Reads on the Road
Artist: Jack Kerouac

While Rhino's compilation might mark a better place to start, Reads on the Road is certainly a worthy collection of some of Jack Kerouac's narratives and poetry, embellished by some actual singing. Kerouac is a more enjoyable author to hear reading on disc than most, since his prose had much of a jazz rhythm, and since he was an engaging... Read More

From the Vaults - ONE WAY
Artist: The Beau Brummels

No group ever straddled the gap between folk-rock and garage punk better than the Beau Brummels -- and anyone who wants to take issue with that statement should give a listen to this CD. Rhino Records assembled and issued this 14-song collection in 1982 on vinyl, and it marked the first serious attempt to make sense of the Beau Brummels' large... Read More

In My Head
Artist: Robert Lamm

Though Robert Lamm's second solo album, Life Is Good In My Neighborhood, was released in 1995, 21 years after his first, it sounded like it might have been made as much as a decade earlier, implying either that Lamm was out of touch with current musical trends or that he'd been working on it for a long time. But his third album, In My Head,... Read More

The Get Together/Elephant Mountain
Artist: The Youngbloods

At a time when bands like the Byrds and the Jefferson Airplane were trying to find a balance between folk, rock, blues, country, and psychedelia, the Youngbloods cut a masterpiece of a debut that made it all look easy. The melodies poured out, and the members' relaxed, laid-back approach to playing across the genres, from blues to country to... Read More

The Byrds' Greatest Hits - EXPANDED
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 5.00

Without question, the Byrds were one of the great bands of the '60s and one of the few American bands of their time to continually turn out inventive, compelling albums. As they were recording a series of fine records, they released a number of classic singles that defined their era. The Byrds' Greatest Hits does an excellent job of chronicling... Read More

Donovan's Greatest Hits - EXPANDED EDITION
Artist: Donovan
Community Score: 4.00

Epic/Legacy's 1999 reissue of Greatest Hits improves on the original 1969 collection in a number of ways. First of all, the original Hickory versions of "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" are included instead of re-recordings, which is enough to make this new edition preferable, but the compilers have also chosen to include the original mono version... Read More

The Strange Remain
Artist: The Other Ones

When the surviving members of the Grateful Dead announced their return, Deadheads and other music lovers around the globe rejoiced in celebration. Sure, Jerry Garcia had passed on to another plane of existence, but the strange did, indeed, remain. Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh were joined by piano man Bruce Hornsby, Dave Ellis, Steve... Read More