The Beatles

Let It Be [2021 Mix] [Super Deluxe Edition]

Apple / Apple Records / Capitol

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

The super deluxe edition contains a wealth of riches, chief among them the official release of Get Back, plus two discs of outtakes and a disc of remixes.

Coldplay

Music of the Spheres

Atlantic / Parlophone

Pop/Rock

The intergalactic ninth album from the English band takes their late-era pop sound to new heights with producer Max Martin.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Santana

Blessings and Miracles

BMG / BMG Rights Management

Pop/Rock

A star-studded collaborative album in the vein of Supernatural.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jason Isbell / Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Georgia Blue

Southeastern Records

Pop/Rock

The ace songwriter covers 13 tunes from Georgia artists, showing off his influences and having a blast doing it.

— Mark Deming

Primal Scream

Demodelica

Sony Music

Pop/Rock

Odds and Sods collection of demos, early mixes, and alternates takes tell the behind-the-scenes story of the making of 1991's classic Screamadelica album.

— Tim Sendra

Dean Wareham

I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of L.A.

Double Feature

Pop/Rock

Alternately playful and thoughtful, the indie rock vet's second solo album pairs typically witty songs and dreamy performances.

— Tim Sendra

Melvins

Five Legged Dog

Ipecac

Pop/Rock

The venerable merchants of loud and heavy rock upend expectations with an acoustic album running 150 minutes.

— Mark Deming

Johnny Marr

Fever Dreams, Pt. 1

BMG

Pop/Rock

The first installment of a four-part album delivered as EPs sustains the urgency from Call the Comet.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Vanishing Twin

Ookii Gekkou

Fingertips / Fire Records

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Written and recorded during COVID-19 lockdowns, the band's third album captures the weirdness of lockdown life with boundless imagination.

— Heather Phares

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground: A Documentary Film by Todd Haynes

Polydor

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

This companion to Todd Haynes' excellent documentary is a great soundtrack album, though a flawed introduction to the band.

— Mark Deming

FINNEAS

Optimist

Interscope

Pop/Rock

The smart, variable debut of Billie Eilish's Grammy-winning collaborator (and brother) delivers a warmer pop immersed in the anxieties of its time.

— Marcy Donelson

Toby Keith

Peso in My Pocket

Show Dog

Country

A boisterous return to form from the veteran country singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Xenia Rubinos

Una Rosa

Anti-

Pop/Rock, Latin

The eclectic artist's even more elaborate third album has a kitchen-sink, blown-out-speaker quality to it that will alternately alienate or excite.

— Marcy Donelson

Zac Brown / Zac Brown Band

The Comeback

Home Grown Music / Warner Music

Country

Zac Brown Band revives their classic Obama-era sound on The Comeback.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

ONETWOTHREE

ONETWOTHREE

Kill Rock Stars

Pop/Rock

Ex-members of influential bands from the early Swiss punk scene expand past the post-punk formula they helped establish with this strange and captivating album.

— Fred Thomas

Hayden Thorpe

Moondust for My Diamond

Domino

Pop/Rock

The former Wild Beasts singer/songwriter reconnects with the wonder of the world around him on his mellow, electronically inclined second album.

— Heather Phares

Cody Carpenter / John Carpenter / Daniel Davies

Halloween Kills [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Sacred Bones

Stage & Screen

Full of jump scares and eerie mood pieces, the score to the 2021 installment of the horror franchise cleverly updates the director/composer's style.

— Heather Phares

Various Artists

Musik Music Musique 2.0: The Rise of Synth Pop 1981

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock, Electronic

A sprawling, informative compilation exploring synth pop as it began to infiltrate the mainstream in the early '80s.

— Paul Simpson

RP Boo

Established!

Planet Mu

Electronic

RP Boo looks back to the foundation of Chicago's juke and footwork scene on his fourth album for Planet Mu.

— Paul Simpson

Twelve Foot Ninja

Vengeance

Volkanik

Pop/Rock

Leaping beyond genre limitations, the Australian fusion metal quartet concocts an epic concept opus where more is indeed better.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Aquaserge

The Possibility of a New Work for Aquaserge

Crammed Discs / Made to Measure

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

The French avant-prog band pay tribute to four influential 20th century composers, through interpretations as well as original pieces.

— Paul Simpson

Whit Dickey / William Parker / Matthew Shipp

Village Mothership

Tao Forms

Jazz

With a shared history that goes back 30 years, this leaderless collective explores vanguard jazz as a gateway to the unknown.

— Thom Jurek

BeMyFiasco

Where I Left You

Foreign Exchange Music

R&B

Replayable first LP from R&B singer/songwriter Bianca Rodriguez, executive produced by Phonte of Little Brother and the Foreign Exchange.

— Andy Kellman

Le Ren

Leftovers

Secretly Canadian

Pop/Rock, Folk

The Chris Cohen-produced debut album of Montreal's Lauren Spear dwells in a gentle, timeless folk influenced by the '60s folk revival.

— Marcy Donelson

Francesca Dego / Roger Norrington / Francesca Leonardi / Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Mozart: Violin Concertos, Vol. 1 - KV 216 & KV 218, Violin Sonata KV 304

Chandos

Classical

The pairing of Dago and Norrington yields productive musical understanding.

— James Manheim

Carolyn Sampson / Pascal Rophé / Tapiola Sinfonietta

Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne

BIS

Classical

An attractive collection of the Chants d'Auvergne notable for its large number of songs.

— James Manheim

Imogen Cooper

Le Temps Perdu…: Fauré, Liszt, Ravel, Respighi

Chandos

Classical

A personal recollection of works played by Cooper during her youth also makes sense in the abstract.

— James Manheim

Christopher Herrick

Northern Lights: Organ of Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway

Hyperion

Classical

A delightful, exciting recital from a cathedral organ in northern Norway.

— James Manheim

William Youn

Schubert: Piano Sonatas II

Sony Classical

Classical

Quiet, detailed Schubert sonatas capture many subtle structural touches and internal connections.

— James Manheim

Albrecht Mayer / Andris Poga / Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

Peteris Vasks: Oboe Concerto; Vestijums; Lauda

Ondine

Classical

Pastoral oboe concerto by Vasks showcases the composer's ability to merge minimalist and Romantic elements.

— James Manheim

Previous Week Next Week