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Editors' Choice
A$AP Worldwide / Polo Grounds Music
The A$AP Mob member's sophomore LP is a diverse success with an excellent guest list.
Entertainment One Music
With his fun "all covers" album, the Spaceman offers up one of the best Kiss-related releases in years.
The Royal Potato / Royal Potato Family Records
The third album of highly creative jazz from drummer Allison Miller's all-star ensemble.
Loma Vista Recordings / Universal
The enigmatic pop auteur delivers his most personal and inspired record in nearly a decade.
Modern Love
The Mancunian's rhythms are sludgy as ever, but synthetic choral elements and bright keyboard melodies add some color to his fourth proper album.
Planet Mu
The Canadian producer's debut album for Planet Mu is a gripping, richly detailed work inspired by artificial intelligence and microbiology.
Avie
Sorrell combines music of several centuries in a convincing thematic way that has rarely been matched.
La Castanya Records / K Records
Third album of warm and bubbly indie electronic pop from Spanish musician Isabel Fernández Reviriego.
Ninja Tune
The Iranian experimental producer's stunning second album is inspired by synaesthesia and virtual reality.
Ashley Shadow
Felte
The aching debut of Vancouver musician Ashley Webber's solo moniker weaves an engaging, gritty mix of strong and vulnerable.
Suicide Squeeze
The band's fourth album is rough, fun, and loud power poppy punk co-produced by Ty Segall.
Crammed Discs
Exuberant collaboration between the long-running Congolese percussion ensemble and Lisbon-based Angolan DJ/producer Pedro Coquenão.
Unmade Road
The songwriter investigates the stages, failures, and renewals of love on his third solo outing.
Warp
A love letter to '70s soul, '90s synth pop, and '90s dance, the producer's seventh album transcends ultra-stylish nostalgia.
Jagjaguwar
Fourth album from these trippy and ambitious Canadian rockers, produced by Randall Dunn [Sunn O))), Marissa Nadler].
Mascot / Mascot Records
The band return to the tiny studio where they began in order to recapture their muse and succeed in spades.
Blaqknoise / Kobalt
Shimmering evolution of the duo's '80s new wave-inspired sound, combining bright dance elements and dark lyrical content.
Partisan
The fifth album by the Tuareg guitarist places all of his gifts -- as player, composer, and singer -- up front.
Modern Outsider
The Louisiana indie trio turn in a noisier and more urgent effort, but their focus on quality songwriting remains their best asset.
Opal / Warp
A return to ambient and experimental music-making -- and singing -- this set offers more than a few surprises.
Leaving Records
The well-connected L.A. producer continues to find common ground between spiritual jazz, new age, and hip-hop on this stunning album.
Daptone
Retro-soul vocalist is in great, powerful form on this third album, which finds him covering Black Sabbath on the title track.
Ondine
A distinctive and absorbing version of Dvorák's concerto that can stand with the great Czech recordings of the work.
Warner Classics
A combination of technical brilliance and deep musical communion creates one of the most satisfying duo piano recordings in recent memory.
Berliner Philharmoniker
A fitting close to the career of Claudio Abbado, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1990 until May of 2013.
Bureau B
The influential Krautrock duo's first decade of output is collected on this monumental nine-disc box set.
52hz
This radical and deeply moving interpetation of Henyrk Górecki's symphony is a portait of invention and emotion.
Decca
Daniel Barenboim explores the music of Edward Elgar in this performance with the Staatskapelle Berlin of the Symphony No. 1.
Reprise / Warner Bros.
The veteran alt-metal quintet refuses to rest on the laurels of legacy with an enthralling juxtaposition of the pretty and the pummeling.
Captured Tracks
Anders Rhedin's breezy, bittersweet debut album showcases his alchemical gift for transforming '80s cheese into something genuine.
Shelflife
The fourth album by the Norwegian singer/songwriter is insightful, warm, and gentle indie pop about families and love.
