A lot of quality music has been released this past month, and this is not debatable. A lot of artists and labels tend to use October as their last-ditch attempt to put out a release that is sure to end up on critics' Top-50 year-end lists. If you're looking for something new to listen to, here are some of my personal recent recommendations.

1.) Bones - GoodForNothing

This is the latest mixtape released by prolific Cali rapper and founding member of the group Team Sesh, Bones. Bones, a.k.a. Elmo Kennedy, is most known for releasing multiple despondent and short mixtapes every year, this being his third for 2016, as well as his feature on A$AP Rocky's last album.GoodForNothing is Bones's shortest release of this year, sitting at 20 minutes, but those interested will find that this thing is packed to the brim with moody cloud rap bangers featuring Bones's typical monotone and ever-changing flow mixed with his bone chilling screamed vocals. Give this a listen, as Bones is not your typical rapper. Sample.

2.) Conor Oberst - Ruminations

This is the latest full length record from the lead vocalist of Bright Eyes and Desaparecidos, Conor Oberst. If there ever existed an album that sounds exactly like the album cover looked, it is this. Listening to this album is a lot like sitting in a quiet room in a remote wooded home while someone shows you the songs they've written while talking about one another's problems over coffee. This album is very much a cathartic exercise for Oberst, in which he sings about how his relative fame has changed him, his diagnosis of a cyst in his brain, and about telling others of the death of someone close to him. Accompanied by his guitar, piano, and harmonica, this album is as stripped-down as it is personal. Sample.

3.) Crying - Beyond the Fleeting Gales

This is the debut album on Run for Cover Records by this Purchase, New York band. Crying is a three piece band that combines the sounds of guitar-driven pop music, similar to Weezer or the Replacements, with various synthesizer embellishments not dissimilar to the chiptune style of Electronic Dance Music. These elements combine with the shy vocals of frontwoman Elaiza Santos to create a sound that directly contradicts the name of the band. The songs on this album are incredibly well crafted and well written, as well as surprisingly technical. The band pulls together these throttling and enjoyable songs into a concise 30 minute album of lo-fi mastery. Sample.

4.) The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation

This is the most recent album from this seminal New Jersey mathcore and alt. metal band. Sadly, it also appears to be the band's final album because they have announced that they intend to break up following their tour to support this album. However, fans are heralding this album as their best, showing that TDEP are really going out with a bang. Sonically, the band seems to be putting all collaborative creative energy into these 50 minutes, pulling out wild experiments with every turn. TDEP draw influence from jazz on this album, as well as IDM artists like Aphex Twin. The band also pulls from sounds that are more within their scope of traditional influence, like thrash metal and post-hardcore bands like Slint. This bizarre mix of sounds combine with their use of nontraditional time signatures and Greg Puciato's throat-shredding vocals to create a hellish and dissonant final record. Sample.

5.) Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

This is the second album in two years from former frontman of Bomb the Music Industry!, Jeff Rosenstock. Pop punk, as a genre, has seen a great year so far. With career-defining releases from the likes of Pup and Modern Baseball, and Rosenstock's last album We Cool? being as incredible as it was, I had no doubt that I'd love this album. My suspicions were correct and for all the right reasons. On this album, Rosenstock pens seventeen pop punk barn burners that are sure to start a trendy mosh wherever they're played. Rosenstock dives into themes like growing up, one's place in society, and disillusionment with the current state of affairs on this album in his traditional snarky, tongue-in-cheek style. While not a drastic diversion from everything Rosenstock has ever done, this album flies by and is a pleasurable listen all the way through. Sample.

6.) Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

Famed singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen releases one of the best albums of his long career at the age of 82. Given the release of David Bowie's Blackstar this past January, i feel as though the comparison between these two is inevitable. However, Cohen tackles a lot of the same themes as Bowie did but in his own unique, raspy style. With age, Cohen's voice has changed into this raspy monotone while still retaining his usual deep bass voice. To this end, Cohen often delivers these conceptual tracks in a way that borders between singing and spoken word. However, accompanied by organ, percussion, and haunting choral vocals, Cohen shows that great music can be made by anyone at any age. Sample.

7.) Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep of Reason

This is the latest release from the infamous Swedish metal band, Meshuggah. This band is most known for pioneering the onomatopoeic metal subgenre known as djent. This well known and frequently emulated guitar tone is regularly used by the band to great effect. The band also utilizes their typical staples like odd time signatures and technical, cleanly produced guitar work to create one of their most bizarre and mechanical releases yet. The songs on this album tend to run long and weave tales of betrayal, tyranny, and hatred that are lost in the band's love of polyrhythmic composition. This album is dense, confusing, and rewarding. Sample.

8.) NxWorries - Yes Lawd!

This is the debut album from the collaborative project between singer/rapper Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge. .Paak has had one of the best years of anyone in the industry this year. He released a fantastic album in January to widespread acclaim titled Malibu. .Paak also made it onto the cover of XXL magazine as one of this year's freshmen alongside other artists like Lil Yachty and Denzel Curry. Now, .Paak is releasing another great album in 2016 with elusive producer and beat maker Knxwledge, who is known for is style of production which incorporates many elements of jazz and funk. With their powers combined, .Paak and Knxwledge create some catchy, smooth, and dreamy R&B and soul tracks that create a heavy atmosphere. .Paak's unique and powerful voice works so unimaginably well with Knxwledge's production style, it's no wonder that the two are a match made in heaven. Sample.

9.) Weyes Blood - Front Row Seat to Earth

This is the latest album from pop an folk singer/songwriter Natalie Mering a.k.a. Weyes Blood. on this album, Mering writes beautiful and tragic songs of lost love, death, and coming of age. On these songs, Mering is accompanied with her acoustic guitar, but her voice and guitar are submerged in a multitude of effects to create a distinct psychedelic swirl. The production on this album involves gratuitous use of reverb, multi-tracking, and huge drones that swallow up everything playing alongside them. Fans of Beach House or Julia Holter will surely get a lot out of this record. Sample.