Pistol Annies

Annie Up

RCA Nashville

Country

Pistol Annies make a great leap forward on their bruised, beautiful second album Annie Up,

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Fitz and the Tantrums

More Than Just a Dream

Dangerbird Records / Elektra

Pop/Rock

The neo-soul outfit worked with Beck/M83-producer Tony Hoffer to update its vintage R&B aesthetic with a more contemporary sound.

— Matt Collar

Original Soundtrack

The Great Gatsby [2013] [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [Deluxe Edition]

Polydor

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde, Easy Listening, Stage & Screen, Rap

With Jay-Z, Lana Del Rey, the xx, and others, the Jazz Age meets the iPod Age on Luhrmann's excellent soundtrack.

— David Jeffries

Deerhunter

Monomania

4AD

Pop/Rock

Equally raw and reflective, Deerhunter's fifth album uses noise and rock-with-a-capital-R clichés as armor against life's hardships.

— Heather Phares

Natalie Maines

Mother

Columbia

Pop/Rock

The Dixie Chicks frontwoman collaborates with producer Ben Harper on a rocking collection of covers and originals.

— Thom Jurek

Savages

Silence Yourself

Matador

Pop/Rock

The London-based, all-female outfit delivers a searing debut album that borrows from and refreshes post-punk in equal measures.

— Heather Phares

She & Him

Volume 3

Merge

Pop/Rock

She & Him continue to mine the past for inspiration on their third album of breezy summertime pop.

— Gregory Heaney

Lady A

Golden

Capitol Nashville

Country

Lady A devote themselves to polished adult contemporary pop on the agreeable Golden.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Little Boots

Nocturnes

On Repeat Records

Pop/Rock

The sultry, expansive sophomore album from the British dance diva touches upon '70s disco and '90s house music.

— Matt Collar

Talib Kweli

Prisoner of Conscious

Javotti Media

Rap

It's scattershot, but Talib's casual stroll through mainstream sounds has some amazing highlights and stunning lyrics.

— David Jeffries

Mikal Cronin

MCII

Merge

Pop/Rock

Cronin's first album for Merge cleans up his scruffy and melodic power pop and gives it a '90s sheen.

— Tim Sendra

Still Corners

Strange Pleasures

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The duo switch from a murky neo-psych sound to a sleek, Drive-inspired sound on their second album.

— Tim Sendra

Havoc

13

Nature Sounds

Rap

Named after his lucky number, this solo effort finds the Mobb Deep MC and beatmaker sounding energetic and revitalized.

— David Jeffries

Patty Griffin

American Kid

Columbia / New West

Folk, Pop/Rock

With help from Cody and Luther Dickinson and Robert Plant, the artist delivers a poignant collection of songs about life, love, and mortality.

— Thom Jurek

Nashville Cast

The Music of Nashville: Season 1, Vol. 2

Big Machine Records

Country, Pop/Rock

The second volume from the first season of the ABC hit series is at least as strong as its predecessor.

— Thom Jurek

Joshua Redman

Walking Shadows

Nonesuch

Jazz

Saxophonist Josh Redman's first orchestral jazz album is a lush, sophisticated affair that lives up to the best of the genre.

— Matt Collar

Justice

Access All Arenas

Ed Banger Records

Electronic

The French house group mixes songs from Cross and Audio, Video, Disco on its fun-packed second live release.

— Jason Lymangrover

Joe Satriani

Unstoppable Momentum

Epic

Pop/Rock

Unstoppable Momentum finds virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani at his richest and most adventurous.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Co La

Moody Coup

Software

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Equally restless and restrained, Moody Coup leaves the hazy surreality of Co La's previous albums for brisker, more experimental territory.

— Heather Phares

We Are Loud Whispers

Suchness

Hardly Art

Pop/Rock

Gently beautiful indie electronica from Sonya Westcott (Arthur & Yu) and Ayumu Haitani (4 Bonjour's Parties).