Temporary Residence
Following several years' worth of film scores, the Texan instrumental quartet's sixth proper album is both experimental and immediate.
Nuclear Blast / Nuclear Blast Entertainment
This San Francisco quintet ambitiously weave ambience, prog, and extreme metal into an inglorious whole.
Frank Peter Zimmermann / Antoine Tamestit / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Kammerorchester Des Symphonieorchesters Des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Haenssler / Hänssler Classic
Frank Peter Zimmermann completes his cycle of Mozart's violin concertos with this 2016 Hänssler Classic release.
Bayonet Records
As enchanting and candid as her debut, the prolific lo-fi songwriter's second studio LP finds her transitioning into her twenties.
Atlantic
A bloody-sleeved collection of erudite indie rock anthems that distill angst, both existential and situational, into fist-pumping crowd-pleasers.
Soundway
On its sophomore full-length, the trio makes all genres bleed into an experimental, obsessively listenable whole.
Carpark Records
The Toronto post-punk outfit's excellent second outing feels like pure creative growth.
Hwy 87 Records / Relativity Entertainment
The Texas songwriter turns his gaze inward on his fifth album, and delivers his finest to date.
Telarc
The fourth album by the pianist's Trio Project is its most creative, musically diverse, accessible, and sophisticated.
CPO
The overtures of Carl Maria von Weber are explored by Howard Griffiths and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln on this 2015 CPO release.
Pay Jay
Fourteen years after it was shelved, the material intended for James Yancey's MCA album finally reaches the public in complete, often rowdy form.
Thrill Jockey
A fluid, amorphous album of open-ended audio experiments from the Mouse on Mars co-founder.
ECM
The pianist pairs his piano with field recordings and other sounds in curious and fascinating miniatures.
JOY
Tee Pee / Teepee Records
Second album from these San Diego stoners is tighter and more ambitious, and doesn't let up on the rock action.
Tresor
Smoothly flowing collection of dubby minimal techno tracks by two of techno's most important, influential figures.
Western Vinyl Records
Playful, organic-sounding electronic music composed on Buchla synthesizers along with warped vocals and fluttering woodwinds.
Decca
With a convincing libretto and a lightness in Nagano's hands, this is a real find for lovers of French opera.
Dead Oceans Records
The singer/songwriter's third album benefits from the expansive production by Yellowbird's Sam Cohen.
In the Red Records
Fourth time's the charm, as the former Gun Club and Cramps guitarist hits his stride as a frontman with his solo project.
ATO
The ever-evolving psychedelic tricksters deliver their fiercest album yet, influenced by early heavy metal and made to be played continuously.
Warner Bros.
The Canadian singer follows up her Juno Award-winning Little Machines with a gorgeously crafted acoustic album.
Mute
The follow-up to Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is a love letter to '80s schmaltz that delivers genuine poignancy.
Omnivore
The third release from this Malawi-based folk and gospel group is humble, rustic, and inspiring.
Blue Note / Revive
On his Blue Note debut, the saxophonist premieres a new band on a set of funky, ambitious tunes.
BR Klassik
For this 2016 BR Klassik release, Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra perform works by Antonín Dvorák and Josef Suk.
Hallé
Mark Elder and the Hallé play Sibelius' Fifth and Seventh Symphonies and En Saga with commitment and exceptional sound.
Alpha
Nelson Goerner's first album of Beethoven's piano music offers the late "Hammerklavier" Sonata and the Bagatelles, Op. 126.
ECM
After a decade of silence, the Swiss pianist and composer resurrects his first recording ensemble and issues a gem.
Sony Classical
Nikolaus Harnoncourt's valedictory recording with Concentus Musicus Wien offers superb performances of Beethoven's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies.
Rough Trade
The band's third album is its cleanest, most focused yet, without skimping on art rock hooks and off-kilter melodies.
Dust-to-Digital
Dust-To-Digital greatly (and beautifully) expands Paul Bowles legendary LPs of 1959 field recordings from Morocco.
