Aloe Blacc

Lift Your Spirit

Interscope

R&B

The rapper-turned-singer's first major-label album spiffs up his retro-soul and mixes it up with touches of blues, gospel, and a blast of stadium folk.

— Andy Kellman

Joan as Police Woman

The Classic

PIAS

Pop/Rock

Joan as Police Woman's fifth album is a soulful treatise on happiness and what it takes to get it.

— Heather Phares

Metronomy

Love Letters

Because Music

Pop/Rock

Trading breezy synth-pop for urgent, heartbroken soul and psych-rock influences, Metronomy deliver some of their most gripping music.

— Heather Phares

Juanes

Loco de Amor

Universal

Latin, Pop/Rock

On his first studio recording in four years, the Colombian songwriter adds organic and modern sounds to his provocative mix.

Elbow

The Take-Off and Landing of Everything

Fiction / Polydor

Pop/Rock

The band grapples with middle age on its gorgeously melancholic sixth album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ledisi

The Truth

Verve

R&B

This succinct, largely upbeat, wholly R&B set from one of the genre's most consistent voices features guest appearances from...nobody.

— Andy Kellman

Dean Wareham

Dean Wareham

Sonic Cathedral

Pop/Rock

The former Luna frontman's first full-length studio album features production from Jim James.

— Matt Collar

Sara Evans

Slow Me Down

RCA / Sony Music

Country

The country diva goes completely adult contemporary on this satisfyingly mature soft pop album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ambrose Akinmusire

The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint

Blue Note

Jazz, Avant-Garde

On his sophomore Blue Note date, this trumpeter puts the emphasis on his bold and diverse compositions to thrilling effect.

— Thom Jurek

Tensnake

Glow [Bonus Track]

Astralwerks / EMI / Virgin EMI

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The German DJ and producer offers prime nu-disco and future funk with Nile Rodgers, Fiora, and others as his guests.

— David Jeffries

Bill Pritchard

A Trip to the Coast

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

After one of a few lengthy disappearances, this cult songwriter resurfaces with an album of optimistic jangly guitar pop.

— Fred Thomas

Don Williams

Reflections

Sugar Hill

Country

The country legend is in excellent voice on this surprising set of classic and new songs.

— Thom Jurek

Calle 13

MultiViral

El Abismo / Sony Music Latin

Rap, Latin

Political commentary and artistic freedom power the Puerto Rican hip-hop group's excellent 2014 effort.

— David Jeffries

Ozomatli

Place in the Sun

Vanguard

Pop/Rock, Latin, Rap

The Los Angeles band's high-energy Latin dance, rock, and reggae-infused seventh album.

— Matt Collar

Paloma Faith

A Perfect Contradiction

Epic / RCA / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

The third studio album from the theatrical British pop diva.

— Matt Collar

Edie Brickell / Steve Martin / Steep Canyon Rangers

Live [DVD + CD]

Rounder

Country

The comic and actor takes his music to the stage, and reveals he and his cohorts are as good with music as he is with gags.

— Mark Deming

Roger Daltrey / Wilko Johnson

Going Back Home

Chess / Universal

Pop/Rock

Dr. Feelgood guitarist and Who singer return to their hard R&B roots in this blazing rock & roll record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cowboy Troy

King of Clubs

Warner Bros.

Rap, Pop/Rock

Cowboy Troy holds firm to hick-hop on his third album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

311

Stereolithic

311 Records

Pop/Rock

The rap-, rock-, and reggae-influenced band's sophisticated and mature 11th studio album.

— Matt Collar

Matt Sorum's Fierce Joy

Stratosphere

Rok Dok Recordings

Pop/Rock

Stratosphere sees Sorum getting behind the mike for the first time to deliver an album of classic, country-infused rock songs.

— James Christopher Monger

Architects

Lost Forever, Lost Together

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Architects mature and expand their sound to create their most adventurous release to date.

— Gregory Heaney

Gallon Drunk

The Soul of the Hour

Clouds Hill

Pop/Rock

Older, wiser, and fully uncompromised, the veteran British indie band introduces a new bassist and a set of unrelenting songs.

— Mark Deming

Bayeté / Todd Cochran

Worlds Around the Sun [Bonus Cuts]

Omnivore

Jazz

Forty-two years after this futurist jazz classic hit the top spot on Downbeat's year-end list, it receives a deluxe reissue.

— Thom Jurek

Original Soundtrack

Divergent [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Interscope

Pop/Rock, Rap, Stage & Screen

Divergent's focus on EDM and hip-hop sets it apart from the other soundtracks to films based on young adult novels.

