The Afghan Whigs

Do to the Beast

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

First album in 16 years from the celebrated alternative band revisits old demons while searching for a new sound.

— Mark Deming

The Both

The Both

Superego

Pop/Rock

Indie rock legends Ted Leo and Aimee Mann collaborate on a batch of brainy and hooky songs that showcase the best of both artists' work.

— Tim Sendra

Nas

Illmatic XX [20th Anniversary Edition] [2 CD]

Columbia / Sony Legacy

Rap

The rapper's landmark 1994 debut celebrates its 20th anniversary with a bonus disc of demos, remixes, and radio appearances.

— David Jeffries

Ray Bonneville

Easy Gone

Red House / Red House Records

Pop/Rock, Blues, Folk

This set of road-weary, brooding highway songs is the late-blooming songwriter and guitarist's finest offering to date.

— Thom Jurek

Rodney Crowell

Tarpaper Sky

New West

Country, Pop/Rock

After two collaborative recordings, the singer/songwriter returns solo with an excellent collection of new songs.

— Thom Jurek

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Make My Head Sing…

ATO

Pop/Rock

On her third full-length, the Kent, Ohioan throws off the restrictions of her previous records and ups the ante as well as the volume.

— Thom Jurek

Thee Oh Sees

Drop

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

Psychedelic garage punk ravers get their normal on (well, sort of), with an album full of pop melodies and cleaner arrangements.

— Mark Deming

Woods

With Light and With Love

Woodsist

Pop/Rock

Sixth album from dusty psych-folk collective features expanded instrumentation and sharper production.

— Fred Thomas

Odonis Odonis

Hard Boiled Soft Boiled

Buzz Records

Pop/Rock

Ranging from noise rock rampages to blissful shoegaze epics, Odonis Odonis' second album takes the band's music to extremes.

— Heather Phares

Duck Sauce

Quack

Fool's Gold

Electronic

Superstar DJs Armand Van Helden and A-Track join forces for a pranky album of fun and floor-fillers.

— David Jeffries

Chet Faker / Nick Murphy

Built on Glass

Downtown / Future Classic

Electronic

Going beyond his trip-hop cover of "No Diggity," the Australian producer offers a debut album filled with rich and restrained music.

— David Jeffries

Ben Watt

Hendra

Unmade Road

Pop/Rock

A quiet, engrossing solo effort from the co-leader of Everything But the Girl.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jason Derulo

Talk Dirty [Explicit]

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Tracks from his U.K. release Tattoos are mixed with new numbers on this improved, U.S.-only release.

— David Jeffries

Ziggy Marley

Fly Rasta

Tuff Gong / Tuff Gong Worldwide

Reggae

An alluring balance of cool and calm with numerous highlights.

— David Jeffries

Ingrid Michaelson

Lights Out

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock

A robust production, with an empowered vibe and catchy, infectious material.

— Matt Collar

Ikebe Shakedown

Stone by Stone

Ubiquity

R&B, International

Sophomore album of inspired instrumental soul from these Afro-funk revivalists.

— Fred Thomas

Shonen Knife

Overdrive

Damnably

Pop/Rock

Veteran Japanese pop-punk trio embraces the gritty joys of '70s hard rock, though you can't tell from the lyric sheet.

— Mark Deming

Dan Wilson

Love Without Fear

Ballroom

Pop/Rock

Grammy-winning Minnesotan songwriting hero finally delivers his strong second solo album.

— Timothy Monger

Deleted Scenes

Lithium Burn

Park the Van

Pop/Rock

The band gives some focus to its eclectic approach, making this its most direct and vulnerable album yet.

— Heather Phares

Orcas

Yearling

Morr Music

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Now a quartet featuring members of Efterklang and Telekinesis, Orcas' second album gives their ambient pop more structure and majesty.

— Heather Phares

Nels Cline / Medeski, Martin & Wood

Woodstock Sessions, Vol. 2

Burnside / Code 7

Jazz, Pop/Rock

Medeski, Martin & Wood meet up with Nels Cline for an improvised session that's even better than it looks on paper.

— Sean Westergaard

Bikini Kill / Huggy Bear

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Bikini Kill Records

Pop/Rock

Bikini Kill define their riot grrrl philosophies and sonic approach on this expanded reissue of their 1993 split LP.

— Mark Deming

Stanton Moore

Conversations

Royal Potato Family

Jazz

On his first straight jazz date, Galactic's drummer and celebrated collaborators deliver a swinging piano trio date of NOLA jazz.

— Thom Jurek

The Secret Sisters

Put Your Needle Down

Decca / Republic

Folk, Country

Updates the sound of the first album into a mesh of folky garage rock and girl group ballads.

— Steve Leggett

Gord Downie / The Sadies

Gord Downie, The Sadies, And the Conquering Sun

Arts & Crafts

Pop/Rock

Five of Canada's finest team up for a lively fusion of fierce but atmospheric rock & roll and clever ranting.

— Mark Deming

August Alsina

Testimony

Def Jam

R&B

Excellent, often grim full-length debut from one of the most exciting young artists in 2010s contemporary R&B.

— Andy Kellman

Sonic Avenues

Mistakes

Dirtnap Records

Pop/Rock

Third album from this Montreal quartet is a marvel of punk power, pop hooks, and precise, energetic musicianship.

— Mark Deming

Bobby Bare, Jr. / Bobby Bare, Jr.'s Young Criminals' Starvation League

Undefeated

Bloodshot

Pop/Rock, Country

Singer/songwriter embraces the joys of off-kilter pop and noisy rock, and well as the sorrows of failing relationships.

