Kid Rock

First Kiss

Top Dog Records / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Nicely worn-in collection of Midwestern roots rock and country that's still just a tad disreputable.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Torche

Restarter

Relapse Records

Pop/Rock

A drop-tuned juggernaut of major chord malevolence that distills sludge, doom, pop, punk, and stoner metal into a fist bump that breaks fingers.

— James Christopher Monger

THEESatisfaction

EarthEE

Sub Pop

R&B

Richer second Sub Pop album from the alternative R&B/rap duo, supported on two tracks by the bass of Meshell Ndegeocello.

— Andy Kellman

Big Sean

Dark Sky Paradise

Def Jam

Rap

On his third album, the Detroit rapper reflects on life's bittersweet journey, but there's still room for both club bangers and Kanye West.

— David Jeffries

Led Zeppelin

Physical Graffiti [Deluxe Edition]

Atlantic / Rhino / Swan Song

Pop/Rock, Blues

Zeppelin's classic '75 double-LP gets expanded with an eight-song bonus disc containing alternate versions and demos.

Emile Haynie

We Fall

Interscope / Polydor

Pop/Rock

Cross-generational guest vocalists distinguish this '60s pysch-Baroque pop-soaked debut from the producer.

— Matt Collar

Dan Deacon

Gliss Riffer

Domino

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Smart, creatively ambitious electronic pop that's sunny on the outside and just a little bit troubled on the inside.

— Mark Deming

BadBadNotGood / Ghostface Killah

Sour Soul

Lex

Rap

Wu-Tang rapper and Toronto jazz/hip-hop trio come together for a short and strange LP.

— David Jeffries

King Khan / BBQ / The King Khan & BBQ Show

Bad News Boys

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

On their first album in six years, this garage punk duo deliver another sampling of doo wop hooks and profane fun.

— Fred Thomas

The Black Ryder

The Door Behind the Door

The Anti-Machine Machine

Pop/Rock

The shoegaze duo returns from a five-year absence with a set of lush, philosophical, heartbroken yet sexy songs.

— Heather Phares

Scorpions

Return to Forever

Sony Music

Pop/Rock

German hard rock gods celebrate 50 years with an album that revisits the sleazy fun of their '80s heyday.

— Fred Thomas

Screaming Females

Rose Mountain

Don Giovanni

Pop/Rock

Producer Matt Bayles helps this venerable indie rock band find a tougher and more satisfying sound on its fifth LP.

— Mark Deming

The Airborne Toxic Event

Dope Machines

Epic

Pop/Rock

ATE lets the murk lift a little on this bigger, brighter exploration of post-punk and glam.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Travis Bretzer

Waxing Romantic

Mexican Summer

Pop/Rock

Debut full-length by young singer/songwriter with a romantic style that's well-suited by the eccentric production values.

— Tim Sendra

Colleen Green

I Want to Grow Up

Hardly Art

Pop/Rock

More sweet, stoned, introspective punky pop from Green, this time recorded in a studio with the JEFF the Brotherhood and Diarrhea Planet guys helping out.

— Tim Sendra

Dutch Uncles

O Shudder

Memphis Industries

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album delivers remarkably confident-sounding portraits of twenty-something uncertainty.

— Heather Phares

Future Brown

Future Brown

Warp

Electronic

Super-talented production quartet enlists an impressive number of rappers and singers to make less than thrilling dance-music fusions.

— Andy Kellman

Gang of Four

What Happens Next

Metropolis

Pop/Rock

Andy Gill is the last man standing on this album from the British post-punk funk act, and it sounds and feels like a solo effort.

— Mark Deming

Eternal Death

Eternal Death

Labrador

Pop/Rock

Debut album of deeply felt, sonically powerful synth pop produced and played by Johan Angergård of Club 8 and Acid House Kings.

— Tim Sendra

Jacky Terrasson

Take This

Impulse!

Jazz

Dynamic, rhythmically varied Impulse! Records debut from the virtuoso jazz pianist.

— Matt Collar

Keath Mead

Sunday Dinner

Company Records

Pop/Rock

Produced by Chaz Bundick of Toro y Moi, the singer/songwriter's debut is an unassuming slice of soft pop with a slight chillwave bent.

— Tim Sendra

Tall Tales & the Silver Lining

Tightropes

Other Music Recording Company

Pop/Rock

Quick tempos and catchiness dominate this set of laid-back and drawling tunes from Trevor Beld-Jimenez and his band.

— Marcy Donelson

The Pop Group

Citizen Zombie [Bonus Disc]

Freaks R Us

Pop/Rock

On their first album in over 30 years, these post-punk trailblazers are still on a completely different trip than anyone else.

— Fred Thomas

Eternal Tapestry

Wild Strawberries

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Masterful double album stands as the Portland experimental rock collective's shining achievement.

— Fred Thomas

Chris Brown / Tyga

Fan of a Fan: The Album

RCA

Rap

Following hit collaborations like "Deuces" and "Loyal," a functional but forgettable tag-team collection of party anthems with a few slow jams.

— Andy Kellman

Alien Ant Farm

Always and Forever

Executive Music Entertainment / The End

Pop/Rock

Nearly a decade after their last record, AAF return slightly more mature with Always and Forever.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

All That Remains

The Order of Things

Razor & Tie

Pop/Rock

The seventh album from the Massachusetts metalcore quintet is their most commercial to date.

