The band’s bluntest and most contagious — yet experimental — work.

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters” sounds as fresh as something that crossed Apple’s fertile mind 10 minutes ago. It may be way early to say it’s the most satisfying album of the year, but if there are any more to come along this good, 2020 is not going to feel like such a waste of time after all.

“Never Will,” is not a letdown. ... It’s McBryde as the driver that makes this the second straight country album of the year contender in a row he’s produced (coming off Brandy Clark’s very different, more stylized effort).

It’s an impeccably crafted, gleefully executed half-hour-plus of pop perfection that does meet the moment, maybe, in just reminding you how good it feels to be human. And to be in love. And to be in Studio 54.

It might seem over the top to say that “Gigaton” is Pearl Jam’s best or most fully realized album since ”Ten.” But to paraphrase “Pal Joey’s” rakish Frank Sinatra talking about a sexual dry spell, “29 years is a long time between drinks.” And “Gigaton” is one stiff, glorious weird and zealously melodic cocktail.

Extraordinary . ... A defining work from an exciting new star … even if it’s landing in a world very different from the one in which it was created.

Adam Lambert has made “Velvet” a testament to finding his way, personally and professionally, in what is his most accomplished solo work to date.

“A Written Testimony” offers ample proof that none of us ever overestimated his talent, but the man behind the curtain remains as mysterious as ever. It’s nice to see that some things haven’t changed.

The Weeknd’s music has always been about contrasts, and here the beauty and the madness are more smoothly integrated than ever. “After Hours” is one of the most successful musicians of the past decade testing the balance between innovation and commerciality as much as anyone today.

Her producer, Joyce, who’s famous for working with Eric Church, knows something about country music outsiders, and together they’ve made a collection that never tries to squeeze into any radio-friendly box, all the better to be a fit and a find for life’s own jukebox, as cultivated listeners happen across it. Here’s a quarter: Brandy Clark definitely cares.

On “Suga,” Megan Thee Stallion is mixing the cold hard steel of hip-hop power, with the teasing romanticism of mod R&B — and it looks great on her.

Throughout, the EP is marked by Letissier’s vocal and songwriting cool — even when the tempos are faster and the energy level is high, there’s a certain effortless ease to her singing and the music.

“The Slow Rush” is arguably Parker’s most fully realized and satisfying effort to date.

Taut and primal, “MOTS: 7” is a kind of self-referential homage. ... Each get solo turns to shine here, their collective work is what stands out.

Her ultra-high, almost kewpie-doll-like voice — which sounds autotuned even when it’s not — and previous tendency toward cheerleaderesque hooks wore thin quickly and threatened to become creative dead ends. Here, she’s found ways to reshape and reinvent them — and in the process, open up a whole new realm for herself as an artist.

With a really good — even at times great — album, Ozzy Osbourne shows off, at the very least, that he’ll never be ordinary.

His voice and the production are flawless, and his soul is in the right place — but there’s something airless about the album, too, like he could have left the window open a crack to let some sunshine in. For a Valentine’s Day album about love in bloom, it sounds surprisingly serious and dark, with a one-track-mind.

The effort feels more like a sidestep than a leap forward.

There are many fine songs on “Never Not Together.” ... But The Moment doesn’t come until track six, and it’s a doozy: Halfway through an oddly nursery-rhyme-like song that opens with children singing, the band eases into a majestic chord progression that suddenly erupts into a massive, glorious chorus that they’re smart enough to ride for the next three minutes, milking it with a guitar solo and an unusual B-section before ending on an inconclusive chord, as if pausing before going on forever. With more Moments like that, we’ll be writing about Nada Surf for another 24 years.

If “Rainbow,” then, was the tremulous tone of Kesha in a funky fugue state, her newly released “High Road” is the sound of reclamation and abandon, of finding her form and shedding old skin, of locating exactly where the party’s at in 2020, then tearing apart the dance floor with a pick axe and a tough, glam-pop-hop roar. With that, Kesha not only claims independence and free-forward motion, but shows, again, that she sounds like no other female on the pop charts.

Solo debuts with this much expectation are incredible challenges. While “Walls” isn’t a craven ripoff or an attempt to recapture One Direction highs, it’s not yet clear exactly who Tomlinson is without them.

Without overstating the point, the innovation that’s happening in today’s rock music is not coming from traditional rock bands — it’s coming from innovative artists that are fusing it with other sounds, ranging from Soundcloud rappers to electronic-inspired outfits like Guerilla Toss to post-metal acts like Deafheaven. In that context, it’s perhaps no surprise that fresh rock sounds are coming from a nominee for 2018’s Best Dance Album Grammy.

While his talent for head-spinning flow and cutting barbs is still very much in effect, the album is a passable but ultimately forgettable meandering through popular hip-hop sounds of today.

What this tight team does is turn “Circles” into an intimate daytime affair — a micro-boogie wonderland — as opposed to the midnight pool party of “Swimming.”

It’s hard to think of a more dramatic example of how far Gomez has come musically in nearly five years: “Rare” is one of the best pop albums to be released in recent memory, and — as it does for artists ranging from Robyn and Charli XCX to Max Martin’s more adventurous productions — it feels like that term does a discredit to this sophisticated, precisely written and expertly produced music.

So many things caught up with him so tragically after a life he made such a mess of, you couldn’t help but be curious what would come next. For now, “Bad Vibes Forever” is a pretty decent answer to that question.

If he’s not necessarily ready to play the hero in a relationship yet, he’s certainly coming off as one of the good guys in how he’s defying blockbuster expectations by following his muse back into the classic rock era and casually claiming it as his own.

Ultimately, a few things come from repeated listenings of “LP1″: First off, the writing and singing aren’t strong enough and come across as C-level Timberlake material. Two, without being surrounded by 1D, he shouldn’t sing high, flightily and airily, but rather stick to slow, low groovers. Three, Payno should find one or two styles that work best for him — and not put a host of other singers before him, male or female — and stick to them.