CDs:

Avant – The Letter CD (Verve Forecast)
Avant’s first studio album since 2008 is a collection of ballads and mid-tempo tracks.

David Banner & 9th Wonder – Death Of A Pop Star CD (b.i.G.f.a.c.e.)
Collaboration between rapper David Banner and hip-hop producer 9th Wonder.

Brand Nubian – Enter The Dubstep Vol. 2 CD (Ihip-hop)
Follow-up to 2009’s Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture: Enter The Dubstep Vol. 1.

Keshyia Cole – Calling All Hearts CD (Geffen)
New album features guest performances by Nicki Minaj, Tank, Faith Evans, Timbaland, and Dr. Yvonne Cole. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions. Deluxe adds three bonus tracks.

Jamie Foxx – Best Night Of My Life CD (J-Records)
New album from the actor and R&B/soul star. Includes “Living Better Now” (featuring Rick Ross) and “Fall For Your Type” (featuring Drake).

Ghostface Killah – Apollo Kids CD (Def Jam)
New album featuring guest appearances by Busta Rhymes, Black Thought, Joell Ortiz, Jim Jones and The Game.

Keri Hilson – No Boys Allowed CD (Interscope)
New album features appearances by Kanye West, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, J-Cole and additional musical contributions by Timbaland, Polow Da Don, Danja, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Boi-1da, Stargate, Jerry Wonder and Chuck Harmony.

Vinyl:

June Carter Cash – Press On LP (Dualtone)
Cash’s 1999 album — available on vinyl for the first time.

Loreena McKennitt – The Wind That Shakes The Barley LP (Verve)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. With her refined harpestry, angelic voice, and melodious compositions, Loreena McKennitt infuses Celtic and New Age sounds with a mix of influences as diverse as Moroccan, Greek, Turkish, Indian, Native American, and Italian.

Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday 2xLP (Universal)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. Debut album features Eminem, Drake, Will.i.am and Kanye West.

Jonathan Richman – O Moon Queen Of Night On Earth LP (Vapor)
Recently released on CD — now available on vinyl. New album featuring guest appearances by Olöf Arnalds, Nicole Montalbano, Roger Montalbano, Kelly Houston, and Ted Saverese.

Ride – Nowhere LP (Rhino/WB)
HQ-180 vinyl reissue of Ride’s 1990 album. Ride was an essential element of the wall-of-sound, trippy, melodic shoe-gazing movement of the early ’90s.

Tom Waits – Closing Time [Reissue] LP (Elektra)
Tom Waits – Heart Of Saturday Night [Reissue] LP (Elektra)
Tom Waits – Nighthawks At The Diner [Reissue] LP (Elektra)
Tom Waits – Small Change [Reissue] LP (Elektra)
HQ-180 vinyl reissues of Tom Waits’ first four albums, originally released between 1973 and 1976.

CDs:

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – III/IV 2xCD/2xLP+MP3 (Pax Am)
Sprawling concept rock opera about the ‘80s, ninjas, cigarettes, sex, and pizza, culled from the voluminous Easy Tiger sessions recorded at Electric Ladyland Studio in NYC over six months in 2007. Also available on clear double vinyl.

Birthmark – Shaking Hands CD (Hidden Agenda)
Nate Kinsella (Joan Of Arc, Make Believe) brings his multi-instrumentalist skills to bear on the electro/acoustic Shaking Hands.

Crystal Bowersox – Farmer’s Daughter CD (Jive)
The 2010 American Idol runner-up’s debut album includes “Holy Toledo,” a song she performed on the show.

Ciara – Basic Instinct CD (Le Face)
Filled with infectious rhythms, girl anthems, club bangers, and sexy baselines made for riding in your jeep.

The Damned Things – Ironiclast CD (Mercury)
New group featuring members of members, Anthrax (Scott Ian, Rob Caggiano), Every Time I Die (Keith Buckley) and Fall Out Boy (Joe Trohman, Andy Hurley).

Diddy-Dirty Money – Last Train To Paris CD/2xCD (Bad Boy)
Sean “Puffy” Combs’ new group Diddy-Dirty Money. Guests include Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Trey Songz, Grace Jones, Swizz Beatz, Usher, Chris Brown, T.I., Drake and others. Available in Regular and Deluxe editions.

Michael Jackson – Michael CD (Epic)
The much anticipated posthumous album of newly completed recordings from Michael Jackson.

R. Kelly – Love Letter CD (Jive)
New album from the R&B superstar stylistically pays tribute to legends such as Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye.

