Megan Thee Stallion

Megan

Hot Girl Productions

Rap

The third studio album from this rap superstar strays somewhat from her formula of superhuman confidence and summer anthems for more emotionally raw material.

— Fred Thomas

Imagine Dragons

Loom

Interscope / Kid ina Korner

Pop/Rock

The Vegas crew's seventh set returns them to bombastic anthem territory after a period of introspection on their previous LP.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Crazy Horse / Neil Young / Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Early Daze

Reprise

Pop/Rock

Largely previously unreleased versions of songs tracked in 1969 create an alternate-reality album that ranks with the best of these rustic rock legends' work.

— Fred Thomas

The Felice Brothers

Valley of Abandoned Songs

15 Passenger / Million Stars

Pop/Rock, Country, Folk

A surprisingly cohesive, poetic, lyrically tight album of characteristically ragged indie folk from the Upstate New Yorkers.

— James Wilkinson

Hiatus Kaiyote

Love Heart Cheat Code

Brainfeeder

R&B

Joy, optimism, and otherness fill the fourth album by Australia's premier hardcore avant-soul/jazz/funk/hip-hop band.

— Andy Kellman

Camila Cabello

C,XOXO

Geffen / Interscope

Pop/Rock

The Cuban-born, Florida-bred singer embraces her inner Miami party girl along with a sweaty, neon-dipped hyperpop sound.

— Matt Collar

Marsha Ambrosius

Casablanco

Aftermath / Interscope

R&B

Recorded in 2021 with Dr. Dre, the singer's impassioned and fun fourth album incorporates a 27-piece orchestra and almost innumerable samples and interpolations.

— Andy Kellman

Redd Kross

Redd Kross

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

The power pop-meets-hard rock legends celebrate their longevity with the angriest, hookiest, and most intense album of their career.

— Tim Sendra

Guided by Voices

Strut of Kings

GBV / Guided by Voices, Inc.

Pop/Rock

Robert Pollard indulges his love of prog rock and makes it exciting as his band continues their streak of top-notch LPs.

— Mark Deming

Johnny Cash

Songwriter

American Recordings / EMI / EMI Records

Country

The Man in Black's 1993 demos are augmented 30 years on by a John Carter Cash-approved ensemble to create an unexpected gem.

— James Wilkinson

Madeleine Peyroux

Let's Walk

Just One Records / Orchard

Jazz, Blues, Folk

For the first time in her career, the iconic singer writes her own songs, that meld of jazz, gospel, folk, and jump blues.

— Thom Jurek

Dirty Three

Love Changes Everything

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The windswept and emotionally driven Australian instrumental trio pick up as if no time has passed on their first new album in ten years.

— Fred Thomas

Washed Out

Notes From a Quiet Life

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The second album in a row of chillwave throwbacks from one of the sound's originators.

— Tim Sendra

Homeshake

Horsie

Redeye Music Distribution / Shhoamkee

Pop/Rock

After an unexpectedly guitar-heavy detour, Peter Sagar returns to his comfort zone of bummed-out, semi-electronic bedroom pop.

— Paul Simpson

Loma

How Will I Live Without a Body?

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Sounding refortified but no less mesmerizing, the trio's cinematic third LP shifts settings from pastoral Texas to haunted seaside England.

— Marcy Donelson

Folk Implosion

Walk Thru Me

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

Sebadoh-related duo presents their first new album in 20 years, one full of sounds both familiar and unexpected.

— Fred Thomas

Aaron Frazer

Into the Blue

Dead Oceans

R&B

Three years after his first solo flight, the Indications' drummer and falsetto specialist offers a more eclectic second album informed by heartbreak.

— Andy Kellman

Can

Live in Aston, 1977

Mute

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

Official release of one of the group's first shows featuring former Traffic bassist Rosko Gee.

— Paul Simpson

Cranes

Collected Works, Vol. 1: 1989-1997

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Six-CD box set compiling nearly everything the British dream pop group released when they were signed to Dedicated.

— Paul Simpson

Shampoo

Complete Shampoo

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Cherry Red's comprehensive set celebrates the South London duo's proudly plastic -- and surprisingly influential -- fusion of punk and pop.

