Paul McCartney

Pure McCartney [Deluxe Version]

Hear Music / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

An extensive -- but not complete -- history of McCartney's solo recordings, curated by the artist himself.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Brandy Clark

Big Day in a Small Town

East West / Rhino / Warner Bros.

Country

On her major-label debut, Brandy Clark's finely rendered intimate songs get a big, bold production.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Atlantic / Elektra

Pop/Rock

A slick, contemporary dance-pop album that still retains all of the sexy, sweaty fun of their debut.

— Matt Collar

Band of Horses

Why Are You OK

Interscope / Universal / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

The South Carolinians hand the keys to producer and Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle on their sonically adventurous fifth LP.

— Timothy Monger

Nick Jonas

Last Year Was Complicated

Island

Pop/Rock

A confident, assured R&B-infused dance-pop album imbued with heartbreak.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Eli "Paperboy" Reed

My Way Home

Yep Roc

R&B

A lean, exciting, gospel-infused back to basics from the retro-soul guitarist.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Van Morrison

It's Too Late to Stop Now...Vols. II, III, IV and DVD

Legacy / Sony Music

Pop/Rock, R&B, Blues

Appending the original album, this essential package contains three audio discs of completely unissued performances and a live DVD.

— Thom Jurek

Garbage

Strange Little Birds

Stunvolume / Vagrant

Pop/Rock

Garbage accentuate their moody, studio-bound strengths.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Diarrhea Planet

Turn to Gold

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

An exhilarating slacker rock masterpiece rife with skewed humor, hair metal bombast, and heartfelt passion.

— Matt Collar

Kurt Elling / Branford Marsalis / Branford Marsalis Quartet

Upward Spiral

OKeh Records

Jazz, Vocal

A sophisticated, swinging, and poetic collaboration that illuminates the talents of both Marsalis and Elling.

— Matt Collar

Tom Odell

Wrong Crowd

Itno / Columbia

Pop/Rock

The Brit Award-winning crooner's excellent sophomore outing is sprightly and pop-tastic, but no less melodramatic than its predecessor.

— James Christopher Monger

Allen Toussaint

American Tunes

Nonesuch

R&B, Jazz

A lovely, elegant, elegiac farewell from the New Orleans R&B titan.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Nite Jewel

Liquid Cool

Gloriette

Pop/Rock

Returning to her own Gloriette imprint, Ramona Gonzalez's third album of dreamy atmospheres and hyperreal pop is her most consistent yet.

— Heather Phares

Frankie Ballard

El Rio

Warner Bros.

Country

Frankie Ballard goes full-on heartland rock on his third album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kongos

Egomaniac

Epic / RCA

Pop/Rock

The sophomore major-label outing from South African-born American quartet offers up another knotty set of electro-Soweto alt-rock as idiosyncratic as it is stadium-ready.

— James Christopher Monger

Dan Lissvik

Midnight

Smalltown Supersound

Electronic, Pop/Rock

First solo album from longtime producer, remixer, and Studio member is peaceful, intricately made electronic music that bubbles with warmth.

— Tim Sendra

Darren Hayman

Thankful Villages, Vol. 1

Rivertones

Pop/Rock, Folk

A pastoral U.K. folk tribute to villages historically bound by their century-old wartime fortunes.

— Timothy Monger

Dexys

Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul

100% Records / Rhino

Pop/Rock

The newly revitalized band and leader Kevin Rowland take on traditional Irish classics and a wide range of other songs.

— Tim Sendra

Earring

Tunn Star

Fire Talk

Pop/Rock

The Chicago duo's debut vinyl LP recalls the foggier end of '90s shoegaze and slowcore, with sludgy tempos and bleary vocals.

— Paul Simpson

Evans the Death

Vanilla

Fortuna POP!

Pop/Rock

The group's third album does away with indie pop in favor of desperately raw and oft-frenetic post-punk-inspired sounds.

— Tim Sendra

The Temper Trap

Thick as Thieves

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Pop/Rock

An uplifting, sonically varied third outing from the Australian band.

— Matt Collar

Shawn Colvin / Colvin & Earle / Steve Earle

Colvin & Earle

Fantasy

Pop/Rock, Folk

Two celebrated singer/songwriters swap songs and share harmonies on this breezy, mostly acoustic session.

— Mark Deming

Air

Twentyears

Aircheology / Parlophone / Rhino / Warner Music

Electronic, Pop/Rock

An evenhanded mix of hits and rarities showcases the duo's unrivaled skill at making mood music.

— Heather Phares

The Gotobeds

Blood//Sugar//Secs//Traffic

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Pittsburgh band's second album is smart, snarky, gritty punk rock that delivers the goods from front to back.

— Mark Deming

Peter Bjorn and John

Breakin' Point

Ingrid / Kobalt

Pop/Rock

To get a modern pop sound for their sixth album, the group called in some A-List producers, including Greg Kurstin and Emile Haynie.

— Tim Sendra

Plaid

The Digging Remedy

Warp

Electronic

The veteran U.K. electronic duo remain as eclectic as ever on their eighth studio album for Warp.

— Paul Simpson

BRONCHO

Double Vanity

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

The band's third album is filled with wall-to-wall reverb, murky yet still quite hooky midtempo ballads, and singer Ryan Lindsey's wonderfully daffy vocal style.

