Bob Dylan

Shadow Kingdom

Sony Music

Folk, Pop/Rock

Dylan revisits several early tunes in a fashion reminiscent of the roadhouse saloon records he's made in the 21st century.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Foo Fighters

But Here We Are

RCA

Pop/Rock

Dave Grohl processes the loss of bandmate Taylor Hawkins on this cathartic album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Noel Gallagher / Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Council Skies

Sour Mash

Pop/Rock

The former Oasis leader demonstrates some subtle new tricks on this unusually satisfying album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cowboy Junkies

Such Ferocious Beauty

Cooking Vinyl

Pop/Rock

Two troubling deaths in the family inspired this dark, eloquent, sometimes confrontational music of public mourning.

— Mark Deming

Rancid

Tomorrow Never Comes

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Short, furious punk songs delivered with an amped-up sense of urgency and produced with a lack of frills make for a late-career resurgence.

— Tim Sendra

Ben Folds

What Matters Most

New West

Pop/Rock

After a series of classical projects, the songwriter responds to sociopolitical turmoil with a return to alternately earnest and sardonic piano pop.

— Marcy Donelson

Protomartyr

Formal Growth in the Desert

Domino

Pop/Rock

Detroit's most brilliant malcontents go marching on, musically and editorially, on their excellent sixth album.

— Mark Deming

Jake Shears

Last Man Dancing

Mute / Mute US

Pop/Rock

The multifaceted artist returns to the dancefloor with a surprising, ambitious mix of instant-gratification disco-pop and sweaty, hypnotic grooves.

— Heather Phares

Rufus Wainwright

Folkocracy

BMG

Pop/Rock, Folk

A star-studded folk covers album that combines loyal Laurel Canyon, adventurous chamber folk, and reverent traditional fare.

— Marcy Donelson

Comet Gain

The Misfit Jukebox

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

Career-spanning collection of odds and sods including demos, lost tracks, and rare singles from the long-running, ever-inspiring group.

— Tim Sendra

Tanya Tucker

Sweet Western Sound

Fantasy

Country

Following induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the outlaw country legend re-teams with co-producers Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings.

— Thom Jurek

Cowboys In the Campfire / Tommy Stinson / Tommy Stinson's Cowboys In the Campfire

Wronger

Icons Creating Evil Art

Pop/Rock

A charmingly casual country & western album from the former bassist for the Replacements and Guns N' Roses.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kenny Rogers

Life Is like a Song

UMe / Universal

Country, Pop/Rock

A warm, sentimental posthumous album drawn from sessions recorded between 2008 and 2011.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

RVG

Brain Worms

Fire Records / Ivy League

Pop/Rock

The third album from this Australian outfit is as catchy with its college rock-informed songwriting as it is emotionally overpowering in its bleakly brilliant lyricism.

— Fred Thomas

Baxter Dury

I Thought I Was Better Than You

Heavenly

Pop/Rock

R&B and hip-hop influences to the fore, the singer/songwriter takes on his troubled youth as a child of notoriety.

— Tim Sendra

Beach Fossils

Bunny

Bayonet Records

Pop/Rock

The first album from this Brooklyn indie rock band since 2017 explores maturing lyrical themes and English psychedelic rock influences.

— Fred Thomas

Louise Post

Sleepwalker

El Camino

Pop/Rock

The Veruca Salt co-founder's solo debut album reveals more colors to her voice and music as it navigates the tug of war between past and present.

— Heather Phares

Ruen Brothers

Ten Paces

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

Film noir meets Western cowboy tropes on the Los Angeles-based British duo's third album.

— Matt Collar

Bunbury / Enrique Bunbury

Greta Garbo

WEA

Pop/Rock, Latin

Returning after a three-year break, the Spanish songwriter and a new band return to straight-ahead, hooky rock & roll.

— Thom Jurek

Kramer / Laraaji

Baptismal

Joyful Noise / Shimmy Disc

New Age, Electronic

The first in a series of ambient symphonies by the prolific, storied artists and longtime friends.

— Paul Simpson

Bombadil

In Color

Ramseur Records

Pop/Rock

The indie pop group deliver another charmer while shifting the balance from whimsical toward bittersweet for a color-themed pandemic album.

— Marcy Donelson

Generationals

Heatherhead

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The indie pop duo balance '70s soul and '80s new wave vibes on their summery seventh album.

— Matt Collar

Brandt Brauer Frick

Multi Faith Prayer Room

Because Music

Electronic

The post-minimalist techno trio present a conceptual album about revisiting utopian ideas of the future.

— Paul Simpson

Sonny Rollins / Heikki Sarmanto Trio

Live at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki 1972

Svart

Jazz

Vibrant, wide-swinging live performance featuring the tenor saxophonist in Finland in 1972.

— Matt Collar

Dr. John

The Montreux Years

BMG / BMG Rights Management

R&B

Drawn from performances between 1986 and 2012, this pristinely recorded date offers a stellar portrait of the New Orleans piano legend.

— Thom Jurek

Som Imaginário

Banda da Capital

Far Out Recordings

Pop/Rock, International

An unissued live set from 1976 showcases the musical promise of the boundaryless, heavyweight Brazilian progressive fusion group.

— Thom Jurek

Christoph Eschenbach / Konzerthausorchester Berlin

Der ferne Klang …: Orchestral Works & Songs by Franz Schreker

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

A splendid sampling of works by a composer whose star is decidedly on the rise.

— James Manheim

Raphaël Feuillâtre

Visages Baroques

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Old-school Baroque guitar recording emphasizing control and grace rather than virtuosic extremes.

— James Manheim

Clare College Choir, Cambridge / Iestyn Davies / Graham Ross

Rolling River: American Choral

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

British program of American choral music works well in part because of the many interconnections between the traditions.

— James Manheim

Joyce DiDonato / Cyrille Dubois / Christopher Maltman / John Nelson / Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg

Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette; Cléopâtre

Erato

Classical

Stirring Roméo et Juliette is an especially strong entry in conductor Nelson's traversal of Berlioz's works.

— James Manheim

Daníel Bjarnason / Iceland Symphony Orchestra

Atmospheriques, Vol. 1

Sono Luminus

Classical

Explorations of vast spaces filled by shifting orchestral sonorities, impressively recorded by Sono Luminus.

— James Manheim

Martin Jones / Rebeca Omordia / John Andrews / BBC Concert Orchestra

Maconchy, Lutyens & Wallen: Works for Piano & Orchestra

Resonus Classics

Classical

Mostly unrecorded works by women offer novel takes on the piano concerto.

— James Manheim

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