Porcupine Tree - Deadwing

Considering their cinematic scope, it's fitting that the songs on Deadwing were actually inspired by a film script written by Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson. Not that this should come as any surprise to longtime fans who know the UK act's reputation for churning out epic progressive rock so sonically descriptive that it's practically visual. Porcupine Tree creates works with complex structures that do not alienate or obscure the songs themselves, pieces that are dark and psychedelic without being sinister. On the 12-minute opening title track, weighty guitar riffs and spacious synths immediately recall Nine Inch Nails, but swooping melodic changes give way to ambient passages, making it plain that this is no industrial-rock rip-off. "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" begins with processed backwards guitar, building into a harmony-fueled crescendo before dropping off completely to reveal sparse picking over loops and clicks. Guests Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth) and Adrian Belew (King Crimson) contribute vocal harmonies and guitar, respectively, and the disc comes enhanced with behind-the-scenes video footage as a bonus feature.

Bullet for My Valentine - The Poison

Welsh heavy-metal quartet Bullet for My Valentine began making serious headlines in the metal press in 2005, and with good reason. The band combines a vintage U.K. metal sound (think Iron Maiden and Judas Priest) with the ferocity of 21st-century metalcore and the emotional angst of emo. The Poison, the band's punishing full-length debut, finds all these elements mixed to perfect measure via top-tier production. In addition to the relentless sonic attack, Bullet for My Valentine also filled The Poison with solid songs, a factor that distinguishes them favorably from their legions of metal and screamo peers.

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking

Nothing's Shocking set out to prove that no subject was beyond the gleam in lyricist/vocalist Perry Farrell's (pronounced "peripheral") eye. Serial killer Ted Bundy ("Ted, Just Admit It"), punk ideology as Eastern philosophy ("Pigs In Zen"), mystic romances ("Summertime Rolls") and high-falutin', early-morning thoughts ("Standing In The Shower...Thinking") were all dissected through a psychologically-stimulating viewpoint, with a stream-of-consciousness delivery. Farrell's tales also served the band as a guide to attack the canvas, and the musicians burned heroically behind him, providing the songs with an expansive set of musical colors. Guitarist Dave Navarro continuously exploded on the drop of a dime, while bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins proved to be among the most formidable rhythm sections in all of rock. Above all, Nothing's Shocking helped revive the idea that heavy rock need not be formulaic, or lack any semblance of meaningful content. Rather than focus on the old-hat aspects of the rock rebellion myth (sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll), Jane's Addiction looked in the hard-to-find places for their muse, demonstrating that metal rebels didn't have to be idiots.

Verve - Urban Hymns

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or A Group With Vocal and Best Rock Song. On Urban Hymns The Verve continues to widen the creative spectrum of psychedelic Britrock. The Verve exhibits a great deal of musical depth as they blanket "Bitter Sweet Symphony" with a full string section, employ acoustic guitars to evoke the simple, Carpenters-ish sentiments of "Sonnet" and "The Drugs Don't Work," and utilize heavily processed guitars on "Weeping Willow." Whether exploring the loud or soft extremes of their dynamic range, the band aspires to classic songwriting, tastefully incorporating retro sensibilities with sweet-sounding hooks that yield a tranquil, pastoral beauty.

Animal Collective - Feels

Outsider music's crossover cover boys take a giant step towards mainstream accessibility with this album--then jump right over it into the bushes. Having garnered the highest freak honors with their previous album, Sung Tongs, here they expand from two to four members and take their chirpy call-and-response harmonies to a whole other level, adding a cohesive production that welds all the disparate elements into genuine melodic hooks. The opening track, "Did You See the Words," even has a distinct indie-rock chorus (for a while anyway) in addition to the scattered ivory tinkling and Panda Bear's upper-octave-strained ravings. Not long afterwards they're layering on the war whoops and Beach Boy vocalizing until it all starts rising and falling like the sea, often alongside contrapuntal piano and more robust and full-bodied drum work than previous AC albums. Somehow or other their signature primitivism coalesces into near pop perfection and seldom falters anywhere along its breakneck 52-minute run.

Stereophonics - Word Gets Around

The Welsh pop trio Stereophonics' 1998 debut is a fine, hook-filled Britpop platter. While the clear highlight is the UK hit "Local Boy in the Photograph," an insidiously catchy though lyrically elliptical tune, Word Gets Around contains several tracks nearly as impressive, such as "Not Up to You," with an absurdly over-prominent electronic snare that eventually gets overtaken by Kelly Jones' big, crunchy, Cheap Trick-like guitar. "Check My Eyelids for Holes" and "Same Size Feet," which has one of the catchiest choruses on the album, are also excellent, but perhaps the most affecting track is "Too Many Sandwiches," a sharp but sweet examination of a small-town wedding reception. Word Gets Around is an exceptional debut.

Air - Pocket Symphony

Pocket Symphony finds Air once again working with outside singers, as the French electronica duo did on '01's 10,000 Hz Legend. This time around, the guests are British vocalists Neil Hannon (aka the Divine Comedy) and Jarvis Cocker (formerly of Pulp), with the latter lending his signature droll charm to the woozy "One Hell of a Party." The Hannon and Cocker tracks aside, Pocket Symphony largely serves as a fine companion piece to the supremely laid-back Talkie Walkie, with Nicolas Godin and J.B. Dunckel once again tweaking their own half-whispered vocals under the guidance of producer Nigel Godrich (Beck, Radiohead), most notably on the dreamy, drifting "Once Upon a Time" and "Redhead Girl," which comes across as an ambient cousin to Walkie's "Cherry Blossom Girl." While Air fans hoping for upbeat tunes like "Sexy Boy" and "Radio Number 1" will be left empty-handed, Pocket Symphony reinforces the notion that Godin and Dunckel are most fascinating when thoroughly at ease.