Ryan Adams/The Cardinals
Cardinology
Lost Highway

Cardinology is a companion to last year's Easy Tiger, a low-key record that finds a sober Ryan Adams hunkering down and focusing on his craft. Song for song, this is one of his strongest efforts but the album is also a testament to the strength of the Cardinals, who once again prove themselves on this album to be an enormously empathetic support group for Adams.

The Cure
4:13 Dream
Geffen

Robert Smith swings the Cure's pendulum back to the pop side of things on 4.13 Dream, an album that feels lighter and poppier than anything the band has done since Wish -- but that feel is a bit misleading as the album has no songs as catchy or memorable as "Friday I'm In Love"

Deerhunter
Microcastle
Kranky

On Microcastle, Deerhunter trades the narcotic drones and fragmented art-punk of Cryptograms for the trippy innocence of '60s psych pop and crisp new wave influences, resulting in some of their most immediate songs yet. By adding just a little more polish to their sound -- this album was recorded in a week as opposed to the two days it too to lay down Cryptograms -- Deerhunter proves that they can make music that sounds very different from what they've done before, yet still fits with their overall body of work.

Eagles of Death Metal
Heart On
Universal

Half addictive rockers and half hungover introspection -- including the Eagles of Death Metal's first real live ballad -- Heart On is another big step forward for Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. While the album still has plenty of the in-your-face, non-stop riffs that powered their first two albums, Heart On finds the duo taking their music just seriously enough to open it up to more sounds and possibilities.

Kaiser Chiefs
Off with Their Heads
B-Unique/Universal Motown

After Yours Truly, Angry Mob, the Kaiser Chiefs seemed to have traded the ambitious spark of their debut Employment for workmanlike consistency. However, it's a brand new day for the band on Off With Their Heads, which features production by sound-shaper of the moment Mark Ronson. Ronson brings out the band's lyrical and musical wit, putting tart commentaries on education and conformity to whip-smart, dance-tinged guitar pop that recalls everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Klaxons to XTC without feeling derivative. Not only is Off With Their Heads a welcome comeback, it fulfills all the promise Kaiser Chiefs held at the beginning of their career and then some.

Pink
Funhouse
LaFace

Part of a long line of divorce albums that stretches back to Blood on the Tracks, Funhouse showcases a newly liberated Pink strutting like a rock star after her separation from her husband. Although she spends a fair amount of time easing into ballads, the record really clicks only when she shrugs off a pretense of mourning and decides to cut loose.

Snow Patrol
A Hundred Million Suns
Geffen/Fiction

A Hundred Million Suns is Snow Patrol’s ultimate bid for stardom, a record that ratchets up the pop/rock uplift of Eyes Open for melodic, marketable effect. There are no saccharine numbers like “Chasing Cars” here; instead, Gary Lightbody trains his eye on smarter ballads and anthems, from the icy “Lifeboats” to the U2-influenced “Please Take These Photos From My Hands.” This sort of righteous, open-armed rock & roll isn’t for everyone -- but for those who are already Snow Patrol fans, A Hundred Million Suns is the band’s best work to date.