Dan Auerbach

Waiting on a Song

Easy Eye Sound / Nonesuch

Pop/Rock

A cheerful, bright salute to Jeff Lynne pop and '70s songcraft.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Roger Waters

Is This the Life We Really Want?

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

A politically charged album that harkens back to prime mid-'70s Pink Floyd.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Alt-J

Relaxer

Atlantic / Infectious

Pop/Rock

A heady and sometimes capricious piece of work that vacillates between pastoral folk, classical crossover, proto-punk, and progressive rock.

— James Christopher Monger

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa Music / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Brimming with the confidence of a seasoned vet, this excellent pop debut strikes a deft balance between attitude and vulnerability.

— Neil Z. Yeung

U2

The Joshua Tree [30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]

Island

Pop/Rock

U2's crowning moment and the definitive sound of late '80s mainstream rock.

— Pat Sullivan

Halsey

Hopeless Fountain Kingdom

Astralwerks / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

Halsey broadens thier musical and emotional palette on their second album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Benjamin Booker

Witness

ATO

Blues

A musically expansive and politically charged second effort from neo-bluesman Benjamin Booker.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Amber Coffman

City of No Reply

Columbia / Sony Music

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The former Dirty Projectors member goes solo with a beguiling post-breakup set full of sunny self-motivation and lush melancholia.

— Timothy Monger

Saint Etienne

Home Counties

Heavenly

Pop/Rock

Produced by Shawn Lee, the band's ninth album is a comforting nostalgia trip that sums up their career in lovely fashion.

— Tim Sendra

Beach Fossils

Somersault

Bayonet Records

Pop/Rock

Beach Fossils' third album adds more collaboration and expanded instrumentation, both of which give their sound an impressive makeover.

— Tim Sendra

H. Hawkline

I Romanticize

Heavenly

Pop/Rock

Adding more keyboards to his off-kilter guitar pop makes the Welsh singer/songwriter's fourth album his most accomplished and expressive to date.

— Tim Sendra

Marika Hackman

I'm Not Your Man

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Marika Hackman's shift to a grungier sound on I'm Not Your Man is also a triumph of wit and heart.

— Bekki Bemrose

TOPS

Sugar at the Gate

Arbutus Records

Pop/Rock

The Montreal indie electronic outfit returns the heavy-hearted sophisti-pop sound established on 2014's Picture You Staring.

— Marcy Donelson

North Mississippi Allstars

Prayer for Peace

Legacy / Songs of the South Records / Sony Legacy / Sony Music

Pop/Rock, Country

The Dickinsons dig deep into their roots on a set of originals and covers of blues, gospel, and folk with reckless abandon, and select friends.

— Thom Jurek

Bleachers

Gone Now

RCA

Pop/Rock

The project's hyper-literate, hyper-emotional pop meditations are even more vivid, detailed, and satisfying the second time around.

— Heather Phares

Dispatch

America, Location 12

Bomber / Bomber Records

Pop/Rock

The New England roots rock power trio take a West Coast trip on their strong sixth LP.

— Timothy Monger

Celebration

Wounded Healer

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The band transforms the turbulence of the 2010s into lavish, eclectic, experimental pop.

— Heather Phares

All Time Low

Last Young Renegade

Atlantic / Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock

Surprising seventh set that finds the pop-punk quartet venturing into the pop mainstream with fun, satisfying results.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Omar Souleyman

To Syria with Love

Mad Decent

International

The exiled Syrian vocalist's debut for Mad Decent is marked by more techno and electronic elements without leaving dabke behind.

— Thom Jurek

Amber Arcades

Cannonball

Heavenly

Pop/Rock

Slighly scruffier but still sweet take on the dream pop sound of the band's first album.

— Tim Sendra

Grateful Dead

Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 5: Boston Music Hall, June 9, 1976

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

A very fine early show from the Dead's "comeback" tour of the summer of 1976.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Pixx

The Age of Anxiety

4AD

Pop/Rock

Hannah Rodgers' debut album gives depth and purpose to her glossy, shape-shifting pop as it reflects hyper-stimulating times.

— Heather Phares

Richard Dawson

Peasant

Weird World

Pop/Rock

A singular view of the British folk tradition that's as sincere and effective as it is wildly unconventional.

— Mark Deming

Sweet Baboo

Wild Imagination

Moshi Moshi Records / Moshi Moshi Singles Club

Pop/Rock

An optimistic and affectionate sixth LP from the whimsical tunesmith intended as a small tonic for the turmoil of 2016 and its aftermath.

— Marcy Donelson

Sleep Party People

Lingering

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

The Joyful Noise debut of Brian Batz's established post-rock project can double as surreal background music or engrossing headphone material.

— Marcy Donelson

The Mekons

Existentialism

Bloodshot / Sin

Pop/Rock

Cut in real time with an audience, the international lo-fi troublemakers' 2017 album is a far cry from the usual live disc.

— Mark Deming

Chastity Belt

I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone

Hardly Art

Pop/Rock

Washington-based indie rock quartet get serious on their third album, with impressive results.

