French Montana

Excuse My French

Bad Boy / Interscope

Rap

The Bronx rapper and hip-hop entrepreneur's 2013 release is more of a high-power mixtape than a focused debut.

— David Jeffries

Majical Cloudz

Impersonator

Matador

Pop/Rock

After a messy and sometimes overwhelming debut, this second album from Montreal producer Devon Welsh is weightless and minimal.

— Fred Thomas

Daft Punk

Random Access Memories

Columbia

Electronic

By tapping into the wonder and excitement of the music of the '70s and '80s, the duo deliver one of the finest electronic albums of the 2010s.

— Heather Phares

The National

Trouble Will Find Me

4AD

Pop/Rock

The follow-up to 2010's High Violet seeks refuge in the arms of old friends and lovers, and finds none.

— James Christopher Monger

G&D

Lighthouse

SomeOthaShip

R&B, Rap

The husband-wife duo offer a wealth of positive vibes, intricate lyrics, and funky beats on this welcoming effort.

— David Jeffries

Saturday Looks Good to Me

One Kiss Ends It All

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

After a six-year gap, this is a memorable and inventive collection of summery pop from the Michigan indie stalwarts.

— James Wilkinson

Pat Metheny

Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol. 20

Tzadik Records

Jazz

The best-selling guitarist collaborates with the prolific, free-thinking composer to a stellar -- and yes, accessible -- result.

The Beach Boys

Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour

Capitol

Pop/Rock

Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour is a double-disc souvenir of the Beach Boys' 2012 reunion.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Darius Rucker

True Believers

Capitol

Country, Pop/Rock

Former Hootie & the Blowfish vocalist is joined by Sheryl Crow and other guests on his third album of contemporary country material.

— Fred Thomas

Jamie Cullum

Momentum

Universal

Pop/Rock

The British jazz-influenced singer/songwriter delivers an adventurous, stylistically varied sixth album.

— Matt Collar

Willy Moon

Here's Willy Moon

Interscope

Pop/Rock

Here's Willy Moon is a giddy, ridiculous blend of nostalgia for the '50s and Langer/Winstanley's 80s.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Club 8

Above the City

Labrador

Pop/Rock

The venerable Swedish indie pop duo keep cranking out excellent albums; this is their most musically varied and well produced to date.

— Tim Sendra

Audra McDonald

Go Back Home

Nonesuch

Vocal, Stage & Screen

Audra McDonald's fifth solo studio release, and her first in some seven years, luckily follows the template of the earlier ones.

— Steve Leggett

Bob James / David Sanborn

Quartette Humaine

Okeh Records

Jazz

The second collaboration between these two contemporary jazz giants is an adventurous acoustic quartet date.

— Matt Collar

Scout Niblett

It's Up to Emma

Drag City

Pop/Rock

Here the outsider singer/songwriter delivers a loud, visceral, searing account of heartbreak and catharsis.

— Thom Jurek

Airbourne

Black Dog Barking

Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

Airbourne continue to follow in the hard rockin' footsteps of AC/DC and Krokus on their third album, Black Dog Barking.

— Gregory Heaney

Thirty Seconds to Mars

Love Lust Faith + Dreams [Clean]

Virgin

Pop/Rock

30 Seconds to Mars ramp up the electronics and prog rock on their most imaginative record to date.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Alpine

A Is for Alpine

Ivy League / Votiv

Pop/Rock

With their debut full-length, this Australian six-piece indie electro-pop act creates an atmosphere of almost sterilized indie dance-pop perfection.

— Fred Thomas

Dirty Beaches

Drifters/Love Is the Devil

Zoo / Zoo Music

Pop/Rock

This double album balances the ominous atmospheres Dirty Beaches is known for with the ambient experiments of the Waterpark score.

— Heather Phares

JC Brooks / JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

Howl

Bloodshot

Pop/Rock, R&B

This Chicago roots unit delivers an emotional--and soulful--soulful chapter in its evolutionary book, addressing modern love and desire.

— Thom Jurek

The Fall

Re-Mit

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

The veteran indie rockers' 2013 effort is a confounding set of song sketches and hot riffs.

— David Jeffries

Attic Lights

Super De Luxe

Elefant

Pop/Rock

The sophomore album from Scotland's Attic Lights features an infectious mix of melodic '70s-influenced pop.

— Matt Collar

Clairy Browne / Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes

Baby Caught the Bus

Vanguard

R&B

The swaggering debut from the Australian outfit showcases their take on old-school soul and R&B.

— Matt Collar

Michel Camilo

What's Up?

Okeh Records

Jazz

On his second solo outing, the celebrated pianist explores harmony, texture, and rhythm with a fine collection of covers and originals.

— Thom Jurek

It Hugs Back

Recommended Record

Safe & Sound

Pop/Rock

The third full-length from this Kent, England guitar pop quartet is a colorful collage of styles that differs almost track to track.

