A good single-disc compilation of his Capitol years, covering 1953 to the beginning of the 1960s. His Capitol output was so extensive that it's impossible for a 20-song anthology to give a comprehensive overview even of the highlights. Also, as this focuses on the albums he made with Capitol, some of his biggest hits of the time are omitted, such as "Learnin' the Blues," "Hey! Jealous Lover," and "High Hopes." Still, a lot of the performances much of the public identifies with the singer are here, including "I Get a Kick out of You," "The Lady Is a Tramp," "Witchcraft," "All the Way," "Come Fly With Me," "One for My Baby," "Young at Heart," and "I've Got You Under My Skin."

Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Norah Jones' debut on Blue Note is a mellow, acoustic pop affair with soul and country overtones, immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin. (It's pretty much an open secret that the 22-year-old vocalist and pianist is the daughter of Ravi Shankar.) Jones is not quite a jazz singer, but she is joined by some highly regarded jazz talent: guitarists Adam Levy, Adam Rogers, Tony Scherr, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Breit; drummers Brian Blade, Dan Rieser, and Kenny Wollesen; organist Sam Yahel; accordionist Rob Burger; and violinist Jenny Scheinman. Her regular guitarist and bassist, Jesse Harris and Lee Alexander, respectively, play on every track and also serve as the chief songwriters. Both have a gift for melody, simple yet elegant progressions, and evocative lyrics. (Harris made an intriguing guest appearance on Seamus Blake's Stranger Things Have Happened.) Jones, for her part, wrote the title track and the pretty but slightly restless "Nightingale." She also includes convincing readings of Hank Williams' "Cold Cold Heart," J.D. Loudermilk's "Turn Me On," and Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You." There's a touch of Rickie Lee Jones in Jones' voice, a touch of Bonnie Raitt in the arrangements; her youth and her piano skills could lead one to call her an Alicia Keys for grown-ups. While the mood of this record stagnates after a few songs, it does give a strong indication of Jones' alluring talents.

David R. Adler, Rovi

To Be Loved is the eighth studio album from Canadian crooner Michael Bublé. Featuring a mix of classic covers ("You Make Me Feel So Young," "Have I Told You Lately," "To Love Somebody") and special guest appearances from Reece Witherspoon, Bryan Adams, and the Puppini Sisters, this is a charming return to form for the popular singer and will surely delight his legions of fans. It also includes the original composition "It's a Beautiful Day."

Aneet Nijjar, Rovi

The Definitive Collection devoted to Louis Armstrong takes a reverse chronological view of the pop giant's career, a format that functions surprisingly well considering its intended purpose. Beginning with his last major performance, 1967's "What a Wonderful World," the disc takes listeners on a 75-minute tour that pays closest attention to his pop and vocal landmarks of the '50s and '60s with his All-Stars group, but also reaches back to 1938 to pick up the best moments of his excellent big band. (That leaves, of course, his seminal Hot Five sides out in the cold, to be picked up elsewhere.) Also briefly surveyed are his multi-album collaboration with Ella Fitzgerald, his lush "Louis with strings" albums arranged by Russ Garcia, his hit duet with Bing Crosby on "Gone Fishin'," and the series of songs ("Blueberry Hill," "Mack the Knife") that lengthened his sheet to include not only Jazz Age hero and swing progenitor, but also postwar pop stalwart. Clearly, the career of Louis Armstrong the jazz artist can't be covered thoroughly with anything but a box set that selects material from his entire working life, but as an overview of Louis Armstrong the pop singer, The Definitive Collection is peerless. One caveat: Armstrong's best latter-day pop song, "We Have All the Time in the World" (from the 1969 James Bond vehicle On Her Majesty's Secret Service), is sadly missing in action.

John Bush, Rovi

Finally, a disc that combines Sinatra’s hits for Capitol and his hits for Reprise! Of course, since Capitol is the label releasing Sinatra: Best of the Best, the collection leans heavily on his Capitol sides, but the addition of such ‘60s staples as “It Was a Very Good Year,” “Strangers in the Night,” “Summer Wind,” “That’s Life,” “My Way,” and “Theme from New York, New York” to “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Come Fly with Me,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” and “Fly Me to the Moon” makes this 23-track collection a superb sampling of Frank songs everybody knows by heart. Initial pressings in the fall of 2011 included the then out of print '57 - In Concert, a heavily circulated (and quite good) concert performed with Quincy Jones’ band in Seattle during 1957.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

With 60 tracks spread over three discs, this budget box set actually presents a pretty varied survey of what played on American jukeboxes in the 1950s, with selections ranging from the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill" to the raw, loose power of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," the soulful honk of the instrumental "Raunchy" by Bill Justis, the Kingston Trio's reconstituted folk murder ballad "Tom Dooley," the easy country of Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me," and the wonderful throwback pop of the McGuire Sisters' "Sugartime." That's pretty varied, and there's plenty here, making this a nice, affordable travel package for that trip back in time.

