Danny Boyle's Slumdog Milionaire, about a scrappy Bombay street urchin, makes a perfect fit for M.I.A., a South Asian musical rabble-rouser who highlights the world's have-nots in unconventional club tracks. In addition to dropping "Paper Planes" here, she also appears on the opening "O...Saya," a rush of percussion and voices raised high. A.R. Rahman, the celebrated Bombay soundtrack composer, is the real star here, with an album score that ranges from hynoptic trip-hop ("Riots") to unusual crunk ("Gangsta Blues") to wide-screen immersion in strings and tribal drums. Editor: Philip Sherburne
This double-disc finds Springsteen mixing the dour disillusionment that permeated Darkness On the Edge of Town with confident, light-hearted stabs at love, and one style is just as winning as the other. Songs such as "Hungry Heart," "Fade Away" and "The River" are timeless classics that remain live favorites. The River is required listening for any fan. Editor: Linda Ryan
For as virtuosic as Nickel Creek could be, the band's mandolin player and singer, Chris Thile, is stylistically unshackled with the Punch Brothers, a group made up of some of the best young progressive pickers around. The through-composed, mostly improvised three-song suite, "The Blind Leaving the Blind," is the centerpiece. A heartbreaking take on self-destructive love, the tracks ramble between delicate songwriter fare, 20th century atonality, jazz and bluegrass; and it's all recorded live. It requires full attention and some big ears, but those who take the time will be well rewarded. Editor: Nate Cavalieri
The best selling jazz album in history, Kind of Blue sounds better with each passing year. Miles explores modal improvisation with pianist Bill Evans, saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley and other top-flight talents. This musical voyage proves that "relaxing" music can also possess incredible depth. This 50th Anniversary edition comes with alternate takes and studio chatter plus an entire disc of other material the group performed together. You can't get any better than this. Editor: Nick Dedina
After receiving copious accolades for his beautifully stark debut, Justin Vernon's solitary sound gets a boost with a little help from friends. Even with a full band supporting him now, the Wisconsin troubadour still recognizes the power of a heartbreaking falsetto and an acoustic guitar. His minimalist touch is amplified with feather-light beats, slide guitar, abrupt piano plucks and layered vocals on the first three tracks. But "Woods" is where Vernon proves traditional folk can be modernly hip, juxtaposing nature-themed lyrics with the most unnatural of instruments...Auto-Tune. Editor: Stephanie Benson
The idea of Kanye West singing (with help from Auto-Tune) for a whole album sounds like a disaster because, well, he can't sing. Surprisingly, it works thanks to the sincerity and vulnerability he displays while crooning about losing his mother and breaking up with his fiancee, the album's central topics. West's production here is much darker than in the past on tracks like "Welcome To Heartbreak" (featuring Kid Cudi) and the witty "Robocop." Although some will pray that his love hangover ends soon, most will appreciate a successful attempt by one of the best rappers alive to stretch hip-hop's creative boundaries. Editor: Toshitaka Kondo
Much of this soundtrack should be very familiar ("Hypnotize" and "Notorious Thugs," e.g.), but early demos "Microphone Murderer" and "Guaranteed Raw" are new jewels. Neither is revelatory, but they do highlight Biggie's ability to reinforce a track's rhythm with his booming baritone and his skill at sounding both menacing and charming. The album's other unreleased track, "Love No Ho," is interesting only because of Biggie's unusually tepid flow, which borrows from Slick Rick. Editor: Sam Chennault
Nickelback worked with veteran producer Mutt Lange (AC/DC, Def Leppard) on Dark Horse, and not surprisingly the album is as heavy as, if not heavier than, the kajillion-selling All the Right Reasons, with more chug-a-chug songs than the anthemic ballads they scored with in 2005 ("Far Away," "Photograph"). Fans of those ballads still have "I'd Come for You " and "Never Gonna Be Alone," which are just as good as any Kelly Clarkson song (admit it, you like "Breakaway"). The fact is, while Nickelback may prefer playing fast 'n' loud, they're really good at the melodrama. Editor: Mike McGuirk
If you're heading out to your local watering hole this St. Patrick's Day, find out what songs they'll be singing so you can get your Irish on in the right way. See the list of the top 5 Irish drinking songs of all time. More
