Wu-Tang Clan

A Better Tomorrow

Warner Bros.

Rap

Even if there's less Raekwon and Ghostface than usual, the collective sound just fine on their sixth studio effort.

— David Jeffries

Mary J. Blige

The London Sessions

Capitol

R&B

The queen of hip-hop soul and Rodney Jerkins work with emerging U.K. talent for a mix of aching ballads and substantive dance tracks.

— Andy Kellman

She & Him

Classics

Columbia

Pop/Rock

A standards album seems an obvious choice for this charming duo, and indeed they thrive here backed by a 20-piece orchestra.

— Timothy Monger

AC/DC

Rock or Bust

Columbia

Pop/Rock

Excellent, economical no-frills rock & roll record from the unbreakable AC/DC.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Pixies

Doolittle

4AD

Pop/Rock

With bonus features ranging from Peel Sessions to demos, the classic album's 25th anniversary edition is a trove for Pixies geeks.

— Heather Phares

Yo La Tengo

Painful [Extra Painful!]

Matador

Pop/Rock

Yo La Tengo celebrates the 20th anniversary of Painful with the release of Extra Painful, which includes a bonus disc of demos, live recordings, & session outtakes.

Trent Reznor / Atticus Ross / Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Gone Girl [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Columbia

Stage & Screen, Classical

The composers' third collaboration with David Fincher explores more emotional territory than their previous work, with haunting results.

— Heather Phares

Walk the Moon

Talking Is Hard

RCA

Pop/Rock

A fevered '80s-inspired road trip/dance-pop-ready mixtape in search of the perfect summer party house.

— James Christopher Monger

Willie Nelson / Bobbie Nelson

December Day: Willie's Stash, Vol. 1

Sony Legacy / Sony Music

Country

The Texas country icon and his longtime piano player (and sister) offer a look into the songs they play for their own enjoyment.

— Mark Deming

Leonard Cohen

Live in Dublin

Columbia

Pop/Rock, Folk

2013 performance recorded in Ireland finds that the venerable singer/songwriter has become a superb stage performer.

— Mark Deming

Popguns

Pop Fiction

Matinée

Pop/Rock

Indie pop band's first record in over 20 years sounds as fresh and fun as anything from their original run.

— Tim Sendra

Sly & Robbie

Dubrising

Taxi

Reggae

After almost 30 years, the rhythm section reunites with dub master Paul "Groucho" Smykle on this excellent LP.

— David Jeffries

Take That

III

Polydor

Pop/Rock

Down to a trio, Take That release a savvy, mature pop album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

McCarthy

Complete Albums, Singles and BBC Collection

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Exhaustive and inspiring collection of the fiery left-wing indie poppers' complete works, including all their BBC sessions.

— Tim Sendra

bis

The New Transistor Heroes [Deluxe Edition]

Do Yourself In

Pop/Rock

The trio's first full-length has plenty of their trademark riot pop, but also finds them trying out new styles and sounds.

— Tim Sendra

bis

Return to Central [Deluxe Edition]

Do Yourself In

Pop/Rock

Scottish indie pop darlings' final album is a solid sendoff for a band many argue broke up prematurely.

— Tim Sendra

bis

Social Dancing [Deluxe Edition]

Do Yourself In

Pop/Rock

The band's second album stretches their punky pop formula in interesting ways, and now comes with a bonus disc.

— Tim Sendra

Ariel Kalma

An Evolutionary Music: Original Recordings 1972-1979

RVNG

Avant-Garde

A rhythmically savvy prophetic compilation of previously unreleased recordings from the pioneering French experimental composer.

— Thom Jurek

David Sylvian

There's a Light That Enters Houses with No Other House in Sight

SamadhiSound

Pop/Rock

An abstract, dreamy, challenging, 64-minute work in collaboration with Pulitzer-winning poet Franz Wright.

— Thom Jurek

McBusted

McBusted [Deluxe Edition]

Island

Pop/Rock

In combining their two bands to make a pop/rock supergroup, McBusted have re-energized their pop-punk-inspired sound.

Silk Rhodes

Silk Rhodes

Stones Throw

R&B

Baltimore-based Stones Throw duo offers mostly low-key, off-center updates of '70s soul and '80s post-disco sounds.

— Andy Kellman

Howard Eynon

So What If I'm Standing in Apricot Jam

Earth / Earth Recordings

Pop/Rock, Folk

Bizarre and beautiful one-off album of acid folk by Australian actor turned songwriter, originally released in 1974.

— Fred Thomas

Jozef Van Wissem

It Is Time for You to Return

Crammed / Crammed Discs / Distribution 13 / Made to Measure

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

The lutenist returns with nine fine new pieces performed solo, with Follakzoid's Domingo García-Huidobro, Jim Jarmusch, and Yasmine Hamdan.

— Thom Jurek

Linda Jones

The Complete ATCO, Loma & Warner Brothers Recordings

Real Gone Music

R&B

21 songs document an outstanding but often overlooked soul singer at the top of her game in the '60s.

