Taylor Swift

Fearless [Taylor's Version]

EMI Records / Republic

Country, Pop/Rock

Swift re-records her 2008 breakthrough Fearless, adding six unreleased songs from the time for good measure.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

BROCKHAMPTON

ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE

RCA

Rap

The intense sixth album from the hip-hop crew tackles life, death, and society's ills on their most mature outing to date.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Rhiannon Giddens

They're Calling Me Home

Nonesuch

Folk, Country

A soulful, searching album inspired by and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown of 2020.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Benny Sings

Music

Stones Throw

Pop/Rock

The Dutch artist evokes more breezy '70s and early-'80s vibes on his second album for the Stones Throw label.

— Matt Collar

Mon Laferte

Seis

Universal

Latin

Across her sixth album, the Chilean expatriate delves deeply into Mexican folk forms and emerges with a visionary work.

— Thom Jurek

Cheap Trick

In Another World

BMG

Pop/Rock

Another reliable, satisfying latter-day Cheap Trick album designed to evoke memories of their classic '70s LPs.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Reds, Pinks & Purples

Uncommon Weather

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

Beautifully melancholy, world-weary, and hook-filled Sarah Records-inspired indie pop that displays a total mastery of the form.

— Tim Sendra

Tall Black Guy / Zo!

Abstractions

Foreign Exchange Music

R&B

The producers drop the top for a quick joyride with the likes of Josh Milan, Omar, Phonte, and BeMyFiasco.

— Andy Kellman

London Grammar

Californian Soil

Ministry of Sound

Pop/Rock

This stunning third set from the soulful English pop trio finds vocalist Hannah Reid taking the reins on their best to date.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Peggy Lee

Something Wonderful: Peggy Lee Sings the Great American Songbook

Omnivore

Jazz, Vocal

Superb compilation of standards culled from the singer's early-'50s radio show featuring duets with several of the composers.

— Matt Collar

Merry Clayton

Beautiful Scars

Motown / Motown Gospel

Religious

On her first album since 1994, the veteran soul and gospel singer delivers love songs, spiritual anthems, and testaments to hope in her iconic style.

— Thom Jurek

Silver Synthetic

Silver Synthetic

Third Man Records

Pop/Rock

Classic rock & roll with a dash of country done with style and substance by a New Orleans combo.

— Tim Sendra

Spirit of the Beehive

Entertainment, Death

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock

The contradictory Philadelphia-based group lean toward electronics and grainy, tape-saturated textures on their fourth full-length.

— Paul Simpson

Winds

Look at the Sky

Natural Music

Pop/Rock

Imaginative and free-flowing psych-pop played with care and style by members of Lucille Furs and Triptides.

— Tim Sendra

Vijay Iyer / Vijay Iyer Trio

Uneasy

ECM

Jazz

This trio's recorded debut finds them simultaneously discovering a multivalent musical language and articulating its possibilities.

— Thom Jurek

Lonnie Holley / Matthew E. White

Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection

Spacebomb

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

Improvising songwriter Lonnie Holley spontaneously delivers worldly insight over galactic funk provided by producer Matthew E. White and his band.

— Paul Simpson

Yoshinori Hayashi

Pulse of Defiance

Smalltown Supersound

Electronic

The unpredictable producer and DJ draws from techno, free jazz, and jungle on his most enjoyable release to date.

— Paul Simpson

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

Dance Songs for Hard Times

Family Owned Records

Blues

A raw, vital, and fun blues album inspired by the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Balmorhea / Rob Lowe / Michael A. Muller

The Wind

Deutsche Grammophon

Pop/Rock

The post-classical ensemble's Deutsche Grammophon debut is a gentle, meditative set of compositions inspired by the environment.

— Paul Simpson

Nick Waterhouse

Promenade Blue

Innovative Leisure

R&B

Another entertaining mix of vintage-sounding soul, pop, jazz, and doo wop from the Californian.

— Andy Kellman

Orions Belte

Villa Amorini

Jansen

Pop/Rock

The second album from this Norwegian quasi-instrumental psych trio cuts even deeper grooves on a set that chills out without ever getting sleepy.

— Marcy Donelson

John Edwards / Binker Golding / Steve Noble

Moon Day

Byrd Out

Jazz

An improvised encounter between the veteran U.K. avant rhythm section, and the creative firebrand tenor and soprano technician.

— Thom Jurek

Clamm

Beseech Me

Tin Angel

Pop/Rock

The debut album from this Melbourne punk trio is a storm of energy that's both cathartic and engaging.

— Fred Thomas

Thomas Fehlmann

Böser Herbst

Kompakt

Stage & Screen, Electronic

This documentary soundtrack from Kompakt's elder statesman is a creative synthesis of original material and sampled 1920s recordings.

— Andy Kellman

PONY

TV Baby

Take This to Heart Records

Pop/Rock

The Toronto grunge pop combo's full-length debut sounds straight out of the '90s.

— Timothy Monger

Ilan Volkov / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Martin Suckling: This Departing Landscape

NMC

Classical

Vivid and instantly appealing structures from rising composer Martin Suckling.

— James Manheim

Hilary Hahn / Mikko Franck / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Paris

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

An extraordinary outing from Hahn, not stereotypically Parisian but Parisian nonetheless.

— James Manheim

Ashley Riches / Joseph Middleton

A Musical Zoo

Chandos

Classical

A delightful recital of songs depicting animals that may be enjoyed at several levels

— James Manheim

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9

Chandos

Classical

An especially exuberant item in Bavouzet's superb Haydn sonata cycle.

— James Manheim

Gottfried von der Goltz / Freiburger Barockorchester / Matthias Goerne

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7; Die Geschöpfe des Promethus

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Valuable and not-particularly-radical historical-instrument readings of the Beethoven Seventh and the Creatures of Prometheus ballet.

— James Manheim

Neeme Järvi / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

French Music for the Stage

Chandos

Classical

A delightfully refined collection of 19th century French music from the expert hand of Neeme Järvi.

— James Manheim

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