— Mark Deming

Chuck E. Weiss

Red Beans and Weiss

Anti-

Pop/Rock

After a seven-year hiatus, the Los Angeles songwriter and poet delivers another wooly, humorous report from the seamy side of life.

— Thom Jurek

Cloud Cult

Unplug

Earthology / Rebel Group

Pop/Rock

First all-acoustic live album from long-running indie collective focuses on philosophical and environmental themes.

— Fred Thomas

Ian Anderson

Homo Erraticus

Kscope

Pop/Rock

A concept album based on the work of an amateur historian, this is as close to classic prog rock as it gets in 2014.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Justin Currie

Lower Reaches [Bonus Tracks]

Compass

Pop/Rock

The ex-Del Amitri frontman dials back the jangle pop on his dusty and soulful third solo outing.

— James Christopher Monger

Amps for Christ

Canyons Cars and Crows [LP]

Shrimper

Pop/Rock

First album of new material in eight years from this strange electro-acoustic/folk hybrid.

— Fred Thomas

Dylan Shearer

Garagearray

Castle Face / Empty Cellar

Pop/Rock

Fourth album of shambling, muted chamber pop recalls the most introverted moments of Soft Machine and John Cale.

— Fred Thomas

Ryley Walker

All Kinds of You

Tompkins Square

Folk

On his stellar debut, the acoustic guitarist and songwriter draws freely from his inspirations and recombines various musical traditions to reflect his own image.

— Thom Jurek

Billy Porter

Billy's Back on Broadway

Concord / Decca

Vocal, Stage & Screen

Feels, plays, and sounds like a well-executed nightclub Broadway song revue.

— Steve Leggett

Chad Copelin / Josh Dunahoo / Justin Glasco / Emerson Hart / David Hodges / Erin McCarley / Steven Miller

Beauty in Disrepair

BMG / BMG / Relativity

Pop/Rock

The Tonic leader steps out with a soft yet sturdy collection of adult-alternative pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Randy Rogers / Randy Rogers Band

Homemade Tamales: Live at Floores

Relativity / Thirty Tigers / Tommy Jackson Records

Country

Loose, limber collection of live performances from the RRB at the end of 2013.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Dictators

Faster... Louder: The Dictators' Best 1975-2001

Raven

Pop/Rock

Career-spanning collection featuring 20 great tunes from New York's punk-infused hard rock legends.

— Mark Deming

Horse Thief

Fear in Bliss

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The Oklahoma quintet delivers a more subtle and lovingly crafted sophomore effort full of tasteful, frontier guitar pop.

— Timothy Monger

Breathe Carolina

Savages

Fearless Records

Pop/Rock

Following the departure of co-founder Kyle Even, the band stays true to its emo-electro-pop roots while branching out into hip-hop and R&B.

— Tim Sendra

Jaco Pastorius

Modern American Music... Period! The Criteria Sessions

Omnivore

Jazz

Demo recordings made by the influential jazz bassist two years before his landmark debut album.

— Matt Collar

Japanther

Instant Money Magic

Seayou

Pop/Rock

Tireless art punk duo capture some of the raw energy and optimism of their live show on this fast-paced full-length.

— Fred Thomas

Needtobreathe

Rivers in the Wasteland

Atlantic

Religious

The folky South Carolinians deliver a more down-to-earth and overtly Christian follow-up to their 2011 breakthrough.

— Timothy Monger

Plague Vendor

Free to Eat

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Plague Vendor serve up the soundtrack to your next all-night bender with their ripping debut, Free to Eat.

— Gregory Heaney

Sevendust

Time Travelers & Bonfires

7Bros. Records

Pop/Rock

Sevendust deliver a restrained performance with an album that finds them taming their past heaviness with an acoustic approach.

— Gregory Heaney

The Skull Defekts

Dances in Dreams of the Known Unknown

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Swedish post-punk collective creates a strange but effective blend of abrasive sounds and cosmic consciousness.

— Fred Thomas

Raphael Wallfisch / Benjamin Wallfisch / BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Bloch: Schelomo; Voice in the Wilderness; Caplet: Epiphanie; Ravel: Kaddish

Nimbus

Classical

Cellist Raphael Wallfisch and his son, conductor Benjamin Wallfisch, perform ethnically flavored works by Bloch, Ravel, and Caplet.

— Blair Sanderson

Teodor Currentzis

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro

Sony Classical

Classical

Teodor Currentzis' historic recreation of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro may be the most thoroughly researched and exciting version available.

— Blair Sanderson

Sean Chen

La Valse

Steinway & Sons

Classical

Piano works by Ravel and Scriabin are performed by Sean Chen, whose sensitive and spontaneous playing reveals some fascinating connections.

— Blair Sanderson

Michael Stern / Kansas City Symphony

Miraculous Metamorphoses: Hindemith, Prokofiev, Bartók

Reference Recordings

Classical

Three modern masterpieces by Hindemith, Prokofiev, and Bartók are presented with vitality by Michael Stern and the Kansas City Orchestra.

— Blair Sanderson

Augustin Hadelich / Hannu Lintu

Sibelius, Adès: Violin Concertos

Avie

Classical

Hadelich is a fine interpreter and listeners might pick this for the rigorous Sibelius reading, with strong sound a plus.

— James Manheim

Leif Ove Andsnes / Mahler Chamber Orchestra

The Beethoven Journey: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4

Sony Classical

Classical

In general, though, this is a major, original statement in the field of the exhaustively recorded Beethoven concertos.

— James Manheim

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