Mos Def

With beats from Stones Throw heavyweights Oh No and Madlib, The Neptunes' Chad Hugo, J Dilla, and Ed Banger producer Mr. Flash, The Ecstatic could have come out to rave reviews without any lyrics at all. But add in Mos Def, one of the most revered rappers of the last 20 years, and you've got a future classic of hip hop. Spin calls Mos "among our greatest MCs... The Ecstatic is easily his finest full-length since Black On Both Sides."

For fans of: Black Star + Common + Lupe Fiasco

The Builders and the Butchers

Labelmates with The Walkmen and Harlem Shakes, Portland's The Builders and The Butchers play raggedy, joyous music that paints pictures of Savannah voodoo, God and the Devil, and street-corner busking. RCRD LBL says they're "infamous for riotous live musical performances- the kind that explodes sweaty southern roots gospel music throughout the room until everyone feels warm, gooey and swampy inside." Start with the free track "Barcelona"!

For fans of: The Felice Brothers + The Mountain Goats + Arcade Fire

The Legends

Johan Angergård is the head of unstoppable Swedish label Labrador, and masterminds the bizarrely awesome fuzz-twee of The Legends. Like Pet Shop Boys played through heavy distortion, Over and Over strikes a delicate balance between breezy synth-pop and screeching noise; Angergård describes the single "Always The Same" as "a song about summer loathing... The sun shines, the people are happy, and you just feel that there's nowhere to hide." For real, give this one a try.

For fans of: Pet Shop Boys + Liars + Talk Talk

Samandtheplants

Lancashire freak-folk outfit Samandtheplants bring you a flighty, ethereal collection of 21 short songs for this debut album, out on eclectic British label B-Music. Like rummaging through an antique store hidden in the woods, The Eft is full of small surprises and oddities, and rewards a persistent curiosity. Mercury Prize-winning musician Badly Drawn Boy said "Samandtheplants' music is from an entirely different planet, but fits nicely in my world, as music I admire and love."

For fans of: Kevin Ayers + The Beatles + Elliott Smith

Spinal Tap

England's loudest band is Back From The Dead with their first album in two decades! Featuring studio recordings of "Hell Hole" and "Big Bottom" (from the 1984 classic This Is Spinal Tap), a reggae rendition of "(Listen To The) Flower People," and guests like Def Leppard's Phil Collen, John Mayer, Steve Vai, and Keith Emerson, this album will make you surrender to the majesty of rock.

For fans of: Twisted Sister + Judas Priest + Van Halen

Jill Hennessy

Canadian actress Jill Hennessy (best known for her starring roles on Crossing Jordan and Law and Order) has released her debut album, a collection of original songs written over what she called a "cathartic" creative period of two years. Ghost In My Head was produced by Grammy-winning Irish producer Patrick McCarthy (R.E.M., U2, Counting Crows), and she's joined on the album by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills and the Dixie Chicks' Martie Maguire. Start with the free track "4 Small Hands"!

For fans of: Melissa Etheridge + Stevie Nicks + Claire Kincaid

Elusive Parallelograms

The debut from Milwaukee's Elusive Parallelograms is pretty frickin' hard. Put on the third track, "Orange," and you'll get visions of the early Manchester punk scene: on one side of a bar, kids bopping and dancing and throwing their hair around, and on the other, people plugging their ears and throwing bottles. Lead singer Andrew Foys has got a great "Aaow!!" howl, and the rest of the band makes dense, richly melodic rock; Express Milwaukee calls them "incredibly fun."

For fans of: The Stone Roses + Television + The Stooges

Larry McDonald

Larry Mcdonald has long played percussion for musicians like Gil Scott-Heron, Manu Dibango, Taj Mahal, Peter Tosh, and Bob Marley, and amazingly this is only his first solo album. After a long career in Jamaican music, Mcdonald started the group Dub Is A Weapon in NYC to experiment with all sorts of global percussion; Drumquestra reflects his cosmopolitan approach, with influences from Africa, Brazil, and Cuba and a variety of dancehall, rasta, and jazz vocalists.

For fans of: Bob Marley + Peter Tosh + Lee "Scratch" Perry