovin' Feeling

Concord / Concord Records (Canada)

Vocal

The soulful crooner celebrates popular songs of the '50s and '60s, including several duets with the original artists.

The Districts

A Flourish and a Spoil

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

Working with producer John Congleton, the band refines its freewheeling anthems without sacrificing any heart.

— Heather Phares

The Unthanks

Mount the Air

Rabble Rouser Music

Pop/Rock, Folk

A dark storeroom of soft, piano-led balladry peppered with tasteful flourishes of upright bass, soft brush work, and spectral horns and strings.

— James Christopher Monger

John Moloney / Thurston Moore

Full Bleed: Caught on Tape

Northern Spy

Pop/Rock

A bleak and harrowing series of violent guitar and drum improvisations from a larger-than-life indie noise duo.

— Fred Thomas

Various Artists

20 Years of Henry Street Music: The Definitive Collection

BBE

Electronic

A generous selection of highlights from the catalog of Johnny "D" De Mairo's New York-based house label.

— Andy Kellman

Various Artists

Punk 45: Extermination Nights in the Sixth City - Cleveland, Ohio: Punk and the Decline of the Mid-West

Soul Jazz

Pop/Rock

Features 18 rare sides from a time in the '70s when Cleveland was home to some of the edgiest music on Earth.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Punk 45: Burn, Rubber City, Burn!: Akron, Ohio: Punk and the Decline of the Mid-West 1975-80

Soul Jazz

Pop/Rock

18 rare sides (including early material from Devo and the Waitresses) reveal the unexpected pleasures of Akron's new wave scene.

— Mark Deming

Vision Fortune

Country Music

ATP Recordings

Pop/Rock

Recorded over a two-month stay in a remote villa, this album of spare sample-based post-rock is rife with anxiety.

— Fred Thomas

Fabio Luisi / Philharmonia Zürich

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Accentus

Classical

Fabio Luisi leads a nuanced and subtle interpretation of Hector Berlioz's Romantic masterpiece, Symphonie fantastique.

— Blair Sanderson

Ronald Brautigam

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 14 & 21

BIS

Classical

This is a way into Brautigam's work for those looking to give him a try and experience his dry approach and resolute lack of lyricism.

— James Manheim

Mariss Jansons / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Strauss: Don Juan; Ein Heldenleben

BR Klassik

Classical

Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra present two of Richard Strauss' most popular tone poems on this 2014 release.

— Blair Sanderson

Sonya Yoncheva

Paris, Mon Amour

Sony Classical

Classical

A fine pick for anyone hoping to identify the next generation of opera stars, a striking number of whom seem likely to emerge from Eastern Europe.

— James Manheim

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