llcoolvad | New music?

In the late fall my thoughts turn to new music. No idea why, might be a leftover from when I ran a music store and we'd start getting pummeled with promo stuff in preparation for the Xmas shopping season. Might be because bands used to tour a lot during college semesters. Might be no reason other than new albums seem to come out more in the fall.

Anyway, I went out today and bought two new CDs (The Decemberists and Guster, if you are interested) and wandered around the store hoping for inspiration. As little as four years ago I couldn't really go to a music store without spending $100 and coming home with 8 or 9 CDs. Now I can't figure out what I'd like. I've been trolling streaming radio sites (like Radio Paradise) and figured out some songs here and there, but I'm very album-oriented, not so much track-oriented. I don't read Rolling Stone anymore, and I let my Entertainment Weekly subscription lapse. I am woefully out of touch with new stuff.

So who do I buy — any suggestions? What's making you intensely happy right now for music? I need to fall in love with an album.