In this crazy world of newfangled technology and terabyte hard drives brimming with music we couldn't get all the way through with ten sets of ears, it's easy to lose your way and miss out on some incredible tunes. It doesn't look like this wacky internet fad is going to die out anytime soon, so we've embraced it and compiled a list of new album releases for the week, with a particular focus on a few to keep an eye out for - or avoid like the plague.

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Beyonce: I Am...Sasha Fierce



Just before Beyonce Knowles takes the stage at one of her shows, she claims that her alter ego - Sasha Fierce - takes over. She's so dedicated to this split personality nonsense that she went and named her new album I Am..Sasha Fierce. It's B's first new studio collection since the Grammy-winning multi-platinum-selling B'Day debuted at #1 on charts two years ago, and this time all the songs are co-written and co-produced by Beyonce. Her third studio album is, of course, her most personal, reflective and groundbreaking collection to-date. She's like Oprah, Tyran Banks and Wonder Woman all in one.

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Nickelback: Dark Horse



On paper, Nickelback's one of the biggest rock bands in the world - can 26 million album buyers be wrong? Produced by the legendary Mutt Lange, Chad Kroeger & Co's latest batch of "edgy" new material covers the same batch of old material, but with new catchy rock riffs designed specifically for mass appeal. Nickelback are an older Hinder, a less sleazy Buckcherry, another Goo Goo Dolls, but with leather and the ability to grow facial hair. Super retarded inspirational lyric of the day: "'Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind/And try to take the path less traveled." You've been warned.

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The Doors: Live At The Matrix

Back in March of 1967, the Doors weren't the mystical, psychedelic superstars we came to know them as. They were still very rough around the edges, certainly not yet stars, still reliant on blues and R&B covers to fill a set. Their debut hadn't made a splash yet, and it would still be a few months before the no-turning-back explosion of their second single, "Light My Fire." The band played more than a dozen sets over five nights at the Matrix, a tiny club in San Francisco, and this two-CD set is the first official release of the widely bootlegged tapes made there. The two dozen tracks on Live at the Matrix capture the Doors in their earlier state, featuring a surprisingly restrained vocal delivery by Morrison that does wonders for revealing the nuances of a character that would soon become larger than life itself.

31 Knots: It Was High Time to Escape (vinyl reissue)
Alaska in Winter: Holiday
All the Saints: Fire on Corridor X (vinyl)
Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali (import)
Anathallo: Canopy Glow
Andy Yorke: Simple
Asobi Seksu: Me & Mary b/w Breathe Into Glass (vinyl single)
Belle and Sebastian: The BBC Sessions (vinyl)
Beyonce: I Am...Sasha Fierce (deluxe edition)
Bloc Party: Intimacy (vinyl)
Brent Amaker & the Rodeo: Howdy Do
Bring Me The Horizon: Suicide Season
Current 93: Dogs Blood Rising (reissue)
Daniel Lanois: Acadie: Goldtop Edition (reissue with bonus tracks)
The Dead C: Secret Earth EP (vinyl)
Dead Can Dance: Dead Can Dance EP (reissue)
Dead Can Dance: Garden of the Arcane Delights (limited edition 2-disc vinyl)
Dead Can Dance: Into the Labyrinth
Dead Can Dance: Spiritchaser
Dead Can Dance: Spleen & Ideal (reissue)
Dead to Me: Little Brother EP (vinyl)
Dido: Safe Trip Home (deluxe edition)
Dolly Parton: Gold Tin Box Collection - Greatest Hits (import 3-CD box set)
The Doors: Live At The Matrix
Drew Andrews: Only Mirrors (vinyl)
Earl Scruggs: The Ultimate Collection: Live at the Ryman
Femi Kuti: Day by Day
Free Blood: Parangatang (vinyl single)
Gentleman Auction House: Christmas In Love
Ida: I Know About You (vinyl reissue)
Ida: Tales of Brave Ida (vinyl reissue)
Ida: Ten Small Paces (vinyl reissue)
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan: Sunday at Devil Dirt (with bonus tracks)
Jason Mraz: We Sing, We Dance. We Steal Things (Expanded Edition)
Joan of Arc: My Summer-Long High Wipeout (vinyl single)
Johnny Cash: 14 Favorite Gospel Songs
Kath Bloom: Terror
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid: NYC (vinyl)
The Killers: Day & Age (2-LP vinyl edition)
The Killers: Human/A Crippling Blow (Picture Disc vinyl)
KIng Crimson: Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (reissue)
King Crimson: The Power to Believe (reissue)
Ladyhawke: Ladyhawke
Lemonheads: It's a Shame About Ray (vinyl reissue)
Ludacris: Theater of the Mind
Marillion: Early Stages (import 6-CD box set)
Max Tundra: Parallax Error Beheads You (vinyl)
Momus: Joemus
Mudvayne: The New Game (vinyl)
Nickelback: Dark Horse
Nimrod Workman: I Want to Go Where Things Are Beautiful (vinyl)
Nitin Sawhney: London Undersound (import)
Peachcake: What Year Will You Have the World?
Phish: At the Roxy (Atlanta 93) (8-CD box set)
The Prodigy: H.N.I.C., Pt. 2 The Collectors Edition
Saint Etienne: London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne (import)
Sammy Hagar: Cosmic Universal Fashion
Scott Walker: Tilt (vinyl reissue)
Senior Coconut: Around The World
Soft Cell: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (import reissue with bonus disc)
Stereophonics: Decade in the Sun: Best of Stereophonics
Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band: The Mountain
Various Artists: The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 11A: 1971 (5-CD box set)
Various Artists: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (soundtrack)
Various Artists: Jewelled Antler Library (4-CD box set)
The Verve: Rather Be (import single)
Wu-Tang Clan: Wu-The Story of The Wu-Tang

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