Jake Bugg

Shangri La

Island / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

The budding singer/songwriter teams up with roots rock maven Rick Rubin for an electrified second album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Original Soundtrack

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Island / Republic

Pop/Rock, Rap

The second Hunger Games soundtrack downplays folky sounds in favor of grimly anthemic pop and rock.

— Heather Phares

Yo Gotti

I Am

Epic

Rap

With satisfying street numbers and towering highlights, the Memphis rapper steps his album game up with his strongest release to date.

— David Jeffries

Daughtry

Baptized

RCA

Pop/Rock

The former American Idol finalist finally lightens up on his fourth album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Death Grips

No Love Deep Web

Harvest / Universal Music

Rap

The revolutionary hip-hop crew offer an album much more approachable and sane than its controversial cover art would suggest.

— David Jeffries

Neil Gaiman / Amanda Palmer

An Evening with Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer

8ft. Records

Pop/Rock

Heavy on banter and light on songs, this almost three-hour live set is for die-hard fans only.

— Fred Thomas

Blood Orange

Cupid Deluxe

Domino

Pop/Rock, R&B

Dev Hynes blows up the electro-pop template and runs wild with tons of ideas taken from various R&B and pop styles of the '80s and '90s.

— Tim Sendra

Dave Edmunds

...Again

RPM / RPM Records

Pop/Rock

Rejiggered version of Plugged In containing five brand-new songs.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Herb Alpert / Lani Hall

Steppin' Out

Shout! Factory

Jazz

Jazz, nuevo flamenco, standards, and bossa nova all color this warm and passionate third album from the husband-and-wife duo.

— Matt Collar

Jeffrey Novak

Lemon Kid

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

With his third solo album, Cheap Time frontman channels the sneery proto-punk of Barrett-era Pink Floyd, among other influences.

— Fred Thomas

The Limiñanas

Costa Blanca

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The French duo's third record expands their punchy garage rock sound into something more cinematic and expressive.

— Tim Sendra

Espectrostatic

Espectrostatic

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The Hex Dispensers' Alex Cuervo puts his own playful spin on the horror movie sounds of John Carpenter and Goblin.

— Heather Phares

Five Finger Death Punch

The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Vol. 2

Eleven Seven

Pop/Rock

Five Finger Death Punch finish what they started with the second installment of their two-volume set.

— Gregory Heaney

Papa Emeritus II / Ghost

If You Have Ghost

Republic

Pop/Rock

A serviceable bit of self-generated fan fiction that's as slight as it is artistically obstinate.

— James Christopher Monger

Webbie

Savage Life 4

Trill Entertainment

Rap

Dirty street numbers and radio-friendly tracks clash on the Baton Rouge rapper’s fourth album.

— David Jeffries

The Grascals

When I Get My Pay

Mountain Home Records

Country, Folk

Builds on bluegrass history and gently bumps it forward without ruffling any feathers.

— Steve Leggett

Magik Markers

Surrender to the Fantasy

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The trio returns after a four-year hiatus with some of its most focused, and prettiest, music yet.

— Heather Phares

Frank Sinatra

Best of Duets

Frank Sinatra Digital Reprise / Frank Sinatra Hybrid

Vocal

14-track collection of highlights from Sinatra's career-capping early-'90s Duets project.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kurt Vile / Kurt Vile & the Violators

Wakin on a Pretty Daze [Deluxe Edition]

Matador

Pop/Rock

With longer songs and more articulate production, the fifth album from this drifty Philly songwriter is his brightest and most complex work to date.

— Fred Thomas

Yo La Tengo

Fade [Deluxe Edition]

Matador

Pop/Rock

With album number 13, this indie rock institution straddles the line between new, subdued sounds and recalling some of its finest previous hours.

— Fred Thomas

The Suburbs

Si Sauvage

Suburbs Music

Pop/Rock

First studio album in over 25 years from these Minneapolis new wave heroes is a smart, edgy study in joy and loss.

