Alice Cooper
Along Came a Spider
Steamhammer

Like School’s Out and From the Inside, Alice Cooper’s Along Came a Spider is a concept album. This time the central character is a spider-obsessed serial killer who has been beaten down by society and now lives by the arachnid code of “"You trap, you kill, you eat." Slash and Kiss’ Eric Singer guest but longtime fans will be most excited to hear that the evil child “Steven” from Cooper’s 1975 album Welcome To My Nightmare is back and still breaking all his toys.

Steve Cropper/Felix Cavaliere
Nudge It Up a Notch
Stax

A collaborative effort by Booker T. & the MG's/Blues Brothers guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper and former Rascals organist, songwriter, and frontman Felix Cavaliere, Nudge It Up a Notch is a vital and astonishingly creative album that offers plenty of proof that soul music is very much alive in the 21st Century.

Rick Springfield
Venus in Overdrive
New Door

On Venus in Overdrive, Rick Springfield returns to the power pop of Working Class Dog -- at least in parts, most notably the single "What's Victoria's Secret." These big hooks are balanced by some Beatlesque psychedelia and spiritualy searching ballads that aren't too far removed from such latter-day Springfield records as Karma. This blend makes Venus in Overdrive Rick Springfield's most satisfying record in a long time.

Sugarland
Love on the Inside
Mercury Nashville

Sugarland's creative duo of Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles took over the production duties on the band's third album. That, combined with songs that are entire levels above anything they've written, makes Love on the Inside a confident and sophisticated album.