John Mayer

Paradise Valley

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

A country-tinged album inspired by the Montana river valley where Mayer owns a cabin retreat.

— Matt Collar

Earl Sweatshirt

Doris

Columbia

Rap

The highly anticipated debut from the Odd Future member is a bit messy, but it suits this maverick rapper to a T.

— David Jeffries

Julianna Barwick

Nepenthe

Dead Oceans

Avant-Garde, Electronic, Pop/Rock

With her third album, this Brooklyn-based sound artist opens up her personal song worlds to deeper collaboration and more detailed production.

— Fred Thomas

Zola Jesus

Versions

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

Featuring string arrangements for the Mivos Quartet by J.G. Thirlwell, Versions focuses on the wounded beauty of Zola Jesus' music.

— Heather Phares

Julia Holter

Loud City Song

Domino

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

Holter's third album in as many years is also her most polished, offering fascinating explorations of celebrity, love, and the city.

— Heather Phares

No Age

An Object

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Third album from L.A. dream punks results in their most refined work, marrying formless noise with the energy of hardcore.

— Fred Thomas

Ty Segall

Sleeper

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The prolific garage rock revivalist goes unplugged on this full album of acoustic neo-psych ballads.

— Jason Lymangrover

Braids

Flourish//Perish

Arbutus Records

Pop/Rock

Despite losing a member, the band thrives on its second album, delivering ambitious and emotional electronic pop.

— Heather Phares

Superchunk

I Hate Music

Merge

Pop/Rock

The band's tenth album is classic Superchunk, overflowing with perfect pop songs, fiery performances, and hard-fought wisdom.

— Tim Sendra

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Made Up Mind

Masterworks

Pop/Rock

On its second studio offering this large ensemble delivers tighter songwriting and arrangements, while keeping its trademark sound intact.

— Thom Jurek

Crocodiles

Crimes of Passion

Frenchkiss Records

Pop/Rock

Produced by the Raveonettes' Sune Rose Wagner, this is the noise pop band's most immediate and poppy album to date.

— Tim Sendra

A$AP Ferg

Trap Lord

Columbia / RCA

Rap

The A$AP Mob member steps out with an album as dark and attractive as ASAP Rocky's official debut.

— David Jeffries

Jimmy Buffett

Songs from St. Somewhere

Mailboat Records

Pop/Rock

Jimmy Buffett gets mellow and silly on his 29th studio album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Pure Bathing Culture

Moon Tides

Partisan

Pop/Rock

Dreamy and dream-like debut album from a duo that borrows from the Cocteau Twins, but sounds fully modern and weirdly beautiful.

— Tim Sendra

Shigeto

No Better Time Than Now

Ghostly International

Electronic

Zach Saginaw's third Ghostly International album, laced with some dazzling thumb-piano melodies, is his most colorful and accomplished release.

— Andy Kellman

Charlie Worsham

Rubberband

Warner Bros.

Country

Worsham's debut is a sweet, genial throwback to early-'90s country-pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Golden Suits

Golden Suits

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

An enigmatic collection of string-laden indie pop confections inspired by the short stories of the late John Cheever.

— James Christopher Monger

Kim Lenz / Kim Lenz & the Jaguars

Follow Me

Burnside / Riley Records

Pop/Rock

Rockabilly diva Kim Lenz delivers a swaggering, sultry album produced by pianist Carl Sonny Leyland.

— Matt Collar

Horseback / Jenks Miller

A Plague of Knowing

Relapse Records

Pop/Rock

This triple-disc retrospective contains singles, splits, rarities, and unreleased material for fans and a brilliant introduction for newcomers.

— Thom Jurek

Laura Veirs

Warp & Weft

Raven Marching Band Records

Pop/Rock, Country

On her ninth album, the Portland-based singer/songwriter returns to her electric guitar with a dozen well-crafted and performed songs.

— Thom Jurek

Alexander von Mehren

Aéropop

The Control Group

Pop/Rock

Perfectly crafted, very melodic chamber pop debut from the respected Norwegian arranger.

