Master of Reality
Artist: Black Sabbath
Community Score: 8.52

With Paranoid, Black Sabbath perfected the formula for their lumbering heavy metal. On its follow-up, Master of Reality, the group merely repeated the formula, setting the stage for a career of recycling the same sounds and riffs. But on Master of Reality Sabbath still were fresh and had a seemingly endless supply of crushingly heavy riffs to... Read More

Garage, Inc.
Artist: Metallica
Community Score: 7.93

For many years, Metallica's 1987 EP Garage Days Re-Revisited was the most sought-after item in their catalog; it was constantly bootlegged in the '90s, and often supplemented by a host of covers Metallica had released on singles and compilations throughout the years. By 1998, the band had understandably grown frustrated with this situation and... Read More

Forty Seasons: The Best of Skid Row
Artist: Skid Row
Community Score: 6.38

This after-the-fact compilation from one of the last hard rock bands to make any sort of impression before the alt-rock revolution made most of it meaningless does its job, limited as it is, fairly well. All the hit singles that Sebastian Bach and company cranked out during their brief run of superstardom are here; none particularly holds up out... Read More

Tape Head
Artist: King's X
Community Score: 6.00

On their seventh studio album (and first for the Metal Blade label), King's X get back on the right track with Tape Head. Their previous release, 1996's Ear Candy, did indeed contain several superb tracks ("The Train," "Looking for Love," etc.), but was not consistently as great as such past classics Gretchen Goes to Nebraska and Dogman. Maybe... Read More

Take It: Sessions '63-'68
Artist: Ritchie Blackmore

For Ritchie Blackmore fans, Take It! is indispensible; compiling two dozen early tracks, the collection paints a cohesive portrait of the guitarist at the outset of his career. Recorded during the Beat boom era of the mid-'60s, these rare cuts capture Blackmore working in a wide range of styles, moving from the sappy ballads of Jess Conrad to... Read More

Wishpool
Artist: Brother Cane
Community Score: 9.00

Seeds proved to be Brother Cane's breakout release, launching a string of hard-rock radio hits. For its sequel, Wishpool, the quartet wisely decided to replicate the sound of Seeds, turning out a set of heavy rockers that have the style of '70s AOR and the production of '90s post-grunge. While it lacks anything as flat-out catchy as "Got No... Read More

The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight
Artist: Judas Priest
Community Score: 8.50

While the '80s may have been littered with many second-rate pop-metal knockoffs of little musical merit, Judas Priest, decked out in leather and studs, always stood tall above the pretenders as the genuine article of metal greatness. Along with Iron Maiden, they helped lead the way of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and are certainly one of... Read More

X-Factor: Out There & Back
Artist: UFO
Community Score: 10.00
The Very Best of Cozy Powell
Artist: Cozy Powell

Polydor's The Best of Cozy Powell is culled from his early-'80s AOR and hard rock records. This wasn't the best period of Powell's career, suffering from a singular lack of imagination, but it had its moments, all of which are collected here. Even when distilled to this concise collection, these recordings are a bit thin and monotonous, but this... Read More

The Best of Wishbone Ash
Artist: Wishbone Ash

The twin-guitar-jam-infested ramblings of Wishbone Ash are for some the place where British rock and Southern rock meet in an unholy alliance, both influencing the other. This 11-track collection of this British group's best starts features nine classic tracks, plus two previously unreleased versions of a pair of Wishbone Ash favorites. The... Read More

Celtic Collections
Artist: Horslips

This is an ambitious and laudatory effort from K-Tel Records. While most of that label's releases in the Celtic music field centered on the new agey and commercially trendy sector of Celtic music (Altan, Clannad, Phil Coulter, et al.) and failed to represent the artists' body of work properly, this Horslips release actually paints a historically... Read More

Under Wheels of Confusion: 1970-1987
Artist: Black Sabbath
Community Score: 9.00

An unwieldy four-disc, 52-track box set, Under Wheels of Confusion: 1970-1987 nevertheless contains the bulk of Black Sabbath's best work, from the seminal Ozzy Osbourne recordings through the best of the Ronnie James Dio years. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read More

Karma to Burn
Artist: Karma to Burn
Community Score: 9.00

Karma to Burn released one of the most original hard rock albums of 1997 with its fantastic self-titled debut. The West Virginia combo is usually associated with the "stoner rock" scene because of its reliance on '70s-style hard rock riffs, but unlike most bands in that genre, Karma to Burn merely dabbles in fuzzy distortion and psychedelia.... Read More

Caravan Beyond Redemption
Artist: Cathedral

Caravan Beyond Redemption is a captivating album for all of its 70-plus-minute running time. Starting from their usual brand of doom metal, heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, but boasting an original, individual style at the same time, Cathedral throw in various surprises this time to make things interesting. While the "stoner" rock style... Read More