Album

Unlikely as he is—a white, upper-class rapper who positively revels in his Ivy Leaguery—Paul Barman offers a surprisingly fresh take on hip hop clichés. The absurd sexscapade "Cock Mobster" balances graphic detail with literary conceit ("I think of the pube I got while reading the Rubaiyat"), owing more to Woody Allen than standard rap bravado. But attempts at gravitas ("Anarchist Bookstore", "Talking Time Travel") resonate with all the panache of a student union debate.

North Mississippi blues by unknown, ageing modern masters

Chronological 73-track, four-CD anthology of avant-MOR avatars

Four-CD, 83-track box with 36-page booklet tries to summarise soul music

Lightly jazzy English pop spread thinly

Vinyl-only mini LP of stripped-down delights from Virginian chanteuse

Double CD follow-up to last year's mainstream rap classic proves that bigger is rarely better

Hard-country survivor soldiers on with his 12th studio album

Ultra-hip German label gets birthday cake and bunting treatment

Twenty-two tracks from Dylan's legendary Rolling Thunder tour finally see official release