Taylor Swift

reputation

Big Machine Records / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

Taylor Swift leaves all traces of the old Taylor behind on this dark, steely album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Bob Seger

I Knew You When

Capitol

Pop/Rock

Bob Seger pays tribute to his departed friend Glenn Frey, but also takes time to rock.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Morrissey

Low in High School

BMG

Pop/Rock

Morrissey embraces controversy on one of his most musically adventurous albums.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Faith Hill / Tim McGraw

The Rest of Our Life

Arista / Nashville / Tim McGraw Music

Country

The husband-and-wife duo record an album-length love letter to marriage.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Mavis Staples

If All I Was Was Black

Anti-

R&B

The soul and gospel icon teams with Jeff Tweedy again for an album that addresses troubled times with love and strength.

— Mark Deming

Sharon Jones / Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Soul of a Woman

Daptone

R&B

The final album from the retro-soul diva, recorded in the last months of her life, is a rich, life-affirming experience.

— Mark Deming

Nine Inch Nails

The Fragile: Deviations 1

Island / Nothing

Pop/Rock

Instrumental reimagining of The Fragile that includes alternate versions of originals and over a dozen new songs.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Rest

Atlantic

Pop/Rock

Spanning mournful ballads and celebratory dance and pop, Gainsbourg's fourth album explores the aftermath of loss in her own words.

— Heather Phares

Green Day

Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band [Clean Version]

Reprise

Pop/Rock

Green Day's second hits collection offers a good career overview.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jake Owen

Greatest Hits

Nashville / RCA / Sony Music Entertainment

Country

All of the contemporary country singer's biggest hits, along with two new songs.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sia

Everyday Is Christmas

Atlantic

Holiday, Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter puts her idiosyncratic stamp on holiday music with a set of original songs.

— Heather Phares

OCS

Memory of a Cut Off Head

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

Impressively restrained and spooky folk-psych from the Oh Sees' Jon Dwyer with help from longtime contributor Brigid Dawson.

— Tim Sendra

The Body / Full of Hell

Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

The second collaboration between noise-metal boundary-pushers the Body and Full of Hell might be the craziest album either group has produced.

— Paul Simpson

Godflesh

Post Self

Avalanche Recordings

Pop/Rock

Godflesh explore their industrial and post-punk influences on the tense, moody follow-up to their 2014 reunion album.

— Paul Simpson

Jon Balke

Siwan: Nahnou Houm

ECM

Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz

Eight years after its acclaimed debut, this transcultural ensemble digs further into the history and mystery of Al-Andalus to pose modern questions.

— Thom Jurek

Karl Blau

Out Her Space

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The wily singer, songwriter, and producer delivers his second album for Bella Union backed by Matthew E. White's Spacebomb House Band.

— Thom Jurek

Electric Wizard

Wizard Bloody Wizard

Spinefarm Records

Pop/Rock

Pioneering U.K. doom/stoner band once again demonstrates their unyielding commitment to all things heavy.

— Mark Deming

Gingerlys

Gingerlys

Babe City Records / Topshelf

Pop/Rock

An exhilarating, sure-footed noise pop debut produced by Connor Hanwick (the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Drums).

— Marcy Donelson

John Coltrane

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary [Original Soundtrack]

Decca

Jazz, Stage & Screen

The documentary soundtrack is a moving, thoughtfully curated portrait of the jazz giant, focusing on his creative and spiritual ascension.

— Matt Collar

Black Sabbath

The End

Eagle Rock / Universal

Pop/Rock

The End chronicles Black Sabbath's final live performance, the last evil deed after five decades of brutality and a yearlong sprint across the globe.

— James Christopher Monger

Spirit Fest

Spirit Fest

Morr Music

Pop/Rock

Featuring members of Tenniscoats and the Notwist, the project's debut is a cozy, charming celebration of friendship.

— Heather Phares

Kicking Giant

This Being the Ballad of Kicking Giant, Halo: NYC​/​Olympia 1989-1993

K Records / Drawing Room Records

Pop/Rock

A collection of tracks recorded between 1989 and 1993 by the riot grrrl-meets-C-86 duo.

— Tim Sendra

Iron Maiden

The Book of Souls: Live Chapter

BMG / Sanctuary

Pop/Rock

Britain's greatest heavy metal band documents a six-continent, 39-city tour with newer material and classic catalog numbers.

— Thom Jurek

Jeff Lynne / Electric Light Orchestra / Jeff Lynne's ELO

Wembley or Bust [Live at Wembley Stadium]

Columbia / Sony Legacy

Pop/Rock

A document of Jeff Lynne's 2017 return to Wembley Stadium.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

America

Heritage: Home Recordings/Demos 1970-1973

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

Magical early demos the folk-rock outfit recorded for their first three albums, including an a cappella version of "A Horse with No Name."

— Matt Collar

Barenaked Ladies

Fake Nudes

Vanguard / Vanguard Records

Pop/Rock

The Canadian band's 12th studio album is a melodic, wry mix of folky anthems and buoyant pop.