Sheek Louch – Donnie G: Don Gorilla CD (Def Jam)
New York rapper Sheek Louch best known for his roles as D-Block entrepreneur and founding member of hip-hop super trio The L.O.X.

Tank – Now Or Never CD (Atlantic)
New album from the uber smoove R&B singer.

DVDs + Blu-ray:

Phish – Alpine Valley 2010 2xCD+2xDVD (Jemp)
The first DVD box set from Phish’s 2010 tour: Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin, August 14, 2010.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra – It’s Gonna Rock ‘Cause That’s What I Do Blu-Ray (Surf Dog)
On June 25th, 2010 The Brian Setzer Orchestra headlined the opening of the 2010 Montreal Jazz Festival. This is the entire 1 hour 40 minute set.

Vinyl:

OFF! – First Four Years 4×7” (Vice)
L.A.-based OFF! features Keith Morris (Black Flag/Circle Jerks), Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), Steven McDonald (Redd Kross), and Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless/Hot Snakes/Rocket From The Crypt).

Van Halen – Van Halen II [Reissue] LP (WB)
Van Halen – Women And Children First [Reissue] LP (WB)
Van Halen – 1984 [Reissue] LP (WB)
HQ-180 vinyl reissues of three David Lee Roth-era Van Halen LPs.

The White Stripes – De Stijl [Reissue] LP (Third Man)
The White Stripes – White Blood Cells [Reissue] LP (Third Man)
2000 and 2001 album by The White Stripes — reissued on HQ-180 vinyl.

The Alchemist + Oh No: Gangrene – Gutter Water CD (Decon)
Together as Gangrene, The Alchemist and Oh No present a dense canvas from which verses by guests Guilty Simpson, Planet Asia, Raekwon, Evidence, MED, Twins Gambino, Fashawn and Roc-C leap into action alongside rhymes of their own.

Dane Cook – I Did My Best: Greatest Hits 2xCD (Comedy Central)
Double album is packed with hits from all of his chart topping recordings — “Harmful If Swallowed,” “Retaliation,” “Rough Around The Edges,” “Vicious Circle,” and “ISolated INcident.” In addition to favorites like “A Condom?,” “B & E,” and “The Atheist”, the album features new and unreleased material, all digitally remastered and newly cut together.

The Doors – Live In Vancouver 1970 2xCD (Rhino/Elektra)
Four months into the band’s 1970 Roadhouse Blues Tour, The Doors lit up Vancouver like the Northern Lights with an incandescent performance ignited by a rollicking set list, and blues legend Albert King, who sat in for four songs.

Faze-O – Riding High CD (Get On Down)
First time on CD for this spacey soul classic from 1978 by the Chicago funk quartet.

Girls – Broken Dreams Club CDEP/12” (True Panther Sounds)
New EP takes Girls’ vaguely psychedelic pop out of the realms of lo-fi, bringing in horns, pedal steel, and more to build a fuller, more sonically lush pop sound.

Rikki Ililonga & Musi-O-Tunya – Dark Sunrise 2xCD/3xLP (Now Again)
An anthology of Zambian Zam-rock godfather Rikki Ililonga and his groundbreaking psychedelic band Musi-O-Tunya.

Jay Z – The Hits Collection Volume One CD/2xCD (Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella)
Features top hits from each of Jay Z’s albums. Deluxe Edition comes in a special rigid linen book with a bonus CD containing 5 previously unreleased tracks.

Jefferson Airplane – Live At The Fillmore Auditorium 10/16/66: Early & Late Shows: Grace’s Debut CD (Collector’s Choice Live)
The first set of concerts featuring Grace Slick as a member of the Jefferson Airplane, a mere day after Signe Anderson officially left the band.

Eric Johnson – Live From Austin TX ’84 CD+DVD (New West)
The guitar hero, Grammy winner and Austin, TX native is seen here on his debut Austin City Limits performance recorded in 1984.

Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday CD (Universal Motown)
Debut album from hip-hop’s new IT girl.

Orange Juice – Coals To Newcastle 6xCD+DVD (Domino)
Box set from Scotland’s finest pop and post-punk group. Includes the band’s entire discography, plus other studio recordings and live BBC sessions. The DVD contains music videos and live performances.

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy CD/CD+DVD (Def Jam)
New album includes guest appearances by Nikki Minaj, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, Raekwon Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), and Pusha T. The Deluxe Edition of includes the bonus DVD with the Runaway movie in its entirety and comes packaged in a special die-cut softpack.
[Read more…] about New Releases for November 22 + November 26 (Black Friday), 2010