— Tim Sendra

Blue October

Sway

Membran / Up/Down Records

Pop/Rock

Lone Star State post-grunge/pop rockers turn their frowns upside down on their seventh long-player.

— James Christopher Monger

Ski Lodge

Big Heart

Dovecote Records

Pop/Rock

The group's debut album is hooky Smiths-influenced jangly pop that's played with tons of energy and plenty of melancholy conviction.

— Tim Sendra

TGT

Three Kings

Atlantic

R&B

Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank emerge from years of restrictive industry logistics to convene for satisfactory slow jams and ballads.

— Andy Kellman

Steve Turre

The Bones of Art

HighNote Records

Jazz

This swinging set features an all-star sextet with a three trombone front line, terrific compositions, and excellent charts.

— Thom Jurek

White Hills

So You Are... So You'll Be

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

With its seventh studio album, this Brooklyn space rock trio embraces lunar ambience, sci-fi geekiness, and ample amounts of guitar solos.

— Fred Thomas

The Goldberg Sisters / Adam Goldberg

Stranger's Morning

Apology Music / Burnside / Burnside Distribution

Pop/Rock

Actor/director Adam Goldberg's second foray under the Goldberg Sisters, his Flaming Lips-inspired, neo-psych-pop alter ego.

— James Christopher Monger

Destruction Unit

Deep Trip

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

Destruction Unit push their psychedelic punk sound to trippy extremes with their first album for Sacred Bones.

— Gregory Heaney

Lee DeWyze

Frames

Vanguard / Welk

Pop/Rock

American Idol winner refashions himself as the lost Mumford son on his second album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

DIANA

Perpetual Surrender

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

The Toronto-based band's debut manages to make the cheesier side of '80s synth pop sound good.

— Heather Phares

Diarrhea Planet

I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

Infinity Cat Recordings

Pop/Rock

Despite having one of the gnarlier band names ever, this debut LP offers up a mesh of pop-metal technicality and surprisingly sincerity.

— Fred Thomas

Travis

Where You Stand

Red Telephone Box

Pop/Rock

Travis returns from an extended break with a subtly colorful, tentatively lively collection of adult pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Venom P. Stinger

1986-1991

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The complete, stellar recordings of the Australian garage punk crazies that featured drummer Jim White and guitarist Mick Turner of Dirty Three.

— Thom Jurek

Typhoon

White Lighter

Roll Call

Pop/Rock

Seismic Portland, Oregon-based, 14-piece indie rockers manage to please both sides of the brain with their debut long-player.

— James Christopher Monger

Desertshore / Mark Kozelek

Mark Kozelek & Desertshore

Caldo Verde Records

Pop/Rock

Deeply personal singer/songwriter is joined by former bandmates to temper his strikingly raw lyrics with dreamy folk-rock instrumentation.

— Fred Thomas

The Kissaway Trail

Breach

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

Kissaway trail return as a trio, but keep their sprawling sound intact on the expansive and dreamlike Breach.

— Gregory Heaney

Kandodo

K2O

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Freewheeling post-rock album by the Heads' Simon Price is feverish, dreamy, and hypnotic.

— Jason Lymangrover

Kurt Braunohler

How Do I Land?

Kill Rock Stars

Comedy/Spoken

Quirky, charming, and sharp, the Nerdist Network's secret weapon makes his comedy album debut.

— David Jeffries

Sarah Neufeld

Hero Brother

Constellation

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

Arcade Fire's violinist steps out with a highly creative solo recording that places her violin and compositions in provocative, alluring settings.

— Thom Jurek

Larry Gus

Years Not Living

DFA

Pop/Rock

Stuttering samples, glassy disco grooves, and throaty vocals make up this kaleidoscopic collage of beats and found sounds.

— Fred Thomas

Native

Orthodox

Sargent House

Pop/Rock

Native deliver an album of nervy and tense post-hardcore with Orthodox.

— Gregory Heaney

Mandolin Orange

This Side of Jordan

Yep Roc

Country, Pop/Rock

Evocative Gillian Welch-meets-Nickel Creek-inspired Antebellum jams from this North Carolina duo.

