Bob Mould

Patch the Sky

Merge

Pop/Rock

Bob Mould stares into the face of darkness and finds sustenance in his power trio on the galvanizing Patch the Sky.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

White Denim

Stiff

Downtown

Pop/Rock

Texas combo lays out peppy grooves that are nervous but soulful on its sixth album.

— Mark Deming

Kendrick Lamar

untitled unmastered.

Aftermath

Rap

A vital assemblage of what its maker referred to as demos, most of which were recorded during the To Pimp a Butterfly sessions.

— Andy Kellman

2 Chainz

ColleGrove

Def Jam

Rap

An uncredited Lil Wayne joins 2 Chainz on this casual collaborative album.

— David Jeffries

ZAYN

Mind of Mine

RCA

Pop/Rock

The former One Direction member's first solo album is a sensual, debauched modern R&B record that validates his departure from the band.

— Tim Sendra

Anthony Hamilton

What I'm Feelin'

RCA

R&B

Over four years after his previous studio LP, one of the era's most remarkable singers returns beside Mark Batson for more modern red-dirt soul.

— Andy Kellman

Margo Price

Midwest Farmer's Daughter

Third Man Records

Country

A smart, soulful retro-country debut that feels caught between the country and the city, along with the head and the heart.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Eric Bachmann

Eric Bachmann

Merge

Pop/Rock

The rugged indie veteran leaves Crooked Fingers behind on this lush, piano-led solo effort.

— Timothy Monger

RJD2

Dame Fortune

RJ's Electrical Connections

Rap

Phonte, Josh Krajcik, and Blueprint join the producer on this ambitious, '70s-flavored success.

— David Jeffries

The Thermals

We Disappear

Saddle Creek Records / The Thermals

Pop/Rock

The trio follow their excellent 2013 "comeback" Desperate Ground with another emotionally wired, musically powerful album, their seventh.

— Tim Sendra

K. Michelle

More Issues Than Vogue

Atlantic

R&B

Pate's third album doesn't stray far from the candid songwriting and traditional-meets-contemporary R&B productions that drove her two Top Five LPs.

— Andy Kellman

Duncan Sheik

American Psycho [Original London Cast Recording]

Concord / Concord Records (Canada)

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

Dry, cynical collection of synth pop that scores the musical adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' violent cult classic.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Vijay Iyer / Wadada Leo Smith

A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke

ECM

Jazz

A duo collaboration that transcends those limits to display a shared musical mind and emotional language.

— Thom Jurek

Céu

Tropix

Six Degrees

International

The Brazilian singer and songwriter gets cool and nocturnal on this wildly diverse back-to-the-beat dancefloor killer.

— Thom Jurek

The Joy Formidable

Hitch

C'mon Lets Drift

Pop/Rock

The Welsh trio's third spin under the stylus, Hitch finds the Joy Formidable turning inward, but keeping the speaker cabinets aimed squarely toward the nosebleed section.

— James Christopher Monger

The Range

Potential

Domino

Electronic

On his second full-length, James Hinton builds sentimental electronic pop songs around samples of amateur vocalists sourced from YouTube.

— Paul Simpson

Jeff Healey

Heal My Soul

Provogue

Blues, Pop/Rock

Posthumously completed collection of unreleased recordings released in celebration of Healey's 50th birthday.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Night Moves

Pennied Days

Domino

Pop/Rock

Fine sophomore effort from this Minneapolis indie pop outfit is a smart, evocative song cycle about love gone wrong.

— Mark Deming

Khun Narin

II

Innovative Leisure

International, Pop/Rock

The Thai instrumental psychedelic group continue to showcase their free-spirited sound on their second full-length album.

— Paul Simpson

Eureka California

Versus

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records

Pop/Rock

The band's third album in three years ups the songcraft and blows out its guitar pop sound in thrilling fashion.

— Tim Sendra

Asking Alexandria

The Black

Sumerian Records

Pop/Rock

On their debut with new vocalist Denis Stoff, the U.K. metalcore quintet emerge from a difficult period with their tightest album yet.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Birdy

Beautiful Lies

Atlantic

Pop/Rock

The British alternative pop singer matures with confidence, lush production, and a fuller sound that marks a bid for the mainstream.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Bronze

Live in San Francisco

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

The electronic post-punk trio documents its ferocious live show with an installment of Castle Face's Live in San Francisco album series.

