Beyonce [CD], Beyoncé, CD

The first 346 days of Beyoncé's 2013 were eventful enough. She headlined the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, joined by Destiny's Child partners Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The trio released "Nuclear," an excellent song disregarded for not being an anthem. A documentary, Life Is But a Dream, aired on HBO. There were appearances on albums by Rowland, the-Dream, and husband Jay-Z, as well as a Soundcloud upload "Bow Down/I Been On," passionately debated for its aggression and vulgarity, and the more "ladylike" "Standing on the Sun," a clothing retailer tie-in. And then, on December 13, while engaged in a world tour and when no one expected it, she released her fifth solo studio album with accompanying videos. Easily her best album since B'day, it's among her most entertaining and sexually explicit work, yet it's substantive in every respect.