— Mark Deming

Chuck Johnson

Balsams

VDSQ

Pop/Rock

The guitarist-composer switches to pedal steel for this album-length series of tender, atmospheric songscapes.

— Thom Jurek

Billy Hart / Aaron Parks / Ben Street

Find the Way

ECM

Jazz

On his second ECM offering, the bandleader all but turns the piano trio's defined relationships on their heads thanks to a canny rhythm section.

— Thom Jurek

Bob Marley & the Wailers / Bob Marley

Exodus: The Movement Continues [40th Anniversary Edition]

Island / Tuff Gong

Reggae

A less political but still deeply impassioned work from the reggae superstar, recorded shortly after an assassination attempt.

— Mark Deming

Cody ChesnuTT

My Love Divine Degree

R&B

ChesnuTT's third album finds him striking a soulfully exuberant, stylistically eclectic balance between his lo-fi roots and love of classic R&B.

— Matt Collar

Death and Vanilla

Vampyr

Fire Records

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

The atmospheric Swedish band recorded a live score during a 2012 screening of Carl Theodor Dreyers' classic 1932 horror movie, Vampyr.

— Tim Sendra

Mark McGuire

Ideas of Beginnings

VDSQ

Pop/Rock

The former Emeralds guitarist presents a partially acoustic album of stripped-down, fragmentary pieces.

— Paul Simpson

Roya

Roya

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

'60s-influenced indie pop group make a personal statement as they find their own sense of cool on this debut album.

— Mark Deming

Ennanga Vision

Ennanga Vision

Soundway

International, Electronic

Transcontinental electro-organic fusion project from London's Jesse Hackett and Ugandan singer/musician Albert Ssempeke.

— Paul Simpson

Flogging Molly

Life Is Good

Vanguard

Pop/Rock

The L.A. Celtic punk institution's spirit remains undimmed on their rousing sixth LP.

— Timothy Monger

Ikonika

Distractions

Hyperdub

Electronic

London-based producer Sara Abdel-Hamid explores several moods and styles on her slightly dystopian third full-length for Hyperdub.

— Paul Simpson

Institute

Subordination

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

The band's second album introduces a more overtly political outlook -- as well as touches of glam and hard rock.

— Heather Phares

Korey Dane

Chamber Girls

Innovative Leisure

Pop/Rock

The California songwriter's third album balances hooky folk-rock with a hard-won, literate maturity.

— Matt Collar

Peaking Lights

The Fifth State of Consciousness

Two Flowers

Pop/Rock

Cosmic dub-pop duo Peaking Lights present an ambitious double album of urgent yet dreamy homemade post-disco.

— Paul Simpson

Pega Monstro

Casa de Cima

Cafetra Records / Upset the Rhythm

Pop/Rock

On their third LP, the sisters take a step away from spirited noise-rock into more reflective but still garage-y territory.

— Marcy Donelson

Robert Lamm

Time Chill: A Retrospective

Omnivore

Pop/Rock, Jazz

Collection of the jazzy, electronic soulful pop the Chicago keyboardist recorded in the 21st century.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

School Damage

School Damage

Chapter Music

Pop/Rock

Scrappy, sweet indie pop from an Australian group made up of members of Chook Race and Ausmuteants.

— Tim Sendra

Sikth

The Future in Whose Eyes?

MN / Peaceville Records / Snapper

Pop/Rock

A satisfying distillation of Sikth's particular mish-mash of metal proclivities as one could hope for, especially after such a lengthy hiatus.

— James Christopher Monger

Ulrika Spacek

Modern English Decoration

Tough Love

Pop/Rock

A hazy D.I.Y. batch of late-night/early-morning dream-pop/psych-rock emissions that invoke names like Deerhunter, My Bloody Valentine, and Can.

— James Christopher Monger

Alec Frank-Gemmill / Alasdair Beatson

A Noble and Melancholy Instrument: Music for horns and pianos of the 19th century

BIS

Classical

A historical-performance release where the talents of instrument maker, performer, and composer seem to converge.

— James Manheim

Marc Minkowski / Les Musiciens du Louvre - Grenoble

Bach: Johannes-Passion

Erato

Classical

Minkowski and musicians deliver an interpretation that is sharp and biting.

— James Manheim

Vicente Coves / Pepe Romero / Manuel Coves

Federico Moreno Torroba: Guitar Concertos, Vol. 2

Naxos

Classical

Federico Moreno Torroba's music has been somewhat neglected of late, but this is never less than enjoyable.

— James Manheim

Khatia Buniatishvili / Paavo Järvi

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3

Sony Classical

Classical

Khatia Buniatishvili plays Rachmaninoff's Second and Third Piano Concertos with extraordinary clarity, brilliance, and sensitivity.

— Blair Sanderson

Susan Bickley

Brian Elias: Electra Mourns

NMC

Classical

A recommended way to discover an underrated modern British composer.

— James Manheim

Michail Lifits / Szymanowski Quartet

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes Op. 34; Piano Quintet Op. 57

Decca

Classical

This is a satisfying, high-spirited Shostakovich album that runs counter to the composer's grimly ironic tone.

— James Manheim

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