Editors' Choice for October 2010

Allo Darlin's debut album is a twee pop lover's delight.

Swanlights is the most accessible, uplifting, and lushly orchestrated of Antony and the Johnsons' album -- even with a curveball duet with Björk.

— Thom Jurek

Down There has not only the same woodsy, pixilated folk-pop of Animal Collective but also much of its fractured production smarts.

— John Bush

Write About Love is another collection of familiar but satisfying indie pop from Belle & Sebastian.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lasted adds substance to Benoît Pioulard's shimmering songs.

— Heather Phares

If you happen to enjoy the way Burnham turns from erudite to ignorant on a dime, then Words Words Words is the gift that keeps on giving.

The ninth volume in Dylan's ongoing Bootleg Series contains recordings he made for publishers Leeds Music and M. Witmark & Sons between 1962 and 1964.

Dylan's first eight albums are available for the first time in their original mono mixes.

Olympia is Bryan Ferry’s first collection of primarily original material since 1994’s Mamouna, and features Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Andy MacKay -- all original members of Roxy Music. It's Ferry’s most seductive album since Avalon, a luxurious collection of softly stylized sophistication.

Living Proof follows the template of 2008’s Skin Deep by featuring only original material penned by Guy.

Clinic go subversively soft on their sixth album, crafting some of their poppiest and most inviting music.

— Heather Phares

$o$ is utterly unique and downright dazzling if you dream of a Grand Guignol hosted by P. Diddy.

Elton John pays tribute to his longtime “idol” Leon Russell by recording a full album with the maverick singer/songwriter -- with the assistance of producer T-Bone Burnett, who had the duo record live in the studio.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Guster's sixth effort is another reliably well-written, well-played guitar pop album featuring the power pop classic-to-be "Do You Love Me."

Tom Krell's dreamlike debut album mixes lo-fi and R&B to intimate, striking effect.

— Heather Phares

The duo's second album is a relaxed, richly constructed blend of indie folk and bedroom electronics that works as a perfect soundtrack to a quiet autumn day.

— Tim Sendra

Le Concorde's second album is a wonderfully frothy pop album that looks back to the sophisticated pop of the '80s for inspriration, but sounds totally modern.

— Tim Sendra

Originally planned as an EP, Lil Wayne’s I Am Not a Human Being arrives as a ten-song LP and includes the lead single “Right Above It.”

Marnie Stern's self-titled, hook-laden third album is a noisy, beautiful study in contrast, with technique, flair, and accessible, poignant songwriting.

— Thom Jurek

Nels Cline's ambitious Dirty Baby features two long-form large-band compositions to accompany 66 images by artist Ed Ruscha.

— Thom Jurek

Paddy McAloon's fully formed, keyboard-based demo recording is a loose concept album about the joy of music, and one of Prefab Sprout's most consistent outings.

— Rovi Staff

Shakira's seventh studio album, available in both Spanish and English versions, features collaborations with Dominican rapper El Cata.

Shrag's second album is full of hypercharged and tender indie rock that compares favorably with the early work of Los Campesinos!

— Tim Sendra

Silje Nes' second album puts her in the sweet spot between innocence and expertise.

— Heather Phares

Bad Times Good Times appears to be a remixed and reworked version of Teenage Heartbreak plus two unreleased demos and a pair of live recordings.

A schizophrenic, genre and subject-spanning electro-orchestral collection of original pop songs.

— James Christopher Monger

Swift sticks close to the country-pop her fans' love with all-new, self-penned material.

The third album from Nicolay and Phonte is more lush and downcast than 2008's Grammy-nominated Leave It All Behind.

— Andy Kellman

The band's second album is less noisy and more nuanced than its debut, sounding more like a college rock band of the 1980s than a 2010 noise pop band.

— Tim Sendra

Originally created for a multi-media presentation, Hexadecagon translates successfully to disc, moving the Octopus Project into the front lines of America's most imaginative and accomplished indie rock bands.

A college rock touchstone that wedded surreal humor and jangling guitars to driving post-punk rhythms.

— Paul Simpson

The Volebeats deliver a wonderfully timeless album that sounds a bit like the Flying Burrito Brothers doing Exile on Main St.

— Steve Leggett

Estuando a Bossa, the third album in Tom Zé's multi-decade study of Brazilian music, gets a U.S release from Luaka Bop.

— Thom Jurek

Tricky's sparse, menacing Mixed Race is a worthy follow-up to Knowle West Boy that reflects on the tragedies of gangster life.

— Thom Jurek

The first-ever compilation of Apple’s roster and the flagship for Apple/EMI’s exhaustive 2010 Apple reissues series captures the lunacy and fleeting brilliance of Apple Records, often making it seem like little more than the Fab Four’s personal playground.

An excellent four-disc survey of Creed Taylor's CTI label at the height of the '60s bossa nova craze.

Wayman Tisdale's last recording is a FONKtastically joyous groove album in the lineage of P-Funk and EW&F.

— Thom Jurek

Flint, MI's Whitey Morgan & the 78's make hard outlaw country with Motor City swagger on their Bloodshot debut.

— Thom Jurek

Zach Hill continues to be an insane drummer and a unique visionary on his second solo outing.

— Jason Lymangrover