Ken Tucker

Ferry's new album, Olympia, reunites him with some of the key players behind the band Roxy Music, including Brian Eno. But rock critic Ken Tucker says Olympia remains very much a Bryan Ferry creation: romantic and wry, yet vulnerable to the passage of time.

Taylor Swift turns 21 in December, and she'll still be one of the youngest country singer-songwriters to have achieved massive success. Her songs operate as both faux-confessionals and universal anthems. Her new album, Speak Now, is already a best-seller.

Bruno Mars is a 25-year-old singer, songwriter and producer who's worked on hit singles for numerous hip-hop and soul artists. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Mars' new album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans, is "an impressive, varied and intense experience."