Yeah, so this is a vital album. Here, they both expand and define their entire sound and it is a beautiful thing to see a band this good at the top of their game.

Three discs of Tom Waits that, more often than not, finds him at his best...what's not to love? It's on my best of the year list for a couple of reasons - 1) there's a ton of brand new tracks on here, and 2) it's absolutely fantastic. For Waits fans, for those looking to get into Waits' music - this is for everyone, period.

Not overrated @ all. Phenomenal. Lyrics like these, set to music like this, Phenomenal. I heart this.

Attack of the metal giants long thought buried. A record of brutal force and elegiac beauty that works as a great metal record and a fantastic shoegaze record. Caution: Will Melt Things.

Jesus, this album actually managed to give me the willies one night, driving home late from Columbus. I've never had an album do that to me. This one's a shape-shifter, I believe. Watch it closely; don't feed it after midnight.

The most brilliantly hyper pop album of the year - so yeah, it's just....it's incredible.

Folksy/tech-y hybrid that manages to sound like the Beta Band tackling Americana and not only succeeding, but perfecting, it.

Of everything this year, I've probably listened to this one the most. It's not perfect, but it'll get stuck in your car stereo for a long, long time if you're not careful.

His best since 'I See A Darkness.' Romantic and lush. Incredible. Also - the only album of his that does not feature a bizarre sex song...that's just one of the many small victories of this album.

Yeah - fantastic album here. Pretty pop soundscapes coupled with VOLUME. This is very very good.

A fantastic little disc. Not as good as it could have been - but by all accounts, this is one solid album that just...is gorgeous. "All Fires" by itself ensures this album a place in history - as well as my list. It's a different kind of album than most people are probably expecting...perhaps the most bizarre thing this motley crew of Dan Bejar, Carey Mercer, and Spencer Krug could dream up...

Best Punk Album of the Year. Yes, catchier, better, and slightly more vital than the new Mission of Burma. I know, I blaspheme.

Lupe does what Jay-Z wished he'd done, and just makes a solid rap album that actually has something to say. Hova, at the top of his game, doesn't really have anything to add - but Lupe, Lupe's hungry and he's gonna eat, people.

Okay - you win. A haunting, creepy, unsettling phantasmagoria of an album and it...just....refuses to be dismissed as simply avant for avant's sake... Avant-garde, sure...but remarkable nonetheless. Still - not for everyone.

Okay - so this album is lush, makes you want to dance....it's got the out-there but still catchy and hooky techno soundscapes where several disparate sounds coalesce into a hook just short of heavenly...11 songs like that on here, this is a gem.

You either love them or you hate them. I love them.

Is that the voice of an angel or is that the voice of an angel? It's the songwriting at which the gods doth tremble.

Definitely a grower - a rock solid indie rock album in the vein of Built to Spill and Modest Mouse.

No, they haven't made a bad album in the past, oh, decade-plus? Yeah, they're one of the greatest bands ever. Easy.

Solid...no, Rock Solid pop album. They've got the hooks - and the execution down....this will get inside your skull and demand that you play it over and over...