Eminem

The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Aftermath / Interscope

Rap

Filled with as many laughs and gasps as the original, this second Marshall Mathers LP finds the 8 Mile child in fine form.

— David Jeffries

M.I.A.

Matangi

Virgin/EMI

Electronic

M.I.A.'s fourth album balances the edgy noise of /\/\/\Y/\ with mainstream rap and R&B influences.

— Heather Phares

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne

Columbia / Epic

Pop/Rock

With the assistance of her then-husband Chad Kroeger, Lavigne rocks once again.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

James Blunt

Moon Landing [Bonus Track]

Atlantic

Pop/Rock

Incorporating elements of the Lumineers, the singer/songwriter assembles his most diverse album to date.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cut Copy

Free Your Mind

Loma Vista / Modular Recordings

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album finds them working a '90s influence, from acid house to Black Box, into their already expansive electro pop sound.

— Tim Sendra

Luscious Jackson

Magic Hour

Cobraside Distribution, Inc.

Pop/Rock

Fourth studio album from the recently re-formed '90s alternative group.

— Aneet Nijjar

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Miami Pop Festival

Experience Hendrix / Sony Legacy / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

First authorized release of this concert from Hendrix's archives sounds great, but catches the guitar hero in a downbeat mood.

— Mark Deming

Bob Dylan

The Complete Album Collection, Vol. 1

Columbia Records / Sony Music

Folk, Pop/Rock

Massive box set of Dylan's original albums, supplemented by two discs of Side Tracks.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Midlake

Antiphon

ATO

Pop/Rock

Midlake's fourth outing may find the group with a new bandleader, but they still love the '70s.

— James Christopher Monger

Melvins

Tres Cabrones

Ipecac

Pop/Rock

King Buzzo and Dale Crover reunite with Mike Dillard, the Melvins' original drummer, on the band's 19th studio album.

— Gregory Heaney

Various Artists

Divided & United: Songs of the Civil War

ATO

Folk, Country, Pop/Rock

Splendid collection of songs from the Civil War years, performed by a stellar cast with a variety of musical viewpoints.

— Mark Deming

Swearin'

Surfing Strange

Wichita

Pop/Rock

With their second album, this fuzzy punk-pop act are heavier, moodier, and more mature but no less instantly exciting.

— Fred Thomas

The Wanted

Word of Mouth

Island

Pop/Rock

The British boy band's third studio album of expertly crafted dance-, R&B-, and pop-inflected songs.

— Matt Collar

Céline Dion

Loved Me Back to Life

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

The diva delivers one of her most diverse blockbusters, containing classic covers and a distinct R&B feel.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Howe Gelb

The Coincidentalist

New West

Pop/Rock, Country

Giant Sand's founder and frontman returns with an intimate, mysterious, and fully realized solo work.

— Thom Jurek

Connan Mockasin

Caramel

Because Music / Phantasy Sound

Pop/Rock

The quixotic New Zealand psych popper delves into sensual slow jams that are also deeply weird.

— Heather Phares

Booka Shade

Eve

Embassy One

Electronic

Recorded in Greater Manchester, England after fruitless sessions and a near split, the duo's fifth album is among their best output.

— Andy Kellman

Buck Owens

Buck 'Em!: The Music of Buck Owens (1955-1967)

Omnivore

Country

Alternate history of Buck Owens' prime told via mono mixes, alternate takes, rare 45s, and live performances

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tinie Tempah

Demonstration

Parlophone

Rap

Paloma Faith, Emeli Sandé, Dizzee Rascal, 2 Chainz, and many others join the rapper on his excellent second effort.

— David Jeffries

Paul Burch

Fevers

Plowboy

Country

On their Plowboy debut, the artist, band, and guests rip it up on a batch of killer songs crackling with live energy and studio savvy.

— Thom Jurek

Eek-A-Mouse

Reggae Anthology Eek-Ology [CD/DVD]

VP Records

Reggae

All of the dancehall singjay's early hits are here, including "Wa-Do-Dem," "Once a Virgin," and "Operation Eradication."

— David Jeffries

Eric Bibb

Jericho Road

Stony Plain

Blues

A vision of the blues bereft of personal demons and filled instead with cultural ones.

— Steve Leggett

Jon Snodgrass / Frank Turner

Buddies

Xtra Mile Recordings

Pop/Rock

This informal ten-song EP was written in an evening and recorded live to tape over four hours the next day.

