Toys in the Attic
Artist: Aerosmith
Community Score: 7.91

After nearly getting off the ground with Get Your Wings, Aerosmith finally perfected their mix of Stonesy raunch and Zeppelin-esque riffing with their third album, Toys in the Attic. The success of the album derives from a combination of an increased sense of songwriting skills and purpose. Not only does Joe Perry turn out indelible riffs like... Read More

Time Out of Mind
Artist: Bob Dylan
Community Score: 8.14
The Best of Bob Dylan - SONY DIRECT
Artist: Bob Dylan
Community Score: 4.50
Super Hits
Artist: Dan Fogelberg

Super Hits is a budget-priced, ten-track collection that features a pair of Dan Fogelberg's biggest hits, "Longer" and "The Language of Love," which are balanced by a selection of album tracks and failed singles. Although many of these songs equal his hits in terms of quality, anyone interested in those songs will be happier with the original... Read More

Best Bit EP
Artist: Beth Orton

Best Bit is a masterpiece in miniature, a four-track EP of stunning vision and depth. Beth Orton's first substantial release since her groundbreaking debut album, Trailer Park, it moves away from the electronic textures of her previous work to forge a more organic compound of folk, dance-pop, and jazz. The title track, with its loose, swinging... Read More

Perfect Day
Artist: Lou Reed
Community Score: 9.30

Lou Reed's calm, yet ominous song "Perfect Day" has been attracting attention since it first appeared on his Transformer album in 1972, particularly in the U.K., and particularly in the mid- '90s. In 1995, Duran Duran had a Top 40 British hit with it, and a version by Kirsty MacColl and Evan Dando also charted. Then, in 1996, the Reed recording... Read More

1965 Revisited
Artist: Bob Dylan
Forever, John
Artist: John Denver
Community Score: 10.00
Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman
Artist: Randy Newman

Throughout his entire career, Randy Newman was at the fringes of popular music. He peeked through the curtains every so often, whether it was in the form of a film composer or a novelty hitmaker, but he always remained a cult act, albeit one with enormous influence and respect. He had enough fans (particularly those in the industry) to keep a... Read More

Greatest Hits - AUSTRALIA
Artist: John Hiatt
Live
Artist: Julie Adams
Slow Dark Train
Artist: Vigilantes of Love
Community Score: 8.00

Slow Dark Train gives us fourteen cuts, which are all highlights. From the religious overtones of "Judas Skin" and "Love Cocoon" to the folk-rock of "Version of the Truth," Vigilantes of Love sing songs of experience that come directly from the heart. Nothing here will disappoint, and while lyrics are included, one will soon find themselves... Read More

Night Shift
Artist: Foghat
Community Score: 7.25
Dreamboat Annie
Artist: Heart
Community Score: 8.58

In the 1980s and '90s, numerous women recorded blistering rock, but things were quite different in 1976 -- when female singers tended to be pigeonholed as soft rockers and singer/songwriters and were encouraged to take after Carly Simon, Melissa Manchester, or Joni Mitchell rather than Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. Greatly influenced by Zep,... Read More

Little Queen
Artist: Heart
Community Score: 8.70

After acquiring a substantial following with Dreamboat Annie, Heart solidified its niche in the hard rock and arena rock worlds with the equally impressive Little Queen. Once again, loud-and-proud, Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock was the thing that brought Heart the most attention. But while "Barracuda" and "Kick It Out" are the type of sweaty... Read More

Brick by Brick
Artist: Iggy Pop
Community Score: 10.00

While Don Was is best known for his work with mutant funkateers Was (Not Was), he was also a Motor City boy with fond memories of the Stooges' glory days, and when he was hired to produce an album for Iggy Pop, Was said, "The guy is incredibly intelligent, writes great lyrics, is a great singer, and I just wanted to get that across." And he did:... Read More

Lust for Life
Artist: Iggy Pop
Community Score: 9.50

On The Idiot, Iggy Pop looked deep inside himself, trying to figure out how his life and his art had gone wrong in the past. But on Lust for Life, released less than a year later, Iggy decided it was time to kick up his heels, as he traded in the mid-tempo introspection of his first album and began rocking hard again. Musically, Lust for Life is... Read More

Queens of Noise
Artist: The Runaways
Community Score: 9.50

The Runaways didn't compromise a bit on their outstanding sophomore effort, Queens of Noise. Melodic yet tough and aggressive, this is hard rock that pulls no punches either musically or lyrically. Classics like "Neon Angels (On the Road to Ruin)," "Take It or Leave It" and "I Love Playing With Fire" wouldn't have been shocking coming from... Read More

The Best of Bob Welch
Artist: Bob Welch

Bob Welch has had an interesting, yet arguably frustrating career. The singer, songwriter, and guitarist spent five years and five albums with Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s and left just before the band became a superstar act. The 1991 Rhino compilation The Best of Bob Welch collects the highlights of his work from 1976 to 1991. Welch's... Read More

The Best of ZZ Top - 1977
Artist: ZZ Top
Community Score: 9.00

ZZ Top closed out their tenure with London Records in late 1977 with The Best of ZZ Top, a basic but terrific ten-song retrospective of highlights from their first five albums (well, four, actually, since the underwhelming Tejas is ignored). There are no surprises here, just album rock favorites, which means it does draw heavily on Tres Hombres... Read More

The Best of Spooky Tooth - 1976
Artist: Spooky Tooth

Four of the 13 tracks on Island's The Best of Spooky Tooth come from 1969's Spooky Two album, while the remaining tracks represent the band's less celebrated material. Spooky Tooth's mellow, easy blues-rock sound is experienced from the first track, a slick rendition of John D. Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road." Most of the band's peak material is... Read More

What Are You Trying to Say? Hollywood Bowl 9/3/65
Artist: Bob Dylan