"THE INFORMATION" BY BECK; INTERSCOPE

You never know what you're going to get with Beck, and the good news about "The Information" is you get a little of everything.

Like 1998's "Mutations" and 2002's "Sea Change," the aging wunderkind's follow-up to last year's "Guero" was produced by Radiohead helmsman Nigel Godrich.

But while in the past a Godrich collaboration meant that Beck was in the mood to mellow down easy, here he creates a shimmery head trip of a record that shows off all his multifarious moves.

The bass-heavy "Dark Star" boasts an ingenious string arrangement by Beck's father, David Campbell. The atmospheric "We Dance Alone" finds him rapping more credibly than ever. "Strange Apparition" revisits his Beggar's Banquet-era Stones jones most effectively. And the strummy "No Complaints" notes how hard it is to make sense of the postmodern cultural landscape Beck is most comfortable in.

Give "The Information" points for being multimedia and interactive: It comes with a blank CD cover and stickers to create your own album art, and a bonus DVD disc with a video to accompany every song.

—Dan DeLuca

"SUPPLY AND DEMAND" BY AMOS LEE; BLUE NOTE

Amos Lee has been on the road a lot the past few years, including stints opening for John Prine, Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan. His compact, well-constructed songs, slightly Southern drawl, and a sensitive delivery that balances jazzy crooning with blue-eyed soul work within classic archetypes.

"Supply and Demand," his second album for Blue Note (the label of his female doppelganger and friend Norah Jones), is reassuringly familiar without sounding overly derivative. It blends easy-rolling ballads (the title track) and lighthearted swing ("Sweet Pea") with the occasional preachy folk song ("Freedom") and extroverted pop tune ("Shout Out Loud").

But with so many midtempo acoustic songs, "S&D" could use that one standout track to snap the rest into focus.

— Steve Klinge

"RELEASE THERAPY" BY LUDACRIS; DEF JAM

We know Ludacris acted in "Crash," but the way the Dirty South drawling, party ballin' rapper has changed his tune, you'd think he'd written the film.

Luda didn't totally give up the red-light fare he's famed for. His "Therapy" material finds the bawdy clown in full funky flower in the can-rattling strip club anthem "Money Maker," with Pharrell, and the dopey romancer "Woozy," costarring R. Kelly. Nobody mistakes "Girls Gone Wild" for stoic.

But if stark Release moments like an Oz-worthy "Do Your Time" (with once-incarcerated Beanie Sigel) aren't weirdly sullen for Luda, check "War with God." Angrier than ever atop a liquid bebop riff, Luda not only disses rap bucks looking to step on him (not by name, but you get the drift), he also wears his no-arrest record with shocking pride.

— A.D. Amorosi