— Mark Deming

Lord RAJA

A Constant Moth

Ghostly International

Electronic

The New York-based producer, signed to Ghostly, delivers a heady, deeply rhythmic fusion of several electronic music strains.

— Andy Kellman

The Aquadolls

Stoked on You

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Hipster surf band hangs ten on its first full-length album; even gremmies can dig this.

— Mark Deming

The Five Stairsteps

Our Family Portrait/Stairsteps

Real Gone Music

R&B

Two-fer reissue of the sibling soul act's two albums for Buddah; includes their biggest hit, "O-o-h Child."

— Mark Deming

The Flaming Lips / Imagene Peise

Imagene Peise: Atlas Eets Christmas

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock, Holiday

The band's tranquilly lonesome 2007 Christmas album is presented as a lost psych-jazz collection by a mythical young pianist.

— Timothy Monger

The Monochrome Set

M-80: Live a the Marathon 80 Festival, Minneapolis 1979 [CD/DVD]

Wienerworld

Pop/Rock

The quirky U.K. indie pop band is captured at 1980 concert held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

— David Jeffries

Collabro

Stars [Bonus Tracks]

Portrait / Syco Music

Pop/Rock, Vocal

The musical theater-singing phenoms offer a quickly assembled debut that effectively replicates the performances that helped them win Britain's Got Talent.

— Timothy Monger

Jordan De La Sierra

Gymnosphere: Song of the Rose

Numero

New Age

A masterpiece of proto new age experimental music that combines American minimalism and sonic decay techniques gets a grand reissue.

— Thom Jurek

Little Boots

Business Pleasure

This Is Music

Pop/Rock

The British electronic artist's fifth EP of icy pop and first release on her own label.

— Matt Collar

Mogwai

Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1.

Rock Action

Pop/Rock

Half previously unreleased songs, half Rave Tapes remixes, and full of intriguing perspectives on the band's music.

— Heather Phares

Sun Glitters

Scattered Into Light

Mush Records

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The producer's blissful atmospheres gain more shape and heft thanks to the contributions of vocalist Sara Cappai.

— Heather Phares

The Hitsville Houseband / Wreckless Eric

12 O'Clock Stereo

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The very British songwriter moves to France and emerges with this singular style and English eccentricities intact.

— Mark Deming

Nikki Sudden

Dark Rags at Dawn

Numero

Pop/Rock

Numero packs up everything they've got by the songwriter in a deluxe slipcase box with his first solo single.

— Thom Jurek

The Goldebriars

Walkin' Down the Line: The Best of the Goldebriars

Now Sounds

Pop/Rock, Folk

A 30-track collection of Curt Boettcher's early-'60s folk-pop group, full of glorious harmonies and sometimes silly lyrics.

— Mark Deming

The House of Love

Live at the Lexington 13.11.13

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Following a strong 2013 studio effort, the guitar pop veterans turn in their first live album with a hometown show in London.

— Timothy Monger

B.J. Thomas

Home Where I Belong/Happy Man

Real Gone Music

Country, Pop/Rock, Religious

Two-fer featuring Thomas' first two Contemporary Christian albums.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

B.J. Thomas

You Gave Me Love (When Nobody Gave Me a Prayer)/Miracle

Real Gone Music

Country, Pop/Rock, Religious

Two-fer featuring Thomas' 1979 and 1982 Contemporary Christian albums.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

See the Fire: Albums, Singles and BBC Recordings 1982-1987

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Three desirable discs cover the post-punk band's first two albums, early singles, and early BBC sessions.

— David Jeffries

Julian Bliss / Royal Northern Sinfonia / Mario Venzago

Nielsen, Mozart: Clarinet Concertos

Signum Classics

Classical

Julian Bliss performs two of the most important concertos in his repertoire, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, K. 622, and Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto.

— Blair Sanderson

Patricia Petibon / Susan Manoff

La Belle Excentrique

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

This album is both revelatory and hugely entertaining, and it's a fair bet that Satie and Poulenc, at least, would have loved it.

— James Manheim

Antonio Pappano

Rossini: Overtures

Warner Classics

Classical

A superior Rossini instrumental album that anyone might enjoy, most especially those who've heard it all before.

— James Manheim

James O'Donnell / Yannick Nézet-Séguin / London Philharmonic Orchestra

Poulenc: Organ Concerto; Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 ("Organ")

London Philharmonic Orchestra / LPO

Classical

Poulenc's Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3, "Organ," are paired to great effect on this live concert recording.

— Blair Sanderson

Mahan Esfahani

Rameau: Pièces de Clavecin

Hyperion

Classical

Mahan Esfahani offers exquisite interpretations of Rameau's complete keyboard works on this double-disc from Hyperion.

— Blair Sanderson

Peter Hill

La Fauvette Passerinette: A Messiaen Première

Delphian

Classical

Hill pulls this off with logic and enthusiasm, and it's hard to think of a Messiaen release that will appeal so thoroughly to both specialists and generalists.

— James Manheim

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