Lil Wayne

Funeral [Deluxe]

Young Money

Rap

The rap icon's 13th studio LP hits at every style under the sun over its 24-track run.

— David Crone

Kesha

High Road

RCA

Pop/Rock

Kesha gets seriously silly on this rallying call to party.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Frances Quinlan

Likewise

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock

The Hop Along leader's disarmingly tender solo debut opts for keyboard-centric arrangements featuring harp by Mary Lattimore.

— Marcy Donelson

Billy Corgan / William Patrick Corgan

Cotillions

Martha's

Pop/Rock

A moody, Americana-influenced singer/songwriter record from the Smashing Pumpkins leader.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Meghan Trainor

Treat Myself

Epic

Pop/Rock

The "All About That Bass" singer's third major-label album finds her further embracing a contemporary pop and R&B sound.

— Matt Collar

Louis Tomlinson

Walls

Arista

Pop/Rock

Solo debut from the former One Direction member influenced by indie rock and Brit-pop.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Destroyer

Have We Met

Merge

Pop/Rock

Dan Bejar evokes classic synth pop, experimental soundscapes, and the thoughts of some very pretentious dude on his project's 11th album.

— Mark Deming

Drive-By Truckers

The Unraveling

ATO

Pop/Rock

A dark, troubled, but eloquent snapshot of the American zeitgeist in 2020, with plentiful compassion but no illusions.

— Mark Deming

Torres

Silver Tongue

Merge

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's openhearted fourth album is some of her most confident and confessional music.

— Heather Phares

Dan Deacon

Mystic Familiar

Domino

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Deacon returns to making majestically arranged, unceasingly optimistic synth pop on his first studio album in five years.

— Paul Simpson

Squarepusher

Be Up a Hello

Warp

Electronic

After several albums of heady concepts, the electronic visionary returns to his IDM roots on this refreshingly direct collection.

— Fred Thomas

Ben Watt

Storm Damage

Caroline

Pop/Rock

A sophisticated, searching, and soothing exploration of the soul.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Smoke Fairies

Darkness Brings the Wonders Home

Year Seven Records

Pop/Rock

A tougher guitar sound blends with the ethereal harmonies and ghostly melodies that are the trademarks of this U.K. indie folk duo.

— Mark Deming

Son Little

Aloha

Anti-

Pop/Rock, Blues

The third album from this smart and imaginative retro-soul artist is his most subdued to date but still exciting and rewarding.

— Mark Deming

K. Michelle

All Monsters Are Human

eOne

R&B

The candid singer/songwriter's first independent release is as sturdy and forthright as any of her preceding four albums for Atlantic.

— Andy Kellman

Neneh Cherry

Raw Like Sushi [30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]

Virgin

Pop/Rock

A remastered and expanded version of the cosmopolitan pop triumph featuring much more than the global hit "Buffalo Stance."

— Andy Kellman

Walter Martin

The World at Night

Family Jukebox / Ile Flottante Music

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's witty, moving fifth album is dedicated to his late Jonathan Fire*Eater bandmate Stewart Lupton.

— Heather Phares

Wild Nothing

Laughing Gas

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

This five-song EP collects leftover tracks in the same style as 2019's high-gloss, synth-heavy album Indigo.

— Fred Thomas

Caroline Polachek

Pang

Perpetual Novice

Pop/Rock

The former Chairlift singer's first album under her own name is an epic, artful statement of transformation.

— Matt Collar

Alex Ebert

I vs I

Community Music

Pop/Rock

An elaborate self-recorded breakup album of anthemic pop, rap, and Bowie-esque art rock that walks the line between dazzling and suffocating.

— Marcy Donelson

Squirrel Flower

I Was Born Swimming

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

An emotional travelog with an expansive, deeply reflective sound from this Boston native.

— Timothy Monger

Loving

If I Am Only My Thoughts

Last Gang Records

Pop/Rock

The calm and precise debut album from the Canadian trio is a warm blanket of melancholy played and sung with melodic spareness and restrained emotion.

