August and Everything After
Artist: Counting Crows
Community Score: 8.12

When the prevailing guitar jingle of "Mr. Jones" cascaded over radio in the early '90s, it was a sure sign that the Counting Crows were a musical force to be reckoned with. Their debut album, August and Everything After, burst at the seams with both dominant pop harmonies and rich, hearty ballads, all thanks to lead singer Adam Duritz. The lone... Read More

Good Dog Bad Dog: The Home Recordings
Artist: Over the Rhine

Five years after the dissolution of their relationship with IRS Records, the Cincinnati-based lit-pop band Over the Rhine once again became a major-label presence when they signed with Back Porch, a new offshoot of Virgin Records. The group took the opportunity to refine and reissue their 1996 homespun masterpiece Good Dog Bad Dog, which had... Read More

Studio: Selected Studio Recordings 1986-1995
Artist: Cowboy Junkies

Studio: Selected Studio Recordings is a fine compilation of highlights from the Cowboy Junkies' albums, including such songs as "Sweet Jane" and "Misguided Angel," as well as the previously unreleased "Lost My Driving Wheel." While this is a thoughtfully compiled retrospective, The Trinity Sessions remains the definitive Cowboy Junkies album,... Read More

Fever In Fever Out
Artist: Luscious Jackson
Community Score: 8.00

For all of its sunny eclecticism, Natural Ingredients lacked the darkly funky urban soundscapes that made In Search of Manny so engaging. Fever In Fever Out brings that dark funkiness while keeping the pop hooks that made Natural Ingredients a step forward. Producer Daniel Lanois keeps his ambient tendencies to a minimum, providing just enough... 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

Unclogged
Artist: X

Perhaps referring to the staid forum known as contemporary "unplugged music," or their own aging arteries, Unclogged successfully reprises X's finest work in an electro-acoustic live set. No worse for the wear, John Doe and Exene Cervenka are in perfect voice, while Tony Gilkyson and D.J. Bonebrake play the songs they played a million times with... Read More

God Shuffled His Feet
Artist: Crash Test Dummies
Community Score: 6.15

Thanks to Jerry Harrison's remarkably clear and focused production, Crash Test Dummies' second album became a surprise hit. Apart from the relatively concise pop smarts of the singles "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and "Afternoons and Coffeespoons," God Shuffled His Feet isn't all that different from the band's first album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All... Read More

No Need to Argue - BONUS LIVE DISC
Artist: The Cranberries

With their second album, No Need to Argue, the Cranberries have managed to avoid a sophomore slump by turning in a set of songs that builds on their debut's finest moments. With the exception of the distorted march of "Zombie," there aren't that many great departures from the band's atmospheric, melodic guitar-pop. Most of the credit goes to the... Read More