The Spill Canvas – “No Really, I’m Fine”
The Spill Canvas’ major-label debut could have easily become a cautionary tale about an acoust…
Eagles – “Eagles”
The Eagles did not begin as a fully formed band. Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Mei…
The Academy Is… – “Fast Times at Barrington High”
The Academy Is… made an immediate impression with Almost Here, establishing themselves as one …
Moose Blood – “I’ll Keep You in Mind, From Time to Time”
Moose Blood formed in Canterbury, England, in 2012 after its members grew tired of the hardcore band…
Hot Hot Heat – “Happiness Ltd.”
Hot Hot Heat had spent the first half of the 2000s turning nervous energy into an art form. Make Up …
Paul McCartney and Wings – “Band on the Run”
After the Beatles dissolved, Paul McCartney found himself in an unusual position. He was one of the …
The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”
The Flaming Lips had already spent years proving they could make strange music, but Yoshimi Battles …
St. Vincent – “Masseduction”
Coming off a run of increasingly adventurous records, St. Vincent uses her fifth studio album to bri…
The Juliana Theory – “Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat”
The Juliana Theory’s final album is the sound of a band cutting ties on its own terms. After s…
Poison the Well – “The Opposite of December … A Season of Separation”
It is difficult to overstate just how young Poison the Well were when they made The Opposite of Dece…
The New Amsterdams – “Outroduction”
Outroduction is a fitting title for The New Amsterdams’ final album because Matt Pryor always …
Minor Threat – “Minor Threat”
Minor Threat’s self-titled compilation captures a band whose existence was remarkably brief bu…
The Stryder – “Masquerade in the Key of Crime”
The late ’90s and early 2000s produced no shortage of bands trying to find the sweet spot betw…
The Game – “The Documentary III”
There is a difference between revisiting your past and being completely trapped by it. On The Docume…
Kevin Devine – “Instigator”
Kevin Devine has always existed somewhere between intimate singer-songwriter confessionals and polit…
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – “Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness”
For Andrew McMahon, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness represented another opportunity to start over. …
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – “Maylene and the Sons of Disaster”
Dallas Taylor had something to prove when he formed Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Taylor had alr…
The Gaslight Anthem – “Handwritten”
Handwritten was a major-label debut in more ways than one for The Gaslight Anthem. Brendan O’Brien, …
INXS – “Kick”
INXS entered Kick with an ambitious goal: make an album where every song could potentially be a sing…
Phoebe Bridgers – “Lost Weekend”
Six years is a long time to wait for a solo album, especially after an artist delivers something as …
Head Automatica – “Decadence”
By the time Head Automatica released Decadence, Daryl Palumbo had already established himself as one…
G-Unit – “Beg for Mercy”
Nine months after Get Rich or Die Tryin’ turned 50 Cent into one of the biggest stars in hip-h…
The Strokes – “Reality Awaits”
Twenty-five years into their career, The Strokes have reached the point where nostalgia could easily…
Charli XCX – “Music, Fashion, Film”
Few artists have ever found themselves in the position Charli XCX faced after Brat. The album became…