Bob Dylan - Fallen Angels: No familiarity with the originals makes for a wonderful listen.

Dirty Nil - Higher Power: Such tension in the vocals make it compelling.

Direct Hit - Wasted Mind: Above average pop-punk.

Dikembe - Hail Something: Gritty post-punk.

Converge - You Fail Me Redux: Either I forgot how good the album was, or this mix is really that much better.

Camp Cope - Camp Cope: Indie rock with punk influences married to earnestness.

Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book: Still do not get the fascination.

Big Thief - Masterpiece: Chameleonic pop-punk.

Belvedere - Revenge Of The Fifth: Good, but not great, modern pop-punk.

Avalanches - Wildflower: Time to go back a revisit the debut, because this was really great.

The Apostles - Punk Obituary: Punk in the '80s was such a fascinating thing and this is a centerpiece.

Anderson .Paak - Malibu: Not really my thing, but damn if it is not tempting to go down the road.

Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere: Songs meant for the stag fall flat on disc.

The Avalanches - Wildflower: Awesome follow-up that will make me revisit their beloved debut.

$eth - A Rehearsal For The Great Uprising: A huge, progressive, leap forward. Post-punk/metal/rock all in one.

$eth - The First Snack/Akorex B: More of the same.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway: Feels completely uninspired.

Car Seat Headrest - Teens In Denial: No denying an album of the year contender. Great Titus Andronicus tour partner.

Bob Dylan - The 1985 Rehearsal Tape: I think there is one really good disc here.

Blood Orange - Freetown Sound: Not really my style, but a first step to becoming a convert.

Blink-182 - California: My first Blink album, and I liked it.

$eth - Acoustic Rage: Name dropped as an influence by Laura Jane Grace, justifiably.

Bob Dylan - After The Empire: A compelling case that even when down, Dylan is still better than most.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Nonagon Infinity: I could listen to this on repeat, as intended.

Yeasayer - Amen And Goodbye: I want to like it.

Wire - Nocturnal Koreans: Aging well.

White Lung - Paradise: Incredibly compelling punk.

Henry Threadgill - In For A Penny: A little long, but otherwise hard to complain about.

Slipknot - Iowa: Great metal album, last track aside.

Slipknot - Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat: Too much nu going on.

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool: Really strong, has a Sigur Ros vibe going on.

Miracle Legion - Portrait Of A Damaged Family: I had a lovely time.

LUH - Spiritual Songs: The desperation in the vocal delivery will keep me coming back for more.

Islands - Taste: Initially not as good, but I remember being wrong about Digital Ash, too.

Islands - Should I Remain Here At Sea: Yes, if further albums sound this good.

PJ Harvey - The Hope Six: Pulling in a vast array of influences makes for a fairly compelling album.

Hallelujah The Hills - A Band Is Something: Some great songs here, but it falls flat as an album.

Flatbush Zombies - 3001- A Laced Odyssey: A lot of hype, but little to back it up.

Drake - Views: I just do not care.

Death Grips - Bottomless Pit: Almost had me thinking their run was over, but the second half was strong.

Dalek - Abandoned Language: Have to give them credit for trying to push the genre forward.

Burn - ...From The Ashes: Still trying to get into them with the same fervor as everyone else.

boysetsfire - After The Eulogy: This is a really great melodic/hardcore/metal album.

boysetsfire - The Day The Sun Went Out: Not really sure who they are yet.

Beyonce - Lemonade: Have I been missing out or is this her first really good album?

Wham! - Make It Big: Thank you, Deadpool.

Weezer - Weezer (White): Really surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

M. Ward - More Rain: Most compelling album by him in a long time.

Savages - Adore Life: Feels oddly contrived.

Ra Ra Riot - Need Your Light: Undeniably dance-pop, but really good at being that.

Pears - Green Star: Something for everyone into punk/hardcore.

Parquet Courts - Human Performance: They are a modern day Talking Heads.

Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow: Good for what it is, just not for me right now.

Madder Rose - Hello June Fool: A best-of will suffice.

Madder Rose - Tragic Magic: Diminished returns.

Madder Rose - Panic On: No need to panic as it is more of the same.

Madder Rose - Bring It Down: Beautiful John is an unbelievably great song the rest of the album cannot match.

Korn - Korn: Thirty minutes too long, but not as bad as anticipated.

Killswitch Engage - Incarnate: Best album in nearly a decade.

Elton John - Wonderful Crazy Nights: Over-produced songs detract from its potential.

Into It. Over It. - Standards: Culmination of everything he has been working towards.

Hotel Year - It Never Goes Out: Glimpses of what they would become.

Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness: I just cannot get into it.

Face to Face - Face to Face: Really great street punk with pop sensibilities.

Deftones - Around the Fur: I should have listened to this long ago.

John Congleton and Nighty Nite - Until the Horror: I missing the pAper chAse.

David Bowie - Blackstar: When the dust settles, really curious to see its place in history.

Andrew Bird - Are You Serious: Really solid as always, but no Armchair.

Kanye West - The Life of Pablo: Between it and the demos, there is a good-possibly-great album here.

Weerd Science - Red Juliet Broadcast 3: Nothing to change anyone's mind.

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered: At the top of his game.

Bl'ast - For Those Who've Graced The Fire: I really need to get into the older stuff.

Animal Collective - Painting With: It feels over-constructed.

World Be Free - The Anti-Circle: Like a melodic '80s hardcore classic.

Wingnut Dishwashers Union - Towards a World Without Dishwashers: Love most of the message, but delivery starting to wear thin.

Saul Williams - MartyrLoserKing: Always look forward to what he does, but never enamored with it.

Ramshackle Glory - Live The Dream: Not exactly polished, but certainly contains higher fidelity.

Johnny Hobo and Freight Trains - Chaos Infiltration Squad: Starting to grow on me.

Johnny Hobo and Freight Trains - Caught in Act of Not Being Awesome: Not exactly not awesome.

Johnny Hobo and Freight Trains - Anarchy Means I Hate You: Hate is a strong word.

Attickiss - Chasing Time: Not afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve.

Weerd Science - Red Light Juliet Broadcast 2: Stronger.

Weerd Science - Red Light Juliet: Worth a casual listen for Coheed fans, but not great on its own.

Laddio Bolocko - As If By Remote: Weirder yet.

Laddio Bolocko - In Real Time: Shorter and more traditional.

Get Up Kids - The EPs: Certainly worth listening to.

Laddio Bolocko - Strange Warnings: More jazz than post-rock, more avant garde than jazz, more post-rock than avant garde.

Kamasi Washington - The Epic: Not sure where to cut, because it all teeters on good-to-great, but there is probably an extra disc of material here.

They Might Be Giants - Why: Exactly.

Vince Staples - Summertime '06: Much better first half than second, but what a first half!

Reggie And The Full Effect - X-Mas Mini EP: Feels like not enough and too much at the same time.

Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free: Always weird when critics finally catch up to a great thing.

Free - Demo: Glad they are back, even if under a different name.

Dwarfstarr - Agnus: Atlanta-based rock band not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve.

Baroness - Purple: So glad they did not hang it up.

Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit And Think: I can see why it ended up on so many lists, but I need more time.

Magic Circle - Journey Blind: Not as good as debut, but would be hard to do anyway.

Foo Fighters - Saint Cecilia: I guess it will hold me over until a new LP.

Coldplay - A Head Full Of Dreams: Oh how far down they have come.

Burn - Last Great Sea: Too short.