— Fred Thomas

Joe Bonamassa / Beth Hart

Seesaw

J&R Adventures

Blues

This is Beth Hart's second release of blues and soul cover versions featuring guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

— Al Campbell

Atom™

The Eccentric Electrics of Atom & Friends

The Omni Recording Corporation

Electronic, Pop/Rock

This compilation ties together the many projects of electronic musician Uwe Schmidt (aka Señor Coconut, Atom™, etc.)

— Jason Lymangrover

Zo!

ManMade

Foreign Exchange Music

R&B

Detroit's Lorenzo Ferguson kicks it up a notch with another guest-filled set of mature and stimulating R&B.

— Andy Kellman

The Baptist Generals

Jackleg Devotional to the Heart

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

After an entire decade, this Denton, Texas roots-informed indie unit returns with a glowing, poetic follow-up to its 2003 debut.

— Fred Thomas

Dead Gaze

Dead Gaze

FatCat Records / Palmist

Pop/Rock

Nice compilation of the Mississippi-based lo-fi noise popper's previous work, with a few newly recorded songs thrown in.

— Tim Sendra

New Politics

A Bad Girl in Harlem

RCA

Pop/Rock

New Politics cast aside the safety net of their influences on their highly polished sophomore album.

— Gregory Heaney

Radiation City

Animals in the Median

Tender Loving Empire

Pop/Rock

On its second album, this Portland indie group tempers its space age pop with just enough earthy rock to keep the songs from floating away.

— Fred Thomas

The Hilliard Ensemble

Prayers and Praise: Vocal Music by Alexander Raskatov

Challenge Classics

Classical

Far from being a slightly updated version of Rachmaninov's sacred music, it's more like a George Crumb interpretation of Russian choral music.

— James Manheim

The King's Consort / Robert King / Susanne Heinrich / Marianne Beate Kielland / Carolyn Sampson

Couperin: Trois Leçons de Ténèbres

Vivat

Classical

The end of this program holds compelling performances of difficult, unfamiliar music in this major accomplishment for the new Vivat label.

— James Manheim

Blank Realm

Go Easy

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The experimental Australian indie rockers turn in some of their most focused and confident songs on Go Easy.

— Heather Phares

Come

Eleven: Eleven [Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition]

Matador

Pop/Rock

Their debut is a strong fusion of sounds and styles, combining extreme angst and commanding power. Deluxe Edition comes with a second disc of live tracks.

— Tim Sendra

Original Soundtrack

Fast & Furious 6 [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Def Jam / Universal Music

Electronic, Rap, Stage & Screen

The sixth installment of the Fast & Furious soundtrack offers another high-energy set of club/asphalt face-plant jams that never lets up.

— James Christopher Monger

Primus

Sailing the Seas of Cheese [CD/DVD]

Interscope

Pop/Rock

The alternative trio's most popular album inspired millions to look at the bass guitar as a lead instrument.

— Jason Lymangrover

Father Yod

The Source Family [Original Soundtrack]

Drag City

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen, Folk

The soundtrack from the Jodi Wille/Maria Demopoulos documentary showcases a wide array of the 1970s cult's creative music.

— Thom Jurek

Lovesliescrushing

Ghost Colored Halo

Projekt

Pop/Rock

The '90s shoegaze group returns with another washy, ambient album of reverb and guitar loops.

— Jason Lymangrover

Mac Davis

A Little More Action Please: The Anthology 1970-1985

Raven

Country, Pop/Rock

Raven's Mac Davis compilation has the big hits but also focuses on his work as a progressive country songwriter

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Parlour Flames

Parlour Flames

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

A collaboration between Oasis' Bonehead and poet Vinny Peculiar, Parlour Flames is a curious love letter to Manchester.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sic Alps

She's on Top

Drag City

Pop/Rock

This brief EP shows that Sic Alps are already finding interesting ways to complicate the cleaned-up sound of their fourth album.

— Heather Phares

Polina Leschenko / Richard Tognetti / Australian Chamber Orchestra

Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin and Piano; Octet

BIS

Classical

Mendelssohn's masterful octet and ingenious Concerto in D minor are given a brilliant sonic treatment on this SACD from BIS.

— Blair Sanderson

The Brodsky Quartet

In the South

Chandos

Classical

Everything here is lyrical, tuneful, and sensuous in the way the title promises. A thoroughly enjoyable hour of listening.

— James Manheim

Philip Higham

Britten: Suites for Solo Cello

Delphian

Classical

Philip Higham delves deeply into the expressive side of Britten's three suites for solo cello, made famous by Rostropovich.

— Blair Sanderson

Ann Hallenberg / Alan Curtis / Il Complesso Barocco

Hidden Handel

Naïve

Classical

You might buy this album just to hear Hallenberg in fine form, or to hear some Handel that nobody else has recorded; either is reason enough.

— James Manheim

Tall Black Guy

8 Miles to Moenart

First Word

Rap

A relaxed and emotive set of mostly instrumental productions from Terrel Wallace, whose hometown of Detroit plays a major role.

— Andy Kellman

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