Finals are approaching. Chances are you’ve got your favorite CD on repeat to get you through this rough time, but that old played-out album is probably getting, well, played out. Luckily, new music is here. Three major albums came out just in the nick of time.

During the final week of November, music fans got three major releases at once: Guns N’ Roses with “Chinese Democracy,” Kanye West with “808s & Heartbreak” and The Killers with “Day and Age.”

With the music industry in turmoil, all three albums had their releases dates moved forward from the traditional Tuesday release day to take advantage of the Thanksgiving shopping week. Guns N’ Roses saw an unusual Sunday release while Kanye West and The Killers both came out on Monday.

This is not a hoax, folks. “Chinese Democracy” is in stores! “Chinese Democracy” is the famous Guns N’ Roses album that has been in the making for 14 years, costing over $13 million. After years of anticipation, it is quite obvious why this has become one of the most anticipated albums of all time. It has finally seen the light of day, shocking the world. This is not the Guns N’ Roses you came to love over the years. The “Chinese Democracy” Guns N’ Roses is pretty much an Axl Rose project using the band’s name. The album is a mixed bag.

Although it is nowhere near as good as it should be after 14 years of production, it is not as bad as most critics anticipated. The album features strong vocals from Rose and some pretty wild guitar shredding. The songs sound better than they really are thanks to good production. This album is good for the hardcore Guns N’ Roses fan, as it may not do much for newcomers. Although it isn’t a groundbreaking album, it is an important one because it may just be the last time a physical album truly mattered.

Kanye West knows a lot about heartbreak. In only a few short months, West’s mother, Donda West, passed away and his engagement to Alexis Phifer ended. West used his pain to take his music career in a new direction. He stepped away from his usual rap approach in order to express himself in new ways. He now sings using auto tuner on, hardly rapping at all. Many skeptics didn’t think West could pull it off, but as usual he came through. These are some of his most heartfelt songs yet. The auto tuner is used appropriately, emphasizing the lyrics West seems to hold dearest.

The songs on “808s” may not be as upbeat as his previous work, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any songs that could be used in clubs. “Heartless,” “RoboCop” and “Love Lockdown” are standouts.

West let his heart do the talking, and it is a winner.

The Killers seem to form a love-hate relationship with music fans.

It seems like the same songs are universally loved, while the rest of their songs are considered potentially good. It’s a shame because The Killers can write amazing grand rock songs. We can all agree that songs like “Mr. Brightside” and “When You Were Young” are absolutely stellar. They receive a lot of hate for trying too hard to be what they are not. Their third album entitled “Day and Age” is a perfect example of this. Their best songs are the straightforward rock-pop gems “Human” and “Spaceman” — both could merge into the bands debut album, “Hot Fuss,” effortlessly.

The problem is when they try to force themselves to sound a certain way which takes away a lot from their music. Brandon Flowers and the rest of The Killers do incorporate many good ideas that go along with their sound quite well. However, when they force themselves to sound a certain way, it is painfully obvious. Sometimes a band needs to realize what they are good at and try to stick with that formula. Bringing new sounds is fine but they need to be careful not to put filler like “Goodnight, Travel Well” on the album to gain approval for others. The Killers have so much talent; they just need to re-find their groove. “Day and Age” is a good album that could have been truly great. The potential is clearly there — the band just hasn’t figured out how to use it yet.