— Tim Sendra

Amy Klein

Fire

Don Giovanni

Pop/Rock

First solo effort from former Titus Andronicus guitarist is a personal song cycle that combines indie rock with a dash of folk.

— Mark Deming

Angel Du$t

Rock the Fuck on Forever

Pop Wig / Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

A sharp-tongued connective-tissue stew of power pop melodies and crossover punk fervor.

— James Christopher Monger

Audion

Alpha

!K7

Electronic

Second full-length from Matthew Dear's Audion moniker, which he reserves for his harder-edged club-focused techno tracks.

— Paul Simpson

Decorations

Have Fun

Frenchkiss Records

Pop/Rock

Devon Geyer's one-man band has produced a polished but uninspired set of glossy retro-pop.

— Mark Deming

Emily Rodgers

2 Years

Misra

Pop/Rock

This lush Kramer-produced set recalls the dreamy textures of Galaxie 500 and the cinematic Americana of Mazzy Star.

— Timothy Monger

Empty Houses

Daydream

Sargent House

Pop/Rock, R&B

The robust debut of the wryly named Detroit group has a strong retro flavor that borrows from Motown and Phil Spector.

— Marcy Donelson

Gemma Ray

The Exodus Suite

Bronzerat Records

Pop/Rock

The alternative singer/songwriter's seventh LP plays like a set of torch songs, but for humanity's sense of well-being rather than a romantic lost love.

— Marcy Donelson

Globelamp

The Orange Glow

Wichita

Pop/Rock

Influenced by glam rock and psych-folk, songwriter Elizabeth Le Fey creatively deals with personal struggles on her second album.

— Paul Simpson

Jackie Lynn

Jackie Lynn

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Brief but engaging concept record from Haley Fohr, better known for her experimental indie-folk project Circuit des Yeux.

— Paul Simpson

John Coltrane

The Atlantic Years: In Mono

Atlantic / Elektra / Warner Music

Jazz

Excellent collection featuring all of the legendary saxophonist's available mono albums for Atlantic.

— Matt Collar

Liberation

Liberation

Night School

Pop/Rock

The prolific David West (Rat Columns, Total Control) delves deep into early-'80s synth (non-)pop on his first album under the name Liberation.

— Tim Sendra

Merrin Karras

Apex

A Strangely Isolated Place

Electronic

Excellent album of tuneful ambient compositions by Irish producer Brendan Gregoriy, best known for his techno tracks as Chymera.

— Paul Simpson

Orchestra of Spheres

Brothers and Sisters of the Black Lagoon

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

New Zealand prog rock eccentrics give themselves over to the rhythms on their third album.

— Mark Deming

Saliva

Love, Lies & Therapy

UMe / Universal

Pop/Rock

Aggressive hard-edged effort from the Memphis band that marks yet another step away from the rap-rock that got them started.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Sumac

What One Becomes

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Second album from a trio led by Aaron Turner (formerly of Isis), who fall somewhere between sludge metal and chaotic noise rock.

— Paul Simpson

The Everymen

These Mad Dogs Need Heroes

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

The band's third album is a more mature, dynamic, and intimate work, though there's still a lot of big, blustery rock & roll.

— Mark Deming

Throws

Throws

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

A meeting of fanciful post-rock and reflective synth pop fashioned in Reykjavik by Mike Lindsay and Sam Genders of Tunng.

— Marcy Donelson

Weird Dreams

Luxury Alone

Tough Love

Pop/Rock

The project's first album in four years trades jangly psych-pop for affecting synth-pop mantras.

— Heather Phares

Yung

A Youthful Dream

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

Despite a few pacing issues, it's a strong start for the young Danish band.

— Liam Martin

Alan Gilbert / New York Philharmonic

Christopher Rouse: Odna Zhizn; Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4; Prospero's Rooms

Dacapo

Classical

Four of Christopher Rouse's powerful orchestral works receive world premiere recordings on this 2016 release from Dacapo.

— Blair Sanderson

Ingrid Schmithüsen

Arnold Schönberg, Max Kowalski: Pierrot Lunaire

ATMA Classique

Classical

Ingrid Schmithüsen presents contrasting settings by Schoenberg and Kowalski of the bizarre Pierrot poems of Albert Giraud.

— Blair Sanderson

James Rutherford / Eugene Asti

Schubert: Schwanengesang

BIS

Classical

James Rutherford and Eugene Asti present Schubert's posthumous Schwanengesang with five other songs by the master of Lieder.

— Blair Sanderson

St. Albans Cathedral Choir / Andrew Lucas / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Rutter: Psalmfest

Naxos

Classical

This is the first full recording of John Rutter's Psalmfest, a 50-minute work assembled from a group of shorter pieces.

— James Manheim

Sasha Cooke / Julius Drake

Liszt: The Complete Songs, Vol. 4

Hyperion

Classical

This cycle undertaken by pianist Julius Drake is working to elevate the reputation of Liszt's songs.

— James Manheim

Fabio Luisi / Philharmonia Zürich

Bruckner: Symphony No. 8

Philharmonia Records

Classical

Fabio Luisi and the Philharmonia Zürich present the original 1887 version of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor.

— Blair Sanderson

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