With "Home Before Dark," producer Rick Rubin offers further proof his reinvention of the Solitary Man from bombastic showman to stripped-down songwriter is--as it was with Johnny Cash--a satisfying pursuit. Diamond feels freshly confident in his new role as a reborn acoustic troubadour.

Filed in: Pop/Rock

There aren't enough good things to say about the "Punk Goes" series, a flat-out hilarious but weirdly excellent project that sees punk bands cover unlikely music scenes. The "Crunk" set may be the least likely yet. Have you lived until you've heard All Time Low do a power-chord mime of Rihanna?

Filed in: Punk-Pop

From the sounds of "No Matter What," first single off new disc "Paper Trail," the slick T.I. has the gruff T.I.P. on the ropes, but he hasn't quite knocked him out. This tension--full-bodied pop-rap tugged at by hard rhymes--keeps the artist's stuff rich and highly listenable.

Filed in: Dirty South

If you were to create a bionic band that compresses together the dazzling rhythms of B.T. Express, the sexy vocals of Prince, and the electro-funk sensibility of Afrika Bambaataa, you'd wind up with something similar to Plant Life. It's hard to pigeonhole the L.A. band's style, but like predecessors James Brown and Sly Stone, Plant Life has a knack for capturing the true essence of heartfelt soul music.

Filed in: Funk

Pat Noecker's old band, Liars, makes experimental rock too, but it could be bubblegum pop next to These Are Powers' ambitious sonic journeys. TAP's assaults, which display melodies mostly just in passing, maintain a tactile presence and rhythmic drive that keeps them surprisingly immediate.

Filed in: Art-Rock/Experimental