The Fireman
Electric Arguments
ATO

Paul McCartney returns to his Fireman pseudonym for a third time but Electric Arguments is different than his previous two collaborations with Youth -- this is a full-fledged pop vocal album, but a pop album that retains an experimental edge, so this feels like a McCartney III, a messy pop album that takes some odd electronic detours but is more compelling because of its loose ends.

Guns N' Roses
Chinese Democracy
Geffen

It's finally here: after a long, long wait -- 17 years if counting from the last collection of original Guns N' Roses material, 14 if counting from the beginning of the recording -- Axl Rose has released Chinese Democracy. Surprisingly, the album isn't too surprising, not offering a reinvention of Guns N' Roses but rather an extension of the epics of Use Your Illusions, punctuated by a few spiteful rockers, but all of it takes some time to decode, as the album's lengthy gestation means that there's no easy way into the album.

The Killers
Day & Age
Island

For their third album Day and Age, the Killers scale back the Americana pretentions of Sam's Town and return to the slick new wave revival of Hot Fuss -- but they've widened their canvas and brightened their palette, and the extra color helps turn Day and Age into their most satisfying album yet.

Scott Weiland
Happy in Galoshes
Soft Drive

Scott Weiland's first solo album in 10 years is a virtual remake of his 1998 debut 12 Bar Blues, right down to how he balances glam-pop romps with Tom Waitsian stomps. Happy in Galoshes can be a little self-conscious and untidy, but it's best moments -- such as the terrific barbed Elvis Costello-ish pop of "Blind Confusion" - are reminders of Weiland's pop gifts, a talent that was submerged during his time in Velvet Revolver.

Kanye West
808s & Heartbreak
Roc-A-Fella

In various spots across 808s & Heartbreak, the constant flutter of West's processed singing voice, along with a seldom interrupted sluggish march of aching sounds, is enlivened by the disarming manner in which despair and dejection are conveyed. But no matter its occasional grip or commendable fearlessness, the album is a listless, bleary trudge along West's permafrost.