Jack White

Lazaretto

Columbia / Sony Music Entertainment / Third Man Records

Pop/Rock

The former White Stripes leader gets weird again on his second solo album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

José James

While You Were Sleeping

Blue Note

R&B, Pop/Rock

The ambitious singer and songwriter melds soul, jazz, funk, and rock to create a dizzying, provocative new collection.

— Thom Jurek

Chrissie Hynde

Stockholm

Caroline International / Chrissie Hynde

Pop/Rock

Thirty-five years later, the Pretenders leader steps out on her own, working with Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

First Aid Kit

Stay Gold

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

On their second album, the Swedish folk-pop duo shine up their sound and expand into Americana, while also dipping their toes in the mainstream.

Lust for Youth

International

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

The band's first album as a trio strips away the noise, revealing them as first-rate purveyors of swooning synth pop.

— Heather Phares

Mayday! / Murs

¡Mursday!

Strange Music

Rap

Murs makes his Strange Music debut with help from Mayday! and it's guys night out, turned up to 11.

— David Jeffries

Clifford Brown

Brownie Speaks: The Complete Blue Note Recordings

Blue Note

Jazz

Must-have anthology of the influential jazz trumpeter's albums for Blue Note in the 1950s.

— Matt Collar

The Who

Quadrophenia: Live in London

Universal

Pop/Rock

Surprisingly vigorous 2013 rendition of the Who's classic 1973 rock opera; deluxe version contains 5.1 mix of the original LP.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kasabian

48:13

Columbia

Pop/Rock

The band get leaner in sound -- with the help of producer Sergio Pizzorno -- and membership -- they're now a four-piece -- on this 2014 effort.

— David Jeffries

Craft Spells

Nausea

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

The band's second full-length is a warmer, more relaxed, and relaxing, take on synth-driven, dream-inducing indie pop.

— Tim Sendra

The Fresh & Onlys

House of Spirits

Mexican Summer

Pop/Rock

The group's fourth album is a laid-back, thoughtful example of grown-up psych pop with a Western influence.

— Tim Sendra

WIFE

What’s Between

Tri Angle

Electronic

The producer's first album of shadowy, abstract electronic pop allows him more expression than his previous black metal project, Altar of Plagues.

— Heather Phares

Dub Thompson

9 Songs

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

The duo's brash debut delivers shouty post-punk workouts along with a few flashes of brilliance.

— Heather Phares

Andrew Bird

Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of...

Wegawam

Pop/Rock, Folk

The ever-evolving artist delivers a rich, single-mike classic with a set of Handsome Family covers.

— Timothy Monger

Tom Vek

Luck

Moshi Moshi Records

Pop/Rock

Vek's attempts to make sense of the world's chaos deliver some of his most bracing and driven songs yet.

— Heather Phares

Seth Walker

Sky Still Blue

Royal Potato Family

Blues, Jazz, Pop/Rock

The songwriter's Oliver Wood-produced set is his leanest-sounding and most diverse musically, though blues remains at its heart.

— Thom Jurek

Tomas Barfod

Love Me

Secretly Canadian

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Expansive, moody sophomore album from the Danish-born DJ, producer, and drummer.

— Matt Collar

Stagnant Pools

Geist

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The second album from the gloomily shoegazing Enas brothers manages to be even more brooding and noisier than their debut, which is no mean feat.

— Tim Sendra

Fatboy Slim

Bem Brasil

Astralwerks

Electronic

The DJ and producer honors the 2014 World Cup with an excellent set of Brazilian-flavored dance tunes.

— David Jeffries

Mary Gauthier

Trouble & Love

In The Black Records

Country, Pop/Rock, Folk

This song cycle about the end of a love affair is unlike any other "heartbreak and healing" album; its songs border on the profound.

— Thom Jurek

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CLPPNG

Sub Pop

Rap

These caustic hip-hop tracks made with elements of harsh noise and electronics feel largely uninspired and powerless.

— Fred Thomas

Falconer

Black Moon Rising

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

Falconer's blend of folk and power metal makes for a dazzling and immersive brew on their fantastical eighth album.

— Gregory Heaney

Dub Club / The Lions

This Generation in Dub

Stones Throw

Reggae

With the groove in mind, Dub Club head Tom Chasteen remixes the band's 2013 album.