— Matt Collar

Chris Gantry

At the House of Cash

Drag City

Country, Pop/Rock

An original Nashville outlaw's lost 1973 psychedelic missive finally sees release.

— Timothy Monger

G.B.H.

Momentum

Hellcat Records

Pop/Rock

Momentum finds the British punk stalwarts both raging against the machine and taking in the scenery.

— James Christopher Monger

Jimmy Buffett

Buried Treasure, Vol. 1

Mailboat Records

Pop/Rock

A collection of demos Jimmy Buffett recorded in 1969.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Skillet

Unleashed Beyond

Atlantic

Religious, Pop/Rock

The deluxe version of the CCM rockers' thrilling 2016 release includes five bonus cuts and three remixes.

— James Christopher Monger

Scott Bradlee / Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox

The New Classics

Concord / Postmodern Jukebox Records

Pop/Rock

Scott Bradlee's Jazz Age covers project offers up a live set taped during a Las Vegas cabaret special.

— Timothy Monger

Matt Berry

Night Terrors

Acid Jazz

Pop/Rock

An EP of remixes, new versions of songs from 2016's The Small Hours, and a handful of instrumentals and covers from the actor/musician.

— Tim Sendra

Tom Chaplin

Twelve Tales of Christmas

Island / UMGRI Interscope / Universal

Pop/Rock, Holiday

On his second solo effort, the Keane frontman delves into the melancholy side of the holidays.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Baths

Romaplasm

Anticon

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The project's third album blends fantasy worlds and real-life concerns in fascinating ways.

— Heather Phares

Bitchin Bajas

Bajas Fresh

Drag City

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Chicago's cosmic drone unit Bitchin Bajas continue to fuse spiritual jazz, Krautrock, and new age on this Drag City-issued double album.

— Paul Simpson

Talib Kweli

Radio Silence

Javotti Media

Rap

Solo album eight includes some of the veteran rapper's most incisive work over beats from the Alchemist, Oh No, and Kaytranada.

— Andy Kellman

José Feliciano / Jools Holland

As You See Me Now

EastWest / Rhino / Warner Music

Jazz

An amiable, eclectic, and friendly duet album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Katharine McPhee

I Fall in Love Too Easily

BMG

Vocal

An album of songs from the Great American Songbook produced by Don Was.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Blu / Madlib / MED

The Turn Up

Bang Ya Head

Rap

Brief but potent EP from California hip-hop artists MED, Blu, and Madlib, following their excellent 2015 full-length Bad Neighbor.

— Paul Simpson

Mike Love

Unleash the Love

BMG

Pop/Rock

Second solo album from the Beach Boys frontman is slick but uninspiring, and loaded down with unnecessary remakes.

— Mark Deming

No One and the Somebodies / Palberta

Chips for Dinner

Wharf Cat Records

Pop/Rock

Split album of ambitious yet fragmentary art-punk from two New York-based D.I.Y. groups.

— Paul Simpson

County Liners

Mary Jane Dunphe & Chris McDonnell in the County Liners

Wharf Cat Records

Pop/Rock

Rough and ready country-influenced indie rock from two gifted Olympia, Washington songwriters.

— Mark Deming

Fits

All Belief Is Paradise

Father/Daughter Records

Pop/Rock

Cathartic debut by a Brooklyn four-piece that expresses personal lyrics with impulsive, hooky lo-fi.

— Marcy Donelson

Antonio Pappano / Martha Argerich / Daniele Rossi

Saint-Saëns: Organ Symphony; Carnival of the Animals

Warner Classics

Classical

This wonderful album contains perhaps Saint-Saëns' two most popular works; thoroughly a pleasure, all the way through.

— James Manheim

Quatuor Arod

Mendelssohn: Quartets, Op. 13, 44 No. 2; 4 Pieces; Frage, Op. 99

Erato

Classical

The quartet members have said that they see these works as reflective of Mendelssohn's life, and that's how they play them.

— James Manheim

Z.E.N. Trio

Brahms & Dvorák: Piano Trios

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

The group not only jells as a unit, but offers a distinctive and beautifully persuasive interpretation in the Dvorák.

— James Manheim

Daniele Gatti / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Mahler: Symphony No. 2

RCO

Classical

Daniele Gatti marked the occasion of becoming chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with this recording of Mahler's Second.

— Blair Sanderson

James Ehnes / Andrew Manze

Beethoven: Violin Concerto Op. 61; Romances; Schubert: Rondo

Onyx

Classical

This displays the Ehnes strengths: a clean line with a minimum of sentimentality, and strong control over the larger design.

— James Manheim

Simon Callaghan / Martyn Brabbins / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 73: Coke

Hyperion

Classical

Simon Callaghan and the BBC Scottish Symphony under Martyn Brabbins explore the nearly forgotten piano concertos of Roger Sacheverell Coke.

— Blair Sanderson

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