Eminem

Music to Be Murdered By

Aftermath / Interscope / Shady

Rap

After some dismally bad albums, the rap legend redeems himself somewhat with a solid collection of technical prowess and improved production.

— Fred Thomas

Depeche Mode

MODE

Rhino / Rrw / Sire / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Massive career retrospective box set that collects all 14 albums and 4 discs of B-sides and rarities.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Wire

Mind Hive

Pink Flag

Pop/Rock

On their compact yet complex 17th album, the legendary post-punkers reinvent their enduring strengths as they lament humanity's vicious, and violent, circles.

— Heather Phares

Pet Shop Boys

Hotspot

X2

Pop/Rock

The acclaimed synth pop duo deliver another late-period triumph on their third outing with producer Stuart Price.

— Timothy Monger

Wolf Parade

Thin Mind

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The Canadian indie rock veterans sound strong and vital as they fuse vintage synth pop tropes with a new sense of urgency.

— Mark Deming

Elton John

Live from Moscow 1979

Mercury

Pop/Rock

The last concert given on Elton John's groundbreaking 1979 tour of the USSR.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Breaking Benjamin

Aurora

Hollywood

Pop/Rock

The platinum-selling, radio-friendly nu-rockers' deliver a fan-forward set of acoustic re-imaginings of some of their best-known songs.

— James Christopher Monger

Supergrass

The Strange Ones: 1994-2008

BMG / EC1 / Echo / Selected Sounds

Pop/Rock

A cracking single-disc distillation of the gargantuan The Strange Ones box tells the Supergrass story with concision and flair.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Andy Shauf

The Neon Skyline

Arts & Crafts

Pop/Rock

A set of subtle but brilliantly observed songs about love lost and remembered at a small-town bar.

— Mark Deming

Black Lips

Sing in a World That's Falling Apart

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The infamous garage punk combo inject their trademark murky sleaze into a set of fractured country songs.

— Mark Deming

The Haden Triplets

Family Songbook

Trimeter Records

Pop/Rock, Folk

Three outstanding vocalists come together with the help of their brother and grandfather to make a subtle but splendid album.

— Mark Deming

Nicolas Godin

Concrete and Glass

Because Music

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The composer/producer's second solo album revisits and reinvents the distinctively smooth sound he pioneered with Air.

— Heather Phares

Basic Plumbing

Keeping Up Appearances

Basic Plumbing Records

Pop/Rock

Rough-and-ready grunge-influenced power pop with a fragile heart and many memorable tunes.

— Tim Sendra

Jeff Parker

Suite for Max Brown

Nonesuch

Jazz

Four years after New Breed, the Chicago-cum-Los Angeles guitarist revisits his hybrid of jazz, funk, and hip-hop.

Caspian

On Circles

Triple Crown Records

Pop/Rock

After five years of touring and writing, this Massachusetts outfit returns with a dynamic, nuanced, and expertly performed album.

— Thom Jurek

East Village

Hotrod Hotel

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

A lovingly curated and presented collection of the combo's late-'80s singles and demos is jangle pop perfection.

— Tim Sendra

En Attendant Ana

Juillet

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The Parisian band's sophomore set is a thrilling mix of tightly focused post-punk and indie pop played with both sophistication and abandon.

— Timothy Monger

The Sufis

Double Exposure

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Murky, subaquatic pop with strands of wobbly psychedelia and warped soft rock fighting for dominance.

— Tim Sendra

The Wood Brothers

Kingdom in My Mind

Honey Jar Records / Thirty Tigers

Folk

The Wood Brothers emphasize their warm, funky jam inclinations on this cozy, homespun record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jeremy Pelt

The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 1

HighNote Records

Jazz

The trumpeter offers a lyrical ballads album featuring his drummerless trio.

— Matt Collar

The Chap

Digital Technology

Lo Recordings

Pop/Rock

The band use their witty, surreal electro-pop to lament the lack of intimacy in a society that's more connected than ever.

— Heather Phares

Bohren & der Club of Gore

Patchouli Blue

Ipecac

Jazz

After a six-year absence, the progenitors of dark jazz return as a trio with one of their most affecting albums yet.

— Thom Jurek

Bonny Light Horseman

Bonny Light Horseman

37d03d

Pop/Rock, Folk

Three indie folk luminaries take a contemporary approach to a set of traditional folk ballads that feels just a bit too polite.

— Mark Deming

Recondite

Dwell

Ghostly International

Electronic

The Bavarian producer refines his distinctive brand of pared down but suspenseful techno on his second full-length for Ghostly.

— Paul Simpson

Sarah Mary Chadwick

Please Daddy

Sinderlyn

Pop/Rock

The tormented singer's sixth album holds some of her darkest lyrics and most ear-friendly tunes.

— Marcy Donelson

Stella

The Break

Arbutus Records

Pop/Rock

The Arbutus Records debut of a Greek musician whose home-recorded synth pop balances upbeat dance grooves with ennui.

— Marcy Donelson

Yelena Eckemoff

Nocturnal Animals

L & H

Jazz, Classical

The Russian-born pianist and composer and her top-flight rhythm section explore the lives of night creatures in a bracing, evocative set.

— Thom Jurek

Stephen Hough

Brahms: The Final Piano Pieces

Hyperion

Classical

Stephen Hough explores Brahms' final piano pieces and offers insights into the moods and expressions of his final years.

— Blair Sanderson

Goldner String Quartet / Piers Lane

Bartók, Korngold: Piano Quintets

Hyperion

Classical

Beautifully played early and little-known works by Bartók and Korngold make a convincing Romantic (or neo-Romantic) pairing.

— James Manheim

Martyn Brabbins / BBC Symphony Orchestra

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3 'Pastoral'; Symphony No. 4; Saraband 'Helen'

Hyperion

Classical

Fine Vaughan Williams performances, both spiritual and technically confident by Brabbins and the BBC Symphony.

— James Manheim

Marlis Petersen / Maximilian Schmitt / René Jacobs / Freiburger Barockorchester

Beethoven: Leonore

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

A lively performance of Leonore, with questionable additions, that nevertheless makes a good case for Beethoven's original 1805 version of Fidelio.

— James Manheim

Ádám Fischer / Danish Chamber Orchestra

Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete Symphonies

Naxos

Classical

Beethoven set by unorthodox conductor Fischer may inspire or frustrate.

— James Manheim

Nayden Todorov / Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra

Vladigerov: Bulgarian Suite; Seven Symphonic Bulgarian Dances; Vardar Rhapsody

Naxos

Classical

Sleeper album of works by composer Vladigerov reveals a craftsman skilled in the handling of folk rhythms.

— James Manheim

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