Here's a rundown of the essential albums available online and in record stores today:

Dark romantic legends Echo & the Bunnymen are set to headline SPIN's annual Friday afternoon soiree at Stubb's BBQ during next month's South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.

When we heard Atlanta garage-rock rabble-rousers the Black Lips were embarking on a tour of India, we knew the five-date date jaunt could end only one way: Disaster. After all, Hindu nations don't usually smile on pissing in each other's mouths onstage.

Those busy little buggers! After a year of touring behind their last album, Good Bad Not Evil, Hotlanta's most-raucous troublemakers the Black Lips will return strong in 2009 with a new album, entitled 200 Million Thousand, and a supporting U.S. tour.