Whatever and Ever Amen
Artist: Ben Folds Five
Community Score: 7.38

Expanding on the hook-laden songcraft of their eponymous debut, the Ben Folds Five turn in another glitzy array of Todd Rundgren-esque, piano-driven pop on their second album, Whatever and Ever Amen. Though it isn't as consistently tuneful and clever as their first record, Whatever and Ever Amen has a snazzy sense of popcraft -- the hooks of... Read More

The Best of the Lemonheads: The Atlantic Years
Artist: The Lemonheads

Evan Dando -- for all intents and purposes, he is the Lemonheads -- is a sporadically brilliant songwriter. Every one of his albums contains as many flops as masterpieces, sometimes more. Hardcore fans have learned to live with this and even cherish his dopey detours, but there are many others who would prefer to have all the best bits on... Read More

Desireless
Artist: Eagle-Eye Cherry
Community Score: 7.58

Eagle-Eye Cherry's debut album, Desireless, was an impressive set of eclectic alternative folk-rock; its radio hit, "Save Tonight," was arguably one of the best songs of the decade. The title track is a reworking of a song by his father, jazz great Don Cherry. Other standout tracks include "When Mermaids Cry," "Conversation," and "Falling in... Read More

Jubilee
Artist: Grant Lee Buffalo
Community Score: 9.00

With the departure of bassist Paul Kimble, Grant Lee Buffalo became the sole province of singer/songwriter Grant Lee Phillips; he may still be supported by drummer Joey Peters, but now, more than ever, he is the main focal point. With Kimble left, some of the band's appealingly messy ambition has been reigned in, resulting in a brighter, sharper... Read More

Majestic Grill: The Best of the Men They Couldn't Hang
Artist: The Men They Couldn't Hang

Majestic Grill: The Best of the Men They Couldn't Hang is a fine 16-track collection that covers the group's entire career, from their 1985 debut Night of 1000 Candles to their 1996 reunion, Never Born to Follow. Between those two albums, the group released four other records, all of which contained some blistering, politically-charged Irish... Read More

Underground - UK #2
Artist: Ben Folds Five

Fans who love "Underground" will be doubly pleased with this disc, which highlights two songs from the Ben Folds Five LP. The first track is the LP version of "Underground," while track three is a great live version recorded in 1995 at Ziggy's in North Carolina. The live cut really shows off how important having fun is to the band. They are... Read More

Where's Summer B?
Artist: Ben Folds Five

Although it doesn't specify in the packaging, "Where's Summer B?" is actually a version edited from the one found on Ben Folds Five; a few mild obscenities have been removed. The other two tracks were previously unreleased and were recorded live in 1995 at Ziggy's in North Carolina. There are other versions of both "Tom and Mary" and "Emaline"... Read More

Epgyptology/Vanity Fair
Artist: World Party
Egyptology
Artist: World Party
Community Score: 7.00

Karl Wallinger defined the ornate, Beatlesque World Party sound on their debut Private Revolution, and he never strayed from that blueprint over the next decade, even if he augmented it with other '60s and '70s pop flourishes. Egyptology finds Wallinger at his most conservative, sticking to the basic late-'60s pop and psychedelia that... Read More

Desireless - AUSTRALIA
Artist: Eagle-Eye Cherry

Eagle-Eye Cherry's debut album, Desireless, was an impressive set of eclectic alternative folk-rock; its radio hit, "Save Tonight," was arguably one of the best songs of the decade. The title track is a reworking of a song by his father, jazz great Don Cherry. Other standout tracks include "When Mermaids Cry," "Conversation," and "Falling in... Read More