Ghostface Killah

36 Seasons

Tommy Boy

Rap

The Wu-Tang rapper returns to his Tony Stark character on an excellent concept album influenced by funk and the '70s.

— David Jeffries

Billy Corgan / The Smashing Pumpkins

Monuments to an Elegy

BMG Rights Management / Relativity Entertainment

Pop/Rock

A concise, casually dazzling and mature record that showcases all of Billy Corgan's musical obsessions.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

J. Cole

2014 Forest Hills Drive

Columbia

Rap

No singles and no guest artists are featured on the rapper's ambitious third album.

— David Jeffries

K. Michelle

Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?

Atlantic

R&B

Even better than the R&B singer and songwriter's debut, additional proof that she's simultaneously larger than life and 100-percent real.

— Andy Kellman

Nashville Cast

The Music of Nashville: Original Soundtrack Season 3, Vol. 1

Big Machine Records

Country, Stage & Screen

If this first volume of the series' third season proves anything, it's that the music gets better and better.

— Thom Jurek

E-40

Sharp on All 4 Corners: Corner 1

Heavy on the Grind

Rap

Better than the simultaneously released Corner 2, this lean and mean album brings back the nastiness of 2006's My Ghetto Report Card.

— David Jeffries

E-40

Sharp on All 4 Corners: Corner 2

Heavy on the Grind

Rap

It's a bumpier ride than the simultaneously released Corner 1, but it's more fun, louder, and features the great "Sleep" with Ludacris and Plies.

— David Jeffries

The Monster / Nostalgia 77

Measures

Tru Thoughts

Jazz

Ben Lambdin's live band expertly crafts a set of originals and compelling covers in a dynamically and harmonically rich offering.

— Thom Jurek

PRhyme

PRhyme

PRhyme / Universal Music

Rap

Debut album from collaborative duo of DJ Premier and Royce da 5'9" is an instant hip-hop classic.

— Fred Thomas

Frank Sinatra

Sinatra: London

Universal / Universal Music

Jazz, Vocal

Triple-disc cataloging of Sinatra's London adventures, including his 1962 record, '50s BBC sessions, and a 1984 concert.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cracker

Berkeley to Bakersfield

429 Records

Pop/Rock

Angry hipsters and contemplative cowboys share the stage on this two-disc concept album about life in California.

— Mark Deming

Los Campesinos!

A Los Campesinos! Christmas

Turnstile

Pop/Rock, Holiday

With their first holiday-themed release, Los Campesinos! show they'd be ideal guests at an Xmas shindig, drunkenly emotional but not too sloppy.

— Tim Sendra

Various Artists

When I Reach That Heavenly Shore: Unearthly Black Gospel 1926-1936

Tompkins Square

Religious, Blues

A wonderful and sometimes eerie restoration of the varied buried roots of modern gospel.

— Steve Leggett

Carrie Underwood

Greatest Hits: Decade #1

19 Recordings / Arista

Country, Pop/Rock

Double-disc set containing all 21 of the American Idol winner's decade-long streak of Top Ten country singles.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jamey Johnson

Christmas Song

Thirty Tigers

Country, Holiday

The Nashville singer and songwriter delivers a holiday EP that reveals his love for country and swing traditions as well as a new song.

— Thom Jurek

Johnny Gill

Game Changer

J Skillz

R&B

More enjoyable and varied than his 2011 release, the singer's seventh proper solo album involves Baby face, Chuck Harmony, and New Edition.

— Andy Kellman

tētēma

Geocidal

Ipecac

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

Smart, frantic, and visionary collaboration between Mike Patton and Anthony Pateras that imagines a world in chaos.

— Mark Deming

Angels & Airwaves

The Dream Walker

To the Stars

Pop/Rock

Dramatic, angst-ridden concept album that stays true to A&A's '80s-loving roots.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ben Frost

V A R I A N T

Mute

Electronic, Avant-Garde

Evian Christ, HTRK, and others offer compelling remixes of tracks from the formidable A U R O R A.

— Heather Phares

Gov't Mule

Dark Side of the Mule

Evil Teen

Pop/Rock

Cover versions of Pink Floyd classics from Gov't Mule's 2008 Halloween show at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.

— Steve Leggett

Donna Summer

Donna: The CD Collection

Driven by the Music

R&B

Seven of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee's 1980-1996 studio albums, expanded and remastered with sharp presentation.

— Andy Kellman

Elmore James

The Final Sessions

Airline Records / Fuel 2000

Blues

Elmore James was one monster guitar player, and as these final sessions make clear, he delivered on that promise right to the end.

— Steve Leggett

Matt Pryor

Nine Forty Live

Equal Vision

Pop/Rock

An intimate yet spirited live set recorded at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas.

— James Christopher Monger

Original Soundtrack

The Music of Grand Theft Auto V [Original Video Game Soundtrack]

Mass Appeal / RED Music Solutions / Rockstar / Rockstar Games

Pop/Rock, Rap, Electronic, Stage & Screen

The first Grand Theft Auto game in the franchise to feature original music.

— James Christopher Monger

Bowling for Soup

Songs People Actually Liked, Vol. 1: The First Ten Years 1994-2003

Brando Records / Que-So

Pop/Rock

The Texas-based funny punks serve up freshly recorded takes of their best-known songs to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Bombay Disco, Vol. 2

Cultures of Soul

Stage & Screen, International, R&B

This excellent volume contains 12 more killer selections from the heyday of Bollywood soundtrack disco from 1980-1992.

— Thom Jurek

Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge / Geoffrey Webber

Dormi Jesu: A Caius Christmas

Delphian

Classical

There's no denying that Webber put together an innovative program that stretches from limpid traditional carols to a title work by Webern.

— James Manheim

Giovanni Antonini / Il Giardino Armonico

La Passione

Alpha

Classical

The three Haydn symphonies here get fresh readings that emphasize the works' novelty without overdoing the Sturm und Drang quality.

— James Manheim

Giuliano Carmignola / Concerto Köln

Bach: Violin Concertos

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Carmignola is well supported by fine studio sound from Archiv label, and in general this gets points for sheer audacity.

— James Manheim

Tomoko Mukaiyama / Ludovic Morlot / Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Raskatov: Piano Concerto "Night Butterflies"; Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Seattle Symphony

Classical

The pairing of Alexander Raskatov's Piano Concerto, "Night Butterflies," with Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring creates a well-balanced program.

— Blair Sanderson

Michael Tilson Thomas / San Francisco Symphony / Yuja Wang

Masterpieces in Miniature

SFS Media

Classical

Michael Tilson Thomas' Masterpieces in Miniature is an unusual offering from a conductor better known for recordings of large-scale symphonies.

— Blair Sanderson

Brentano String Quartet

Beethoven: The Late String Quartets Op. 130; Grosse Fuge Op. 133

Aeon

Classical

The Brentano String Quartet completes its series of Beethoven's late string quartets with Op. 130 and the Grosse Fuge.

— Blair Sanderson

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