THE ULTIMATE GRAMMYS PREVIEW -- THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2023
By Michael Giltz
I always wait until the Grammy Awards before sharing my favorite albums of the year. Why? Two reasons.
First, music keeps coming out till December 31. So how can I decide my favorite albums of the year until the year is over?
Second, at the end of the year, everyone else puts out their end of the year lists...and I discover new artists that weren't on my radar, albums I forgot about and some that just slipped through the cracks. That's the same reason a lot of people watch the Grammys. They see great performances, get reminded of some of their favorite music of the year and are turned on to new artists. That's what I hope to do here for you.
Here's a look at the music I loved and listened to the most from 2023. You'll find pop, rock, country, hip-hop, r&b, jazz, classical, reggae, legacy acts, new kids on the block and music from around the world. I also include some of my favorite reissues mixed in with new albums. If you enjoy the genre one of my picks is from, chances are it's worth a listen. First, I list my favorite albums. Then I list them again, with a few comments about why I love them. The first batch is lengthy and then the comments become punchier and more random; who's got the time to read my ramblings on 40+ albums?
And let me know what albums I'm missing! Below that you'll find links to my in-depth library of music, presented by artist and then to cap it off, my #1 picks of all time, with the latest lucky artist at the top. This year, that artist is...
THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2023
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Javelin
JANELLE MONÁE -- The Age Of Pleasure
JOE JACKSON -- Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in "What A Racket!"
MADNESS -- Theatre of the Absurd presents C'est La Vie
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Fuse
BRAD MEHLDAU -- Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles
THE WHIFFS -- Scratch 'N' Sniff
THE LEMON TWIGS -- Everything Harmony
BOYGENIUS -- The Record
PESO PLUMA -- Génesis
ESLABÓN ARMADO -- Desvelado
RODNEY CROWELL -- The Chicago Sessions
TANYA TUCKER -- Sweet Western Sound
BALLAKÉ SISSOKO, VINCENT SEGAL, EMILE PARISIEN & VINCENT PIERANI -- Les Égarés
REISSUE: THE BEATLES -- 1962-1966 (The Red Album)/1967-1970 (The Blue Album)
PETER GARLAND -- The Basketweave Elegies (performed by William Winant)
BECKY G -- Esquinas
KAROL G -- Mañana Será Bonito
SUSANNA HOFFS -- The Deep End
TEDDY THOMPSON -- My Love Of Country/ Once More: Jenni Muldaur & Teddy Thompson Sing The Great Country Duets
AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE -- A Trip To Bolgatonga
FALL OUT BOY -- So Much (For) Stardust
BETTY LAVETTE -- LaVette!
THE HIVES -- The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons
WYNTON MARSALIS -- Plays Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens
JESSIE WARE -- That! Feels! Good!
M. WARD -- Supernatural Thing
THE BLASTERS -- Mandatory: The Best Of The Blasters
REISSUE: NEIL YOUNG -- Chrome Dreams (1977/2023)
COWBOY JUNKIES -- Such Ferocious Beauty
BLACK PUMAS -- Chronicles Of A Diamond
FATOUMATA DIAWARA -- London Ko
PETER GABRIEL -- i/o
ROLLING STONES -- Hackney Diamonds
RAYE -- My 21st Century Blues
BAD BUNNY -- Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana
SIGUR RÓS -- Átta
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT -- Mésuline
GINA BURCH -- I Play My Bass Loud
NATION OF LANGUAGES -- Strange Disciple
ALEX LAHEY -- The Answer Is Always Yes
REISSUE: JONI MITCHEL -- Archives Volume 3: The Asylum Years 1972-1975
PAUL SIMON -- Seven Psalms
DORI FREEMAN -- Do You Recall
AWADAGIN PRATT -- Still Point
THE NATIONAL -- First Two Pages Of Frankenstein
DURAND JONES -- Wait Till I Get Over
THE CORAL -- Sea Of Mirrors
ALLISON MILLER -- Rivers In Our Veins
PETER ONE -- Come Back To Me
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS -- Trying To Think Of Nothing/It's 2am And I'm Not Tired Yet
MITSKI -- The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We
ELLIOT BROOD -- Town
RYAN BEATTY -- Calico
HARP -- Albion
REISSUE: THE REPLACEMENTS -- Tim: Let It Bleed Edition
THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2023 -- WITH COMMENTARY
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Javelin
It was a battle royal for the top spot this year. I toggled back and forth between the sheer beauty of Sufjan Stevens' Javelin and the joyous bounce of Janelle Monáe's The Age Of Pleasure. Then out of nowhere came veteran Joe Jackson with his funniest, most accomplished album in years. But since I'm care-giving for my 95 year old mother (as of February 1st), I suppose it's no surprise that a meditation on death spoke to me the most. Stevens had an annus horribilis indeed. He lost his lover/husband and was then sideswiped by a wildly debilitating disease which -- to my surprise -- made headlines. I still think of Sufjan Stevens as sort of under-the-radar somehow, even though an Off Broadway show inspired by his masterpiece Illinoise is opening in NYC soon. He now has three albums topping my annual lists: Illinoise, Carrie & Lowell and now Javelin. It's a haunting, defiant, sadly gorgeous and gorgeously sad work about loss and carrying on and memory and love and much more. I've no idea how he ever stumbled onto the lyric imagery of the title track, which is unnervingly good in capturing a dangerously passionate need for another. Javelin provides comfort by reminding me not to expect comfort, though assuring me I'll find it anyway.
JANELLE MONÁE -- The Age Of Pleasure
Janelle Monáe startled me with this carnal, uninhibited celebration of desire and sex and love. Was she mimicking the tired tropes of male lotharios who want to party all the time? Actress, writer, musician, dancer and more, Monáe doesn't care what I think. She's popping champagne and flirting with everyone and why not? She can seemingly do anything, from acting to writing to dancing and singing and producing. In a tight 32 minutes (more on that in a second), Monáe thrills by being just as unapologetic and all encompassing in her desire as you'd expect. Unlike other all-sex, all-the-time albums like Marvin Gaye's masterpiece Let's Get It On, this album isn't focused solely on getting you into the bedroom, though clearly she will steer you that way, consent and all. It's as much about Monáe celebrating desire in all its forms and owning her right to it. The Age of Self-Pleasure? Sure but it begins with self-respect. She's got that and then some.
As for that 32 minute running time, my list this year is filled with albums that are blessedly focused and under 40 minutes and actually closer to 30 minutes. After years of artists gaming the system to score big on music streamers by overstuffing their albums with sprawling track after track after track (Drake, Bad Bunny, Dolly Parton!), artists are embracing the album again. Let it be as long as it needs, but that's often just 35 minutes, people. The best talent rediscovered that fact this year.
JOE JACKSON -- Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in "What A Racket!"
MADNESS -- Theatre of the Absurd presents C'est La Vie
Joe Jackson is a veteran talent, known for shape-shifting musically with the best of them. An early album embraced jive, one of his best (Body and Soul) nodded towards jazz, he wrote some classical pieces and so on. Not exactly Linda Ronstadt or Elvis Costello, but notable nonetheless. In recent years he's refocused on rock and roll quite effectively. And now out of nowhere comes the sheer delight of his latest. Jackson clearly had a blast delivering this album of music inspired by the music hall impresarios of days gone by. Jackson went all out: he created a fake music hall legend named Max Champion, creating a backstory for this long-lost treasure, right down to fake playbills peppered with real artists of the era and Max plopped right in there. Jackson even sings in a new voice, taking on the persona of Max right down to a faux posh accent. Like the best music of any era, the songs can be great fun on the surface but reveal hidden depths. The opener "Why Why Why" is jaunty good fun complaining that the word "why" is "a word that I detest/ Why why why must I get it off my chest?" But before you know it he's also wondering why why why we're alive and what it all means. My god this album is funny and fun! Song after song is bursting with wit, from the groaners of "The Bishop and the Actress" to the warning not to peek into windows of "The Shades Of Night" and sing-along closer "Worse Things Happen At Sea." It's not pastiche, or not just; these are great songs. Jackson is creating modern music out of the material of the music hall, or at least the music hall as I know it from old movies and the like. Am I getting across what a blast the album is to play? His joy is infectious. It may be Joe Jackson's masterpiece and you'd be a fool to miss him on tour this time around if you've ever been a fan. Will the once-cranky Jackson encourage audiences to join in, as they almost must at times? Will he sing other songs from his catalog but revamp them in a music hall style? It's so good I could see this turned into a theatrical piece in the West End.
Madness create a somewhat similar conceit for their new album. A goofy introduction and interludes set this up as a concept album for a stage show. Unlike Jackson, all the trimmings are extraneous and unnecessary. The songs stand well on their own, thank you very much. But Madness have often created some "rules" to give an album coherence, like the frame of childhood for the album The Rise & Fall... (an idea they soon ditched, but not before producing "Our House"). This time it freed them up to deliver their best batch of songs since Keep Moving, an album I alone consider their best. But whichever album you love, it's been a while and a pleasant surprise to see them back in good form. I used to roll my eyes at Rolling Stone magazine always praising to high heaven every new album by their stalwart acts like the Who, the Stones and so on. And now I'm doing it too! Joe Jackson's album is tremendous and should be heard by everyone. Madness have given us a good one, and fans will be pleased.
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Fuse
Speaking of old favorites, EBTG casually drop their new album 24 years after their last one and you wouldn't think a week had passed. It's that good. Sure, Tracey Thorn's voice is a little deeper. But they've always been adults and concerned with adult things, even as kids. So maturity suits them, the dance grooves they employ are both timely and timeless so the beats won't date. And they don't embarrass themselves like other acts by trying to keep up with the latest fads. They never did. Here's hoping they don't wait another 24 years because this is too too good. What a treat.
BRAD MEHLDAU -- Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles
If I want to explain jazz to someone, what it means for an artist to cover a song and bend it and twist it and turn it inside out and take off into the stratosphere and yet somehow always return to the original melody, I usually pointed them towards John Coltrane's My Favorite Things. The 13:41 seconds of the title track is exactly when I "got" jazz, after all. Now I might just send someone to Brad Mehldau's lovely and inspiring album of Beatles music. It's endlessly inventive, surprising and just plain fun. Mehldau has a long distinguished career of marvelous original music and discerning covers of pop ranging from Radiohead to you name it. That's nothing new for jazz, which can turn a bauble like "Tea For Tea" into something glorious but can also mine material from complex songs from any genre. This is great stuff and it ends with a bonus track of Mehldau covering David Bowie's "Life On Mars?" which G-d willing points the way to his next covers album.
THE WHIFFS -- Scratch 'N' Sniff
THE LEMON TWIGS -- Everything Harmony
Some bands are just rock and roll at its best. You assume the whole world is jamming along to their tunes, because why wouldn't it be? The Whiffs' new album is a blast of garage rock, a band pounding out one gloriously catchy, in your face tune after another. Who are these guys? Have they just hit a peak? Nope. I checked out their earlier albums and each is just as strong, melodic and raucous as this. Non-stop. If you want to crank it up and nod your head along with the beat, this is your band.
The Lemon Twigs lean more towards the power pop side, though really they can do anything. That might have been a mild slight against them on earlier albums. When you can do everything, it can leave people a little off balance. But my friend Sal at the indispensable music-loving blog Burning Wood never flagged in his support for the Lemon Twigs from the start. Maybe it's their sound, a Raspberries meets Todd Rundgren meets AM radio nirvana. Well, it all comes together on Everything Harmony. Warning: on the first track, they (intentionally) sing a melody where their voices scrape the bottom of their abilities. It's ungainly and awkward and it was only the fourth or fifth time before I grew to love what they were doing on "When Winter Comes Around." It's not about perfection, which they can do whenever they want and often do for the following 12 tracks. They just follow their muse. It's a dial-spinning survey of popular music (especially from the 1970s) and boy is it great. Their new single off their next album? Awesome. The Lemon Twigs are just hitting their stride.
BOYGENIUS -- The Record
This supergroup gets all the attention and the love and my money is on them winning Album of the Year. (But I wouldn't bet a lot, cause it's anyone's trophy.) Hey, bands are special, so it's no diss when I say the group is greater than the sum of its parts. Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus just work great together. Here's hoping they stay in it for the long haul.
PESO PLUMA -- Génesis
ESLABÓN ARMADO -- Desvelado
Look through my favorite music of the last decade and you'll see how thoroughly I've embraced the riches of Latin popular music. I've still got a lot to learn (including Spanish!) but thanks to the ease of streaming to check out acts and the ease of Google Translate when lyrics aren't available in English, the barrier to really digging into an artist is lower and lower. And the talent is higher and higher with the likes of Peso Pluma, the Mexican star who sings and raps with verve and confidence. Like others before him, he's not crossing over; he's bringing the rest of the world into what we Yanquis call regional Mexican music, a term increasingly meaningless when you can hear him everywhere. Singer Carín León is right: we should call it international Mexican or worldwide Mexican or just "good."
Even your mom might know Eslabón Armado. They're so popular these purveyors of sad sierreño even popped up on Good Morning, America which is as mainstream as it gets. You don't need a translation to know the ache in singer Pedro Tovar's voice speaks of heartache and sorrow. And you only need ears to understand the swaying, captivating rhythms of Eslabón Armado's style. Winning.
RODNEY CROWELL -- The Chicago Sessions
TANYA TUCKER -- Sweet Western Sound
Not a great year for country music, unless you're a vigilante looking for a theme song. But two great veterans came through. Country music at its best gives voice to adults, to mature concerns, even when the acts are young. But when they've lived it and endure and have something to say, you listen. Crowell has lived it and then some. jeff Tweedy of Wilco is the producer and brings out his best, which is saying something.
Tanya Tucker had a career capper with her last album, While I'm Livin', a gift of a record overseen by Brandi Carlisle. (Has anyone done so much with their newfound fame as Carlisle, both with Tucker and Joni Mitchell and perhaps Elton John?) You could hardly expect Tucker to do it again. But she's done it again four years later, with Carlisle (and Shooter Jennings) back behind the boards, another excellent batch of songs (a number co-written by Tucker and Carlisle), an amusing intro by Billy Joe Shaver and if the only weak track is a tribute to Linda Rondtadt, by god Rondstadt deserves it. A real treat.
BALLAKÉ SISSOKO, VINCENT SÉGAL, ÉMILE PARISIEN & VINCENT PIERANI -- Les Égarés
Here's another super group, this one composed of the Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko; the French cellist and bassist Vincent Ségal, the French singer and saxophonist Émilie Parisien and the French singer and accordionist Vincent Pierani. Paris is often a crossroads for musicians from around the world. Whatever the reality of life in France, its artistic community is especially welcoming of others from Africa and around the world. I could pretend to all sorts of insight into what they're up to, but the truth is -- as with most music -- I just put it on and dug it. Sissoko and Segal collaborate as a duo...and so do Parisien and Pierani. Here they join forces on an album Les Égarés/The Wanderer that wanders beautifully through the vibe of jazz and chamber and classical music to create a beauty all its own.
REISSUE: THE BEATLES -- 1962-1966 (The Red Album)/1967-1970 (The Blue Album)
Of the many reissues that caught my ear, one stands above the rest. The Beatles, of course. I never bought these two double album greatest hits sets by the Beatles. When their music first came out on CD, I bought and listened to every album in order and then gobbled up the singles via the two compilations titled Past Masters. I already owned everything but their greatest hits set #1 was so powerful, I bought that too. I really really love the Beatles. Then I bought the boxed sets of their albums in Mono and was really blown away. It was like hearing them for the first time. So these Red and Blue albums -- I knew them, but they meant nothing to me, even though for generations this was their introduction to the Fab Four or where they started and finished. And who in the world could deserve to release not one but TWO double albums of greatest hits? Only the Beatles. And who could EXPAND on them, add in more and more tracks and yet NOT make you think they were padding it out? Only the Beatles. My god, they added in 21 (!) new songs. You'd never know it. Those 21 songs would be a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legacy for any other act and those are the bonus tracks. I was and am suspicious of turning songs created in and for mono into stereo, even if Giles son-of-George Martin is involved. But he's not really changing them into stereo tracks. He's really using stereo to bring the original songs as fully to live as ever before. It's ravishing. Buy them. Then buy everything else. After all, it's the Beatles.
PETER GARLAND -- The Basketweave Elegies (performed by William Winant)
A sinuous instrumental piece by Peter Garland for the vibraphone, which is now an instrument I insist on being included in any backing band when doing my jazz act in cabarets around the world. Garland studied under Harold Budd, which makes sense. Lovely and absorbing. File next to Brian Eno and John Luther Adams.
BECKY G -- Esquinas
KAROL G -- Mañana Será Bonito
One of the best aspects of the current boom in Latin artists gaining worldwide attention? The camaraderie. Like the early days of hip hop, everyone seems to pop onto everyone's else's albums. Not to gain clicks or keep their name out there, but because they admire each other and want to lift each other up. Two of the best artists around, Becky G and Karol G also feature a bevy of guests which gives you a quick primer on the best acts of the moment. Make no doubt: these aren't overstuffed collabs, but others in service of the visions of the two Gs.
SUSANNA HOFFS -- The Deep End
TEDDY THOMPSON -- My Love Of Country/ Once More: Jenni Muldaur & Teddy Thompson Sing The Great Country Duets
Modern pop looks down on albums featuring artists covering others. Oh, you can name examples but in general! The Great American Songbook depended on singers like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to define it and elevate it. (In part because Cole Porter and the Gershwins et al mostly weren't performers.) But since the Beatles and Bob Dylan, you're just not cool if you're not overseeing your own songs or at least originals you've gathered. And so wonderful albums get overlooked. Susanna Hoffs was in the great band The Bangles (who had great originals but also notably shone with covers of Katrina and the Waves, a Prince original and Simon & Garfunkel). As a solo act, she's delivered marvelous cover albums with Matthew Sweet and yet another one on her own that's filled with great pop songs done so well. A treat. Meanwhile, Teddy Thompson is getting dirt and grease under his nails; he's becoming so country, I expect he's tooling around in a pickup truck by now. 2023 saw two albums from him: a great album of duets with Jenni Muldaur and a solo one. Both are filled with impeccable covers, lovingly done. Plus, it must take guts to do some of the most famous songs in country music; he offers them up well with subtle touches that don't try and reinvent the wheel. Country music is more used to tributes for its greats, so when are they gonna induct him into the Grand Ole Opry already?
AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE -- A Trip To Bolgatonga
Hat tip again to Sal and his music blog Burning Wood for turning me on to this dub delight. Brian Eno (him, again!) wanted to hear African psychedelica and this act was the response. Tremendous rhythms from percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah and producer Adrian Sherwood, guest vocalists on display and you will not stop grooving.
FALL OUT BOY -- So Much (For) Stardust
One of the best pop-rock acts out there, with all the glitter and drama you expect. Very welcome return.
BETTY LAVETTE -- LaVette!
Speaking of great artists who deliver great covers, Betty LaVette's career is a testament to how a singer can reimagine and reinvigorate the best and shine a spotlight on those less well known. Here's she's elevating the songwriting of Randall Bramblett, who has played with countless great acts like Steve Winwood, recorded more than a dozen albums of his own and no, I'd never heard of him either.
THE HIVES -- The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons
The Hives aren't fooling with this focused round of rock n roll. After an eleven year break from recording, it's as if they never stopped.
WYNTON MARSALIS -- Plays Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens
Louis Armstrong's sessions with the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens essentially created jazz improvisation as we know it, or at least codified it. I could listen to them over and over and never stop learning and marveling. Those recordings are the Big Bang for everything that followed and I'm surprised more acts haven't covered it in-depth. Maybe the prospect is daunting. How do you improve on perfection? Wynton Marsalis is well suited to the task since he's such a traditionalist and yet still has his chops. This may be his best in years.
JESSIE WARE -- That! Feels! Good!
Just remember: pleasure is a right! That's the ethos embodied by Janelle Monáe's latest album and right here on Jessie Ware's best record since coming on the scene more than a decade ago. (Really? Already a decade? Yikes.) The disco-ish vibe hits that pop sweet spot over and over again. For fans of Madonna, Kylie Minogue et al.
M. WARD -- Supernatural Thing
Another old friend returns with his best in ages. It's been almost 15 years since I've chosen a solo album by M. Ward for my best of the year list (he's done marvelous work as part of She & Him during that time, I hasten to add). But whenever I hear his confiding voice and the slightly AM radio vibe of his recordings (complete with a perhaps imagined gentle hiss or hum in the background), I am happy. If it's been a while for you too, dive back in. Or if you're wondering what the guy standing next to Zooey Deschanel does on his off days, here's where to start.
THE BLASTERS -- Mandatory: The Best Of The Blasters
I've never seen them in concert. But listen to this greatest hits album and just imagine seeing the Blasters in a crowded bar, cold beer in hand while they drive through their set and you would know, just know they were the best bar band in the world. Which in some quarters is a lot cooler than being just the best band. The rhythm and blues soaked, rockabilly on steroids band of your dreams and this collection chock full of favorites about three minutes in length coming one after another after another with infectious energy does them justice. Here's hoping Phil Alvin makes a full recovery from what ails him.
REISSUE: NEIL YOUNG -- Chrome Dreams (1977/2023)
Man, Neil Young has music archives bursting at the seams. Every time he releases something from the 1970s -- live albums, studio albums never released, compilations and odds and ends -- you're stunned at just how good and prolific he was. Like Homegrown, this is another album he prepped and then set aside, using pieces of it here and there on other works. You've heard most of it before if you're a fan -- I jokingly refer to it as American Chrome Rust Stars N Bars Never Sleeps to indicate how it was sold off for parts used on later albums. But it stands on its own as a marvelously anarchic rock n roll infused with folk burst of genius. You don't need to know any of this. Just drop the needle and enjoy.
COWBOY JUNKIES -- Such Ferocious Beauty
If anyone needs a nominee for Most Underrated Band of The Past 35 Years, I hereby suggest Cowboy Junkies. In recent years, they've really been on a tear, with reissues of early stuff mostly unheard (a la Neil Young) like Sharon, the sprawling Nomad series I barely wrapped my head around, the death-haunted Ghosts after one of their moms died, the fine covers album Songs Of The Recollection (which was ignored because...covers) and now this wonderful new work, filled with the usual Americana, take your time vibe the Cowboy Junkies are known for. Michael Timmins is a world class songwriter, Margo Timmins is a world class singer and Cowboy Junkies are a world class band.
BLACK PUMAS -- Chronicles Of A Diamond
I am late to the Black Pumas party, but their second album of psychedelic soul is a blast. I expect this one to rise up the list as I play it more and more. (My lists by the way are ever-changing because there's always more music to discover and some albums loom larger as time passes. They don't change radically, but I try to keep open ears, so change they do.)
FATOUMATA DIAWARA -- London Ko
The Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara keeps her ears open as well. She's always combined traditional Malian music with sounds from all over the world. On her best album since Diawara's 2011 debut Fatou, she partners in part with producer Damon Albarn of Blur, singer Angie Stone and many others. But it's Diawara in command in every way.
PETER GABRIEL -- i/o
ROLLING STONES -- Hackney Diamonds
More and more, I appreciate hearing from old friends. That's certainly key to the pleasure I take in hearing new albums from Peter Gabriel and the Rolling Stones (and Billy Joel's new song!). Hey, we're not dead yet and if they can keep creating, we can keep listening. It's especially enjoyable when they're delivering what they do best. You could play connect the dots on both albums (this song sounds like this earlier song, that song sounds like that, etc) but just relax and let them tell you what they're up to and thinking about. And when Gabriel hits a peak like "Playing For Time" or "Live and Let Live," it's a balm for my soul. By the way, the Gabriel album has two slightly different mixes, a "bright-side" mix and a "dark-side" mix. I've stuck with the dark-side mix because Gabriel is a dusky-voiced, late night sort of artist so it just makes sense.
RAYE -- My 21st Century Blues
She's all the rage in the UK and rightly so. One of the most successful songwriters around, she publicly rebelled when her record label wouldn't release Raye's own music in the way she wanted. They parted ways and she delivers a triumph.
BAD BUNNY -- Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana
I still really like Bad Bunny, but he's getting very Drake-y with albums that are chock full in a bad way. Song for song, he's great, but I need some editing, some discipline, some focus on delivering a great album and not just a bunch of songs we'll all stream for a while until the next ones come along. Or maybe memories of growing up in Puerto Rico jsut aren't resonating for this very white kid.
SIGUR RÓS -- Átta
Maybe you only need one album of beguiling, soundtrack-like music sung in a made-up language and the once inescapable album Ágætis byrjun language has you covered. (Inescapable if you were a music nerd and needed the latest hip band.) If you're up for more, I'll admit for a while I felt I'd heard everything from them I needed. But time away or perhaps a spark of creativity makes this new album a worthy successor.
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT -- Mésuline
I am loyal. Not Rolling Stone magazine loyal, as in every album by Rod Stewart/The Who/Bruce Springsteen/Rolling Stones is their greatest yet loyal, but loyal. So a tiny part of me admits this new venture by the brimming with talent jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant doesn't quite enrapture like her last few albums. But it's smart, very French and worthy of your time. That sounds like a backhanded compliment but it's not. She's at the stage Cassandra Wilson was when taking over the mantle of jazz singing greats and wherever she wants to go, I'm following. Even if I'm a little unsteady on my feet for a while. (So start with Dreams and Daggers if she's new to you.)
GINA BIRCH -- I Play My Bass Loud
Ok, so I should have listened to The Raincoats and their awesome 1979 debut a hundred years ago. I knew that; Kurt Cobain told me so. But I only had so much money and couldn't buy every CD I wanted (though I tried). So they slipped through the cracks. And then someone said I should listen to this album by Gina Birch and I did and said, "Holy shit! Who is this??" and lo and behold, she was a founding member of The Raincoats and damned if this isn't her solo debut some 44 years later. It's awesome.
NATION OF LANGUAGES -- Strange Disciple
Recently I've been schooling myself on post-punk, new wave acts ranging from Germany's Neu! to OMD and Soft Cell (meh) and the like. So I was perfectly primed for Nation of Languages, which would surely cite some of them and Joy Division et al as major influences. If that's your cup of tea, so are they.
ALEX LAHEY -- The Answer Is Always Yes
The question is, "Should you listen to the new album by Australian singer-songwriter Alex Lahey as she expands her palette, plays well with others and delivers kick-ass rock n roll?"
REISSUE: JONI MITCHEL -- Archives Volume 3: The Asylum Years 1972-1975
It's Joni Mitchell. Best not to play this boxed set all at once, unless you really want to hear seven versions of admittedly classic songs all at once. But break it up into songs for the sessions that produced, say, For The Roses or Court and Spark and take a break and then enjoy a live set and so on and you'll have a brilliant listening experience. Mitchell is even better than she thinks she is!
PAUL SIMON -- Seven Psalms
Joni Mitchell isn't alone in having a healthy ego. You don't get to be a major pop artist -- usually -- without the belief that 20,000 people should be rapt in attention when you take the stage. Paul Simon deserves his flowers now, as they say. Few acts enjoyed the run of classic studio albums he delivered from Bookends (with Art Garfunkel) to Rhythm of the Saints. That's 22 years of sustained greatness. He retired but never say never: here is Simon with a song cycle meant to be listened all at once about death and spirituality. As I said before with Peter Gabriel et al, why dismiss the treat of hearing from an old friend. This is elegiac (by definition) and touching. It may slip from my memory in a year or two and not get the plays of Simon & Garfunkels' Greatest Hits or There Goes Rhymin' Simon. But right now it's a bracing, welcome message from an artist facing the sunset of his career and life, which is the same thing.
DORI FREEMAN -- Do You Recall
Is anyone paying attention to Dori Freeman? She's a singular, talent in the Nanci Griffith/Emmylou Harris vein, sort of country, sort of Americana, sort of folk/pop. Teddy Thompson did marvelous work producing some of her albums and I had her pegged. Then she went off on her own and kind of rocked out, in a way. Certainly her sound expanded and became more...defiant, robust, delightful. Didn't know she had it in her. Here she does it again,
AWADAGIN PRATT -- Still Point
I have a superficial knowledge about popular music and all sorts of genres. But classical music? I'm both daunted (so much to learn!) and worried it will be so tempting I'll never have time for good ole pop music again. Still, I'm eager to dive in, even as I know I've got a lot more to learn about jazz, reggae, blues, and a thousand other sub-genres of pop. Still, I occasionally dip my toes in. Pianist Awadagin Pratt commissioned six new pieces for this album, which ranges from solo piano to full orchestral backing to the vocal ensemble A Roomful Of Teeth as musical partners. It's a marvelous album, almost a primer for modern classical music in its range and stylistic diversity. Most welcome, even for neophytes like me.
THE NATIONAL -- First Two Pages Of Frankenstein
I saw the National perform at BAM in Brooklyn many many years ago and imagined I was seeing the future of rock n roll. Then I lost the thread, just didn't pay attention and when I did felt politely respectful and little more. Now all these years later they drop not one but two albums! Laugh Track feels like a misfire, at first blush at least. But First Two Pages Of Frankenstein fulfills the promise I felt ages ago, a very strong rock n roll album from a band that touches greatness in concert and best of all is determined to matter to fans and itself in a way some of the best -- like U2 -- demand of themselves.
DURAND JONES -- Wait Till I Get Over
Durand Jones digs deep after three albums as Durand Jones & The Indications, on this soulful tribute to life in Louisiana. Think Bill Withers and if that means anything to you, that should be enough to check it out right away.
THE CORAL -- Sea Of Mirrors
They love 'em in the UK. This English band almost topped my annual list with their 2021 album Coral Island, a concept album about a seaside town with a music hall venue, the sort of place where Joe Jackson's Max Champion would perform. Now they're back with another strong set, Sea Of Mirrors. It was 20 years ago when their second album Magic & Medicine beguiled me with its psychedelic rock vibe and spun off a string of hit singles. They've been good to great ever since, building up a body of work that impresses. Do you dig Nuggets and Madness. Say hello to The Coral.
ALLISON MILLER -- Rivers In Our Veins
First came the music, a jazz album that immediately grabbed my attention with its propulsive forward momentum. Only later did I discover composer and drummer Allison Miller is out and proud in the still male-dominated world of jazz where they barely tolerate chicks (preferably singers) and queers not at all (despite Billy Strayhorn and so many others). So that's just icing on the cake for a treat that made me a fan and sent me to her seven or eight earlier albums.
PETER ONE -- Come Back To Me
It's a delightful backstory, but again, I learned this after falling for the music. Peter One is an Ivory Coast artist who recorded two albums in the 1980s as a duo. Life happened, he moved to the US and became a licensed nurse in Nashville, Tennessee. Then a label reissued his 1985 album Our Garden Needs Its Flowers, people noticed and suddenly in 2018 he's a hot property again. Now in 2023 he delivers this gentle, elder stateman of a work in English, French and Guro which will charm you as much as his comeback tale.
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS -- Trying To Think Of Nothing/It's 2am And I'm Not Tired Yet
You can't be old -- even in your 50s -- if your nephew mentions a relatively obscure Icelandic artist/composer and wonders if you've heard It's 2 am and you can say, oh I loved Some Kind Of Peace in 2020 (it's on my list) and does he know Arnalds also just put out Trying To Think Of Nothing and you like it even more. So there! (Ok, Arnalds received Emmy noms and has a BAFTA on his shelf, but still, I did say relatively obscure.)
MITSKI -- The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We
What others hear in Lana Del Rey, I hear in Mitski.
ELLIOT BROOD -- Town
It's the closest I'll get to Jon Landau reviewing Bruce Springsteen in concert and saying he'd seen the future of rock and roll. I was in Toronto and my nephew suggested a bar where some live music was playing. The band on stage when we arrived included a banjo (which was unexpected oh so many years ago) and we were yammering away but I kept half-listening to this unknown act and and after each song I thought, "That was good!" And then they played "Oh, Alberta," a classic geography song a la "Dancing In The Streets" but this one name checks cities in Canada and I believed then and still believe now it's a hit, damnit and just walked away from my family to get closer and keep listening. I bought their self-produced CD in a paper bag, chatted with the band, gave them my card and said if they were ever coming to NYC and needed a place to crash, I was their man. Never done that before or since. And we never spoke again. But they were picked up by a bigger record label and have been at it ever since, delivering strong music for 20 years now. Town is the first of two eps that will comprise their latest work. It might be their best yet and I can't wait for Country in 2024.
RYAN BEATTY -- Calico
He's young, he's handsome, he's earnest and I shouldn't bother but just like Alec Benjamin and some other rising talent, Beatty is a very strong songwriter and something keeps me coming back to the songs. The real deal, perhaps.
HARP -- Albion
Midlake is a shape-shifting band that's produced four good to great albums since I started paying attention in 2006. The Trials of Van Occupanther is the 1970s AM radio circa the murky vibes of R.E.M. album that everyone noted, but despite their (modest) shifts in genre, they've maintained that excellence. But Tim Smith walked away after Midlake's The Courage of Others album, which had a Fairport Convention thing going on. Smith needed to go his own way. This was a decade ago. Smith spent the last ten or so years working on his own album in an artisanal, handmade way, one imagined. Whether due to a La's-like indecision or simply because he enjoyed the endless tinkering, for a while it seemed Smith would never surface again with music of his own. But after years of gentle emails assuring one and all he was happy and well and making music which he hoped someday might be ready for the world, out came Albion unde the band name of Harp. And no one seemed to know or care, I fear. It came and went as quietly as could be. Albion is exactly what I expected. Carefully crafted, intimate and satisfying. Think Roxy Music's Avalon or John Martyn's Solid Air. I hope Smith enjoyed the process and isn't bothered by the lack of attention, though who wouldn't be? It's a keeper.
REISSUE: THE REPLACEMENTS -- Tim: Let It Bleed Edition
My friend Mike in Minneapolis proselytized for The Replacements till I got on board the bus. They're a great, shambling rock and roll band. The cool folk loved the cheekily named Let It Be, but I dorkily preferred the pop sheen of their breakthrough Pleased To Meet Me, with has everything from hit singles of a sort of the gentle charm of the Simon & Garfunkel worthy tune "Skyway." Their album Tim came between those two, but sort of fell through the cracks for me and most others, I'd say. Now, this remixed version (cheekily named Let It Bleed) has me thinking THIS is their masterpiece. It's a revelation and if you love the Stones and such, I can't imagine why you wouldn't enjoy this.
THE BEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME (MY #1 PICK EACH YEAR 1924 TO THE PRESENT)
THE 2020s
THE 2010s
iLe -- Almadura (2019)
BOBBIE GENTRY -- The Girl From Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters (2018)
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT -- Dreams And Daggers (2017)
DAVID BOWIE -- Blackstar and Lazarus ep (2016 tie)
THE 2020s
GREEN DAY -- Survivor (2024 -- work-in-progress)
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Javelin (2023)
ELVIS COSTELLO -- The Boy Named If /The Resurrection of Rust (2022)
FLOATING POINTS AND PHAROAH SANDERS -- Promises (2021)
A GIRL CALLED EDDY -- Been Around (2020)
THE 2010s
iLe -- Almadura (2019)
BOBBIE GENTRY -- The Girl From Chickasaw County: The Complete Capitol Masters (2018)
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT -- Dreams And Daggers (2017)
DAVID BOWIE -- Blackstar and Lazarus ep (2016 tie)
LEONARD COHEN -- You Want It Darker (2016 tie)
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Carrie and Lowell (2015)
KAISER CHIEFS -- Education, Education, Education and War (2014)
JANELLE MONAE -- The Electric Lady (2013)
RUMER -- Seasons Of My Soul/Boys Don't Cry (2012)
FLEET FOXES -- Hopelessness Blues (2011)
THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- The Wild Hunt (2010)
THE 2000s
THE AVETT BROTHERS -- I And Love And You (2009)
WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS -- Two Men With The Blues (2008)
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- 100 Days 100 Nights (2007)
GREEN DAY -- American Idiot (2004)
THE WHITE STRIPES -- Elephant (2003)
NORAH JONES -- Come Away With Me (2002)
MANU CHAO -- Proxima Estacion: Esperanza (2001)
EMINEM -- The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
THE 1990s
DAVID GRAY -- White Ladder (1999)
BILLY BRAGG AND WILCO -- Mermaid Avenue (1998)
RADIOHEAD -- O.K. Computer (1997)
BECK -- Odelay (1996)
THE MAVERICKS -- Music For All Occasions (1995 -- tie)
ALISON KRAUSS -- Now That I've Found You: A Collection (1995 -- tie)
JOHNNY CASH -- American Recordings (1994)
CASSANDRA WILSON -- Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993)
kd lang -- Ingenue (1992)
NIRVANA -- Nevermind (1991)
MADONNA -- The Immaculate Collection (1990)
THE 1980s
BEASTIE BOYS -- Paul's Boutique (1989)
PUBLIC ENEMY -- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT, EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Trio (1987)
PAUL SIMON -- Graceland (1986 -- tie)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume One (1986 -- tie)
BARBRA STREISAND -- The Broadway Album (1985 -- tie)
PREFAB SPROUT -- Steve McQueen aka Two Wheels Good (1985 -- tie)
U2 -- The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
R.E.M. -- Murmur (1983)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Nebraska (1982)
QUEEN -- Greatest Hits (1981)
JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO -- Double Fantasy (1980)
THE 1970s
THE CLASH -- London Calling (1979)
WILLIE NELSON -- Stardust (1978)
STEELY DAN -- Aja (1977)
STEVIE WONDER -- Songs In The Key Of Life (1976)
BOB DYLAN -- Blood On The Tracks/The Basement Tapes (1975)
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Catch A Fire/Burnin' (1973)
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Greatest Hits (1972)
JONI MITCHELL -- Blue (1971)
RANDY NEWMAN -- 12 Songs (1970 -- tie)
HARRY NILSSON -- Nilsson Sings Newman (1970 -- tie)
THE 1960s
THE BEATLES -- Abbey Road (1969)
VAN MORRISON -- Astral Weeks (1968)
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (1967)
THE BEACH BOYS -- Pet Sounds (1966 -- tie)
THE BEATLES -- Revolver (1966 -- tie)
BOB DYLAN -- Bringing It All Back Home/Highway 61 (1965)
STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO -- Getz/Gilberto (1964)
PATSY CLINE -- The Patsy Cline Story (1963)
RAY CHARLES -- Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music Vol 1 and 2 (1962)
BILL EVANS -- Sunday At The Village Vanguard/Waltz For Debby (1961)
ELLA FITZGERALD -- The Intimate Ella (1960)
THE 1950s
MILES DAVIS -- Kind Of Blue/Workin'/Porgy and Bess (1959)
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1958)
LERNER AND LOEWE -- My Fair Lady Original Broadway Cast (1957)
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
FRANK SINATRA -- In The Wee Small Hours (1955)
DINAH WASHINGTON -- Dinah Jams (1954)
PEGGY LEE -- Black Coffee (1953)
VARIOUS ARTISTS/HARRY SMITH -- The Anthology Of American Folk Music (1952)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits (1951)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Decca Recordings (1944-1950) (1950)
THE 1940s
DJANGO REINHARDT -- Djangology 49 (1949)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits (1948)
WOODY GUTHRIE -- Songs To Grow On: Nursery Days aka For Mother And Child (1947)
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951) (1946)
BING CROSBY -- Merry Christmas (1945)
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- Oklahoma! (1944)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 (1943)
FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor (1942)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band (1941)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band/1937-1940 on Classics Label (1940)
THE 1930s
GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller (1939)
BENNY GOODMAN -- Benny Goodman At Carnegie Hall (1938)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 3-4 1936-1937 (1937)
ROBERT JOHNSON -- King Of The Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1 (1936)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Decca 1934-1954] (1935)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954] (1934)
BESSIE SMITH -- The Collection (1933)
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings (1932)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934] (1931)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930/1924-1930 on Classics Label (1930)
THE 1920s
CHARLEY PATTON -- King Of The Delta Blues (1929-1934) (1929)
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings (1928)
HENRY THOMAS -- Bull Doze Blues (1927-1929)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1927)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1926)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1925)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label (1924)
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Carrie and Lowell (2015)
KAISER CHIEFS -- Education, Education, Education and War (2014)
JANELLE MONAE -- The Electric Lady (2013)
RUMER -- Seasons Of My Soul/Boys Don't Cry (2012)
FLEET FOXES -- Hopelessness Blues (2011)
THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- The Wild Hunt (2010)
THE 2000s
THE AVETT BROTHERS -- I And Love And You (2009)
WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS -- Two Men With The Blues (2008)
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- 100 Days 100 Nights (2007)
CORINNE BAILEY RAE -- Corinne Bailey Rae (2006 tie)
JAMES HUNTER -- People Gonna Talk (2006 tie)
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Illinois (2005)GREEN DAY -- American Idiot (2004)
THE WHITE STRIPES -- Elephant (2003)
NORAH JONES -- Come Away With Me (2002)
MANU CHAO -- Proxima Estacion: Esperanza (2001)
EMINEM -- The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
THE 1990s
DAVID GRAY -- White Ladder (1999)
BILLY BRAGG AND WILCO -- Mermaid Avenue (1998)
RADIOHEAD -- O.K. Computer (1997)
BECK -- Odelay (1996)
THE MAVERICKS -- Music For All Occasions (1995 -- tie)
ALISON KRAUSS -- Now That I've Found You: A Collection (1995 -- tie)
JOHNNY CASH -- American Recordings (1994)
CASSANDRA WILSON -- Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993)
kd lang -- Ingenue (1992)
NIRVANA -- Nevermind (1991)
MADONNA -- The Immaculate Collection (1990)
THE 1980s
BEASTIE BOYS -- Paul's Boutique (1989)
PUBLIC ENEMY -- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT, EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Trio (1987)
PAUL SIMON -- Graceland (1986 -- tie)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume One (1986 -- tie)
BARBRA STREISAND -- The Broadway Album (1985 -- tie)
PREFAB SPROUT -- Steve McQueen aka Two Wheels Good (1985 -- tie)
U2 -- The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
R.E.M. -- Murmur (1983)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Nebraska (1982)
QUEEN -- Greatest Hits (1981)
JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO -- Double Fantasy (1980)
THE 1970s
THE CLASH -- London Calling (1979)
WILLIE NELSON -- Stardust (1978)
STEELY DAN -- Aja (1977)
STEVIE WONDER -- Songs In The Key Of Life (1976)
BOB DYLAN -- Blood On The Tracks/The Basement Tapes (1975)
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Catch A Fire/Burnin' (1973)
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Greatest Hits (1972)
JONI MITCHELL -- Blue (1971)
RANDY NEWMAN -- 12 Songs (1970 -- tie)
HARRY NILSSON -- Nilsson Sings Newman (1970 -- tie)
THE 1960s
THE BEATLES -- Abbey Road (1969)
VAN MORRISON -- Astral Weeks (1968)
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (1967)
THE BEACH BOYS -- Pet Sounds (1966 -- tie)
THE BEATLES -- Revolver (1966 -- tie)
BOB DYLAN -- Bringing It All Back Home/Highway 61 (1965)
STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO -- Getz/Gilberto (1964)
PATSY CLINE -- The Patsy Cline Story (1963)
RAY CHARLES -- Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music Vol 1 and 2 (1962)
BILL EVANS -- Sunday At The Village Vanguard/Waltz For Debby (1961)
ELLA FITZGERALD -- The Intimate Ella (1960)
THE 1950s
MILES DAVIS -- Kind Of Blue/Workin'/Porgy and Bess (1959)
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1958)
LERNER AND LOEWE -- My Fair Lady Original Broadway Cast (1957)
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
FRANK SINATRA -- In The Wee Small Hours (1955)
DINAH WASHINGTON -- Dinah Jams (1954)
PEGGY LEE -- Black Coffee (1953)
VARIOUS ARTISTS/HARRY SMITH -- The Anthology Of American Folk Music (1952)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits (1951)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Decca Recordings (1944-1950) (1950)
THE 1940s
DJANGO REINHARDT -- Djangology 49 (1949)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits (1948)
WOODY GUTHRIE -- Songs To Grow On: Nursery Days aka For Mother And Child (1947)
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951) (1946)
BING CROSBY -- Merry Christmas (1945)
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- Oklahoma! (1944)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 (1943)
FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor (1942)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band (1941)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band/1937-1940 on Classics Label (1940)
THE 1930s
GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller (1939)
BENNY GOODMAN -- Benny Goodman At Carnegie Hall (1938)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 3-4 1936-1937 (1937)
ROBERT JOHNSON -- King Of The Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1 (1936)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Decca 1934-1954] (1935)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954] (1934)
BESSIE SMITH -- The Collection (1933)
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings (1932)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934] (1931)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930/1924-1930 on Classics Label (1930)
THE 1920s
CHARLEY PATTON -- King Of The Delta Blues (1929-1934) (1929)
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings (1928)
HENRY THOMAS -- Bull Doze Blues (1927-1929)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1927)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1926)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1925)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label (1924)
MUSIC LIBRARY LIST OF ALBUMS BY ARTIST
Wondering what I think about Bruce Springsteen's body of work? Or where to start with Prefab Sprout (who?) or Frank Sinatra? Check out my list of albums, organized alphabetically by artist and then chronologically by album with a rating for each one. Under A-E you'll find ABBA to the Everly Brothers, from F to J Marianne Faithful to Damien Jurado, from K-O the Kaiser Chiefs to Buck Owens and so on.
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