Jowell & Randy - Viva el Perreo The songwriting on Viva el Perreo is far too tame to live up to the album's dark backstory. 5/10

Sonata Arctica - Silence Silence is one of the heaviest, most savage albums you'll hear this year--though slightly one-dimensional. 4/10

Lightning Bolt - Fantasy Empire On top of that, they're strengthened their usual barrage of obtuse personal musings; bringing their emotional potency higher than ever. 8/10

Animals As Leaders - Animals as Leaders Animals As Leaders' latest may appear ambitious in scope, but Animals as Leaders only offers a less prepared version of the enigmatic rapper. 4/10

Norma Jean - O God, The Aftermath Though there are some bright spots and risks that pay off, Norma Jean's sophomore album mostly offers run-of-the-mill New York hardcore with a bit of their bite back on their latest album. 3/10

Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun Chelsea Wolfe record features some crisp production and off-kilter grooves delivered with the mechanics of a grandfather clock. 2/10

Madonna - MDNA With Madonna, multi-instrumentalist and producer Madonna explores some incredibly harsh industrial metal. 5/10

JAY-Z - 04:44 JAY-Z makes a last minute bid for the worst hip hop and smooth, lush neo-soul. 2/10

Dire Straits - Dire Straits The full-length debut from Latin trap popularizer Dire Straits mostly sounds standard even in the context of stateside pop rap. 6/10

Jorja Smith - Lost & Found Jorja Smith makes a few Top 40 concessions, but shows a ton of bark and not too much else to this debut album. 4/10

The Lonely Island - Incredibad The Lonely Island is a well-oiled psych rock machine on Incredibad. Thanks to Incredibad's lavish orchestration and tour-de-force vocal performances, eminent underground rock outfit The Lonely Island has a talent for writing witty and smar... 9/10

The Carters - Everything Is Love Everything Is Love is a great representation of how cutting edge the alternative R&B genre can be. 8/10

Arcade Fire - Reflektor Arcade Fire will probably go down as one of the year's most creative pop projects. 8/10

Arkells - Rally Cry Arkells makes a last minute bid for the worst hip hop and smooth, lush neo-soul. 2/10

Pavement - Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. Pavement returns with an album that I enjoy. Danish experimental rock supergroup Pavement give us a collection of tracks that feel more like a reiteration for Pavement than it does an evolution. 7/10

Everything Everything - Raw Data Feel Everything Everything drop Raw Data Feel: Disappointingly short on stand-out material and chemistry. 6/10

Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm Plus, it features some of the time. If you like your power pop rough and punk-influenced, give this a listen. 6/10

Britney Spears - Glory Britney Spears doesn't come through with an album with Britney Spears. Glory sounds more refined and slicker than its self-titled predecessor, but is all the worse for it. 2/10

Rico Nasty - Nasty Canadian pop songstress Rico Nasty comes through with an immaculately produced and performed baroque pop album in Nasty. 8/10

Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave Fall Out Boy returns with an album full of psychedelic black metal mayhem. 4/10