Concord
On his tenth solo album, the iconic singer and songwriter shows no signs of slowing down or changing his ways.
Rhino / Warner Bros.
His third solo album was his biggest, filled with huge modern pop songs and truly heartbreaking ballads.
Avie
Rachel Barton Pine's recording of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas is a transparent and expressive interpretation of this touchstone for violinists.
Bloodshot
This follow-up to the outstanding Gone Away Backward is another spare, subtly brilliant set of stories of life in the South.
Hyperion
The last of a series, this will convincingly fill a major hole in most collections of medieval music.
DG Deutsche Grammophon
An ambitious (and elegant) mix of accompanied readings, opera, and chamber pop to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death.
Sub Pop
This collaboration between the Iron and Wine leader and the eclectic indie-folk chanteuse reveals they're an inspired pairing.
Stones Throw
Fourth album of heavy, off-time beats and chopped-up samples from the Ann Arbor-born, Los Angeles-based hip-hop producer.
Underwater Peoples
Dreamy, colorful studio debut full-length by a skilled vibraphonist who regularly busks in New York City subways.
Damnably
The Japanese bubblegum-punk vets celebrate their 35th anniversary with an irresistibly fun and rollicking collection inspired by '70s rock.
Oehms Classics
Simone Young's farewell concert with the Hamburg Philharmonic featured Franz Schmidt's oratorio, The Book with Seven Seals.
New West
Outstanding career summary of the Texas-based alt-country heroes led by guitarist and songwriter Brent Best.
Bang / Prototyp / Starwalker Music
The duo's first full-length delivers charming galactic pop that borrows from, and lives up to, its members' work in Air and Bang Gang.
Atlantic
A sprawling concept album that expands the notion of what constitutes Cosmic American Music in the 21st century.
Hardly Art
Fun and tough pop-punk record (heavy on the punk) from the Seattle quartet.
Omnivore
The Memphis retro-soul act celebrate country-soul on their third album.
Stones Throw
The electro pharaoh's crucial 12" and early album material, ardently assembled by the Stones Throw label.
Domino
Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner and Miles Kane's second Baroque pop collaboration is literate and rife with orchestral, noir-ish menace.
The Royal Potato
Recorded live in analog and pressed on vinyl lacquers, this riotous live-in-studio date is the band's finest recorded moment.
4AD
Incorporating vocal arrangements for the first time, the Canadian experimental artist's 4AD debut is one of his most accessible works to date.
Crucial Blast / Holodeck Records
The Austin-based darkwave trio take their sound in a heavier direction, resulting in their best and most ambitious work yet.
Various Artists
Now Again Records
The first volume features 18 great tracks from the '70s Afro-rock era and an illustrated hardbound book with an amazing historical essay.
Various Artists
Cherry Red
Discerning box of mostly obscure noise and odd pop excursions featuring acts like Bourbonese Qualk, Blah Blah Blah, and good old EG Oblique Graph.
100% Records
An infectious, sonically adventurous mix of '80s and '90s influences with production from Katy Perry touring keyboardist Max Hart.
Atlantic / Crush Music
A good-time record that finds the perfect middle ground between the sensibility of the Blue Album and the sound of Pinkerton.
Pink Flag
Recorded at the same time as 2015's equally strong self-titled album, this set is much more than a collection of leftovers.
Woodsist
The band adds Ethiopian jazz influences to its jangly folk-rock sound and comes up a winner.
BR Klassik
Yannick Nézet-Séguin's live performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 produces energy and tone colors that make it a delight.
Mute
Still offering their trademark musical stew of sounds and styles, the band's fourth studio LP leans into group harmonies, psych-pop, and new wave.
Alpha
Yury Martynov plays Franz Liszt's virtuoso arrangement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 on a Blüthner piano of 1867.
Azica Records
With intelligent arrangements by guitarist Leisner, this contains beautiful playing, nicely recorded.