— Tim Sendra

Various Artists

A Slight Disturbance in My Mind: The British Proto-Psychedelic Sounds of 1966

Grapefruit

Pop/Rock

A lovingly curated 84-track rock & roll gem devoted to the opening phases of Britain's psychedelic scene.

— Timothy Monger

Marc Almond

Chaos and a Dancing Star

BMG

Pop/Rock

Teaming with producer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Braide again, the pop chameleon delivers a set that is at once musically ambitious and passionately rendered.

— Thom Jurek

Tall Tall Trees

A Wave of Golden Things

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

The indie folk project's compassionate, reliably warm fourth album is less trippy but still richly arranged.

— Marcy Donelson

Poliça

When We Stay Alive

Memphis Industries

Pop/Rock

The band confronts the aftermath of physical and emotional trauma with evocative sounds and unflinching honesty.

— Heather Phares

Kim Wilde

Kim Wilde [Expanded Edition]

Cherry Pop

Pop/Rock

A breathlessly fun and surprisingly tough new wave album from 1981 good enough that "Kids in America" is just barely the best song.

— Tim Sendra

Kim Wilde

Catch as Catch Can [Expanded Edition]

Cherry Pop / Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Wilde's third album adds more synths and polish to her new wave sound while taking the first steps toward her future Hi-NRG sound.

— Tim Sendra

Kim Wilde

Select [Expanded Edition]

Cherry Pop

Pop/Rock

After a thrilling new wave debut, Wilde's second album is more sophisticated and mature while still being a lot of fun.

— Tim Sendra

Mint Julep

Stray Fantasies

Western Vinyl Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Keith and Hollie Kenniff marry articulate dance grooves and shimmering, delay-blurred atmospheres on a set fit for dancing and daydreaming.

— Marcy Donelson

Theory of a Deadman

Say Nothing

Atlantic / Roadrunner Records / Theory

Pop/Rock

The Canadian hitmakers continue to shed their post-grunge past on their socially conscious, pop-forward seventh album.

— James Christopher Monger

Thorbjørn Risager / Thorbjørn Risager & the Black Tornado

Come on In

Ruf Records

Blues

On their 12th album, this Danish outfit delivers a unique and deeply satisfying meld of blues styles, choogling rock, funky swing, soul, and jump.

— Thom Jurek

Tinsley Ellis

Ice Cream in Hell

Alligator Records

Blues, Pop/Rock

The Georgia-born guitar slinger ups his songwriting ante on his 18th album and pays fitting tribute to his various influences.

— Thom Jurek

Dune Rats

Hurry Up and Wait

BMG / Ratbag Records / Rise Records

Pop/Rock

Australian garage punk goofballs polish up their production but still sound charmingly snotty and fun.

— Mark Deming

Joey Alexander

Warna

Verve

Jazz

The jazz piano prodigy makes his Verve debut with a warm, delicately soulful album.

— Matt Collar

The Brodsky Quartet

Beethoven: Late String Quartets

Chandos

Classical

The Brodsky Quartet presents Beethoven's late string quartets in warm and resonant readings that compare well with past great performances.

— Blair Sanderson

Brabant Ensemble / Stephen Rice

Johannes Lupi: Motets; Te Deum; Lupus Hellinck: Missa Surrexit pastor

Hyperion

Classical

The choral music of Franco-Flemish composers Johannes Lupi and Lupus Hellinck is given a polished treatment by the exceptional Brabant Ensemble.

— Blair Sanderson

Cecilia Bartoli / Giovanni Antonini / Il Giardino Armonico

Farinelli

Decca

Classical

Devoted to music performed by the 18th century castrato singer Farinelli, this release offers a distinctive style in the castrato repertory.

— James Manheim

Joyce DiDonato / Michael Spyres / John Nelson

Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust

Erato

Classical

Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust receives a sumptuous concert performance from John Nelson and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.

— Blair Sanderson

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