Madonna

Rebel Heart

Interscope / Polydor

Pop/Rock

Bold, messy, and life-affirming record that finds Madonna simultaneously looking forward and back.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Luke Bryan

Spring Break... Checkin' Out

Capitol Nashville

Country

Bryan's final Spring Break EP provides a sweetly melancholic farewell to his time as a party ringleader.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Will Butler

Policy

Merge

Pop/Rock

The nervy, genre-be-damned solo debut from the youngest of the Arcade Fire Butlers .

— James Christopher Monger

Marc Almond

The Velvet Trail

Cherry Red / Strike Force Entertainment

Pop/Rock, Vocal

The vanguard pop singer comes out of songwriting retirement to team with producer and composer Chris Braide with stellar results.

Matthew E. White

Fresh Blood

Domino

Pop/Rock

Sweet, smooth, Southern-fried singer/songwriter classicism from the producer/arranger.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Dick Diver

Melbourne Florida

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The band's third album is their most accomplished to date, expanding their sound by adding horns and various keyboards.

— Tim Sendra

Young Guv

Ripe 4 Luv

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

Fucked Up's Ben Cook taps into his inner Matthew Sweet, channels Dwight Twilley, and makes like Prince on this mini modern power pop gem.

— Tim Sendra

Jack DeJohnette

Made in Chicago

ECM

Jazz

This 2013 Chicago Jazz Fest date is a historic "dream band" reunion of AACM peers picked by the great drummer.

— Thom Jurek

Kylie Minogue

Kiss Me Once: Live at the SSE Hydro

Parlophone

Pop/Rock

Live set recorded at a Glasgow arena during Kylie's 2014 Kiss Me Once tour.

— Tim Sendra

Enslaved

In Times

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

The Norwegian black metal veterans push hard at the music's boundaries and expand them with an astonishing sonic attack without forsaking tradition.

— Thom Jurek

Empire Cast

Empire [Original Soundtrack from Season 1]

Columbia

Stage & Screen

A fraction of the original music, executive produced by Timbaland, that appeared throughout the successful series' first season.

— Andy Kellman

Evans the Death

Expect Delays

Fortuna POP! / Slumberland

Pop/Rock

Born of frustration and hard times, the band's second album still improves on their debut by widening their sound and approach.

— Tim Sendra

The Lookouts

Spy Rock Road (And Other Stories...)

Don Giovanni

Pop/Rock

Career-spanning anthology of the Northern California punk band that unwittingly spawned Green Day.

— Mark Deming

The Rezillos

Zero

Metropolis

Pop/Rock

First studio album in 37 years from the beloved Scottish pop-punk pranksters gets the sound right, but not the playful feel.

— Mark Deming

The Minus 5

Dungeon Golds

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

Scott McCaughey pulls a dozen songs from his out of print box set and reminds us he's as talented as his famous friends.

— Mark Deming

Fawn Spots

From Safer Place

Critical Heights

Pop/Rock

Debut album from U.K. punk trio takes a page from the urgency and fervor of emo pioneers and early SST Records artists.

— Fred Thomas

Fences

Lesser Oceans

Elektra

Pop/Rock

The sophomore album from the Seattle-based indie outfit featuring singer/songwriter Christopher Mansfield.

— Matt Collar

Black Yaya

Black Yaya

City Slang

Pop/Rock

Herman Düne's David Ivar flirts with bouncy indie pop, '70s warmth, and more on his new project's charmingly eclectic debut album.

— Heather Phares

Sarah Bethe Nelson

Fast Moving Clouds

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Solo debut from this Northern California singer/songwriter is smart, sweet, and fiercely honest about the messy business of love.

— Mark Deming

Heems

Eat Pray Thug

Greedhead Music / Megaforce

Rap

The former Das Racist rapper introduces his solo career with a quirky yet heavy debut.

— David Jeffries

Jimmy Somerville

Homage

Strike Force Entertainment

Pop/Rock

Joyous celebration of the glory days of disco via brand-new songs.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Best Girl Athlete

Carve Every Word

Minty Fresh

Pop/Rock

Scottish teenager Katie Buchan brings a young voice and an older soul to her tender, folk-infused indie pop debut.

