Live at Luther College
Artist: Dave Matthews
Community Score: 9.17

After the bootleg industry was revolutionized by CDs in the late '80s, it seemed that every contemporary recording artist had at least one bootleg on the market. It wasn't that studio outtakes were suddenly available -- it was that it was easier than ever to record, press, and distribute live concerts. Rock bands who jammed, whether they were... Read More

Encore!
Artist: Neil Finn
In My Life
Artist: Kevin Kern

This extremely melodic new age pianist makes no bones about his intentions. Based on song titles like "Love's First Smile," "To Sleep on Angel's Wings," and "Twirling in Time," it's clear that his lyrical, rhythmic piano pieces are intended to provide a sense of reflection, mellow joy, peace, and hope in a chaotic world. While he's a fine... Read More

The Globe Sessions - AUSTRALIA BONUS CD
Artist: Sheryl Crow

Since her dense, varied, post-modernist eponymous second album proved that Sheryl Crow was no one-album wonder, she wasn't left with as much to prove the third time around as she was the second, especially since she found her voice with her sophomore effort. Having created an original variation on roots-rock with Sheryl Crow, she was left with... Read More

Super Hits
Artist: Gary Puckett & the Union Gap

For a brief time in the late '60s, Gary Puckett had the world at his feet -- well, at least he had a string of Top Ten singles, highlighted by "Woman, Woman," "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower," "Over You" and "This Girl Is a Woman Now." His powerful emoting, along with the melodramatic productions, made these singles hits; his backing band the... Read More

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner - CD & VIDEO
Artist: Ben Folds Five
Community Score: 6.50

The follow-up to the popular Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Folds Five's third LP, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Mesner, continues the eclectic and clever songwriting that has become the group's trademark. Like other piano-based rock composers such as Randy Newman and Todd Rundgren, principal songwriter and de facto leader Ben Folds... Read More

By 7:30
Artist: Vonda Shepard
Community Score: 6.00

Vonda Shepard is a perfect example of how radically one's luck can change for the better. Given the boot by Reprise in 1992, the singer/songwriter lacked either a record deal or a manager for several years -- from 1992 to 1996, the last thing one expected from her was a platinum album. But in the late 1990s, Shepard's frequent appearances on... Read More

Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri - BONUS LIVE CD
Artist: Del Amitri

It's likely that a large portion of the audience Del Amitri won with the lightly infectious, incessantly catchy "Roll to Me" thought of the Scottish group as a new band, not an outfit that had been recording for over a decade. That may be one of the reasons why Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri was released in 1998, a mere three years after... Read More

25 All-Time Greatest Hits
Artist: Gene Pitney

This takes the highlights of Varese's earlier More Greatest Hits and Rhino's Anthology and sweats it all down to one scintillating single disc with 25 All-Time Greatest Hits. All of Gene Pitney's biggies are here ("24 Hours to Tulsa," "Town Without Pity," "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," "It Hurts to Be in Love," "Only Love Can Break a... Read More

Singles - SONY GERMANY
Artist: Alison Moyet