— James Christopher Monger

Champs

Vamala

PIAS

Pop/Rock

The Isle of Wight sibling folk duo's literate, haunting sophomore album.

— Matt Collar

Comet Gain

Fingerprint Ritual

Fortuna POP!

Pop/Rock

Recorded at the same sessions as Paperback Ghosts, this four-song EP features the band at its fiercest and most psychedelic.

— Tim Sendra

Diamond Rugs

Cosmetics

Sycamore

Pop/Rock

The Nashville indie supergroup delivers another plate of thick, swaggering garage rock with some quality standouts.

— Timothy Monger

The Gibson Brothers

Brotherhood

Down the Road Bizness / Rounder

Country

The long-running duo deliver an iconic collection of covers by other sibling groups from bluegrass and country history.

— Thom Jurek

Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders / Jack Ladder

Playmates

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

For his fourth record, the Australian singer works in a lush, darkly romantic synth pop style with good results.

— Timothy Monger

Melanie De Biasio

No Deal Remixed

PIAS

Jazz

Arranged by Gilles Peterson, remixes of each song from the Belgian's seductive second album, highlighted by contributions from Eels and Hex.

— Andy Kellman

MisterWives

Our Own House

Republic

Pop/Rock

The New York trio delivers a glossy but catchy debut full of shimmering, warm pop in an array of contemporary styles.

— Timothy Monger

Pelican

The Cliff

Southern Lord Records

Pop/Rock

The five-track EP features three remixes of the album track, an unprecedented vocal version and a new, partially acoustic number.

— Thom Jurek

Romare

Projections

Ninja Tune

Electronic

Less vital than the London-based producer's EPs for Black Acre, an album that provokes sample spotting more than anything else.

— Andy Kellman

Sam Prekop

The Republic

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

A second collection of modular synthesizer compositions from this member of post-rock act the Sea and Cake.

— Fred Thomas

The Black Twig Pickers / Steve Gunn

Seasonal Hire

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

The Brooklyn go-to guitarist and the Old Dominion Appalachian roots music quartet bridge North, South, East, and West.

— Thom Jurek

Tav Falco / Tav Falco's Panther Burns

Command Performance

Twenty Stone Blatt

Pop/Rock

The leader takes an almost entirely new lineup through a startling array of steamy originals and iconic covers.

— Thom Jurek

The Elwins

Play for Keeps

Hidden Pony

Pop/Rock

Big choruses, clean production, and bouncy melodies deliver chirpy indie pop from Toronto.

— Marcy Donelson

The Lions

Soul Riot

Stones Throw

Reggae

Uptempo doesn't mean unaware as the West Coast reggae group blends positivity and politics on this excellent album.

— David Jeffries

Iron & Wine

Archive Series, Vol. 1

Black Cricket Recording

Pop/Rock

Sixteen unreleased tracks from the same era of hushed, lo-fi indie folk as the band's gorgeous 2002 debut.

— Fred Thomas

James McMurtry

Complicated Game

Complicated Game

Pop/Rock, Folk

The outstanding singer/songwriter dials back on politics but is as incisive as ever as he sings of a handful of American lives.

— Mark Deming

Jesse Harris / Jesse Harris / The Star Rover

No Wrong No Right

Dangerbird Records

Pop/Rock

Teaming with the Brooklyn duo Star Rover, the singer/songwriter turns in a quiet, elegant collection of sophisticated folk-jazz.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Elwins

Play for Keeps

Hidden Pony

Pop/Rock

Big choruses, clean production, and bouncy melodies deliver chirpy indie pop from Toronto.

— Marcy Donelson

JJ Grey & Mofro

Ol' Glory

Provogue

Blues, Pop/Rock

The Florida singer/songwriter and his evolving backing band deliver their most ambitious set to date.

— Thom Jurek

Brent Knopf / Lost Lander

Medallion

Glad I Did Recordings

Pop/Rock

A heartfelt and honest audio treatise on life, loss, love, and death that you can kind of dance to.

— James Christopher Monger

Sakari Oramo / Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Carl Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 "Sinfonia Espansiva"

BIS

Classical

Sakari Oramo and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra continue their audiophile cycle of Nielsen's symphonies with the First and Third.

— Blair Sanderson

Yevgeny Sudbin / Andrew Litton

Medtner: Piano Concerto No. 3; Scriabin: Piano Concerto

BIS

Classical

Scriabin died 100 years before the release of this album in 2015, and it makes a fine kickoff to this centenary.

— James Manheim

Maria Lettberg

Die Zaubergarten

Es-Dur

Classical

In this 2013 album of piano transcriptions, Maria Lettberg explores Russian music inspired by fairy tales.

— Blair Sanderson

Diana Damrau / Joseph Calleja / Jesús López-Cobos

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor

Erato

Classical

Diana Damrau sings the ultimate coloratura role in this 2013 recording of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

— Blair Sanderson

Jean Rondeau

Bach Imagine

Erato

Classical

This is an exciting program and Rondeau is clearly a talent whose future directions and harnessing will be fascinating to watch.

— James Manheim

Paul O'Dette / Stephen Stubbs

Agostino Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe

Erato

Classical

For those who've heard Cecilia Bartoli's collection of Steffani arias and want to try out a whole opera, it will not disappoint.

— James Manheim

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