The rock world continues to be the playground of its elder statesman, with Roger Daltrey, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and Elvis Costello all releasing impressive new albums this year, while artists like Gaz Coombes, Ty Segall, and the Struts made cases for pushing rock forward.
Blackberry Smoke
Find a Light
A splendid traditionalist rock & roll record that simultaneously feels brand new and like a lost gem.
Elvis Costello / Elvis Costello & the Imposters
Look Now
A beautifully crafted exercise in mature, sophisticated popcraft that shows the tunesmith's muse is still delivering the goods.
Graham Parker
Cloud Symbols
Clearly learning from his reunion with the Rumour, the snarky songwriter embraces his inner pub rocker and has fun doing it.
Jack White
Boarding House Reach
Jack White gets weird on this baffling collection of prog blues and art funk.
Jeff Tweedy
Warm
The first original solo effort from the Wilco frontman is an evocative message of hope and caring against long odds.
KT Tunstall
WAX
Scottish singer/songwriter/guitarist rekindles her fire on a viscerally charged triumph of a sixth album.
Laura Jane Grace / Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers
Bought to Rot
Laura Jane Grace steps outside of Against Me! to indulge in her fondness for Tom Petty and power pop.
Low Cut Connie
Dirty Pictures, Pt. 2
Deepening their attack without abandoning their signature, Low Cut Connie deliver their most complete album to date.
Mudhoney
Digital Garbage
The grunge godfathers lay out plenty of righteous wrath on 11 songs reflecting a world mired in chaos.
Muse
Simulation Theory
Bathed in neon-washed '80s synths, the stadium rock titans deliver their most immediate set in over a decade.
Neko Case
Hell-On
Lush but intimate, the Canadian vocalist and songwriter delivers a grand-scale triumph with her first solo effort in five years.
Paul McCartney
Egypt Station
A colorful, clever record that finds McCartney trying out a couple of new sounds and ideas.
![True Meanings [Deluxe Edition]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004933796/front/400/T7fToOEAyT75SJtitoBs6IAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
Paul Weller
True Meanings [Deluxe Edition]
A mellow, meditative album anchored by folk guitar and graced with lush orchestrations.
Roger Daltrey
As Long as I Have You
A soulful collection of (largely) R&B and rock covers featuring Pete Townshend on rhythm guitar.
Ryley Walker
The Lillywhite Sessions
The mischievous rocker sincerely covers the entirety of Dave Matthews Band's unreleased 2001 album.
Simple Minds
Walk Between Worlds
Picking up where 2014's Big Music left off, Glasgow's stadium pop legends successfully revisit their early iconic sound in brand new music.
Sloan
12
12 albums and 25 years into their recording career, these power pop heroes are still writing and playing at the top of their game.
Spider Bags
Someday Everything Will Be Fine
Fifth album from these North Carolina noisemakers is smarter and more precise, but still packs a wallop.
Spiritualized
And Nothing Hurt
After six long years, J. Spaceman and friends return with a (literally) homemade album that sounds vital, vulnerable, and abundantly creative.
Suede
The Blue Hour
Suede push at the edges of their tragic romantic sound on this darkly bewitching album.
The Bottle Rockets
Bit Logic
The alt-country stalwarts deliver a dozen samples of regular-guy wisdom on their easygoing but truly satisfying tenth album.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen
Merrie Land
An evocative, provocative depiction of England in the age of Brexit.
The Longshot
Love Is for Losers
A punk-inflected power pop busman's holiday for Billie Joe Armstrong.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1: No Past. No Future. No Sun
The reunited Smashing Pumpkins deliver a shiny, bright, melodic album that's disarmingly positive.
The Struts
Young & Dangerous
The Struts may not be capable of staging a second British Invasion, but they sure would put on a helluva Super Bowl halftime show.
The Wild Feathers
Greetings From the Neon Frontier
The Nashville-based country-rockers' third full-length effort goes down like a cold lawnmower beer.
Thee Oh Sees
Smote Reverser
The band delve into proto metal and jazz rock while still delivering garage-psych noise and blown-out boogie rock as expected.
Ty Segall
Freedom's Goblin
Broad, expansive album is an eclectic vision of rock's past and present as seen through the eyes of the garage punk hero.
Various Artists
Un Mundo Raro: Las Canciones de José Alfredo Jiménez
Camilo Lara produced and curated this star-studded tribute to one of Mexico's greatest songwriters and reveals the eternal youth appeal of the material.
Willie Nile
Children of Paradise
The New York songwriter returns to his punk roots on his first unapologetically topical album.
