Nicki Minaj “The Pinkprint” Republic   Nicki Minaj is like a vaguely easier to palate Lil’ Kim with better marketing and a less dirty past. As pop music goes, it is OK, and there is an obvious reason why she is popular if you are into that kind of thing.

She and Him “Classics” Columbia What Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward have proven with their most recent album release is that it is nearly impossible to screw up a great song. “Classics” is exactly what the title says it is: a collection of songs from the ’30s through the ’60s

AC/DC “Rock or Bust” Columbia On a personal level, it has not been a good year for AC/DC. Their drummer was arrested for trying to get a couple people killed, and guitarist Malcolm Young has announced his departure from the band for health reasons. But through it all, the band

David Bowie “Nothing Has Changed” Parlophone There are three versions of David Bowie’s new compilation album for you to choose from; I chose the massive, three CD, 79-track version, because if you’re going to go, you might as well go big. Since Bowie operates on a wavelength above that of

Pink Floyd “The Endless River” Parlophone Pink Floyd has always had a keen eye toward higher concept material. In that vein, “The Endless River” isn’t the kind of album that’s going to provide Floyd fans a lot of radio-ready moments. Instead, the album is broken up into four conceptually-distinct parts.

Ani DiFranco “Allergic to Water” Righteous Babe Ani DiFranco has come a long, long way, emotionally speaking. Those of us who cut our teeth listening to her early work — where lyrics were spat out like accusations, and you’d think her guitar was going to come apart in her hands

Taylor Swift “1989” Big Machine With “1989” there is, finally, no doubt about where Taylor Swift’s future lay. The soon-to-be 25-year-old got her start in country but has been slowly phasing those influences out of her music with each successive release, and “1989” is her first full-throated pop album. Swift

Foo Fighters “Sonic Highways” RCA The Foo Fighters are at a point now where they can really mess around and do things on a whim. It’s that feeling of exploration that drives “Sonic Highways,” which is both an album and HBO special documentary. In the words of the iconic Dave

Weezer “Everything Will Be Alright In The End” Republic Rivers Cuomo is the kind of guy who jerks off while standing in front of the mirror. The Weezer front man has a long history of self-referential work, with varying degrees of success. Top of the mountain would be the band’s

Stevie Nicks “24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault” Reprise As the title suggests, “24 Karat Gold” is a bit of a spring-cleaning job from the Fleetwood Mac front woman. Spanning Nicks’ more than four decades of work, the album consists of little-heard ballads, previously unreleased tracks and new takes