— Marcy Donelson

No Spill Blood

Heavy Electricity

Sargent House

Pop/Rock

Second album from this Irish trio finds sci-fi metal with wailing synths replacing traditional guitars, and it's all the heavier for it.

— Fred Thomas

Art Pepper

Neon Art, Vol. 2

Omnivore

Jazz

Vol. 2 of the bootleg series curated by Laurie Pepper features the saxophonist playing live in Japan in 1981.

— Matt Collar

The Bright Light Social Hour

Space Is Still the Place

Frenchkiss Records

Pop/Rock

Sophomore release from this Austin-based quartet takes their psychedelic-filtered sound in exciting new directions.

— Mark Deming

Cancer Bats

Searching for Zero

BMG Rights Management

Pop/Rock

Fifth full-length from Canadian hardcore band reflects the grief and pain of the deaths of several close friends in a short period of time.

— Fred Thomas

Donna Lewis

Brand New Day

Palmetto

Pop/Rock

The Welsh pop vocalist delivers an intimate, revelatory, jazz-infused covers album backed by the Bad Plus.

— Matt Collar

Tigercats

Mysteries

Fortuna POP!

Pop/Rock

The London indie pop group add a member and soften their edges on their mild-mannered label debut for Fortuna Pop!.

— Timothy Monger

Bob Crewe

The Complete Elektra Recordings

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock, Easy Listening

The L.A. studio legend's disco, AM pop, and singer/songwriter-infused '70s solo albums presented in one anthology.

— Matt Collar

Bridget St. John

Dandelion Albums & BBC Recordings Collection

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock, Folk

Three classic albums from the idiosyncratic U.K. folksinger, along with several rare radio performances.

— Mark Deming

Beam Up

Innerstand

BBE

Reggae

The Aussie reggae project dedicates an album to King Tubby and captures the legendary dub producer's love of groove.

— David Jeffries

Enforcer

From Beyond

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

The fourth outing from the Arvika, Sweden-based rockers celebrates all things vintage NWOBHM and early-'80s power metal.

— James Christopher Monger

Johnny Mathis

Life Is a Song Worth Singing: The Complete Thom Bell Sessions

Real Gone Music

R&B, Vocal

The singer's neglected 1973 and 1978 albums, recorded with the Philly soul architect, combined and expanded.

— Andy Kellman

Peggy Lee

At Last: The Lost Radio Recordings

Real Gone Music

Vocal, Jazz

Compilation of live performances culled from Peggy Lee's 1951 radio program.

— Matt Collar

The Farm

The Complete Studio Recordings 1983-2004

Edsel

Pop/Rock

This robust seven-disc studio anthology proves there was much more to this Liverpool pop combo than baggy trousers.

— Timothy Monger

Paul Merkelo / Kent Nagano / Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

French Concertos for Trumpet

Analekta

Classical

Merkelo and the Montréal Symphony Orchestra handle the technical difficulties throughout with great elegance. highly satisfying experience for lovers of the solo trumpet.

— James Manheim

Rebecca Miller / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

CPE Bach: Symphonies

Signum Classics

Classical

The performances from the OAE under Miller are excellent, with a good-sized group of period instruments used to produce a somewhat rough sound.

— James Manheim

Manfred Honeck / Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4

Reference Recordings

Classical

Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony deliver an expansive yet detailed reading of Anton Bruckner's popular Symphony No. 4, "Romantic."

— Blair Sanderson

William Christie / Les Arts Florissants

Handel: Music for Queen Caroline

Les Arts Florissants

Classical

These works fit together in an elusive way. Worthy performances with a new perspective on some Handel choral masterpieces.

— James Manheim

Albrecht Mayer / Kammerakademie Potsdam

Lost and Found

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

The variety of these four works is the main attraction, all showing the directions taken by composers who were not trying to imitate Mozart or Haydn.

— James Manheim

Angela Hewitt

Liszt: Piano Sonata; Dante Sonata; Petrarch Sonnets

Hyperion

Classical

This is a recording that will be prized for originality by those who love Liszt's only sonata.

— James Manheim

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