2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress is considered by many to be Belle & Sebastian at their best. With a tune featured in everyone's favorite film Juno and a wealth of other indie pop gems, this is one to add to your collection if you haven't already.

The Format, a five-piece from Phoenix, Arizona, breaks the mold when it comes to power pop successes. Unfazed after being dropped by Atlantic in 2005, the guys self-released their second album Dog Problems to wide critical acclaim.

Insatiable good looks, good lines and good lungs are some of Karla Margallo's most obvious qualities, but it's the fact that she handled all writing and production duties on her debut album that sets this pop singer-songwriter apart from the pack.

On their fifth album, Sigur Rós have descended from the clouds, offering more concise songs, a joyously tribal first single, and even a few lyrics in English (!). Find the superb new album in this week's featured six!

Blending creative cynicism with uninhibited idiosyncrasies, the alt-pop pair that constitutes The Blow has made a dance party out of a dream world in their second act together.

To celebrate the release of Before The Amplifiers, Sister Hazel's new live, acoustic album, we exchanged a few questions with their guitarist Ryan Newell. Find out which member always plays barefoot, what's their favorite HBO show, and how they all choose to give back after the jump!

Emilíana Torrini's 2005 album The Fisherman's Woman is a fragile, sighing answer to her earlier pop work (writing singles for Kylie Minogue and singing over the end credits of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers). Find our full writeup and selected tracks after the break!

Polish singer/songwriter Agnes Milewski has been performing her songs to enraptured audiences in Austria for quite a while now, so it was to an already enthusiastic and supportive fan base that she released Pretty Boys and Ugly Girls last year. On this wonderful debut album, her voice and soft instrumentation leave nothing to be desired.