Robin Thicke

Paula

Polydor / Star Trak/Interscope

R&B

The singer still aims to entertain on his seventh album, a post-separation gut spiller and hammy patchwork mess.

— Andy Kellman

Magic!

Don't Kill the Magic

RCA

Pop/Rock

The band follows the huge success of "Rude" with more breezy, reggae-tinged pop songs.

— Heather Phares

Trey Songz

Trigga

Atlantic

R&B

One of the most flagrantly lecherous commercial R&B albums of its time, with sharp hooks and slick productions to spare.

— Andy Kellman

Corb Lund

Counterfeit Blues [CD/DVD]

New West

Country, Pop/Rock

The Canadian country songwriter and his band re-record their early hits live from the floor of Memphis, Tennessee's Sun Studio for a CMT special.

— Thom Jurek

Colt Ford

Thanks for Listening

Average Joe's

Country

Fifth studio album from this maverick songwriter, singer, and mud bog favorite.

— Steve Leggett

Brian Eno / Karl Hyde

High Life

Warp

Pop/Rock

Just two months after Someday World, this collaboration extends into guitar- and rhythm-centric jamming.

— Thom Jurek

Sean Watkins

All I Do Is Lie

Roaring Girl Records

Country

An end of summer dalliance with self-doubt and measured hope that's as self-effacing as it is in need of a sympathetic ear.

— James Christopher Monger

Beverly

Careers

Kanine Records

Pop/Rock

Excellent noise pop debut that features Frankie Rose (on drums) and the vocals and guitar of Avan Lava's Drew Citron.

— Tim Sendra

Turn to Crime

Can't Love

Mugg & Bopp Records

Pop/Rock

The debut from the former Awesome Color frontman's next project is a scuzzy yet heartfelt embrace of pop, garage, and experimental rock.

— Heather Phares

Old Crow Medicine Show

Remedy

ATO

Country, Folk

On their fifth full-length, the Virginia string band finish another Dylan tune, and deliver a confident, ambitious set of original roots music.

— Thom Jurek

Jim Lauderdale

I'm a Song

Sky Crunch Records

Country

With a killer band, all-star guests, and co-authors, the prolific singer/songwriter delivers an absolutely solid double album.

Cabaret Voltaire

#7885 Electropunk to Technopop

Mute

Pop/Rock

The best introduction to a group that was crucial to the development of industrial, post-punk, and electronic dance music.

— Andy Kellman

Gal Costa

Gal Costa [2014]

Real Gone Music

Latin

One of the first and most gorgeously realized documents of the Tropicalismo movement.

— Fred Thomas

Jonah Tolchin

Clover Lane

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock, Folk, Country

The New Jersey singer/songwriter's second album strives for rootsy authenticity, but succeeds most when he sings from the heart.

— Timothy Monger

Steve Wynn

Sketches in Spain

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

Two-fer collection boasts the first North American release of two albums the Dream Syndicate leader cut in Spain with Paco Loco.

— Mark Deming

Maxi Priest

Easy to Love

VP Records

Reggae

The singer's first album in nearly a decade is a welcome return to smooth reggae.

— David Jeffries

NoNoNo

We Are Only What We Feel

Warner Bros. / Warner Music

Pop/Rock

The Swedish trio's debut album of melodic, electronic-based pop.

— Matt Collar

OOIOO

Gamel

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Seventh album from experimental collective incorporates the sounds of Javanese gamelan music into their wild rock sounds.

— Fred Thomas

Corrosion of Conformity

IX

Candlelight Records

Pop/Rock

Corrosion of Conformity get back to their riff-heavy ways with an album of blistering Southern sludge.

— Gregory Heaney

Matthewdavid

In My World

Brainfeeder

Electronic

Weird R&B things happen on the producer's hallucinatory set for Brainfeeder.

— David Jeffries

Ramin Djawadi

Game of Thrones: Season 4 [Original TV Soundtrack]

Sony Classical

Stage & Screen, Classical

By turns brutal and mournful, Djawadi's score for the HBO hit's fourth season is another fine piece of musical world-building.