Steve Leggett, Rovi

Clearly intended to appear at the end of Jewel's run on Dancing with the Stars -- a run that was pre-empted due to injury -- Lullaby finds her delivering her first children's album, appropriately appearing on Fisher Price Records. That label and title, along with versions of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "Brahms Lullaby," are the strongest indication that Lullaby is intended for little ones; if it was taken as pure sound, it's almost indistinguishable from Jewel's earliest albums, particularly her crawling, portentous sophomore effort, Spirit. To her credit, Jewel never panders to kids, never creates something sickly sweet or cutesy, she merely delivers a collection of lullabies intended to relax and soothe. She succeeds so well in that regard that none of the individual songs stand out, they all blend together in a sweet, sometimes haughty sigh, something that will ease plenty of children into slumber.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Music Is Better Than Words is a traditional big-band album from Seth MacFarlane, the wise-ass behind "Family Guy". MacFarlane plays it straight throughout Music Is Better Than Words, hiring American Dad composer Joel McNeely to create approximations of Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, and Billy May's arrangements for Frank Sinatra's deathless, mid-century records for Capitol. These classic concept albums are clearly the blueprint for Music Is Better Than Words which was, after all, recorded at Capitol Records' legendary studio with MacFarlane singing into the very same microphone Sinatra used all those years ago, and there is a bit of a concept to this 2011 LP, too, with the cartoonist selecting songs never recorded by any member of the Rat Pack -- along with a couple recent tunes like “She’s Wonderful Too,” which McNeely originally wrote for "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" -- for his tribute to that ring-a-ding-ding swing. MacFarlane and McNeely don’t attempt to ape the pizzazz of Frank’s Reprise years, nor do they spend much time with May’s snazzy snap, they stick with Riddle and Jenkins, keeping things sentimental and lush even when the words crackle with wit.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

International contemporary instrumental (new age) superstar Yiannis Hrysomallis' first album of new studio material since 2003’s Ethnicity finds the self-taught Greek composer returning to his instrumental roots, crafting a 15-track onslaught of blistering calm that will appeal to fans of his mid-'90s heyday. Like Ethnicity, 2011’s Truth of Touch is built on a foundation of international rhythms, but Yanni's understated phrases and keen melodic sense help to keep the project squarely in the accessible zone. Devoid of any epics (the longest track is just over five minutes), Truth of Touch is a largely instrumental (“the operatic “O Luce Che Brilla Nell'oscurità” features a male tenor lead) pop record that deftly weaves in heavily cinematic (the dreamy title cut sounds like an extension of Toto and Brian Eno's “Prophecy Theme” from David Lynch's Dune) vistas laced with smooth jazz and tribal rhythms. It may not break any new ground for the pianist/composer, but it's hardly a step back, resulting in a fine return to form for the king of the Acropolis.

James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Unlike some other MOR pop stars, Barry Manilow never enjoyed the sort of swinging-hipster revival that made him a hot name to drop, ironically or otherwise. Incredibly enough, until the release of Ultimate Manilow in early 2002, there was no comprehensive single-disc hits package on the market -- a shockingly long wait for one of the most popular hitmakers of the '70s, hip or not (and clearly the demand was there; Ultimate Manilow entered the charts at number three). The 20 selections on Ultimate Manilow are arranged in the chronological order in which they became hits, and the emphasis here is on "hits" -- i.e., chart singles. Between 1974 and 1981, Manilow reached the Top 40 20 times, and 18 of those songs are present; the other two (minor early-'80s hits) were bumped by "Bandstand Boogie," Manilow's well-known version of the American Bandstand theme song, and "When October Goes," a track from his 1984 jazz-pop album, 2:00 AM Paradise Café. It's an extremely straightforward approach to a greatest-hits compilation, which is actually something to be commended given Arista's botched Whitney Houston best-of (where they omitted several songs to protect back-catalog sales, although that's not likely a concern with Manilow). So is anything missing? Nothing crucial; the only potential disappointment is for fans who love Manilow's detours into flamboyant, Broadway-style production numbers. The concentration on hits means that several great B-sides in that vein ("New York City Rhythm," "Riders to the Stars," "Beautiful Music," the endearingly awkward "Jump Shout Boogie") are not included. But that's really a small quibble, and there simply wasn't room for them anyhow. Ultimate Manilow lives up to its title by including everything a casual fan would want. The only question is, what took so long?

Steve Huey, Rovi

Running Cadences of the U.S. Armed Forces is a collection of cadences taken from the U.S. military. The album serves as a soundtrack for exercising as well as a document of popular military chants, making it valuable to former members of the service as well as those who can use it for motivation.

Bradley Torreano, Rovi

Most notably featuring a smash hit bilingual version of the Ben E. King standard "Stand by Me," the eponymous album debut by Prince Royce is typical of the urban bachata style that arose in the wake of Aventura. The sensational success of Aventura during the 2000s led to innumerable other urban bachata acts from New York such as Bachata Heightz, a group from the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan that made its album debut a couple months earlier. Fortunately, Prince Royce is one of the more promising urban bachata acts to emerge in some time. Hailing from the Bronx, the photogenic 20-year-old bachatero has an enchanting voice and drops seductive asides throughout his debut album, often switching from Spanish to English when the moment comes to whisper something sexy. Granted, he has a tendency to name-check himself far too often (not just on the lead single either, but on practically every song on the album), but it's easily excusable when the music is as well produced as it is here. Credit Andrés Hidalgo with the crisp production job, which is often spare but adds touches of urban beats here and there. The final ten seconds of album highlight "Corazón Sin Cara" are a perfect example of this. It's not until those final ten seconds that the urban beats kick in after three and a half minutes of more or less typical bachata graced with an elegant string arrangement. The restraint on behalf of Hidalgo is remarkable. After a couple listens to the song, you'll find yourself eagerly awaiting those precious few beats, which fade out almost as soon as they kick in. Of course, the smash hit cover version of "Stand by Me" is also notable. Though it's sung primarily in English, the few times that Royce switches to Spanish are memorable. It's a tasteful, surprisingly straightforward cover version that once again shows great restraint by Hidalgo. While there are other standout songs, "Tu y Yo" in particular, Prince Royce is a short album. If you subtract the superfluous remix of "Stand by Me," there are only nine songs that barely surpass a half-hour's worth of music.

Jason Birchmeier, Rovi