— Mark Deming

Melissa Lock / Steve Masterson / New War / Chris Pugmire / Jesse Shepherd

New War

Fast Weapons

Pop/Rock

Debut full-length by these former No Wave screamers channels the creepy dub-inspired influence of post-punk's golden era.

— Fred Thomas

The Bottle Rockets

Bottle Rockets/The Brooklyn Side

Bloodshot

Pop/Rock, Country

Excellent expanded reissue of the first two albums from these hard-rocking alt-country pioneers.

— Mark Deming

Boys Noize

Fabriclive.72

Fabric

Electronic

Alexander Ridha's duly frenetic third commercial mix album is up to date but includes classics from DJ Deeon, Dave Clarke, and I-F.

— Andy Kellman

Okkyung Lee / Lasse Marhaug / C. Spencer Yeh

Wake Up Awesome

ADA / Software

Avant-Garde

The second installment in a series that brings together key players from the noise and experimental music scenes in collaboration.

— Fred Thomas

A Perfect Circle

Three Sixty

Universal / Virgin

Pop/Rock

Three Sixty distills the art metal band's career down to its choicest moments while also delivering a new studio track.

— Gregory Heaney

Daytona

Daytona

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

Debut by Brooklyn-based, North Carolina-bred indie pop trio coasts on laid-back charm and sparkling guitar work.

— Timothy Monger

Harsh Toke

Light Up and Live

Teepee Records

Pop/Rock

Acid rock revivalists charge through four extended jams of edge-of-the-world guitar solos and druggy walls of noise.

— Fred Thomas

Mick Turner

Don't Tell the Driver

Drag City

Pop/Rock

On his first solo album in a decade, the Dirty Three guitarist employs a full band to deliver his finest work to date.

— Thom Jurek

Nickelback

The Best of Nickelback, Vol. 1

Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

Collecting all the hit singles from the neo-grunge band's new millennial albums

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Reggie and the Full Effect

No Country for Old Musicians

Pure Noise

Pop/Rock

The sixth long-player from ex-Get Up Kid James Dewees and company is flush with hijinks.

— James Christopher Monger

Rush

Clockwork Angels Tour

Anthem / Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

The biggest cult band in the world brings the goods on a career-spanning, three-disc live album.

— Gregory Heaney

Eric Clapton

Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013

Rhino

Blues, Pop/Rock

Collects some of the key performances from 2013's two-night Crossroads Festival event in Madison Square Garden.

— Steve Leggett

Various Artists

c

Cleopatra

Pop/Rock

Truly odd collection of old rock & rollers covering Jack White tunes.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Collegium Vocale 1704 / Collegium 1704 / Václav Luks

Bach: Mass in B minor

Accent

Classical

This lovely recording of the B minor mass is recommended to anybody looking for one, and Accent's studio sound is superb.

— James Manheim

Leonidas Kavakos / Riccardo Chailly / Péter Nagy

Bartók: Rhapsodies; Brahms: Hungarian Dances

Decca

Classical

The venerable Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig seems positively enlivened by the proceedings under the baton of Riccardo Chailly.

— James Manheim

The King's Singers

Great American Songbook

Signum Classics

Vocal, Classical

This is an interesting new direction for a veteran a cappella vocal group, which pushes its own boundaries.

— James Manheim

Kronos Quartet

Aheym: Kronos Quartet Plays Music by Bryce Dessner

Anti-

Avant-Garde, Classical

This is a novel conception, and it makes one want to hear more from its composer. Recommended for those interested in classical-rock fusions.

— James Manheim

Trio Settecento

Grand Tour

Cedille Records

Classical

The four albums Trio Settecento released between 2007 and 2012 are repackaged in Çedille’s Grand Tour box set.

— Blair Sanderson

Marc-André Hamelin

Busoni: Late Piano Music

Hyperion

Classical

The late piano music of Ferruccio Busoni can have no better champion than Marc-André Hamelin, the virtuoso's virtuoso.

— Blair Sanderson

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