— Heather Phares

Seether

Isolate and Medicate

Bicycle Music Company / Spinefarm Records

Pop/Rock

Working with Brendan O'Brien again, the neo-grunge trio emphasizes its melodic edge here.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Air Dubai

Be Calm

Hopeless Records

Rap, Pop/Rock

The Colorado rap and pop ensemble moves further toward an '80s electronic synth sound.

— Matt Collar

Bad Suns

Language & Perspective

Vagrant

Pop/Rock

Debut album from Southern California indie rockers manages hints of experimentalism amid its hyper-catchy pop sound.

— Fred Thomas

Bellowhead

Revival

Island

Folk

Britain's premier big folk group celebrate ten years together with an exultant set on their Island Records debut.

— Timothy Monger

Steve Adamyk / The Steve Adamyk Band

Dial Tone

Dirtnap Records

Pop/Rock

Album number four from these Canadian punk-poppers had big guitars and fine hooks, but less variety than it needs.

— Mark Deming

Every Time I Die

From Parts Unknown

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

A scorching set of punk-metal malevolence that somehow manages to be both relentlessly kinetic and imposingly muscular.

— James Christopher Monger

Frankie Valli

Selected Solo Works

Rhino / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock, Vocal

Collects eight of the man-with-a-soaring-falsetto's ten solo albums in a single package.

— Steve Leggett

The Four Seasons / Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

The Classic Albums Box

Rhino

Pop/Rock

Collects 18 albums released between 1962 and 1992 in facsimile gatefold editions.

— Steve Leggett

Ronnie Dove

The Complete Original Chart Hits 1964-1969

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

21 hits from the Baltimore crooner's days as a hitmaker in the '60s; an excellent overview of his years as a pop star.

— Mark Deming

Spanky & Our Gang

The Complete Mercury Singles

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock, Jazz

A fun mix of jug band, folk, blues, and straight uptown jazz, these sides remain at the heart of the band's legacy.

— Steve Leggett

Levon Helm / The Levon Helm Band

The Midnight Ramble Sessions, Vol. 3

Vanguard

Pop/Rock, Blues

Highlights from the Band drummer's house concerts from 2005 to 2010; eclectic and inspiring music from his last years.

— Mark Deming

The New York Community Choir

Make Every Day Count [Bonus Tracks]

RCA / Real Gone Music

Religious

Merges dancefloor rhythms with gospel-inspired secular material that still retains a spiritual dimension.

— Steve Leggett

Tricky D

Equanimity

BBE

Electronic, Reggae

Debut from this long-running DJ/Producer explores dubstep, soul, and other various forms of relaxed electronica.

— Fred Thomas

Kirill Karabits / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 7

Onyx / Onyx Classics

Classical

Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra open their Prokofiev cycle with exciting performances of the Third and Seventh symphonies.

— Blair Sanderson

Bejun Mehta / René Jacobs

Handel: Orlando

Archiv Produktion

Classical

Mehta's performance here, totally absorbed in the role and not at all histrionic, is extraordinary and the musical elements are very fine indeed.

— James Manheim

Anonymous 4

David Lang: Love Fail

Cantaloupe

Classical

At times the sounds heard here achieve the grail of being simple and uncanny at the same time. Highly recommended.

— James Manheim

Bruce Brubaker / Ursula Oppens

Meredith Monk: Piano Songs

ECM New Series

Classical

Ursula Oppens and Bruce Brubaker present pieces by Meredith Monk, which were inspired by song forms and minimalist music.

— Blair Sanderson

Paul O'Dette

My Favourite Dowland

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Paul O'Dette has selected his favorite lute pieces by John Dowland, sampling both the melancholy and brighter sides of his music.

— Blair Sanderson

Andreas Haefliger

Perspectives 6: Beethoven, Berio, Schumann

Avie

Classical

The novel item here is music by Luciano Berio, and an unusual group of pieces at that: the Erdenklavier, Wasserklavier, Luftklavier, and Feuerklavier.

— James Manheim

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