Monsters of Folk -- the indie supergroup featuring M. Ward, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis -- gave the crowd at Vancouver's Commodore ballroom their money's worth with an epic two-and-a-half-hour set on the opening night of their U.S. tour.

At the kick-off of Merge Records' 20th anniversary last night, the lyrics of Magnetic Fields' "Papa Was a Rodeo" proved utterly fitting. "What are we doing in this dive bar?" bellowed singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt in his froggy baritone.

Indie supergroup Monsters of Folk has announced plans for a fall tour, kicking off October 13 in Vancouver, BC, before hitting 16 cities across the U.S.

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

This week, music's heavy-hitters reclaimed the spotlight: Green Day premiered songs from their first album in five years at a secret show in San Francisco, Eminem returned with his celeb-spoofing video for "We Made You," and No Doubt released their first new recording since 2003.

It was never fair when critics and fans dubbed indie boy wonder Conor Oberst his generation's Bob Dylan -- just like it wouldn't be fair to call his latest group, the Mystic Valley Band, his generation's Eagles. But still, the similarities are there.