B.o.B
Strange Clouds
Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop

B.o.B’s sophomore effort dabbles in nasty hip-hop clichés even as it fuses them with infectious pop hooks and guest contributions …

Carrie Underwood
Blown Away
Country

Carrie Underwood says her fans love her revenge songs. So she’s stuck two of them right at the front of …

Jason Mraz
Love Is a Four Letter Word
Pop

Has feel-good acoustic crooner Jason Mraz grown so embittered by love that he’s now comparing it to profanity?

Thousand Foot Krutch
The End Is Where We Begin
Alternative, Metal, Rock

You’ll see that this veteran Canadian modern rock outfit’s music is drenched with references to the band’s Christian faith … …

Alabama Shakes
Boys & Girls
Alternative, Rock

The bluesy, incendiary debut of this Alabama-based roots-rock band seethes with equal parts world-weary wisdom and an earnest, innocent and …

Demon Hunter
True Defiance
Alternative, Christian/Gospel, Metal

Ten years later, Demon Hunter is still snarling and growling out a Gospel-inspired message, aiming it squarely at its infernal …

Nicki Minaj
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded throws the gauntlet down and then puts a bullet through it. This is Nicki Minaj’s big …

Nicki Minaj
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded throws the gauntlet down and then puts a bullet through it. This is Nicki Minaj’s big …

Of Monsters and Men
My Head Is an Animal
Alternative, Folk, Rock

Two years ago this alternative folk-rock outfit won Iceland’s national battle of the bands contest. Now they’re the biggest musical …

The Lumineers
The Lumineers
Alternative, Folk, Rock

In some ways, The Lumineers are marching to Mumford & Sons’ massively popular folk rock drumbeat. In other ways, this …

Madonna
MDNA
EDM/Electronica/Techno, Pop

MDNA is an odd combination of old-school Material Girl naughtiness and deeply personal peeks into the pain (and violent rage) …

Various/Soundtrack
The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond
Country, Folk, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks

Über-producer T Bone Burnett coaxes lush, lamentation-filled efforts out of a long list of familiar and obscure contributors alike, as …

One Direction
Up All Night
Pop

This reality-competition import from across the pond tears a page from the classic boy-band playbook and implements it to pop …

Bruce Springsteen
Wrecking Ball
Rock

It’s the 17th studio album from The Boss, and on it, New Jersey’s favorite son dons the mantle of rock …

The Fray
Scars & Stories
Alternative, Rock

The Fray once again plumbs the depths of melancholy introspection. But it (mostly) concludes that even though life is hard, …