Ken Tucker

One Direction recently became the first U.K. act to make its debut on the U.S. Billboard albums chart with Up All Night. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the new record is reminiscent of The Backstreet Boys and other pop stars.

Bahamas is the stage name used by Canadian singer-songwriter Afie Jurvanen, who put out his first album in 2009. His second album, Barchords, is a measured look at the end of a lengthy relationship.

Springsteen told Rolling Stone that Wrecking Ball is "as direct a record as I ever made." It's also one of his most stylistically diverse, including elements of gospel and hip-hop as well as rock and blue. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the music "testifies to a bottomless ingenuity, invention and exhilaration."

Bentley has been releasing albums for a decade and has achieved substantial success. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the singer's latest album, Home, is an attempt to raise his profile to a new level, with mixed results.

Prophet has described his new album, Temple Beautiful, as a "love letter to San Francisco." Rock critic Ken Tucker says you don't have to be a Bay Area native to enjoy Prophet's melodies.

Rock critic Ken Tucker says questions of identity and authenticity have come to dominate heated discussions of the singer-songwriter's music.

Now in his late 70s, the singer-songwriter has just released a new album, his first collection of new material in eight years, titled Old Ideas. Rock critic Ken Tucker says these Cohen songs work as both pop music and as prayers.

Fricke was one of the most popular country-music vocalists of the 1980s/ Between 1982 and 1984, she scored six No. 1 hits. Since then, her career has dimmed, but now she's back, having arranged some of her biggest hits with bluegrass instrumentation.

Anthony Hamilton's Back to Love was released late last year. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Hamilton's vocals "evoke predecessors ranging from Bill Withers to Teddy Pendergrass to Peabo Bryson," while also maintaining a contemporary sound.

Fresh Air's critic looks back on a fruitful year and lists his favorite music releases of 2011.