Ken Tucker

A new 20-disc box set contains over 500 performances from the Shreveport, La., program that served as a talent showcase for country acts in the 1950s — including Hank Williams and Elvis Presley.

The Atlanta-based musician blends contrasting pop genres on his second album. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Face Your Fear reveals Harding's deep knowledge of R&B.

No collection of songs this year cohered to form a better picture of our collective mood than Kendrick Lamar's album DAMN. The rapper talks about feeling put-upon and abandoned, besieged and misunderstood, loved and hated. He samples voices from the Fox News channel; on the cut called "LUST.," he has a line about waking up "hoping the election wasn't true." His distinctive delivery is characterized by a flurry of syllables enunciated with hammering force. No matter how many times I hear it, it's thrilling.