Editors' Choice for December 2011

Her first posthumous collection may have noticeably average material, but the productions are stellar and the performances are timeless.

— John Bush

Hamilton's sixth album picks up where his fifth left off, featuring past producers Salaam Remi and Kelvin Wooten, as well as new associate Babyface.

— Andy Kellman

This three-disc collection gathers up all the late-'80s/early-'90s recordings of the noise rock band, presenting them with extras and newly remastered sound.

— Tim Sendra

Ifetayo, a true, dark, funky '70s classic of Trinidadian underground music, is beautifully reissued by Soundway.

— Thom Jurek

On their third recording of 2011, Boris experiment with J-pop, anime soundtracks, and dreamy shoegaze yet remain a hard-rocking monolith.

— Thom Jurek

This Nonesuch box set packages the Brad Mehldau Trio's five historic Art of the Trio offerings and a disc of unreleased material.

— Thom Jurek

The R&B singer’s first album in four years features the hit single “Don’t Kiss Me.”

— David Jeffries

Charlotte Gainsbourg follows IRM's success with a set that celebrates her skills in the studio and in front of an audience.

— Heather Phares

On his ninth studio album, Common works exclusively with No I.D. as his producer and pulls Maya Angelou, Nas, and his father for guest appearances.

— Andy Kellman

El Camino is a tough, hard-rocking party record by the Black Keys, an LP that seems designed to be played on the jukeboxes of bars around this world.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

On their debut album, New Zealand's the Golden Awesome exhume the corpse of the shoegaze sound and reanimate it with emotional songs and powerful performances.

— Tim Sendra

The Lost Album featuring Watermelon Man wasn't actually lost but unreleased. This is all-killer/no-filler jazz-funk.

— Thom Jurek

This four-CD set, the second multi-disc set in a series documenting the Marvelettes’ history at Motown Records, collects the group’s final four albums plus non-LP singles, B-sides, and other rarities from the same time period, documenting the last chapter in this fine singing group’s Motown legacy.

— Steve Leggett

The Roots' darkest and most conceptual album focuses on the short life of Redford Stephens, a troubled product of inner-city New York.

— Andy Kellman