Editors' Choice for May 2010

Band of Horses spike their Americana with sugary pop melodies, making Infinite Arms the band's most cohesive album to date.

— Andrew Leahey

Detroit soul veteran re-interprets classic British Invasion tracks.

— Rovi Staff

Bear Family’s second Buck Owens & the Buckaroo's box highlights recordings with and without Owens, and includes studio sessions.

— Rovi Staff

The Swedish duo's sixth album finds them adding West African-influenced textures to a typically strong batch of wistful indie pop songs.

— Tim Sendra

This power trio of '80s and '90s indie rock luminaries makes songs that are as familiar as they are fun and funky.

— Heather Phares

The duo proves there's more to its music than 8-bit sounds with this subtler, more expansive set of songs.

— Heather Phares

Mixing reggae and hip-hop for a song cycle based around Africa, this is a striking reminder of why these two artists have reached legendary status.

— David Jeffries

Filled with crooked beats and positive lyrics, underground rapper Declaime reimagines the classic G-Funk sound with some help from producer Quazedelic.

— David Jeffries

Dr. Lonnie Smith and his trio enigmatically pour out soul-jazz and the blues on Spiral.

— Thom Jurek

Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek reunite after a decade for their second album as Reflection Eternal.

— Gregory Heaney

The Toronto-based electronic group turns glacial ambience into fierce grooves on its fourth and best release.

— Jason Lymangrover

Indian Jewelry get weird and cold on this harsh set of songs that recall earlier works like Invasive Exotics.

— Heather Phares

Compass finds Lidell growing as a songwriter, deserting neo-soul, and creating a record of experimental, wrenching songcraft.

— John Bush

The dynamo's Bad Boy debut has more imagination, conceptual detail, and stylistic turnabouts than most gatefold prog rock epics.

— Andy Kellman

Supermodel Karen Elson earns her singer/songwriter stripes with this moody yet versatile set of songs, 11 of which she penned on her own.

— Heather Phares

While very similar to 2007's Sound of Silver, the follow-up shows James Murphy both expanding and refining LCD's now almost trademarked sound.

— Tim Sendra

James' third album overall and first for natural fit Stax is her strongest, most rounded set to date.

— Andy Kellman

Nothing Hurts' tough yet vulnerable dreamy punk-pop harks back to '90s indie rock but also feels fresh in the 2010s.

— Heather Phares

Singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier examines the hard truths of her own story with The Foundling.

— Thom Jurek

This rare live recording of Otis Redding fronting his own big band reveals him at the peak of his showmanship.

— Thom Jurek

The Comedy Central label's most “avant” release to date is nothing like the Watt's earlier, more traditional music-based efforts.

— Rovi Staff

Regina Carter explores African song with her jazz ensemble on Reverse Thread.

— Thom Jurek

Roy Brooks & the Artistic Truth's Ethnic Expressions, a spiritual jazz classic, is made widely available again on CD and LP.

— Thom Jurek

The crown jewel of Colón and Blades' many collaborations and one of the most important salsa albums of all time.

— Mariano Prunes

Stereo Total balance pop art brightness and kitsch weirdness on Baby Ouh!, adding plenty of mischief and emotion for good measure.

— Heather Phares

Brothers finds the Black Keys marrying the spaciness of Attack & Release with the visceral kick of their earliest records.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Even denser and darker than Horehound, the Dead Weather's second album is nevertheless more satisfying than their debut.

— Heather Phares

The Flaming Lips follow Embryonic with a playful and distinctly non-bloated version of one of rock's most epic albums.

— Heather Phares

This debut EP gives a tantalizing taste of the duo's evocative, surprisingly moody electro-pop.

— Heather Phares

A muscular riposte to the inward Challengers, Together feels like a group effort, each element united to create uniquely cerebral power pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Rolling Stones’ classic 1972 album Exile on Main St. gets a long-awaited deluxe reissue in 2010.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Thorn's second solo album, concerning her take on "real life after 40," finds her vocals as romantic and poignant as ever.

— Rovi Staff

This Raven two-fer combines two South albums from the early '70s, A Look Inside and So the Seeds Are Growing.

— Rovi Staff

Still Loving You, Twilight's debut and a "holy grail" of lost jazzy soul and funk, resurfaces after nearly three decades.

— Thom Jurek

Ghostly International's Horizon Line/Ghostly by Night combines two ten-track compilations of the label's offerings.

— Rovi Staff

Like the Byrds jamming with Sonic Youth, At Echo Lake blends pristine folk-rock melodies with artful distortion and sound effects.

— Heather Phares

The versatile R&B vocalist's fourth album, recorded with the Foreign Exchange's Nicolay and Phonte, as well as the Real Focus.

— Andy Kellman