— Tim Sendra

Ian Bavitz / K. Dawson / The Uncluded

Hokey Fright

Rhymesayers Entertainment

Rap, Pop/Rock

It's as quirky as expected, but the meeting of Moldy Peach Kimya Dawson and underground MC Aesop Rock is also surprisingly filling.

— David Jeffries

The Bevis Frond

White Numbers

WORONZOW

Pop/Rock

Even after 25-plus years, Nick Saloman still produces albums filled with excellent psych pop and fiery guitar heroics.

— Tim Sendra

AM & Shawn Lee / AM / Shawn Lee

La Musique Numerique

Park the Van

Pop/Rock

The second album of collaborations between AM & Shawn Lee finds the duo delving into an ‘80s analog synth and electronic music sounds.

— Matt Collar

Dailey & Vincent

Brothers of the Highway

Rounder

Religious, Country

This set, which Dailey and Vincent self-produced, is full of the things they do well, blending wonderful vocal harmonies with bright, nuanced playing.

— Steve Leggett

Daniel Higgs

The Godward Way

Latitudes

Pop/Rock

This 23-minute meditation on banjo and organ fits nicely into the spiritual zone-outs this punk forefather has been exploring lately.

— Fred Thomas

Russell Brodie / Grandchildren / Adam Katz / Aleks Martray / Tristan Palazzolo / Roman Salcic / John Vogel

Golden Age

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

The Philadelphia electro-acoustic ensemble's melodic psych-pop-influenced sophomore album is a warm Technicolor listen.

— Matt Collar

Julie Doiron

So Many Days

Aporia Records

Pop/Rock

Coming from a decidedly dour past, the ninth solo album from this Canadian songwriter has a puzzling sense of optimism about it.

— Fred Thomas

Retox

YPLL

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Retox clean up their act without toning it down on their Epitaph debut.

— Gregory Heaney

X Ambassadors

Love Songs Drug Songs

Interscope

Pop/Rock

The debut EP from the Brooklyn four-piece showcases their dark, soulful mix of electronic pop and rock.

— Matt Collar

James Cotton

Cotton Mouth Man

Alligator Records

Blues

James Cotton may be cruising in on 80 years of age, but he's just released one of the best albums of his career.

— Steve Leggett

Shannon Wright

In Film Sound

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

Mystery and complexity seep from this masterfully composed solo album, heavy on mid-'90s-styled guitar indie and anguished vocals.

— Fred Thomas

98°

2.0

Entertainment One

Pop/Rock, R&B

98 Degrees mount an ingratiatingly charming comeback with 2.0.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal

Bruckner 6

ATMA Classique

Classical

Nézet-Séguin strives for traditional expression in Bruckner's Sixth, while achieving remarkable clarity and credible orchestral presence.

— Blair Sanderson

Marek Janowski

Wagner: Tannhäuser

PentaTone Classics

Classical

Marek Janowski's SACD presentation of Tannhäuser continues his excellent series of Richard Wagner's music dramas on PentaTone.

— Blair Sanderson

Simon Trpceski

Schubert, Bach, Liszt

Wigmore Hall Live

Classical

This entire program is something a traveling virtuoso around 1890 might well have played, and it puts Trpceski's considerable technical gifts into the sharpest perspective.

— James Manheim

San Francisco Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" [2012 Recording]

SFS Media

Classical

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony deliver a reading of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that is cathartic and joyous.

— Blair Sanderson

Latvian Radio Choir / Sigvards Klava

Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil

Ondine

Classical

On balance, a beautifully engineered and generally very strong version of a work that, freed from the tyrannies of modernism and Communism, is still revealing itself.

— James Manheim

Gennady Rozhdestvensky / London Philharmonic Orchestra

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8

LPO

Classical

Here is a prime example of how Shostakovich in Russian hands exceeds the vast majority of what comes from Western conductors. True enthusiasts will want to absorb this reading.

— James Manheim

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