— David Jeffries

Say Anything

Hebrews

Equal Vision

Pop/Rock

A change in instrumentation marks a turn toward the theatrical on the sixth album from Max Bemis' project.

— Gregory Heaney

Popcaan

Where We Come From [Deluxe Gatefold Edition]

Mixpak

Reggae

It's excellent, but production from Brooklyn's Dre Skull means this isn't your everyday dancehall debut.

— David Jeffries

Roll the Dice

Until Silence

The Leaf Label / Leaf Spain

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Third album from dark electronic duo finds synthetic sounds meshing nicely with lushly cinematic string arrangements.

— Fred Thomas

Anathema

Distant Satellites

Kscope

Pop/Rock

On its follow-up to Weather Systems, the band divides its record into sonic halves, and experiments with new techniques.

— Thom Jurek

Body Count

Manslaughter

Sumerian Records

Pop/Rock

Body Count's fifth album finds the controversial crossover thrashers as blunt as ever as they dish out another serving of metal with a rap mentality.

— Gregory Heaney

Mark Barrott / Mark Barott

Sketches from an Island

International Feel Recordings

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Former Future Loop Foundation producer turns in a lighthearted set of breezy tropical electronica.

— Fred Thomas

Don Caballero

Five Pairs of Crazy Pants Wear 'Em: Early Caballero

Chunklet

Pop/Rock

Rare first demos from the Pittsburgh math rock heroes reveal they were a band to be reckoned with from the very start.

— Mark Deming

The Amity Affliction

Let the Ocean Take Me

Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album might not reinvent the wheel, but its lyrical depth and cathartic powers make it a worthwhile listen.

— Gregory Heaney

The Phantom Band

Strange Friend

Chemikal Underground / Chemikal Underground Records

Pop/Rock

The Glasgow quartet may have delivered its most engaging and fully realized record yet.

— Timothy Monger

The Word Alive

Real

Fearless Records

Pop/Rock

The band achieves a more balanced and nuanced sound on its third album of atmospheric, electronica-influenced metalcore.

— Gregory Heaney

Kindred the Family Soul

A Couple Friends

Shanachie

R&B

Aja Graydon and Fatin Dantzler's fifth album of relatable adult R&B, pleasingly short on guest vocal appearances, is among their best work.

— Andy Kellman

This Wild Life

Clouded

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Mellow strings and piano adorn this Long Beach acoustic pop-punk guitar duo's debut album, which was produced by Copeland's Aaron Marsh.

— Timothy Monger

David Robertson / Saint Louis Symphony Chorus / St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

John Adams: City Noir

Nonesuch

Classical

McAllister catches the balance between jazz and Adams nicely, and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra under Robertson fares well. Recommended for anyone interested in Adams.

— James Manheim

Stephen Hough

In the Night

Hyperion

Classical

This pulls off the trick so few contemporary compositions manage, that of holding its own in the company of Beethoven and Schumann.

— James Manheim

Daniel Barenboim / Staatskapelle Berlin

Elgar: Symphony No. 2

Decca

Classical

Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin give a frank reading of Elgar's Symphony No. 2, which reveals the composer's nostalgia and anxiety.

— Blair Sanderson

Chad Hoopes / Kristjan Järvi

Mendelssohn, Adams: Violin Concertos

Naïve

Classical

Chad Hoopes plays violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Adams, which have striking similarities, despite their obvious stylistic differences.

— Blair Sanderson

Stanislav Khristenko

Fantasies

Steinway & Sons

Classical

This thoughtful recital is highly recommended and the presentation and engineering live up to the high standards set by the Steinway & Sons label.

— James Manheim

Masaaki Suzuki / Masato Suzuki / Bach Collegium Japan

Bach: Concertos for Two Harpsichords

BIS

Classical

This is an enjoyable, somehow spontaneous recording with the great Japanese Bach conductor Masaaki Suzuki joined by his son Masato.

— James Manheim

Xavier Sabata / Riccardo Minasi / Il Pomo d'Oro

Handel: Tamerlano

Naïve

Classical

It's hard to know where to start in enumerating the virtues of this recording of Handel's opera Tamerlano, HWV 18.

— James Manheim

La Ritirata

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga: The Complete String Quartets

Glossa

Classical

La Ritirata employs period instruments and authentic techniques in the string quartets of the "Spanish Mozart," Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga.

— Blair Sanderson

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