— Paul Simpson

Deardarkhead

Strange Weather

Saint Marie

Pop/Rock

The long-running New Jersey dream pop band's first new material of the 21st century reveals them as a focused instrumental unit.

— Paul Simpson

Bayonne

Primitives

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Roger Sellers' textural, electronics-based project uses looping and acoustic drums for a debut that's both ambient and percussive.

— Marcy Donelson

Take 6

Believe

SoNo Recording Group

Religious

A collaboration with Ross Vannelli, the a cappella group's first album in four years is another uplifting mix of mature R&B and contemporary gospel.

— Andy Kellman

Amon Amarth

Jomsviking

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

The tenth LP from the pillaging and plundering Viking metal horde is also their first concept album.

— James Christopher Monger

exmagician

Scan the Blue

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The duo's debut album takes the craft of their previous project Cashier No. 9 in a more eclectic direction.

— Heather Phares

Open Mike Eagle / Paul White

Hella Personal Film Festival

Mello Music Group

Rap

The apt title gets at Eagle's quest for deep meaning, and his use of literate and hip wit to cut away all the dreck.

Josh Williams

Modern Day Man

Rounder

Country

After a long absence, the guitarist returns with a poignant collection penned by aces and produced by J.D Crowe.

— Thom Jurek

Judas Priest

Battle Cry

Columbia / Epic

Pop/Rock

The band's first K.K. Downing-less concert album was recorded during the Redeemer of Souls tour stop at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival.

— James Christopher Monger

Kiran Leonard

Grapefruit

Moshi Moshi Records / PIAS

Pop/Rock

A second album of challenging and impulsive-sounding indie rock from the charismatic, Nietzsche-quoting young Mancunian.

— Marcy Donelson

Kleeer

Get Tough: The Kleeer Anthology, 1978-1985

BBR

R&B

Long overdue, in-depth overview of one of the finest and most flexible '70s/'80s funk bands that never had a major hit.

— Andy Kellman

Larry Levan

Genius of Time

UMC

R&B

Nearly two-dozen certifiable post-disco classics and cult faves -- radical and often dubbed-out alterations of original mixes.

— Andy Kellman

Parker Millsap

The Very Last Day

Okrahoma

Country, Pop/Rock

Purcell, Oklahoma's native son delivers an electrifying roots rock set that takes on the church, the Greek god Hades, and the apocalypse.

— Timothy Monger

Plague Vendor

Bloodsweat

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

The California punks bury the needle on their fearsome and darker-toned sophomore LP.

— Timothy Monger

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Talk Tight

Ivy League / Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Debut EP from this Australian five-piece has good tunes, but even better three-way rhythm guitar bashing.

— Mark Deming

The Sun Days

The Sun Days [Colored Vinyl]

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

The suitably named Swedish band's debut offers uniformly uptempo, jangly indie pop ideal for summer weekends.

— Marcy Donelson

Magnificat

Scattered Ashes: Josquin's Miserere and the Savonarolan Legacy

Linn Records

Classical

This ties together repertory by diverse composers without reference to liturgy or purely musical considerations.

— James Manheim

Yundi Li

Chopin: Ballades; Berceuse; Mazurkas

Deutsche Grammophon / Mercury Classics

Classical

Continuing his ongoing Chopin Project, Yundi Li plays the Four Ballades, the Berceuse, and Four Mazurkas on this Deutsche Grammophon release.

— Blair Sanderson

Jean Rondeau

Vertigo: Rameau, Royer

Erato

Classical

An album of Baroque keyboard music unlike anything else that has been attempted, and it is most certainly not dull.

— James Manheim

Tasmin Little / Martin Roscoe

Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Piano and Violin

Chandos

Classical

Ludwig van Beethoven's ten Sonatas for piano and violin are played expressively by violinist Tasmin Little and pianist Martin Roscoe.

— Blair Sanderson

Mack Wilberg / Mormon Tabernacle Choir / Orchestra at Temple Square

George Frideric Handel: Messiah [Includes Bonus DVD]

Mormon Tabernacle

Classical

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2016 release of Handel's Messiah shows subtle touches of Baroque practice.

— Blair Sanderson

Jaap van Zweden / Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Mahler 3

Dallas Symphony Orchestra / DSO Live

Classical

Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra play Mahler's longest symphony with exuberance and energy.

— Blair Sanderson

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