Homeland, Laurie Anderson's first studio album in nearly a decade and now a Grammy nominee, has made NPR's list of The Five Best Genre-Defying Albums of 2010. "Some of the most compelling music being made today comes from the increasingly blurry boundary between indie-rock and contemporary classical music," says John Schaeffer, host of WNYC's Soundcheck, who chose the albums for the list. "Basically, we're talking about musically literate (i.e., able to read and write classical music notation) singers and players who grew up with and still play some form of rock music. The result is a convincing blend of styles."

In fact, Schaeffer corrects himself, rather than a mix of styles, this crop has created "something new, something distinct and original. And it's some of the most provocative and exciting work of the year." That would certainly be an apt description of Homeland, which takes a critical look at an array of contemporary issues, part political dialogue, part poetry song cycle combining words, electronics and live music.

"In her long and singular career, Laurie Anderson has never sounded quite so pointed, and perhaps so dark," Schaeffer insists, while recognizing that "Anderson's trademark wit is still here," however dark. "Having said all that, this is as accessible and rocking a record as Anderson has made in 25 years. Whether singing, speaking or doing that in-between thing she does, she is in great voice, and the production sounds awesome."

Read more of what Schaeffer has to say about the album and his other choices for Best Genre-Defying Albums of the year and listen to the Homeland track "A Dark Time in the Revolution" at npr.org.

To pick up a copy of Homeland, head to the Nonesuch Store, where the CD/DVD is now just $15.40 as part of the store's 3rd anniversary sale's 33% off all CDs, LPs, and DVDs.