Tom Petty / Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Hypnotic Eye

Reprise / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

The Heartbreakers spend some time playing trashy rock & roll in the garage on this fun, fuzzy record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Shabazz Palaces

Lese Majesty [LP]

Sub Pop

Rap

Seattle's left-field hip-hop duo grow musically and up the art on their brilliant sophomore effort.

— David Jeffries

Jenny Lewis

The Voyager

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock, Country

A gorgeous, melancholy collection of sunshine and heartache that's quintessentially L.A.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Eric Clapton

The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale

ADA / EPC

Pop/Rock

Affectionate, laid-back, and pristine tribute to J.J. Cale from his number one acolyte.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hooray for Earth

Racy

Dovecote Records

Pop/Rock

Second album from these N.Y.C. synth rockers finds them offering a more aggressive but no less catchy breed of pop.

— Fred Thomas

Nicola Conte

Free Souls

Schema

Jazz, International

The Italian bandleader and composer creates a classic-sounding, seamless integration of jazz, Latin, Brazilian, and soul.

— Thom Jurek

Wildest Dreams

Wildest Dreams

Smalltown Supersound

Pop/Rock

Backed by three members of Orgone, DJ Harvey once again trades turntables for a guitar, drums, and a microphone for blissfully lax psych jams.

— Andy Kellman

James Brooks / Land Observations

The Grand Tour

Mute / Mute US

Pop/Rock

Inspired by the traditional European trek, Land Observations delivers a lusher, more assured version of its hypnotic guitar experiments.

— Heather Phares

Theory of a Deadman

Savages

Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

TOAD lighten their topics but retain their heaviosity on their fifth album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Marc Broussard

A Life Worth Living

Vanguard

Pop/Rock

The Louisiana singer delivers a set that brims with his immense growth as both a songwriter and performer.

— Thom Jurek

Dan Reeves / Soft Walls

No Time

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Moody, hypnotic lo-fi meditations on the fleeting nature of time from Cold Pumas' Dan Reeves.

— Heather Phares

The Allman Brothers Band

The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings

Mercury / Universal / Universal Music / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

Exhaustive six-disc set featuring all of the unedited performances from the legendary 1971 concert album.

— Matt Collar

James Brown

Get on Up: The James Brown Story [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Polydor / Universal

R&B, Stage & Screen

Soundtrack to the screen biography of the soul legend delivers classic studio sides as well as vintage live recordings.

— Mark Deming

Krakatau

Water Near a Bridge

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Debut album from Australian space-psych trio is made up of carefully wrought but passionately performed compositions.

— Fred Thomas

Karen Mantler

Business Is Bad

ECM / Xtra Watt

Pop/Rock, Jazz

On her first record in 14 years, the sophisticated songwriter employs a trio to showcase an intimate yet no less wry and poignant collection.

— Thom Jurek

Naomi Shelton / Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

Cold World

Daptone

R&B

Second album from the rediscovered soul and gospel vocalist is less churchy, but just as passionate and impressive.

— Mark Deming

Stardeath and White Dwarfs

Wastoid

Federal Prism

Pop/Rock

Psych-rock upstarts Stardeath and White Dwarfs take their sound into their own hands on their compelling sophomore effort.

— Gregory Heaney

Adelitas Way

Stuck

Virgin

Pop/Rock

The Sin City band's third studio outing is textbook late-'90s melodic hard rock.

— James Christopher Monger

To Rococo Rot

Instrument

City Slang

Electronic

On their ninth album, the experimental Berlin trio are joined by Arto Lindsay, who contributes to their first three songs that feature vocals.

— Andy Kellman

The Fauns

The Fauns [Bonus Disc]

Invada / Light in the Attic Records

Pop/Rock

The Bristol, England nu-gazers built a solid, engaging foundation for their later experiments on their self-released and produced debut.

— Heather Phares

The John Steel Singers

Everything's a Thread [Bonus Disc]

Full Time Hobby

Pop/Rock

Second album by the Australian combo takes a dreamy turn toward psych pop and improves upon their excellent debut.

— Tim Sendra

Wreckless Eric

Le Beat Group Electrique

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Lo-fi, low-budget album recorded in the artist's apartment is a small-scale triumph with great songs and edgy performances.

— Mark Deming

Dee Dee Warwick

The Complete Atco Recordings

Real Gone Music

R&B

Thirty-five tracks from the Soul Sister's years with Atco Records, including 12 unreleased performances; polished but powerful '70s soul.

— Mark Deming

Gene Rains

Far Away Lands: The Exotic Music of Gene Rains

Real Gone Music

Easy Listening, International, Jazz

Collects 19 tracks from three Decca releases, making a smooth-flowing introduction to Rains' bright and gentle sound.

— Steve Leggett

Fela Kuti

Finding Fela! [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Knitting Factory Records

International, Stage & Screen

This soundtrack includes music from throughout the Afrobeat pioneer's career and two performances by the musical's band, one led by Femi Kuti.

— Thom Jurek

The Dream Academy

The Morning Lasted All Day: A Retrospective

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

The English dream pop confectioners finally get the career overview they deserve.

— James Christopher Monger

The Shirelles

Happy and in Love/Shirelles

RCA / Real Gone Music / Sony Music

R&B

Two early-'70s albums from the venerable girl group, as they update their sound to include contemporary soul and proto-disco.

— Mark Deming

Chad Peck / We Need Secrets

Melancholy and the Archive

Noyes Records / Saint Marie

Pop/Rock

The first album from the side project of Kestrels' Chad Peck plays like a tour of shoegaze from the '80s onward.

— Heather Phares

Cosines

Oscillations

Fika Recordings

Pop/Rock

Solid debut from London band that's equal parts indie-pop hooky and avant-pop mysterious.

— Tim Sendra

Holger Groschopp

Ferruccio Busoni: Bach Transcriptions

Capriccio Records

Classical

Highly recommended, and likely to help further what is already a substantial revival in Busoni's music.

— James Manheim

Emma Johnson / John Lenehan

Brave New World

Champs Hill Records

Classical

These works are a mixture of lightness and fear and are compelling throughout. Highly recommended.

— James Manheim

Iván Fischer / Budapest Festival Orchestra

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7

Channel Classics

Classical

Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra present Bruckner's Seventh Symphony in a remarkably clear and balanced audiophile recording.

— Blair Sanderson

Ludus Baroque / Richard Neville-Towle

Handel: The Triumph of Time & Truth

Delphian

Classical

This recording will find buyers even beyond the serious Handel enthusiasts for whom it is a near-must.

Saleem Abboud Ashkar / Riccardo Chailly

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream; Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Decca

Classical

Chailly gets a crisp sound out of the orchestra and the Wedding March sounds as though they are encountering it for the first time.

— James Manheim

Michael Schønwandt / Danish National Symphony Orchestra

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Challenge Classics

Classical

Michael Schønwandt and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra give a compelling, if slightly loose, concert performance of Mahler's Ninth.

— Blair Sanderson

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