Tame Impala

Currents

Interscope

Pop/Rock

The band's third album trades out guitars for synths, searching psych-pop for R&B, all the while showcasing Kevin Parker's skills as a producer.

— Tim Sendra

Miles Davis

Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4

Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music

Jazz

Box set compiling all of the trumpeter's live appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival from 1955 to 1975.

— Matt Collar

Alan Jackson

Angels and Alcohol

Capitol / Capitol Nashville

Country

A satisfyingly familiar collection of straight-ahead country from the old pro.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ratatat

Magnifique

XL

Pop/Rock

The duo's fifth album came after a long break and stripped their uniquely melodic dance-rock sound down to the bare essentials.

— Tim Sendra

Sly & the Family Stone

Live at the Fillmore East: October 4th & 5th, 1968

Legacy

R&B

Four sets -- almost four hours -- of prime performances recorded back when the band had only one hit to its name.

— Andy Kellman

The Chemical Brothers

Born in the Echoes

Virgin EMI

Electronic

Offering a winning mix of old and new, the big beat duo prove they can thrive in the age of EDM with this comeback LP.

— David Jeffries

Jason Isbell

Something More Than Free

Southeastern Records

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's follow-up to Southeastern is another triumph of smart, nuanced songs about hard-won life lessons.

— Mark Deming

Future

DS2

Epic

Rap

Drugs and hooks fill the rapper's hallucinatory and excellent 2015 LP.

— David Jeffries

Flying Saucer Attack

Instrumentals 2015

Drag City

Pop/Rock

Veteran U.K. space rock project resurfaces after 15 years with an album of atmospheric guitar explorations.

— Paul Simpson

The Bird and the Bee

Recreational Love

Rostrum

Pop/Rock

Witty, effervescent, and slyly sophisticated indie pop that trades in new wave but never succumbs to nostalgia.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

White Reaper

White Reaper Does It Again

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

On its debut album, the Kentucky garage punk band has hooks to spare, energy to burn, and a batch of knockout songs.

— Tim Sendra

Ben Bridwell / Iron & Wine

Sing into My Mouth

Black Cricket Recording / Brown Records

Pop/Rock

Columbia, South Carolina homies cover varied song influences with slide guitar-heavy arrangements that fall squarely within folky expectations.

— Marcy Donelson

MS MR

How Does It Feel

Columbia / RCA

Pop/Rock

The duo gives its sultry sound a glossy pop makeover, collaborating with MNDR and Tove Lo along the way.

— Heather Phares

America

The Warner Bros. Years 1971-1977

Rhino

Pop/Rock

A practical, no-frills clamshell box set celebrating the soft rock/folk-pop hitmakers' '70s heyday.

— James Christopher Monger

Continental Drifters

Drifted: In the Beginning & Beyond

Omnivore

Pop/Rock, Folk

The first recordings from the roots pop supergroup are paired up with a splendid set of covers.

— Mark Deming

Fine Points

Hover

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

Pastoral West Coast guitar pop with psych and shoegaze elements from members of Sleepy Sun.

— Timothy Monger

Flo Morrissey

Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Pop/Rock

This debut is an atmospheric and earnest re-creation of the hazy trip of freak folk.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Galactic

Into the Deep

Provogue

R&B

Once again, Galactic deliver a NOLA that's as vibrant and forward-thinking as it is steeped in second-line tradition.

— James Christopher Monger

Ronnie Earl / Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters

Father's Day

Stony Plain

Blues

Veteran blues guitarist shows off his philosophical bent while proving his trademark mix of blues and jazz is as strong as ever.

— Mark Deming

Sublime with Rome

Sirens

BMG / BMG/Chrysalis / INgrooves / Vagrant

Pop/Rock

Drummer Josh Freese joins the group, widening their sound while taking them further away from the mother ship act, Sublime.

— David Jeffries

Camera Shy

Camera Shy

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

Current and former members of shoegaze band Whirr offer this breezy indie pop side project.

— Timothy Monger

Joseph Moog

Grieg & Moszkowski: Piano Concertos

Onyx Classics

Classical

Flexible, alert support from the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern under Milton makes this is a strongly recommended disc of late Romantic piano music.

— James Manheim

Armonico Consort / Christopher Monks

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas

Signum Classics

Classical

Beyond its individual beauties, this is a performance that hangs together in an indefinable but very satisfying way.

— James Manheim

Sabine Liebner

Giacinto Scelsi: Suite 9 & 10 per pianoforte

Wergo

Classical

Giacinto Scelsi's piano suites Ttai and Ka are given controlled performances by Sabine Liebner, a noted champion of avant-garde music.

— Blair Sanderson

Claudio Abbado / Orchestra Mozart

Schubert: The "Great" C major Symphony

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Claudio Abbado's 2011 recording of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, "The Great," was edited from four concert performances.

— Blair Sanderson

John Storgårds / BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Nielsen: Complete Symphonies

Chandos

Classical

John Storgårds treats the six symphonies of Carl Nielsen with intellectual rigor and emphasizes their muscular counterpoint and rugged orchestration.

— Blair Sanderson

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet / François-Frédéric Guy

Transcriptions for Two Pianists

Chandos

Classical

Stravinsky's two-piano transcription of Le Sacre du printemps is heard with keyboard reductions of Bartók's Two Pictures and Debussy's Jeux.

— Blair Sanderson

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