The Best Albums of Recent Memory

The White Stripes - Icky Thump
The Stripes' sixth studio album has a far more accessible sound than the Stripes have ever indulged in. Built road-ready for dynamite live performance, make sure you check out the title track as well as Martyr for My Love, Catch Hell Blues, and Bone Broke.






The Roots - Game Theory
Always politicized and never marginalized, the Roots make one of their funkiest albums yet. ?uestlove is in funkalicious form on such tracks as It Don't Feel Right and Blackthought makes some of his most direct accusations in False Media and It's In The Music.







Beck - The Information
Accurately described as "the best best-of album until Beck puts out his Greatest Hits." A blend between the funked-out hillbilly country techno styles of Odelay and Guero, and the sprawling, melodic soundscapes of Sea Change and Mutations. If you don't know Beck at all, this is probably the best place to start.





Thom Yorke - Eraser
It's been over two years since Radiohead's Hail to the Thief was released. That's a long time to wait for another go-around of the tripped-out complexity that only Radiohead has been able to offer. Lead singer Yorke attempts to bide the time with this 2006 solo release. All of the tunes are penned by Yorke himself, and while they are haunting and compelling, the instrumental make-up lacks the same energy and genius that the rest of Radiohead used to support Thom's ethereal vocals.



The Black Keys - Magic Potion
The fourth full-length album by the Akron duo does little to change the status quo. Much is often said about a musician's need to search and explore new styles and voices. The Keys are content to stick with the back-door greasy garage-floor style of blues/rock that has carried them thus far. The playing in this album is more restrained, more reserved, as though Dan and Pat have grown out of their youthful flailing instrumental solos. Only one trip to see them perform live will tell you this is hardly the case.