While Hoody doesn't necessarily sell me on her rein as Korea's R&B queen, D-Day is a lovely album that highlights her vocal nuances.

In the same breath of Bjork, Lotic pours Water onto the world, crashing and crying life in woman-soaked hues.

James Larter's Polarity is a mystifying piece of music that takes me back to a place I haven't been in a long time.

Kindred the Family Soul returns with one of the more soul-soothing albums I've listened to in Auntie & Unc.

Nitin Sawhney's Immigrants is a stunning, unrelentingly beautiful piece of music in a time of deep ugliness.

JoJo has uncoiled the barbed-wire around her soul to deliver the gorgeous trying not to think about.

Despite opening on something truly magical, Kimperi's 1+1+1=1 is an album that lacks direction or cohesion.

Vocal prodigy Jazmine Sullivan fights through her pain and transforms it into triumph with Heaux Tales.

Kim Oki is a rare artist who truly embodies the raw freneticism of free jazz and executes it beautifully with About Prejudice.

With Ledisi Sings Nina, the artist offers an inspired homage to one of the most important musical figures in history.

With his debut album, MONTERO, Lil Nas X proves that away from the spectacle he is an emotive, introspective artist.

Despite Kanye West's need to self-congratulate, Donda is at times hauntingly beautiful, showcasing his surprising (if sparing) humility.

Despite being a decent album, Taylor Swift's evermore just doesn't leave a lasting impression on me.

After listening to about half of Doja Cat's Planet Her, I'm left wondering what's the hype behind this again?

Hoo-boy! It's been a long time since I've physically turned off an album before it reached the end.

Tony Bennett gets Lady Gaga to temper her ostentatious stage personality to bring some warm jazz with Love For Sale.

The best way to describe H.E.R.'s Back Of My Mind is "human." Unapologetically and openly human.

Olivia Rodrigo's Sour, while earnest in its teen angst, doesn't resonate with me as it will with a much younger, less experienced audience.

Jon Batiste's Grammy-nominated We Are is a pretty soul album with all the polish but very little of the grit.

With Sankofa, Stokely moves the genre forward by reaching back to retrieve music that's in danger of being left behind.