1. Robin Thicke - Love After War
I already put this pretty high in my year-end list but obviously I'm still digging into it, even if Something Else will probably always be my favorite Thicke album in part because it's so concise, he actually does really well with overlong and stylistically all over the place records, too, probably because it's too supremely smooth and laid back to get overbearing or exhausting. There's so many lyrics on here that are kind of cartoonishly silly but in kind of a knowing way that I really enjoy, and "Never Give Up" is a fun return to the goofy classical-sampling well of "When I Get You Alone," very few R&B traditionalists feel as playful and exhilarated about what they're doing as this guy does.

2. Common - The Dreamer, The Believer
I've really come to regard Com's two No I.D.-produced '90s albums, Resurrection and One Day It'll All Make Sense, as classics over the past decade that his rapping and his records in general have mostly been aesthetically muddled garbage. But I didn't think getting back with No I.D. actually would signal as huge a return to form as this is. He actually sounds, like, on point and engaged, not just this brain-damaged positivity zombie that I'd been so sick of the last few years that I couldn't even watch more than one episode of "Hell On Wheels."

3. Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition
In some ways Jeezy is the only southern rap star left at his level who hasn't lost some fundamental sense of what his lane is or how his music should sound or fallen off in the last couple years, and it's seemed like his career has actually suffered for it, so I really still ride for Jeezy out of respect for that. But I will admit this album is really far from his best work, and he probably could've put something far stronger together with some of the best songs from his last few mixtapes. But still, Jeezy is Jeezy and this has some jams, especially "Way Too Gone."

4. Brianna - Face Off
Since I've been such a cheerleader for Brianna's single "Marilyn Monroe" (and its only Pazz & Jop voter) I felt obligated to check out the mixtape she dropped on Christmas day. And while it's neither especially great or bad in any way, it is interesting just for giving a broader picture of her persona and voice, which isn't as much of the drawling smart aleck as on "Marilyn Monroe" (which is presented here as a remix that depressingly trumpets Wale as its big first verse guest). Bri comes off a little precious and earnest at times on here, not the coldly funny MC that I was really hoping to hear more of, but she's got a decent ear for hooks, and she's still a lot more promising to me than almost any other female rapper of the post-Minaj glut, so hopefully she's gonna have a good year.

5. Chevelle - Hats Off To The Bull
Although I've always liked "Send The Pain Below," it's really been in the past couple years of my wife loving this band that I've come around to realizing they're not just one of the more passable bands on hard rock radio but maybe the best of the last few years, or at the very least "Jars" is a classic. This album doesn't have any songs that hook me quite like their best singles, but it really hits right on the target of what's good about them, in terms of production and guitar tones and vocals.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 at 10:41 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.