Is it buzz or is it hype?  That's the question our critics will attempt to answer in this series and you the fan get to put your two cents in as well.

Aerosmith - Rockin' the Joint, Live at the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas

Coheed & Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness

311 - Don't Tread on Me

The All-American Rejects - Move Along
Hooks, Hooks, and more Hooks!

Finch - Say Hello to Sunshine
Welcome to the new Finch

Coldplay - X&Y
The greatest band in the world?

The Aquabats - Charge!!
These guys have mastered their version of ska/punk; the cartoonishness just adds to the fun.

Matisyahu - Live at Stubb's
Who would have thought that Hasidic Jewish reggae would rule so much?

Doves - Some Cities

Big Machine
New supergroup put together by AC/DC's Brian Johnson with songs he co-wrote featuring former Atheist/Neurotica frontman Kelly Shaefer

Team Sleep
The Deftones' Chino Moreno tries something a bit different

The Blue Van - The Art of Rolling
This album is packed to the gills with songs whose sound can best be described as big.  There are heavy drums, rumbling bass lines and rolling organ parts. 

A Static Lullaby - Faso Latido
A Static Lullaby crafts a strange album; it's as if the band has tasted greatness and yet has not passed the cusp leading into it. Their namesake invokes being lulled to sleep, quietly and peacefully, to the sound of buzzing electronics. 

Unwritten Law - Here�s To The Mourning 
With "Here�s To The Mourning" Unwritten Law has shown that they have set out to prove nothing to nobody, they really don�t need to. They have established themselves as one of the top rock bands today by being themselves and staying focused on their music.

Seemless - Seemless
If you like riffs so down and dirty in the mud it makes you shower after a listen, and solos straight from the days of rock since past, Seemless will fit like a glove.

Breaking Benjamin - So Cold
What's all the buzz about? 

Dirty Vegas - One
Techno rockers fail to electrify with One

The Datsuns - Outa Sight/Outa Mind
The Datsuns attempt a Classic Rock Revival

Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
Here we go with another MTV "punk" band that actually sounds good.

Codeseven - Dancing Echoes and Dead Sounds
If you can get past the filler, Codeseven really delivers.

The Von Bondies - Pawn Shoppe Heart
If it was physically possible for Billy Idol and Jim Morrison to have a child, and if that child was the front man to an up and coming �garage rock� band, I�d like to think that that band would sound a lot like The Von Bondies. 

Liars Academy - Demons

The Libertines
Despite all the drama surrounding the band, The Libertines turn out a solid CD. 

Strata 
The reasons to like Strata are simple. Their highs are very high and their lows aren't all that low...just sort of derivative.

Hawthorne Heights - The Silence in Black and White
By the numbers Screamo band that doesn't really bring anything new to the table but does a good job with what they have decided to work with.

Number One Fan � Compromises
Do you like emo?  Specifically when it is shimmering and forlorn, with the guitars turned up?  Song titles like �The Prettiest Sin� and �Sorry�?

Avril Lavigne  - Under My Skin
We got teen rock rebellion for sale, any takers?

The Streets - A Grand Don�t Come For Free
The cockney rhymer has picked his sophomore disc as the perfect time to drop a concept album.

Bumblebeez 81 - The Prints
This CD is expansive, funky, new, and grooving. It's wide variety of styles will appeal to various music fans.

Dropbox
Sully Erna protégés could use a little less Godsmack

Spymob - Sitting Around Keeping Score
Does the former N.E.R.D. backing band have what it takes?

The Sounds - Living In America
They�re Swedish, they have a �the� in their name, but they ain�t no garage band.

Orgy - "Punk*Statik*Paranoia*
You can lump Orgy in with the Korn's of the world, but their style is very appealing because it is so different.

Bleu - Redhead
Under the guise of Bleu one James McAuley III has with �Redhead" confected something of a power-pop primer for those of us who missed it in the old days.

Radford - Sleepwalker
This CD arrives as a result of one man's journey through the thickets of true love and the music industry.

Tijuana Strip Club - Sparklers and Bottlerockets
Would You Like Some Whine With That Cheese?

Bob Guiney - 3 Sides
TV's Bachelor tried his luck as a singer/songwriter.

Coal Chamber - Giving the Devil His Due
The band's swan song release gives fans a deeper look into what made Coal Chamber stand apart from the pack.

Limp Bizkit � Results May Vary
Fred Durst is on a mission to save rock n roll!

Mushroomhead - XIII
Angry Masked nu-metallers.. hum, where did we see this before?

Big Dismal
Guitar rock new comers Big Dismal, are presently doing the rounds of the U.S.

Verbena
Verbena�s formula is one part Stooges with one part 80�s street rock (Early LA Guns, Guns N� Roses). 

Memento
Do these L.A. hard rockers have what it takes to be the next big thing?

Electric Six - Fire.
Mixing metal and disco? What the hell? Strangely it works!

Serj Tankian's Serart
Another side of the SOAD frontman.

Pillar
Promise turnes into nu-metal by the numbers.

Linkin Park � Meteora 
Has Linkin Park become a parody of themselves?

Sev
The nail in the coffin of nu-metal?

Stereo Fuse
Should Nickelback and Creed watch their backs?

Cinder -  Break Your Silence
Do these protégé's of STP's Scott Weiland live up to the buzz?

Audioslave
Does the Rage/Cornell project measure up to the Hype?

Foo Fighters - One By One
Dave Grohl and Co return with perhaps their strongest album yet!

Filter - The Amalgamut 
Dan takes a look at Filter's 3rd full length release to see if it lives up to expectations

Linkin Park - Reanimation
antiGUY asks, "is this Linkin Park regrooved or are they milking 'Hybrid Theory' for all it is worth?"

Rearview Mirror: All Lights Off
The first release from Steve Lillywhite's label

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
antiGUY takes a look at RHCP's new more radio friendly CD to see if they are evolving or going commercial.

Ash - Free All Angels
Hailed by the British music press as the best album of the year, Dan gives it a listen to find out if it all hype or the geniune article.