— Thom Jurek

Jake Bellows / Bright Eyes / Gretta Cohn / Armand Costanzo / Denver Dalley / Stefanie Drootin / Orenda Fink / Neely Jenkins / Jiha Lee / Andy LeMaster / Mike Mogis / Conor Oberst / Matt Oberst / Stephen Pedersen / Blake Sennett / Macey Taylor / Maria Taylor / Nick White

A Christmas Album

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock, Holiday

Conor Oberst and friends deliver a heartfelt and homespun, very melancholy Christmas album from 2002.

— James Christopher Monger

Silver Swans

Touch

Twenty Seven Records

Pop/Rock

Icy, Drive soundtrack-inspired synth pop from a San Francisco duo who give the sound a very sad, very human touch.

— Tim Sendra

Il Divo

A Musical Affair

Columbia / Columbia Records / Sony Music / Syco Music

Vocal, Classical, Easy Listening, Stage & Screen

The sixth studio album from the opera-pop darlings looks to Broadway (and some special guests) for inspiration.

— James Christopher Monger

Irmin Schmidt

Villa Wunderbar: A Selection

Mute

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

A collection of solo recordings and soundtrack work by founding Can keyboardist, recorded between 1981-2009.

— Fred Thomas

Sore Eros / Kurt Vile

Jamaica Plain

Care in the Community

Pop/Rock

Surprisingly gentle and mostly instrumental home recordings from the early 2000s by these two frequently collaborating indie personalities.

— Fred Thomas

François Couturier / Maria Pia de Vito / Anja Lechner / Michele Rabbia

Pergolese

ECM

Avant-Garde

A sophisticated, provocative, and moving portrait of the Italian composer through fragments of her work and modern music.

— Thom Jurek

Mat Zo / Matan Zohar

Damage Control

Astralwerks

Electronic

Flirting with electro, techno, trance, and EDM, Zo's excellent debut is hard to classify but very attractive.

— David Jeffries

Paul Revere & the Raiders

Something Has Happened! 1967-1969

Raven

Pop/Rock

Shows a talented band trying desperately to keep up with the mercurial changes of the 1960s pop world.

— Steve Leggett

Shaver

Shaver's Jewels: The Best of Shaver

New West

Country

Shaver's legacy forms arguably the last great statement of the original outlaw country movement.

— Steve Leggett

The Melodic

Effra Parade

Anti-

Pop/Rock, Folk

Spare but often lovely debut album from British folk-rock group (though listeners should expect more folk than rock).

— Mark Deming

Christian Blackshaw

Mozart: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

Wigmore Hall Live

Classical

This is an accumulation of intelligent small insights. Blackshaw easily sustains interest over a program filling two compact discs.

— James Manheim

Pavel Haas Quartet

Schubert: Death and the Maiden; String Quintet

Supraphon

Classical

The buyer looking for Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 has many choices, but this stirring reading merits the strongest consideration.

— James Manheim

Gottingen Symphony Orchestra / Christoph-Mathias Mueller / Rachel Barton Pine

Mendelssohn & Schumann: Violin Concertos; Beethoven: Romances

Cedille Records

Classical

Pine's performance of the Mendelssohn is startlingly good and merits consideration from anybody at all looking for a recording of the work.

— James Manheim

Benjamin Zander / Philharmonia Orchestra

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"

Linn Records

Classical

Benjamin Zander's highly anticipated recording of Gustav Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony has been issued on CD and hybrid SACD.

— Blair Sanderson

András Schiff

Beethoven: Diabelli-Variationen

ECM / ECM New Series

Classical

András Schiff presents Beethoven's Diabelli Variations twice, in a side-by-side demonstration of a Bechstein piano and a Brodmann fortepiano.

— Blair Sanderson

The Sixteen / Harry Christophers

Bach: Lutheran Masses, Vol. 1

Coro

Classical

The subtle details of text adjustment work well as the main point, while also displaying the top-notch skills of the singers and Christophers.

— James Manheim

White Fence

Live in San Francisco

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

Tim Presley takes his one-man garage psych group out of the bedroom and onto the stage with thrilling results.

— Tim Sendra

Damon

Song of a Gypsy [Expanded Edition]

Now-Again

Pop/Rock

Now Again's reissue of this private-press classic restores its proper pitch and speed, and adds a bonus disc in a gorgeous package.

— Thom Jurek

Scott Stapp

Proof of Life

Wind-Up

Pop/Rock

The Creed singer has a dark night of the soul on his second solo album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Any Trouble

The Complete Stiff Recordings 1980-1981

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Excellent triple-disc collection of all of the New Wave guitar-pop band's work for Stiff.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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