Paramore

After Laughter

Atlantic / Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock

Overcoming yet more lineup changes, Paramore return with a buoyant, '80s new wave-tinged fifth album.

— Matt Collar

Harry Styles

Harry Styles

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

The first solo album from the former One Direction singer shows admirable ambition and solid songs, and showcases his impressive vocal style.

— Tim Sendra

Dion

Kickin Child: Lost Columbia Album 1965

Norton

Pop/Rock

Complete with proper sequencing and remastered sound, this Tom Wilson-produced album is among the greatest folk-rock albums of the 1960s.

— Thom Jurek

Juanes

Mis Planes Son Amarte

Universal

Latin, Pop/Rock

The Colombian rock star delivers what may be his finest moment: A sense-altering audio-visual album about the nature and necessity of love.

— Thom Jurek

Zac Brown / Zac Brown Band

Welcome Home

Atlantic / Elektra

Country

A warm, cozy return to the Zac Brown Band's mellow roots.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

La Santa Cecilia

Amar y Vivir

Rebeleon Entertainment / Universal

Latin, Pop/Rock

The Los Angeles band creates a stunning live-to-tape audio-visual album playing classic boleros, rancheras, and more in the plazas, bars, and theaters of Mexico City.

— Thom Jurek

mgk

Bloom

Bad Boy / Interscope / Polydor

Rap

The Ohio rapper takes steps toward emotional depth on his third effort, which balances pop-rap with darker tones.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Paul Weller

A Kind Revolution

Parlophone / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Leaving behind the spaciness of Saturn's Pattern, Paul Weller gets soft and soulful.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

DREAMCAR

DREAMCAR

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

AFI-singer Davey Havok and No Doubt's Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Adrian Young collaborated on this hooky, '80s new wave-tinged debut.

— Matt Collar

LP

Lost on You [U.K. Bonus Tracks]

Vagrant

Pop/Rock

The fourth studio long-player from the L.A.-based singer/songwriter delivers a lethal blend of vulnerability, swagger, and hooks.

— James Christopher Monger

Elf Power

Twitching in Time

Orange Twin

Pop/Rock

A dozen albums into their career, the Athens, Georgia lo-fi mavens deliver a satisfying set of catchy but anxious psych-pop.

— Marcy Donelson

Todd Rundgren

White Knight

Cleopatra

Pop/Rock

Rundgren invites a bevy of stars to give this album a broad stylistic range.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Don Bryant

Don't Give Up on Love

Fat Possum Records

R&B

Full-blooded return to R&B from the "I Can't Stand the Rain" co-writer, supported by some of his Hi Records-era cohorts and other Bo-Keys members.

— Andy Kellman

Girlpool

Powerplant

Anti-

Pop/Rock

Girlpool may have expanded their lo-fi approach on their sophomore effort but have retained their singular appeal.

— Bekki Bemrose

Bob's Burgers

The Bob's Burgers Music Album [Original Television Soundtrack]

Sub Pop

Stage & Screen

A comprehensive -- and hilarious -- collection of music from the cult favorite animated series' first six seasons.

— Heather Phares

The Creation

Creation Theory

Edsel

Pop/Rock

Complete anthology of the great freakbeat pioneers includes their brilliant 1966-1967 singles, but also lesser reunion material.

— Mark Deming

New Kids on the Block

Thankful

NKOTB Music

Pop/Rock

A polished, satisfying collection of love songs and nostalgia from the former teen idols.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

B.o.B

Ether

No Genre

Rap

The platinum rapper's first independent album is colored with dark emotions.

— Andy Kellman

Diagrams

Dorothy

Bookshop Records

Pop/Rock

A unique cross-generational collaboration between British electro-folk musician Sam Genders and American poet Dorothy Trogdon.

— Timothy Monger

Ellen Allien

Nost

BPitch Control

Electronic

Ellen Allien's back-to-basics seventh solo album is more in line with her club singles than her generally more experimental full-lengths.

— Paul Simpson

Seether

Poison the Parish

Canine Riot / Fantasy

Pop/Rock

The South African post-grunge unit's seventh studio outing is their heaviest to date.

— James Christopher Monger

Will Stratton

Rosewood Almanac

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

Named in tribute to his acoustic guitar, the singer/songwriter masters elegance and authenticity on his sixth album.

— Marcy Donelson

L.A. Takedown

II

Ribbon Music

Pop/Rock

Upgrading to a full band, Aaron M. Olson's cinematic instrumental rock project constructs an alternate soundtrack for 1980s Los Angeles.

— Paul Simpson

Hazel English

Just Give In/Never Going Home

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Collection of two early EPs from the brightly melancholy Bay Area singer/songwriter.

— Tim Sendra

Jazzmeia Horn

Social Call

Fantasy / Prestige

Jazz

A virtuoso debut from the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition winner.

— Matt Collar

Joey Agresta

Let's Not Talk About Music

Wharf Cat Records

Pop/Rock

Burlington, Vermont-based lo-fi artist Joey Pizza Slice switches to his real name for his most personal set of songs yet.

— Paul Simpson

Overlake

Fall

Bar/None Records / None

Pop/Rock

Shoegaze revivalists from Jersey City construct towers of massive, thoughtful guitar on their second album.

— Mark Deming

Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else / Everyone Else / Spencer Radcliffe

Enjoy the Great Outdoors

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

An idiosyncratic but approachable second LP of ruminative lo-fi by Radcliffe (aka Blithe Field), along with members of his touring band.

— Marcy Donelson

Sunshine & the Rain

In the Darkness of My Night

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

The former Black Hollies members offer gritty, lo-fi garage pop on their Jon Spencer-produced debut.

— Timothy Monger

Various Artists

Sing It High, Sing It Low: Tumbleweed Records 1971-1973

Light in the Attic Records / Tumbleweed

Pop/Rock

A brief history of a fascinating but forgotten record label that specialized in smart country-rock of the early '70s.

— Mark Deming

White Sea

Tropical Odds

Crepuscule / Les Disques du Crépuscule

Pop/Rock

Morgan Kibby trades the massivevness of White Sea's earlier work for an eclectic, but still thrilling, approach.

— Heather Phares

Vladimir Jurowski / London Philharmonic Orchestra

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"; Overture, Fidelio

LPO

Classical

Beethoven's Eroica receives a brisk and energetic live performance from Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

— Blair Sanderson

Jonas Kaufmann / Jonathan Nott

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Sony Classical

Classical

Employing his wide vocal range, Jonas Kaufmann sings the tenor and baritone songs in Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.

— Blair Sanderson

King's College Choir of Cambridge / Stephen Cleobury

Bach: St. John Passion [2016 Recording]

King's College Choir

Classical

Recommended, especially for those who like a boy-choir sound in Bach; the soloists are quite strong.

— James Manheim

Alexander Liebreich / Berlin RIAS Chamber Choir / Münchener Kammerorchester

Tigran Mansurian: Requiem

ECM New Series

Classical

This performance of Mansurian's Requiem makes a fine place to start with ECM's series of the composer's music.

— James Manheim

Oliver Knussen / Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble

Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale

Linn Records

Classical

This performance of Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat features Sir Harrison Birtwistle and George Benjamin with Downton Abbey's Dame Harriet Walter.

— Blair Sanderson

Peter Donohoe

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues

Signum Classics

Classical

Donohoe takes a different tack, meditative and a bit reverent, in the crowded field of recordings of these works.

— James Manheim

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