David Bowie

Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976)

Parlophone

Pop/Rock

A deep dive into David Bowie's peak years of stardom, containing all three studio albums, live albums, plus alternate mixes and rarities -- along with the unreleased album The Gouster -- between 1974 and 1976.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Devendra Banhart

Ape in Pink Marble

Nonesuch

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter reels in previous tendencies to meander and offers his most consistent and satisfying set in over a decade.

— Marcy Donelson

Dwight Yoakam

Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars...

Sugar Hill

Country, Pop/Rock

The champion of the Bakersfield Sound tries his hand at bluegrass in this lively, full-bodied acoustic effort.

— Mark Deming

Bruce Springsteen

Chapter & Verse

Columbia

Pop/Rock

An aural autobiography companion to Bruce Springsteen's memoir Born to Run, highlighted by five unreleased tracks from his early years.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

My Chemical Romance

The Black Parade/Living with Ghosts

Reprise / Warner Bros. / Warner Music

Pop/Rock

The tenth anniversary edition of The Black Parade is expanded with a disc of unreleased live works in progress.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Warpaint

Heads Up

Rough Trade

Pop/Rock

Recorded in just a few months, the band's third album adds urgency to their hypnotic music.

— Heather Phares

Passenger

Young as the Morning Old as the Sea

Black Crow Records / Nettwerk

Pop/Rock

Poetic wanderlust and lush orchestral production mark the nuanced eighth studio album from the U.K. folksinger.

— Matt Collar

Hamilton / Hamilton Leithauser / Rostam

I Had a Dream That You Were Mine

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Pop/Rock

Members from two celebrated indie rock bands use their nostalgic flair to create an album steeped in dreams and memories.

— Heather Phares

How to Dress Well

Care

Weird World

Pop/Rock

Working with co-producers that span the Top 40 and the underground, the project's ruminations on modern love are more accessible than ever.

— Heather Phares

Flock of Dimes

If You See Me, Say Yes

Partisan

Pop/Rock

Dreamy and intricate, Jenn Wasner delivers a warmly introspective and lovingly crafted debut.

— Timothy Monger

Forma

Physicalist

Kranky

Electronic

Brooklyn synth trio Forma make their Kranky debut with their ambitious, thoroughly stunning third album.

— Paul Simpson

The Sword

Low Country

Razor & Tie

Pop/Rock

The doomy Texans render 10 of the 15 tracks from 2015's High Country into campfire-ready singalongs of the darkest kind.

— James Christopher Monger

Shabaka & the Ancestors

Wisdom of Elders

Brownswood

Jazz

Recorded in a single day in Johannesburg with seven South African musicians, the saxophonist's "nine part psalm" is a masterwork.

— Thom Jurek

True Widow

Avvolgere

Relapse Records

Pop/Rock

Reunited with Circumambulation producer Matt Pence, the band continue to give their heavy, hallucinatory music more momentum.

— Heather Phares

Idina Menzel

idina.

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock, Vocal

The Tony-winning singer gets personal on her edgier, pop-oriented fifth album.

— Timothy Monger

Game Theory

Big Shot Chronicles [Bonus Tracks]

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

Great reissue of the 1986 album where Scott Miller's inventive and ambitious pop band hit their stride.

— Mark Deming

Merchandise

A Corpse Wired for Sound

4AD

Pop/Rock

The Florida trio continue to evade easy description on their moody, nearly gothic fourth LP.

— Timothy Monger

Shawn Mendes

Illuminate

Island

Pop/Rock

On his second album, the Vine superstar turns his gentle touch to soulful pop and comes into his own.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Skylar Grey

Natural Causes

Interscope / Kid Ina Korner / Polydor

Pop/Rock, Rap

Lush sophomore outing trades the radio-ready polish of her debut for mood and atmosphere, resulting in a focused personal vision.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Beach Slang

A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Less than a year after their breakthrough debut, a second batch of anthems for the alienated and Westerberg-inspired hooks.

— Marcy Donelson

Billy Bragg / Joe Henry

Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad

Cooking Vinyl

Folk, Pop/Rock

Two great singer/songwriters sing train songs in train stations across America; the idea is interesting, the execution is flawed.

— Mark Deming

Biosphere

Departed Glories

Smalltown Supersound

Electronic

Norwegian ambient pioneer Geir Jenssen moves to Smalltown Supersound with a haunting album inspired by Poland's Wolski Forest.

