Coldplay - Viva la Vida
For their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida, Coldplay turned to Brian Eno for help in crafting and refining their sound. The move works remarkably well as both the songwriting and the music demonstrate a focused concentration that suits them well. While the album may not be the knockout blow their label was hoping for, Viva la Vida is a quietly satisfying work that shows some real artistic growth.

Katy Perry - One of the Boys
Internet sensation Katy Perry pulls out all the stops on her debut album One of the Boys. Working with an impressive murder’s row of producers and songwriters (Desmond Child, Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart to name a few) and running through a list of subjects designed to gain attention (belched alphabets, fruity boyfriends, Vegas hangovers, and lesbian lip-locks), One of the Boys aims to be a gender-bending work of meta-pop but ends up instead as a pandering, calculated train wreck of an album.

Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Three years after what was probably the Silver Jews’ darkest album, David Berman and company return with Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, which may very well be the band’s lightest work. That’s on the surface, anyway; these songs about candy jails, party barges and Old San Francisco are lighthearted, but they reveal deeper shades of meaning – and Berman’s typically brilliant yet inviting way with words – on repeated listens.

Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition)
When Dennis Wilson’s solo debut, Pacific Ocean Blue, was released in 1977, few had high expectations for it. Dennis’ brother Brian Wilson was, after all, the acknowledged genius and mastermind of the Beach Boys sound and his other brother Carl Wilson had THE voice, so little was expected of Dennis, the pretty boy drummer and near-professional party animal. But Pacific Ocean Blue turned out to be a gorgeous masterpiece, full of a naked, affirming spirit and worlds past and beyond what any of the other Beach Boys were doing at the time. It was also, perhaps not surprisingly, a resounding commercial flop, although critical reaction to the album was strong and positive. With the release of a definitive two-disc set that features a remastered version of the original LP and collects the remnants of the unfinished follow-up album, Bambu, along with other solo odds and en! ds, a convincing case can be made that Dennis Wilson was the other bona fide musical genius in the Beach Boys.

Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
After a slew of disappointing follow-ups by great indie hopes, Wolf Parade returns with an album that’s even better than their first. Driven by the songwriting power of Spencer King and Dan Boeckner, At Mount Zoomer finds the band sounding tighter, more confident and more mature than they did on Apologies to the Queen Mary. Even if this album doesn’t have the immediate hits of their debut, Wolf Parade proves that they’re in it for the long haul here.

Adem - Takes
Blood Raw - My Life the True Testimony
David Bowie - Live in Santa Monica ‘72
Chicago - Stone of Sisyphus: XXXII
Jason Falkner - Bedtime with the Beatles, Vol. 2
From Autumn to Ashes - Live at Looney Tunes
Kathy Griffin - For Your Consideration
Kelly Harland - Long Ago and Far Away: Kelly Harland Sings Jerome Kern
Rebecca Lynn Howard - No Rules
Mick Hucknall - Tribute to Bobby (CD/DVD)
Jersey Babys - Jersey Babys: The Music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons for Kids
Judas Priest - Nostradamus
King Khan & the Shrines - The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines
Gladys Knight & the Pips - Claudine/Pipe Dreams
Chanté Moore - Love the Woman
My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark’s Teeth
NOMO - Ghost Rock
The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual!
Prima J - Prima J
Trevor Rabin - Get Smart (2008 Score)
Reggie and the Full Effect - Last Stop: Crappy Town
Rehab - Sittin’ at a Bar
Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded
Diana Ross - Everything Is Everything (Bonus Tracks)
Sebadoh - Bubble & Scrape
Teddy Thompson - A Piece of What You Need
Tilly and the Wall - O
2 Pistols - Death Before Dishonor
Dan Tyminski - Wheels
The War on Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues