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

Sure Feels Good: The Best of Elvin Bishop
Artist: Elvin Bishop

Guitarist Elvin Bishop's career started in the early '60s playing the blues opposite Michael Bloomfield in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Revered in the blues community ever since, Bishop is known for maintaining his smokin' live performances which have kept him rolling on through the years. It was strange then, when, out of nowhere in 1976,... 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

George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Artist: George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Community Score: 9.67

Contains Thorogood's crowd-pleasing rendition of John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer." Its basic approach -- heavy on Thorogood's bluesy guitar playing -- serves as the prototype for every Destroyers record that followed. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Ten Years After

The group's 1968-1970 best, including the hit "Love like a Man" and the Woodstock version of "I'm Going Home." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

Raw Sienna
Artist: Savoy Brown

This high-water mark by the band finds them softening their rougher edges and stretching out into jazz territory, yet still retaining a blues foundation. There's not a bad cut here, with enough variety (bottleneck slide, acoustic guitar, horns, and strings) to warrant frequent late-night listenings. "A Hard Way to Go," "Needle and Spoon," and... Read More

Calling Card
Artist: Rory Gallagher

Gallagher's second album for Chrysalis -- and last with his longstanding trio of Lou Martin (keyboards), Rod De'Ath (drums) and Gerry McAvoy (bass) -- was a milestone in his career. Although Calling Card was produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and not surprisingly contained some of his most powerfully driving rockers, tracks like the... Read More

Crazy Moon - BONUS TRACKS
Artist: Crazy Horse

The 1997 Australian re-release of the Crazy Horse album Crazy Moon is quite a find for fans of the band, as well as for admirers of Neil Young. Although this isn't a Neil Young album per se, it's just as inspired and similar sounding as such '70s Neil Young & Crazy Horse classics as Zuma and Rust Never Sleeps. Although the songwriting and the... Read More

Let It Flow
Artist: Elvin Bishop

For his fourth album, Elvin Bishop organized a new backup group and switched to Capricorn Records. Capricorn was known as the standard bearer of the Southern rock movement--the Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, etc.--and Bishop was able to emphasize the country/blues aspects of his persona and his music in the move from Marin... Read More

The Best of Duane Allman
Artist: Duane Allman
Community Score: 9.00

A decent collection that briefly covers the phases of the all too short career of Duane Allman. Though very little of the material is found on any of Allman's solo albums, the tracks taken from his few recordings are well done. "Been Gone Too Long" is a true standout track from Allman's pre-Allman Brothers days in The Hourglass, as is the fine... Read More

Playin' up a Storm
Artist: Gregg Allman Band

In a way, Playin' Up a Storm doesn't really highlight Gregg Allman's strengths, since it's a little smoother and soul-inflected than his work with the Allman Brothers. Then again, that's not a problem; after all, why make a solo album that's exactly like your full-time gig? Consequently, Playin' Up a Storm is a well-made, expertly performed set... Read More

The Best of Taste
Artist: Taste

A well-chosen 16-track retrospective, mostly drawn from the band's two studio albums. Not in the upper echelon of British blues, but not far from that level either, showing Rory Gallagher capable of a wider compositional and interpretive range than some listeners may recall. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide Read More