— Heather Phares

KXM

KXM

Rat Pak Records

Pop/Rock

Hard rocking from KXM, a power trio featuring members of King's X, the Lynch Mob, and Korn.

— Gregory Heaney

Flyying Colours

Flyying Colours

Club AC30 / Shelflife

Pop/Rock

Debut EP of energetic and powerful shoegaze from an Australian quartet.

— Tim Sendra

The Sudden Death of Stars

All Unrevealed Parts of the Unknown

Ample Play

Pop/Rock

The French neo-psych group's second album refines the expansively dreamy sound of their debut into something more focused and immediate.

— Tim Sendra

Tunabunny

Kingdom Technology

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records / HHBTM

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album adds electronic elements and avant-garde noise to their fiery riot pop sound.

— Tim Sendra

September Girls

Cursing the Sea

Fortuna POP!

Pop/Rock

Reverb-drenched debut from this Irish indie act taps into dark gothic undercurrents to yield a few standout tracks.

— Fred Thomas

Hari Kondabolu

Waiting for 2042

Kill Rock Stars

Comedy/Spoken

Part freedom fighter, part fuzzy friend, comedian Kondabolu is a maverick mix of progressive and approachable on this fantastic debut.

— David Jeffries

Slakah the Beatchild

Soul Movement, Vol. 2

BBE

R&B

Not as heavy on guest apperances as the first volume, this features more relaxed R&B grooves and wistful rhymes, and an excellent duet with Ayah.

— Andy Kellman

Scraps

Electric Ocean

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Debut album from Australian one-woman bedroom synth pop band, full of tender charm and intimate feelings.

— Tim Sendra

The Shrine

Bless Off

Tee Tee Records / Teepee Records

Pop/Rock

The Shrine dig into the early days of punk and metal for inspiration on their reckless sophomore outing, Bless Off.

— Gregory Heaney

The Soft Hills

Departure

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

With its fourth album, this spacy Seattle indie group sharpens both its edges and creative focus.

— Fred Thomas

Sid Selvidge

The Cold of the Morning

Omnivore

Blues

Marvelously spare fusion of folk, country, and blues from this Memphis musical legend.

— Mark Deming

David Pack

David Pack's Napa Crossroads

Concord

Pop/Rock

A conceptual collaboration with several Napa Valley wineries and featuring guest spots from Ray Manzarek, Béla Fleck, Todd Rundgren, and others.

— Steve Leggett

Foxes

Glorious

Epic / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

Debut album from this U.K. singer balances between haunted moods and big pop production.

— Fred Thomas

Spotlight Kid

Ten Thousand Hours

Saint Marie

Pop/Rock

Third album from this U.K. dream pop band delves into deeper experimentation and riskier songwriting.

— Fred Thomas

Joel Carey / Liam Kenny / Peak Twins

Peak Twins

Bedroom Suck

Pop/Rock

Strong debut from this Australian duo who've re-created the greatest boozy indie folk jam session you could ever hope to hear.

— Mark Deming

Per Purpose

Circle the Stains

Bedroom Suck

Pop/Rock

Full-length debut from this angular Australian quartet takes a more obtuse, experimental approach to post-punk ideas.

— Fred Thomas

Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Lent at Ephesus

Decca

Classical

Fans of a cappella singing will find here an impressive degree of precision for amateur singers, and the entire project can be recommended.

— James Manheim

Edward Higginbottom / Collegium Novum / New College Choir, Oxford

Mozart: Music for Salzburg Cathedral

Novum

Classical

The list of attractions here includes the overall performance of the choir; its articulation of the texts is absolutely second to none.

— James Manheim

Laurent Korcia

Mister Paganini

Naïve

Classical

This is an extremely exciting album of virtuoso violin music, centered on the most famous violinist of them all, Niccolò Paganini.

— James Manheim

Vladimir Lande / St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra

Weinberg: Symphony No. 12; The Golden Key

Naxos

Classical

There's a lot to enjoy here: the orchestration, the splendidly grim Adagio, and the colorful suite from The Golden Key (1944).

— James Manheim

Anderson & Roe Piano Duo

An Amadeus Affair

Steinway & Sons

Classical

Anderson & Roe deliver with the requisite flair, and this album is a lot of fun. Recommended for duo piano fans.

— James Manheim

Jenny Lin

Stravinsky: Solo Piano Works

Steinway & Sons

Classical

Stravinsky's short piano works are often overlooked, but Jenny Lin makes a strong case for including them on recital programs.

— Blair Sanderson

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