— James Christopher Monger

Theo Parrish

Theo Parrish's Black Jazz Signature

Black Jazz / Snow Dog Records

Jazz

The eclectic master DJ narrows his focus to seven early-'70s albums from one small but substantial label.

— Andy Kellman

August Alsina

Downtown: Life Under the Gun

Def Jam

R&B

Gritty, succinct, and impressive debut from a young and troubled R&B singer and songwriter who hails from the South.

— Andy Kellman

Backstreet Boys

The Essential Backstreet Boys

Legacy / RCA

Pop/Rock

Exhaustive double-disc set documenting the hitmaking peak and adult contemporary present of BSB.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Buffalo Killers

Ohio Grass

Alive Naturalsound Records / Alive Records

Pop/Rock

Everything at once, from the Rolling Stones, Black Crowes, and Mountain to White Album-era Beatles by turns, with tasty guitars and harmonies galore.

— Steve Leggett

John Coltrane

Afro Blue Impressions

Fantasy / Pablo

Jazz

The 40th anniversary of the Pablo label sees this classic remastered with an additional three tracks from the Stockholm show and new notes.

— Thom Jurek

Richard Pryor

The Warner Bros. Albums (1974-1983)

Rhino / Warner Bros.

Comedy/Spoken

Doing just what it says on the tin, this set collects the groundbreaking comedian's hilarious work from his most successful era.

— David Jeffries

Nas

Essential

Columbia/Legacy

Rap

An imperfect 30-track overview that includes cuts from all but one of the Queensbridge giant's 1994-2012 studio albums.

— Andy Kellman

R. Stevie Moore

Personal Appeal

Care in the Community

Pop/Rock

Though remarkably inconsistent, this compilation of tracks spanning 30 years is a great overview of this American lo-fi pop oddball.

— Fred Thomas

Sarah Vaughan

Sophisticated Lady: The Duke Ellington Songbook Collection

Fantasy / Pablo

Jazz, Vocal

The complete contents of Vaughan's pair of late-'70s Ellington tributes, plus six unreleased charts from Benny Carter that trump the originals.

— John Bush

The Green

Hawai'i '13

Easy Star Records

Reggae, Pop/Rock

Those who'd prefer to live their lives in flip-flops should open their arms wide for the reggae-pop group's third album.

— David Jeffries

Watain

The Wild Hunt

Century Media

Pop/Rock

Watain continue to push black metal in new directions on their fifth album, The Wild Hunt.

— Gregory Heaney

Willie Sugarcapps

Willie Sugarcapps

Royal Potato Family

Country

Quintet Will Kimbrough, Grayson Capps, the duo Sugarcane Jane, and Corky Hughes deliver the very definition of great Americana on this set.

— Thom Jurek

Bréton String Quartet

Jesús Guridi: String Quartets (Complete)

Naxos

Classical

The Bretón String Quartet never flags in energy or precision in this fine offbeat choice from the label's consistently interesting Spanish Classics series.

— James Manheim

Marek Janowski

Wagner: Die Walküre

PentaTone Classics

Classical

Janowski continues his super audio series of Wagner's music dramas for PentaTone with a riveting performance of Die Walküre.

— Blair Sanderson

Andrew Rangell

A Folk Song Runs Through It

Steinway & Sons

Classical

There's a lot here to keep you listening in this triumph in a very strong series of piano albums issued by manufacturer Steinway & Sons.

— James Manheim

Kristjan Järvi / Absolute Ensemble / Simone Dinnerstein

Bach Re-Invented

Sony Classical

Classical

This may draw younger listeners to the Bach keyboard works that have been an entry point to classical music for over three centuries.

— James Manheim

François-Xavier Roth / Les Siècles

Debussy: La Mer; Première Suite d'orchestre

Musicales Actes Sud

Classical

Roth leads the original instrument orchestra Les Siècles in authentic recreations of Debussy's La Mer and the Première suite.

— Blair Sanderson

Markus Stenz / Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne

Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 7

Oehms Classics

Classical

Mahler's Seventh Symphony receives an extraordinary reading by Markus Stenz and the Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne on this hybrid SACD.

— Blair Sanderson

Previous Week Next Week