And Then There Were None, Who Speaks for Planet Earth? (Tooth & Nail)
Black Lips, 200 Million Thousand (Vice)
Joe Bonamassa, The Ballad of John Henry (Premier Artists)
The Bran Flakes, I Have Hands (Illegal Art)
J.J. Cale, Roll On (Rounder)
Company of Thieves, Ordinary Riches (Wind-up)
Chris Isaak, Mr. Lucky (Reprise Records)
K'Naan, Troubadour (A&M/Octone)
Lamb of God, Wrath (Epic/Sony)
Van Morrison, Astral Weeks Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Various Artists, War Child presents Heroes (Astralwerks)
Steve Wilson, Insurgents (Kscope)
Xiu Xiu, You Can't Hear Me (DVD)
This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2009.