DISCLAIMER: A member of this band is a good friend of mine.

The quality of this album is top notch for indie rock. Bordering on indie pop, the diversity of the music instrumentation makes this worth a listen to by itself. Once you add in the quality lyrics, you have something that is worth paying attention to. My only dislike from the album is that the vocals drift a little close to the Goo Goo Dolls for my liking on some tracks. That being said, for a first album, this shows quite a bit of promise.

The latest from Phoenix (apparently a French super group) is one of the better albums of the year and also happens to be a great summer album. Tons of fun, while also having a lot of quality as well, this is one of those albums that you can listen to on repeat while driving around with the windows down. My only complaint is that it is a bit short.

Really, did you think anything else would work today? 7 #1 hits, best selling album of all time and one of the best pop albums ever. I was not a superfan, and his life got super weird, but he was extremely talented and pushed music forward with it. His talent will be missed.

Continuing with amazing albums this year, the new Grizzy Bear album falls right in line. Another amazing orchestration of music with wonderful lyrics, this album will have you interested the first time you listen to it. The sample song below is one of the better songs on the album, so if you like it, you are likely to love the rest of the album.

I inquired through Twitter and Facebook about getting into jazz. While I was met with some sass, I did get some helpful suggestions, one of which was this classic. Of the suggestions, this is the first that really spoke to me, so I figured I would give some props to Mr. Wilson for the recommendation and say that it is fantastic. It is also good timing, as it is at it's 50 year anniversary, which includes a nice write up from NPR about the album.