Although Tomcats Screaming Outside is technically his debut album, Roland Orzabal has been a solo artist in all but name for the best part of a decade. The dominant half of Tears for Fears, Orzabal turned the 1980s pop duo into a one-man band after the departure of Curt Smith in the early 1990s, releasing two albums, Elemental and Raoul and the Kings of Spain. Although "Ticket to the World," "Bullet for Brains," and "For the Love of Cain"–big chorus, guitar-led pop/rock anthems–could happily fit into either of his post-Curt Smith albums, Tomcats is very much a return to the experimental ways of Tears for Fears' heyday. The dark production and menacing rhythm tracks of "Under Either" and "Hypnoculture," the ambient sway of "Day by Day," the grunge-esque "Dandelion," and the drum & bass of "Kill Love" and "Hey Andy" are all coupled with contagious melodies and Orzabal's twisted vocals, leaving little doubt that the imagination that separated his former band from their peers and made their songs so enduring is still incredibly fertile. Solo album or not, Tomcats Screaming Outside is the best Tears for Fears album in a decade.

Probably the most pop-accessible of Laurie Anderson's recorded work, Mister Heartbreak features a number of stunning luminaries on the cutting edge of popular music at the time. Striking guitar work by King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew permeates this disc – notably on "Sharkey's Day" – punchy and angular. The production and bass work from Bill Laswell is superb. Peter Gabriel – at the time still coming off the buzz of his departure from Genesis – is featured in a duet with Anderson on "Excellent Birds." There is a heavy reliance on early-'80s synthesizers which would normally be very off-putting, but here they are executed well. Nowhere does the music slip into irreparable '80s cliché; it is still an entertaining listen. Lyrics are typical of Anderson' work – complex, literate, provocative, difficult to fully comprehend. Haunting "Gravity's Angel" borrows imagery from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Spoken word delivery on "Sharkey's Night" is given by the legendary William S. Burroughs. This is a very satisfying listen and a great intro for those unfamiliar with Anderson's work.

Perry and Gerrard continued to experiment and improve with The Serpent's Egg, as much a leap forward as Spleen and Ideal was some years previously. As with that album, The Serpent's Egg was heralded by an astounding first track, "The Host of Seraphim." Its use in films some years later was no surprise in the slightest – one can imagine the potential range of epic images the song could call up – but on its own it's so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe. Beginning with a soft organ drone and buried, echoed percussion, Gerrard then takes flight with a seemingly wordless invocation of power and worship – her vocal control and multi-octave range, especially towards the end, has to be heard to be believed. Nothing else achieves such heights, but everything gets pretty darn close, a deserved testament to the band's conceptual reach and abilities.

With this amazing album, Dead Can Dance fully took the plunge into the heady mix of musical traditions that would come to define its sound and style for the remainder of its career. The straightforward goth affectations are exchanged for a sonic palette and range of imagination. Calling it "haunting" and "atmospheric" barely scratches even the initial surface of the album's power. The common identification of the duo with a consciously medieval European sound starts here – quite understandable, when one considers the mystic titles of songs, references to Latin, choirs, and other touches that make the album sound like it was recorded in an immense cathedral.

Buddha's Greatest Hits is the first definitive collection of the Austrian new wave dance-popster's hits, containing his two great singles – "Rock Me Amadeus" and "Der Kommissar" – plus such other hits as "Jeanny" and "Vienna Calling," album tracks, and Jason Nevins' bonus remix of "Der Kommissar." Of course, Falco's music hasn't dated particularly well and was always lightweight Euro-dance, but it can be a guilty pleasure, and this is the best place to find out why.

Kim Wilde's number one cover of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" gave her a number one hit back in 1987, but she gained chart life five years earlier with the glitzy bounce of "Kids in America," allied with the new decade's keyboard-laden pop sound and peaking at number 25 on Billboard's Top 40. The Singles Collection 1981-1993 is easily the most opportune avenue available to investigate the rest of Wilde's material. While video may have been her best friend throughout her career, sporting her attractive looks and modest Brit attitude, Wilde's music does contain some pleasing dance hooks and catchy melodies. "Another Step (Closer to You)" and "Love Is Holy" are bright and lively with typical yet congenial pop melodies, while "You Came" mixes a clean, keyboard-aided backdrop to Wilde's sheer vocal style. "Chequered Love" and "Water on Glass" aren't genius, but their arrant pop melodies and simplistic beats are anything but standstill.

The Light of the Spirit is one of Kitaro's best CDs. Perhaps it is because Mickey Hart co-produced, or perhaps Kitaro asked Hart to co-produce because it is so good. It doesn't really matter if either of those is the reason; this is just an awesome CD. Kitaro's specialty has always been the symphonic synth and this is no exception. He augments that synth with several guest musicians on a variety of ambient instruments. This is truly ambient music, albeit on the new age side of that style. The vocal accompaniment by Lynn Ray and Jeannie Tracy counts as instrumental as well. The sound design treats the wordless vocals as an extra sound to incorporate. David Jenkins contributes a smoking electric guitar that gives this rock & roll textures as well. This disc stands proudly with work by Constance Demby, Vangelis, Suzanne Ciani, and Dean Evenson as some of the best adult contemporary instrumental new age music.

Enigma brings the first album in eight years, and its Japanese edition exclusively includes two Japan only bonus tracks "Sadness" and "Return to Innocence." Also features Japanese original cover artwork & sleeve case packaging. The musical project, known globally as ENIGMA, has proved one of the most successful of the last quarter-century. It has delivered more than 70 million sales across seven albums, 60 Number One albums around the world, and received over 100 Platinum awards. Now, in 2016, Cretu reconnects with that very first multi-platinum album to transfer its bold, pioneering sound-world to here and now. The Fall Of A Rebel Angel is the musical parable of a sensitive artist's view on the human condition. The album tells the story of a protagonist setting off on a symbolic journey of development and change to find a new, fulfilling life.