Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cold Roses:

Took a few listens to appreciate (often a good sign), but ended up restoring my faith in Adams, self-indulgent or not and, in some strange way, the collective soul of America. This guy makes several albums a year, and finally, this joins the ranks of his beautiful lonely western album, Heartbreaker.

Seu Jorge - Cru:

Fun and sexy Portuguese-language jams from the cameo-contributing musician in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Bright Eyes - I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning:

I feel that with this record Conor Oberst finally focused on writing some plain old, honest-to-God, good songs—and the effect is a beautiful, well-crafted collection

Common - Be:

Totally refreshing and empowering, Common finally makes it big with the help of Kanye West. Be provides a great window for his older albums, Like Water for Chocolate among them, to be heard by a new generation. It’s a seminal record for what I hope continues as a direction for “conscious” rap artists. .

The Gunshy - Souls:

Honest and soul-wrenching account of a life—at once a memoir and a manifesto about what it means to find a place in the world.