Singles
Artist: The Smiths
Community Score: 7.86

The Best of the Smiths collections didn't work because they didn't have a sense of history and distorted the underlying sense of urgency that helped make the Smiths important. Singles simply collects all of the singles from one of the greatest singles bands since the Beatles. It's essential and influential guitar pop, presented in a way that... Read More

Seen a Ghost
Artist: Honeydogs

Like their pair of indie records, the Honeydogs' major-label debut, Seen a Ghost, is a charming collection of Beatlesque pop, demonstrating the group's knack for bright, catchy melodies and ringing guitars. Seen a Ghost is a solid, craftsmanlike collection of pop that doesn't offer any new thrills, but there are nevertheless thrills in the hooks... Read More

The Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones
Artist: Dramarama

Despite all of their good reviews, Dramarama was never able to break into the mainstream. Nevertheless, they left behind a number of terrific rock & roll albums, which found a dedicated cult following. For anyone interested in joining that cult, Best of Dramarama: 18 Big Ones provides an excellent primer, featuring 16 of the group's best songs... Read More

Strange Country
Artist: Billy Strange

Recorded in the 1960s (the liner notes do not specify the exact date), this was a sessionman supersession of sorts, also featuring Joe Maphis on banjo, Tommy Tedesco on second guitar, Jimmy Bond on bass, and Earl Palmer on drums. Strange offers fluid, crisp instrumental interpretations of a mixed bag of folk and pop tunes, including not only... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Robyn Hitchcock
Community Score: 10.00

Disappointingly, the 1980s failed to recognize the genius of Robyn Hitchcock. As a member of the Soft Boys until they broke up in 1981, Hitchcock went on to write some extremely witty, off-the-wall, and peculiarly clever music. With a sound reminiscent of Lloyd Cole and even Elvis Costello at times, Hitchcock's jangly Brit-pop is made up of... Read More

Shoe Box EP
Artist: Barenaked Ladies

Do they have the worst band name since Haircut One Hundred? Yes. Are they one of the finest pop groups in the world? Almost certainly. Their debut album was a tuneful, slapstick adolescent romp and their second was a remarkably mature folk-rock outing filled with as many irresistible hooks as a good Beach Boys album. This four-song EP previews a... Read More

Lemon Parade
Artist: Tonic
Community Score: 7.67

"Open up your eyes, don't let your mind tell the story now," reverberates the chorus of Tonic's feverish radio hit single. For this group, it meant bringing a message of openheartedness and vitality to its listening fan base. Certainly, Tonic's sounds can be linked to many of the heavy-hitting alternative rock groups during their heyday in the... Read More

Wax Ecstatic
Artist: Sponge
Community Score: 6.33

With their second album, Sponge returned to the '70s hard rock roots they had only hinted at on their alterna-metal debut, Rotting Pinata. Before Rotting Pinata, the group had slogged it out on the Detroit hard rock circuit under a variety of names, honing their chops and developing their skills. They managed to have a moderate hit with Rotting... Read More

Magic Box
Artist: Bel Canto
Community Score: 6.00

It's a sign of the times and relative fame that the opening track, "The Magic Box I," immediately calls to mind Tori Amos, where some years previous it would have just sounded like Bel Canto through and through. While Drecker and Johansen have never achieved the thorough fame of Amos or many other well-known names, the duo still stick to their... Read More

Happy Nowhere
Artist: Dog's Eye View
Community Score: 8.00
The Devil May Care
Artist: The Psyclone Rangers

Though The Psyclone Rangers' debut was a one-pop-culture-reference-per-second explosion of 1960s garage rock funneled through the '70s and '80s, the follow-up The Devil May Care follows a more direct line to the ears. The band instead offers lyrics centered more upon feeling than culture. Again, the music is post-punk garage band raucousness as... Read More

The Bottle & Fresh Horses
Artist: Refreshments
Community Score: 6.00

For their second album, Bottle & Fresh Horses, the Refreshments wisely decided to move away from the smirk-rock that made their debut Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy a minor post-grunge hit. With the assistence of producer Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers), the Refreshments have strengthened their sound, adding layers of guitars and muscular beats. Their... Read More