— Heather Phares

Local Natives

But I'll Wait for You

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

A sultry, soul-influenced companion album to 2023's Time Will Wait for No One.

— Matt Collar

Janel Leppin

Ensemble Volcanic Ash: To March Is to Love

Cuneiform Records

Jazz, Avant-Garde, Classical

The second offering by the cellist-led band was recorded over a single day and is tight as well as adventurous.

— Thom Jurek

Stephen Pastel / Gavin Thomson

This Is Memorial Device

Domino

Stage & Screen, Pop/Rock

The fictional tale of an unknown small-town Scottish band is soundtracked for the stage by members of the Pastels in heartbreakingly sincere and lovely fashion.

— Tim Sendra

SML

Small Medium Large

International Anthem

Jazz, Pop/Rock

A fluid, supernatural mix of Afrobeat, free funk, and post-punk assembled from live improvisations and home recordings by five L.A.-based artists.

— Paul Simpson

The Young Fresh Fellows

The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

A 40th anniversary reissue of their classic debut, remixed from original 8-track tapes by Scott McCaughey.

Tommy McLain

Moving to Heaven

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock, Religious

This low-budget gospel album from the swamp pop legend is beautifully written and sung but haphazardly produced.

— Mark Deming

Cooper-Moore / Hamid Drake / William Parker

Heart Trio

AUM Fidelity

Jazz, Avant-Garde

Recorded in a day, the trio organically explores rhythms and spiritualities from across the globe with percussion, flutes, and homemade instruments.

— Thom Jurek

Steve Turre

Sanyas

Smoke Sessions

Jazz, Latin

On his first live album, the great trombonist leads a stellar sextet playing intoxicating originals, standards, and a hard bop classic.

— Thom Jurek

Nathaniel Rateliff / Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

South of Here

Fantasy

Pop/Rock, R&B

The group's fourth outing blurs the border between their rowdy early output and their leader's introspective solo work.

— Timothy Monger

Liana Flores

Flower of the Soul

Verve

Pop/Rock

A willfully retro but enchanting debut from this U.K. singer/songwriter who mixes folk, Tropicalia, and chamber pop.

— Timothy Monger

Various Artists

Rusty Egan Presents... Blitzed!

Edsel

Pop/Rock

A sprawling selection of favorites played at the short-lived but influential London club that launched the new romantic movement.

— Paul Simpson

Various Artists

Tomorrow's Fashions: Library Electronica 1972-1987

Ace

Electronic, Stage & Screen, Easy Listening

Fascinating collection of futuristic, synth-heavy compositions made for production libraries like Music de Wolfe and Bruton.

— Paul Simpson

Previous Industries

Service Merchandise

Merge

Rap

The rap trio's first album reflects on growing up in the 1980s and '90s, with numerous references to old video games and defunct retail chains.

— Paul Simpson

Silverada

Silverada

Edgewater

Country

A lively, nuanced -- and slyly polished -- spin on classic Texas barroom country.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Iván Fischer / Budapest Festival Orchestra

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 'Eroica'; Coriolan Overture

Channel Classics

Classical

An old-school "Eroica," superbly controlled, solves the riddle of how to give the finale weight commensurate with the other revolutionary movements.

— James Manheim

Stephen Alltop

Terra Nostra: Oratorio by Stacy Garrop

Cedille Records

Classical

An oratorio by Garrop for an ecologically troubled world.

— James Manheim

Simon Rattle / Alice Coote / Elizabeth Watts / London Symphony Orchestra

Britten: Spring Symphony; Sinfonia da Requiem; Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

LSO Live

Classical

Impressive live performances from one of Britten's great modern exponents.

— James Manheim

Brindley Sherratt / Julius Drake

Fear No More

Delphian

Classical

Death-haunted songs for bass are given convincing readings by a veteran singer making his song recital debut.

— James Manheim

John Adams / Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

John Adams: Girls of the Golden West

Nonesuch

Classical

An opera that looks upon life during the California gold rush without rose-colored glasses.

— Keith Finke

Yuja Wang

The Vienna Recital

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Dizzyingly varied live recital holds together thanks to constant pianistic invention and sheer sensitivity.

— James Manheim

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