Toys in the Attic
Artist: Aerosmith
Community Score: 7.91

After nearly getting off the ground with Get Your Wings, Aerosmith finally perfected their mix of Stonesy raunch and Zeppelin-esque riffing with their third album, Toys in the Attic. The success of the album derives from a combination of an increased sense of songwriting skills and purpose. Not only does Joe Perry turn out indelible riffs like... Read More

The Best of Joe Walsh
Artist: Joe Walsh

The Best of Joe Walsh is a concise, nine-track collection split between James Gang hits like "Funk #49" and early solo hits like "Rocky Mountain Way." Since this lacks his best song, "Life's Been Good," as well as any of his '80s album-rock hits, this is not even close to a comprehensive collection, but it's not a bad sampler for extremely... Read More

...And I Mean It!
Artist: Genya Ravan

...And I Mean It is an amalgam of girl group, new wave, blues, pop and folk/rock by Genya Ravan. To hear her exquisite voice on Night Owl soaring above her own backing vocals is intense, imagine Etta James backed by The Sex Pistols doing a rock version of Earth Angel. Of all Genya Ravan's work, ...And I Mean It is possibly the most concise and... Read More

Al's Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight
Artist: Al Kooper

As an anthology, the humorously titled Al's Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight captures the stylistic essence of what has made Al Kooper such a vital addition to rock & roll. Although somewhat superseded in the digital domain by Rare + Well Done: The Greatest & Most Obscure Recordings, this title was available almost two decades prior to that 2001... Read More

The Essential
Artist: Jimi Hendrix
Thanks I'll Eat It Here
Artist: Lowell George
Community Score: 6.50

Thanks I'll Eat it Here is strikingly different from the fusion-leanings of Little Feat's last studio album, Time Loves a Hero. Lowell George never cared for jazz-fusion, so it should be little surprise that there's none to be heard on Thanks. Instead, he picks up where Dixie Chicken left off (he even reworks that album's standout "Two Trains"),... Read More

Nothin' But the Blues
Artist: Johnny Winter

After a long period making rock records, Winter fronts the Muddy Waters band (with Waters singing) on this Chicago blues workout. He sounds happier than ever before. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

Barnstorm
Artist: Joe Walsh
Community Score: 10.00

Barnstorm, Joe Walsh's first solo album after leaving the James Gang, garnered him fame not only as a guitarist but also as a songwriter. While it's true that Walsh established himself as a late-'60s/early-'70s guitar hero on the Gang's more boogie-oriented rock numbers, it's Walsh's love of lushly textured production and spacy, open-ended songs... Read More

George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Artist: George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Community Score: 9.67

Contains Thorogood's crowd-pleasing rendition of John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer." Its basic approach -- heavy on Thorogood's bluesy guitar playing -- serves as the prototype for every Destroyers record that followed. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

David Johansen
Artist: David Johansen
Community Score: 8.00

True, the best songs here ("Frenchette," "Funky but Chic," "Girls") are the ones Johansen brought with him from the Dolls. What's intriguing about his solo debut, though, is how well he pulls off ballads like "Donna" and "Pain in My Heart." And Johnny Rao's guitar work almost compensates for the absence of Johnny Thunders. ~ John Floyd,... Read More

Little Queen
Artist: Heart
Community Score: 8.70

After acquiring a substantial following with Dreamboat Annie, Heart solidified its niche in the hard rock and arena rock worlds with the equally impressive Little Queen. Once again, loud-and-proud, Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock was the thing that brought Heart the most attention. But while "Barracuda" and "Kick It Out" are the type of sweaty... Read More

Dreamboat Annie
Artist: Heart
Community Score: 8.58

In the 1980s and '90s, numerous women recorded blistering rock, but things were quite different in 1976 -- when female singers tended to be pigeonholed as soft rockers and singer/songwriters and were encouraged to take after Carly Simon, Melissa Manchester, or Joni Mitchell rather than Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. Greatly influenced by Zep,... Read More

Crazy Moon - BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Crazy Horse

The 1997 Australian re-release of the Crazy Horse album Crazy Moon is quite a find for fans of the band, as well as for admirers of Neil Young. Although this isn't a Neil Young album per se, it's just as inspired and similar sounding as such '70s Neil Young & Crazy Horse classics as Zuma and Rust Never Sleeps. Although the songwriting and the... Read More

White Hot & Blue
Artist: Johnny Winter