Capstan Shafts - Revelation Skirts: More flourishes without compromising the essential brevity of the songs.

Hannibal Burress - My Name Is Hannibal: Takes a while to get into, but very rewarding.

The Anniversary - Your Majesty: One of "emo pop's" finest albums.

Myq Kaplan - Vegan Mind Meld: Fast paced, extremely witty and, above all else, funny.

Book time. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

Amusement Parks On Fire - Road Eyes: Much better than sophomore release, but eons away from debut.

Walkmen - Lisbon: I was wondering why this flew under the radar and now I know. Certainly has its moments though.

Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes: An underrated classic.

Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History: Outstanding album that was over far too quickly.

Tapes 'n' Tapes - Outside: Same band, more meh.

Sufjan Stevens - Age Of Adz: I'm sure I will grow to love new Sufjan, but right now I miss old Sufjan.

Sleigh Bells - Treats: More engaging than some contemporaries but not enough to hold my attention despite a few great tracks.

River City Extension - ...And The Unmistakable Man: The best indie/folk/pop/rock/whatever you're not listening to.

The Riot Before - Rebellion: Yet another example of how much really good punk there is.

Portal. The Man - American Ghetto: Subversively enjoyable.

Off With Their Heads - In Desolation: Australia is very lucky to see these guys with Against Me!.

Of Montreal - False Priest: Lacking in charisma.

None More Black - Icons: Disappointing.

Nightmares For A Week - A Flood Tomorrow: Excellent EP reminiscent of Get Up Kids just after Something before Wire.

New Pornographers - Together: Solid album but I wish it was a little more energetic.

The National - High Violet: Keep waiting for that penultimate album to really grab me.

Menzingers - Chamberlain Waits: More catchy-without-being-poppy punk from what is an increasingly consistent band.

Make Do And Mend - End Measured Mile; What hard rock could, and should have been. #notNickelback

Hostage Calm - Hostage Calm: Not sure what type of band they want to be, but this wasn't it.

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach: Just not my cup of tea.

Fresh and Onlys - Play It Strange: Shoegazey with potential.

Fake Problems - Real Ghosts Caught On Tape: Great Songs Caught On CD.

Drake - Thank Me Later: Good but overhyped blend R&B and rap without coddling one for the other.

Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest: Perfect soundtrack to a blizzard.

Dead Mechanical - Addict Rhythms: Fantastic working class punk that belongs on a Best Of list from last year.

Das Racist - Sit Down, Man: Avant garde hip-hop that requires repeat listens.

David Cross - Bigger And Blackerer: His funniest album yet.

Elvis Costello - National Ransom: A couple of slower tracks detract from an otherwise solid album.

Caribou - Swim: Gave up after 2 songs. I am not the right demographic as I just don't get it.

Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot: Almost passed on what is likely the best hip-hop album of last year.

Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo: Infectiously addictive or grating. Time will tell.

Ariel Pink - Before Today: Unsure of where to begin, but 5am is too early to listen to this album.

Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard: Sophomore slump indeed.

Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids: Is there a more consistent artist in hip-hop?

Fiya - Magic Words: Solid album of Hot Water-inspired punk rock.

Defiance, Ohio - Midwestern Minutes: Missing some of the catchiness I remember them for.

Decemberists - King Is Dead: My favorite Decemberists album, hands down. Less pretentious than previous outings put it over the top.

The Bees - Every Step's A Yes: Folky music for a simpler time.

Kings Of Leon - Come Around Sundown: Increased accessibility results in decreased enjoyability.

Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts: Not as infectious as their debut but more than solid.

The Drums - The Drums: I tried so hard to dislike it, but it proved irresistible.

Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me: As outstanding as it is it's still hard to reconcile the length at 3 discs.

Eminem - Recovery: So hungry you can feel it. A fantastic return to form.

Various - Fast Music 7: Good to know I'm not missing much.

TS And Past Haunts - EP: No substitute for a new Piebald album, but far from terrible.

System Of A Down - Toxicity: Easily the best nu metal album I've ever heard. Still a few tracks too long.

Off - Four EPs: Fantastic early Black Flag.

