Oasis
Dig Out Your Soul (Reprise)
Memo to all rock critics: It is OK to compare Oasis’ sound to the Beatles now. Doesn’t it feel so good to be able to say that and be right, after 15 years of being wrong but saying it anyway? All it took was Ringo’s son playing drums, I guess. And recording at Abbey Road. -Alex Abnos
The Streets
Everything Is Borrowed (679 Recordings)
British rapper Mike Skinner delivers a candy-coated package that genuinely tries to address humanity, the environment and love without being a downer. Instead he approaches these topics as a middle school guidance counselor might, promoting clichés with the support of a chorus that uses motivational posters instead of cue cards. -Colleen Beagen
T-Pain feat. Ludacris
Chopped N Skrewed (video)
For his Ludacris collaboration “Chopped n Skrewed,” T-Pain and directorial team Syndrome revisit the psychedelic circus represented in the video “I Can’t Believe It.” And though Syndrome’s style is more effective for this song than it was in the ballad, it gets a bit tired the second time around. -Philip Burrowes
Alex Bash
The Imbible (St. Martin’s Griffin)
“Every awesome memory I have (or have been reminded of) began with a solid night of drinking games,” says author Alex Bash. Yeah. They say everyone has a story in them, waiting to be told. -Ani Mamourian