— Paul Simpson

LVL UP

Return to Love

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Third album of scruffy '90s-worshiping indie rock finds the New York quartet on Sub Pop, home to many of their heroes.

— Tim Sendra

Boxed In

Melt

Nettwerk

Pop/Rock

The band's second album blurs musical and emotional boundaries with growing self-assurance.

— Heather Phares

Ex-Cult

Negative Growth

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

Another album of brutally aggressive, sonically challenging modern punk from the Bay Area quartet.

— Tim Sendra

Danny & the Darleans

Bug Out

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

Second album from the Detroit garage rock trio (fronted by Danny Kroha of the Gories) is good-and-greasy no-frills fun.

— Mark Deming

Every Time I Die

Low Teens

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

An inward looking, but undeniably pugilistic blast of no-frills might that should please longtime fans and newcomers alike.

— James Christopher Monger

Flyying Colours

Mindfullness

Club AC30

Pop/Rock

Debut album from the Australian quartet, continuing their winning blend of shoegaze and psych, as previously showcased on their two EPs.

— Paul Simpson

Giraffe Tongue Orchestra

Broken Lines

Cooking Vinyl / Party Smasher

Pop/Rock

Hard rock ensemble give us their debut full-length effort.

— Rob Wacey

Howe Gelb

Sno' Angel Like You/Sno' Angel Winging It

Fire Records

Pop/Rock, Religious

Giant Sand founder's collaboration with a gospel choir; a grand experiment that's full of heart and soul.

— Mark Deming

Jah Wobble

In Dub [Deluxe]

30 Hertz Records / Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

This two disc-comp focusing on the artist's core M.O. is an excellent, more economical slice of his catalog plus four new tracks.

— Thom Jurek

Kansas

The Prelude Implicit

Inside Out Music

Pop/Rock

The 15th studio long-player from the progressive rock/AOR legends, and their first collection of new material in 16 years.

— James Christopher Monger

Kristin Chenoweth

The Art of Elegance

Concord

Vocal, Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

The Broadway superstar interprets the Great American Songbook for the first time.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lee "Scratch" Perry

Must Be Free

Megawave Records

Reggae

The 80-year-old dub reggae legend is up to his usual tricks on this studio album, which was primarily produced by Spacewave.

— Paul Simpson

Reckless Kelly

Sunset Motel

No Big Deal Records / Thirty Tigers

Pop/Rock

The Red Dirt Country band celebrate their 20th anniversary by getting back to the basics.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Seth Lakeman

Ballads of the Broken Few

Cooking Vinyl

Folk

The Devon native turns in a pleasantly sparse, organic set on this collaboration with Americana trio Wildwood Kin.

— Timothy Monger

Selector Dub Narcotic

This Party Is Just Getting Started

K Records

Pop/Rock

K Records founder Calvin Johnson works with hip-hop producer Smoke M2D6 on the debut release under his Selector Dub Narcotic moniker.

— Paul Simpson

Stephen L. Mosko / Calarts Twentieth Century Players

Morton Subotnick: Music for The Double Life of Amphibians

Wergo

Classical

A major release remastering the original 1980s-era landmark of contemporary music.

— James Manheim

Bright Sheng / Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

The Intimacy of Creativity: Five Year Retrospective

Naxos

Classical

This album makes a fine place to start exploring what makes Asia's top symphony orchestra distinctive.

— James Manheim

Marin Alsop / Orquestra Sinfónica do Estado de São Paulo - OSESP

Sergey Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6; Waltz Suite

Naxos

Classical

This entry in Alsop's Prokofiev series is a recommended addition to collections, beautifully recorded.

— James Manheim

Eldar Nebolsin / Michael Stern / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2; Concert Fantasia

Naxos

Classical

Eldar Nebolsin performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major in the original version on this 2016 release from Naxos.

— Blair Sanderson

Zuill Bailey / Giancarlo Guerrero / Nashville Symphony

Michael Daugherty: Tales of Hemingway; American Gothic; Once Upon a Castle

Naxos

Classical

Daugherty has moved in the direction of neo-Romantic program music, although the composer is still recognizable enough.

— James Manheim

Anna Netrebko / Antonio Pappano

Verismo

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

This is a major Netrebko release and a definitive verismo collection.

— James Manheim

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