Vince Gill

Down to My Last Bad Habit

MCA / MCA Nashville

Country, Pop/Rock

Dispensing with an explicit concept, the masterful guitarist nevertheless comes close to making his own version of a soul album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Wynonna Judd / Wynonna & the Big Noise

Wynonna & the Big Noise

Curb / East West / Rhino

Country

Backed by a muscular new band, Wynonna Judd makes a big, soulful comeback.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ed Motta

Perpetual Gateways

Must Have Jazz

Latin

Brazil's musical renaissance man records in the U.S. with producer Kamau Kenyatta and a dream team of studio aces deliver excellent results.

— Thom Jurek

Lissie

My Wild West

Thirty Tigers

Pop/Rock, Country

A journey through Southern California that's a darker effort from this tuneful singer/songwriter.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Peter Astor

Spilt Milk

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

Bedroom-intimate, emotionally sophisticated album from longtime indie pop icon.

— Tim Sendra

Rokia Traoré

Né So

Nonesuch

International

The Malian singer/songwriter's sixth LP is uncompromising, richly detailed, and utterly compelling.

— Timothy Monger

Ute Lemper

The Nine Secrets: Words by Paolo Coelho

Chamaleon / Steinway & Sons

Vocal, Pop/Rock

The great vocalist collaborates with one of the world's most successful authors and a dazzling host of musicians.

— Thom Jurek

Basia Bulat

Good Advice

Secret City Records

Pop/Rock

Canadian singer/songwriter delivers a set of streamlined but emotionally powerful tunes inspired by a bad breakup.

— Mark Deming

Avishai Cohen

Into the Silence

ECM

Jazz, Pop/Rock

Ruminative, bittersweet ECM debut from the jazz trumpeter recorded in the wake of his father's death.

— Matt Collar

Dion

New York Is My Home

Instant Records

Pop/Rock

The great Bronx vocalist is still sounding strong and smooth at the age of 76 on this album produced by Jimmy Vivino.

— Mark Deming

Radiation City

Synesthetica

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The band's third album is slick and fun modern pop, with some R&B added to their space age indie pop sound.

— Tim Sendra

Flowers

Everybody's Dying to Meet You

Kanine Records

Pop/Rock

London trio's second album ups the guitar crunch and adds some sharp edges to the songwriting, leading to marked improvement.

— Tim Sendra

David Vassalotti

Broken Rope

Wharf Cat Records

Pop/Rock

The Merchandise guitarist goes truly solo on his second LP, writing, performing, and recording the mix of sound experiment and song unassisted.

— Marcy Donelson

Barbara Mandrell

This Time I Almost Made It: The Lost Columbia Masters

Real Gone Music

Country

An expanded reissue of Mandrell's final Columbia album that adds unreleased Billy Sherrill productions from the early '70s.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Daughtry

It's Not Over: The Hits So Far

19 / RCA / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

A no-fuss collection of DAUGHTRY's active rock hits.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Goatblood / Nihil Domination

Supremacia de Satanas

Dunkelheit

Pop/Rock

A split LP from Ecuadorian deathcore unit Nihil Domination and German black metal enthusiasts Goatblood.

— James Christopher Monger

High Highs

Cascades

Never Leave Never Sleep / PIAS

Pop/Rock

Bigger, more electronic arrangements mark the N.Y.C.-based Aussie duo's sophomore LP, still awash with wistful atmosphere.

— Marcy Donelson

James Supercave

Better Strange

Fairfax Recordings

Pop/Rock

Stunning genre-blending debut from Californian trio that swirls and blends a blissful psych-pop panoply of sound, texture, and influences.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Kula Shaker

K 2.0

Strangefolk

Pop/Rock

The neo-hippie Brit-poppers return to their roots with a sequel that tops the original.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

La Orquesta Sinfonietta / Michael Spiro / Wayne Wallace

Canto América

Patois Records

Jazz

Led by Wayne Wallace and Michael Spiro, this large group criss-crosses the musical history and traditions of the New World with grooves galore.

— Thom Jurek

Lee DeWyze

Oil and Water

Shanachie

Pop/Rock

The American Idol winner takes the indie route with this collection of rustic mood music.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lorrie Morgan

Letting Go... Slow

Shanachie

Country

A low-key record that benefits from its relaxed, conversational intimacy.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lost Society

Braindead

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

The third studio long player from the Finnish thrashers finds Lost Society both tightening up and branching out.

— James Christopher Monger

Michel Benita / Ethics

River Silver

ECM

Jazz

The ECM debut by this international ensemble is a beguiling meld of global folk music and jazz.

— Thom Jurek

Original TV Soundtrack

Vinyl: Music from the HBO Original Series, Vol. 1

Atlantic

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

The Martin Scorsese/Mick Jagger HBO series gets a kinetic classic rock soundtrack reminiscent of other Scorsese movies.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

T.W. Walsh

Fruitless Research

Graveface Records

Pop/Rock

Veteran singer/songwriter and engineer collaborates with Yuuki Matthews and crafts his most immediate, accessible songs yet.

— Paul Simpson

The Donkeys

Midnight Palms

Easy Sound Recording Company

Pop/Rock

The amiable Californian indie outfit adds five new sun-soaked charmers to its canon on this well-made EP.

— Timothy Monger

The Frights

You Are Going to Hate This

Dangerbird Records

Pop/Rock

Purposefully bent but tuneful pop and punk that walks the fine line between hooky contentment and true absurdity.

— Mark Deming

The Record Company

Give It Back to You

Concord

Pop/Rock

Debut album from rootsy Los Angeles combo is well played but needs a bigger dose of passion and originality.

— Mark Deming

Pinegrove

Cardinal

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

Ragged and pleasantly scuffed indie rock with shades of Americana from this New Jersey outfit.

— Timothy Monger

Trevor Pinnock

Journey

Linn / Linn Records

Classical

Trevor Pinnock's Journey is a survey of 200 years of harpsichord music, from Antonio de Cabezón to Domenico Scarlatti.

— Blair Sanderson

Angela Hewitt

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonatas

Hyperion

Classical

Praised for her Bach recordings on Hyperion, Angela Hewitt turns her attention to the sonatas of Bach's contemporary, Domenico Scarlatti.

— Blair Sanderson

Mariss Jansons / Wiener Philharmoniker

New Year's Concert 2016

Sony Classical

Classical

Janssons gets into the requisite fun spirit that has made the New Year's Eve Concert a perennial success.

— James Manheim

Deborah Nemtanu / Sarah Nemtanu

Bartók: 44 Duos [Includes Booklet]

Decca / London

Classical

Sarah and Deborah Nemtanu play Bartók's 44 Duos for two violins, a pedagogical work that has become popular in recitals and on recordings.

— Blair Sanderson

Zhu Xiao-Mei

J.S. Bach: Inventions and Sinfonias

Accentus

Classical

Zhu Xiao-Mei's performance of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias is meticulous and precise, as well as intellectually and emotionally satisfying.

— Blair Sanderson

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