Gang of Four

77-81

Matador

Pop/Rock

A thorough overview of the British "neo-Marxist funk band"'s first era that's smart, challenging, and wildly entertaining.

— Mark Deming

Lake Street Dive

Obviously

Nonesuch

Pop/Rock, R&B

The Boston outfit craft a sophisticated blend of vintage-inspired soul and adult contemporary pop on their seventh album.

— Matt Collar

Andra Day

The United States vs. Billie Holiday [Music From the Motion Picture]

Warner Records

Stage & Screen, Jazz

The fine soundtrack to the singer's award-winning turn as Lady Day, the innovator she named herself after.

— Andy Kellman

Rob Zombie

The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

The horror rock master merges his typical formula with sonic surprises and a creative surge on his impressive seventh set.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Valerie June

The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers

Concord / Fantasy

Pop/Rock, Folk

A rare gem of heartfelt expression and celestial liminality, June's dreamy fifth album mixes folk, soul, and light psychedelia.

— Timothy Monger

Linda Smith

Till Another Time (1988-1996)

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

A well-chosen selection of home-recorded pop songs that have lo-fidelity, but high-quality melodies, inventive arrangements and deliver deep feels.

— Tim Sendra

Fruit Bats

The Pet Parade

Merge

Pop/Rock

Arriving 20 years after their debut, album eight offers more of Eric D. Johnson and band's reliably comforting, bittersweet folk-rock.

— Marcy Donelson

Nancy Sinatra

Start Walkin' 1965-1976

Light in the Attic Records

Pop/Rock, Country

An idiosyncratic and effective portrait of Nancy Sinatra's peak years.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Charles Lloyd / Charles Lloyd & the Marvels

Tone Poem

Blue Note

Jazz

The saxophonist's Americana jazz quintet deliver their first completely instrumental album of impeccably chosen covers and originals.

— Thom Jurek

Cory Hanson

Pale Horse Rider

Drag City

Pop/Rock

Leader of L.A. art psych band Wand takes a turn toward cosmic Americana on his second solo album.

— Fred Thomas

DJ Muggs / The Black Goat

Dies Occidendum

Sacred Bones

Rap

A haunting record of macabre instrumentals from the Cypress Hill and Soul Assassins beatsmith.

— Paul Simpson

Mike Dillon

Suitcase Man

Royal Potato Family

Pop/Rock, Jazz

The vibraphonist takes stock of his life on this literate, arty punk-jazz album.

— Matt Collar

Blake Mills / Pino Palladino

Notes with Attachments

Impulse!

Pop/Rock

These prolific, always busy men deliver a brief yet imaginative instrumental album of quirky and exotic charm.

— Thom Jurek

Sunburned Hand of the Man

Pick a Day to Die

Three Lobed

Pop/Rock

On their 2021 album, the long-running Boston-based freak rock collective brings a different kind of weirdness to every track.

— Fred Thomas

Towa Tei

LP

Columbia

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The veteran producer and DJ delivers a charming set of aural amuse-bouches that touch on decades' worth of witty, sophisticated sounds.

— Heather Phares

Cool Ghouls

At George's Zoo

Empty Cellar

Pop/Rock

The Bay Area garage rockers' third album plays like a jukebox loaded with every musical style of the late '60s, from baroque pop to protest songs.

— Tim Sendra

Nubiyan Twist

Freedom Fables

Strut

Jazz

The collective's third long-player places central focus on the role of the vocalist and achieves a compelling result.

— Thom Jurek

Allie Crow Buckley

Moonlit and Devious

Allie Crow Buckley

Pop/Rock

A both dreamy and assertive full-length debut from the California singer/songwriter, who co-produced with Mike Viola and Rilo Kiley's Jason Boesel.

— Marcy Donelson

Throttle Elevator Music / Kamasi Washington

Final Floor

Wide Hive Records

Jazz, Pop/Rock

The collective's final will and testament is composed of an impeccably curated set of potent alternates, demos, and outtakes.

— Thom Jurek

Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Philadelphia Orchestra

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1; Symphonic Dances

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Rachmaninov's First by Nézet-Séguin honors the long Philadelphia Rachmaninov tradition while adding a fresh outlook.

— James Manheim

Piotr Anderszewski

J.S. Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier

Warner Classics

Classical

A highly unusual excerpted treatment of the Well-Tempered Clavier Book II is beautifully executed on its own terms.

— James Manheim

Christophe Rousset / Les Talens Lyriques

Salieri: Armida

Aparte

Classical

A thoroughly accomplished opera by the young Salieri adds to the ongoing growth in his reputation.

— James Manheim

Les Arts Florissants / Paul Agnew

Gesualdo: Madrigali, Libri Terzo & Quarto

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Splendidly dramatic readings of Gesualdo madrigals, respecting the texts without losing the polyphonic experimentalism.

— James Manheim

Roderick Williams / Iain Burnside

Schubert: Winterreise

Chandos

Classical

A restrained and ultimately deeply reflective Winterreise, running counter to the 21st century intense, psychologically tortured readings.

— James Manheim

Manfred Honeck / Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

Reference Recordings

Classical

A fresh, kinetic, and thrilling Beethoven's Ninth from Honeck and his increasingly well-drilled Pittsburghers.

— James Manheim

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