Go Rydell - The Golden Age: A bit more gravelly but an easy substitute for those missing Kid Dynamite. I know I am.

Beatles - Decca Audition: Historically essential, but nothing more.

My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: Drops remaining pretense of being a punk band, opting for a pop album. And it's fantastic.

Jordaan Mason And Horse Museum - Divorce Lawyers: Obviously NMH inspired, but without any if the euphoria it's a tough listen.

Crazy Arm - Born To Ruin: Modern Against Me! without the arena-level hooks.

Kanye West - Beautiful Twisted Fantasy: Somewhere in the middle it lost me and was never able to recover.

Wovenhand - The Threshing Floor: Another solid album for fans of Califone.

Tom Waits - Closing Time: Sometimes perfect execution can mask a lack of innovation.

Vampire Weekend - Contra: Epitome of a sophmore slump, failing to achieve any of the high water marks found on their debut.

Titus Adronicus - The Monitor: Very rewarding, but sometimes flawed execution of a perfect blend of Two Gallants and Hold Steady.

Wrong Side - Of The Tracks: Mosh-heavy hardcore reminiscent of Death Threat.

Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg: Save yourself some time and listen to Muse.

White Stripes - Under Northern Lights: Too good to feel so short.

White Lies - To Lose My Life: The album Interpol always wanted to make?

Jim Ward - In the Valley, On the Shore: Refreshing to hear him out of arena mode.

War Pigs - Degeneration: Hardcore that didn't live up to the high expectations, namely for its seeming self indulgence.

Volcano Choir - Unmap: Radiohead-esque meets (obviously) Bon Iver.

Bob Dylan - Wittmark Demos: Beyond essential at half the fidelity.

Various - Stroke: Come for Mangum, stay for the rest, come back for the songs.

Various - At Both Ends: Fantastic grouping of bands. Wish they all had at least 1 more track.

Various - Abbey Road Now: Fails to surpass mediocre expectations.

Pete Townsend - Lifehouse Chronicles: Thoroughly enjoyable collection of demos from an innately creative visionary.

Touche Amore - ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse: Filling the void that Verse left behind.

Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures: Mostly succeeds as proof a supergroup can be better than individual components.

Tegan And Sara - So Jealous: Solid pop rock, but nothing to get too excited about.

Tallest Man on Earth - Wild Hunt: Dylan comparison impossible not to make. Deservingly.

Surrounded - Safety In Numbers: Equal parts Swell Season, post-rock and shoegaze. But listenable.

Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide: Big time arena rock record.

Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On: The experimentation had to begin sometime.

Sunny Day Real Estate - Pink Album: Deceptively heavy.

Strike Anywhere - Iron Front: Best album since, and maybe including, their debut.

Street Dogs - Demo: DKM-nostalgia not enough to keep afloat a band still finding its way.

Spoon - Transference: The indie rock Mission of Burma. Laid back yet taut.

Sounds Like Violence - The Pistol: Virtually forgettable.

Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle: Too much filler, but with listening to for the highs alone.

Smoke Or Fire - Sinking Ship: Excellent pop-punk that rips off the best parts of other bands and executes flawlessly.

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie: 2 discs and a seemingly forever runtime yet still manages to succeed far more than fail.

Slowride - C/S: '90s indie rock for when you're feeling nostalgic.

Sleep - Dopesmoker: Prog for the heavy metal crowd.

Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra - Kollaps Tradixionales: Perfect blend of their post-rock roots and more choral efforts.

Shook Ones - Unquotable AMH: Not the 2nd coming of Kid Dynamite I was hoping for, but solid pop-punk nonetheless.

Settlefish - Plural of the Choir: Ultimately forgettable.

Settlefish - Dance a While, Upset: Semi-screamo that starts strong but fails to hold interest.

Pete Seeger - Live '57: Not an everyday listen, but certainly worth listening to. Spontaneity in stark contrast to contemporary live acts.

Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns: Uneven with heaps of potential.

Roxy Music - Country Life: Like the Talking Heads but mellower and more experimental. And sometimes too long.

Ben Folds - Lonely Avenue: Feels less forced than his last few albums.

Halfway through Order of the Phoenix. Skipping Deathly Hallows until after movie is released.