(FORTUNE Magazine) – Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head Capitol Just when rock was verging on brain death, along comes A Rush of Blood to the Head--which lives up to its title. Grandiose, ambitious, and utterly addictive, it's also the kind of soulful masterpiece that should make U2 squirm. Is it too early to toss around superlatives like Best Record of the Year?

Frank Black and the Catholics Devil's Workshop Spin Art The former Pixies frontman is trotting out two CDs at once (the other is Black Letter Days). We prefer this one for the way Black's acoustic guitar chugs like a runaway train, and because his old bandmate Joey Santiago pops up to trade a few serpentine licks--reminding us how damn much we miss the Pixies.

Pulp We Love Life Sanctuary Pulp has always been a bit tough to fully get behind. While its riff-heavy fashion-plate rock soars with the sweetness and light of a good tiramisu, singer Jarvis Cocker has come off a little too arch. But on the lush, soaring We Love Life he sounds as sincere as someone wearing a lie detector in the studio.

The Sugarman Three & Co. Pure Cane Sugar Daptone Wouldn't it be sweet to see a Boogaloo revival? Sweating as if they have stock options in that nostalgia craze--should it come to fruition--the Sugarman Three may be the only outfit with chops greasy enough to back up song titles like "Funky So-and-So" and "Honey Wagon."

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs Touch & Go With Times Square as family-friendly as Knott's Berry Farm, New York acts like the Strokes and this word-of-mouth sensation seem hellbent on resurrecting the city's punk chaos of yore. Raw, sloppy, and sordid in all the right ways, the Yeahs' mini-album packs a lifetime of debauchery into 15 minutes. Here's a hearty thanks.