Like a spunkier, wittier Kylie Minogue, should-be-superstar Annie had her fab debut, Anniemal, downloaded by all the online movers ‘n’ shakers, but that mighty blog love never translated into actual album sales.

The maddening irony of reviewing a watermarked disk of What Will We Be is that it forces the writer to hunt down her quaint, much neglected boombox—a gesture that implicitly bears a Devendra Banhart stamp of approval.

Brassy, tacky, flashy, and sassy, Dolly Parton is so notorious for her eye-popping assets, acting career, and amusement-park entrepreneurship that we sometimes forget the reason she’s a star in the first place: her voice—a clear and shining instrument that can bring you to tears or drag you out of a funk with just a few bars.

Discerning fans of subdued, synthy Swedepop will be hard-pressed not to fall head over heels for El Perro Del Mar’s latest release.

Reissues can be a little ho-hum, but this 1976 collab between electronic-music pioneer Brian Eno and kraut-rock darlings Harmonia (a side project of NEU!’s Michael Rother) is worth the attention.