Editors' Choice for August 2008

This is finely sculpted, gorgeous contemporary jazz .

— Anthony Tognazzini

Alias weaves intricate rhythms and compellingly hypnotic heavy beats over 13 tracks.

— Matt Rinaldi

The level of musical communication, as expected from such seasoned veterans, is near telepathic.

— Anthony Tognazzini

ROAD RUNNER features 23 previously unreleased tracks, making it a must for collectors and completists.

— Anthony Tognazzini

It all adds up to the ultimate Owens package, five discs of honky-tonk heaven.

— Jim Allen

Dragonforce’s fourth outing is appropriately titled; a slam-banging, face-fisted explosion of sound.

— Mark Morton

The overwhelming amount of previously unreleased material will make this set irresistible to collectors and hardcore Elvis maniacs.

— Jim Allen

Earlier in the '60s,Gary Usher was already a kingpin of hot-rod/surf music.

— Jim Allen

MEET GLEN CAMPBELL is the country/pop star’s first studio album in more than a decade.

— Eric Schneider

It’s Tate’s textured voice and seasoned style that makes it burn with inner fire.

— Anthony Tognazzini

AN INVITATION finds indie-pop sweetheart Inara George working with the legendary arranger Van Dyke Parks.

— Eric Schneider

The first album from this band made up of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers members.

— Justin Stewart

The definitive Jan and Dean anthology, containing the original mono mixes of their 1961-66 singles.

— Charity Stafford

One of the more hotly anticipated R&B releases of 2008.

— James Steiner

A LITTLE BIT LONGER is the third studio album by teen-pop sensations the Jonas Brothers.

— Eric Schneider

Smartly melodic, mature pop with guest appearances by members of Nada Surf and the Psychedelic Furs.

— Charity Stafford

A songwriter and arranger of legendary proportions, Leon Ware masterminded Marvin Gaye’s seminal 1975 album I WANT YOU.

— James Steiner

One of his hardest-rocking efforts to date.

— Jim Allen

"All the Young Dudes" and all the other essential tracks from Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople.

BITS is the second Sub Pop outing by the NYC indie-rock act Oxford Collapse.

— Eric Schneider

On this 2008 release, the band edges out of conventional pop-rock territory to embrace atmospheric and experimental currents.

— Anthony Tognazzini

THE RHUMB LINE, in its depth and emotional variety, sounds like a stalwart band's mid-career watermark.

— Justin Stewart

A return to the studio from one America's most brilliant pop songwriters; a complex sardonic portrait of a man and a nation in the twiligh of their years.

A Hitchcock collector's dream come true.

— Jim Allen

Solange’s follow-up is a creative spray of day-glo color.

— Anthony Tognazzini

Provides a much needed glimpse into a forgotten chapter in hip-hop's history.

— Dave Shim

The double-disc set REMEMBER compiles 51 tracks that span the Furnaces career.

— Anthony Tognazzini

The Gza’s fifth solo LP is an instant classic that recalls the Wu’s heyday.

— Matt Rinaldi

The deeply personal, heartfelt, and sonically expansive High Five builds upon all of singer/songwriter Paul Quinn's innate strengths as a melodic pop craftsman.

— Rovi Staff

THE ROYAL WE is this Glasgow's band first full-length, and it honors the city's indie trailblazers.

— Justin Stewart

OCEANS WILL RISE is a well-crafted album with plenty of indie cred.

— Anthony Tognazzini

YOU & ME is a welcome return to form for the NYC indie-rock act the Walkmen.

— Eric Schneider

Filtered through a more contemporary, cut-and-paste electronica sensibility.

— Jim Allen

1970 was a year of transition for Motown.

— James Steiner

Considerably heavier than Rudd’s easy-going, folk-tinged past outings.

— Eric Schneider