Having re-established his reputation with the musically varied, lyrically enraged Freedom, Neil Young returned to being the lead guitarist of Crazy Horse for the musically homogenous, lyrically hopeful Ragged Glory. The album's dominant sound was made by Young's noisy guitar, which bordered on and sometimes slipped over into distortion, while Crazy Horse kept up the songs' bright tempos. Despite the volume, the tunes were catchy, with strong melodies and good choruses, and they were given over to love, humor, and warm reminiscence. They were also platforms for often extended guitar excursions: "Love to Burn" and "Love and Only Love" ran over ten minutes each, and the album as a whole lasted nearly 63 minutes with only ten songs. Much about the record had a retrospective feel -- the first two tracks, "Country Home" and "White Line," were newly recorded versions of songs Young had played with Crazy Horse but never released in the '70s; "Mansion on the Hill," the album's most accessible track, celebrated a place where "psychedelic music fills the air" and "peace and love live there still"; there was a cover of the Premiers' garage rock oldie "Farmer John"; and "Days That Used to Be," in addition to its backward-looking theme, borrowed the melody from Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages" (by way of the Byrds' arrangement), while "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" was the folk standard "The Water Is Wide" with new, environmentally aware lyrics. Young was not generally known as an artist who evoked the past this much, but if he could extend his creative rebirth with music this exhilarating, no one was likely to complain.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Dark and glistening. Like a cave on the French Riviera. That’s where Jagger and Richards' band – living as tax exiles - recorded the immense Exile on Main Street, a musical feast with dishes served as country (Sweet Black Angel, Sweet Virginia), gospel (Shine a Light), blues (Shake Your Hips) and visceral rock'n'roll (the opening of Rocks Off and the cult track Happy with Keith Richards on vocals). The Rolling Stones may have been at the height of fame, but this masterpiece came from the heart and soul, with a dark and dirty sound and a sincere and raw style. American roots music (country, blues, folk) had rarely sounded so original. Jagger sings like an inspired old sage. Richards unleashes sharp, sublime guitar riffs. After all these years, we still can’t find the slightest flaw in this double album which many consider to be The Rolling Stones’ best... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

After the freakish hard rock of The Man Who Sold the World, David Bowie returned to singer/songwriter territory on Hunky Dory. Not only did the album boast more folky songs ("Song for Bob Dylan," "The Bewlay Brothers"), but he again flirted with Anthony Newley-esque dancehall music ("Kooks," "Fill Your Heart"), seemingly leaving heavy metal behind. As a result, Hunky Dory is a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic mélange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class. Mick Ronson's guitar is pushed to the back, leaving Rick Wakeman's cabaret piano to dominate the sound of the album. The subdued support accentuates the depth of Bowie's material, whether it's the revamped Tin Pan Alley of "Changes," the Neil Young homage "Quicksand," the soaring "Life on Mars?," the rolling, vaguely homosexual anthem "Oh! You Pretty Things," or the dark acoustic rocker "Andy Warhol." On the surface, such a wide range of styles and sounds would make an album incoherent, but Bowie's improved songwriting and determined sense of style instead made Hunky Dory a touchstone for reinterpreting pop's traditions into fresh, postmodern pop music.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Released in 1982, the double-album Original Musiquarium I summarizes Stevie Wonder's classic period of the '70s, concentrating primarily on the hits, but adding a few album tracks to hint at the depth of his albums, as well as four new songs (one for each side, all pleasant, none particularly remarkable). Though there could be some dispute about the album tracks, this does wind up as an excellent overview of Wonder's period of greatest activity, and it's a terrific listen to boot -- any record that sports such hits as "Superstition," "You Haven't Done Nothin'," "Living for the City," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Higher Ground," "Sir Duke," "Boogie on Reggae Woman," and "I Wish" is guaranteed to be a great listen, and it is. Wonder remains a quintessential album artist, but this record is a terrific snapshot of the highlights.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Dark and glistening. Like a cave on the French Riviera. That’s where Jagger and Richards' band – living as tax exiles - recorded the immense Exile on Main Street, a musical feast with dishes served as country (Sweet Black Angel, Sweet Virginia), gospel (Shine a Light), blues (Shake Your Hips) and visceral rock'n'roll (the opening of Rocks Off and the cult track Happy with Keith Richards on vocals). The Rolling Stones may have been at the height of fame, but this masterpiece came from the heart and soul, with a dark and dirty sound and a sincere and raw style. American roots music (country, blues, folk) had rarely sounded so original. Jagger sings like an inspired old sage. Richards unleashes sharp, sublime guitar riffs. After all these years, we still can’t find the slightest flaw in this double album which many consider to be The Rolling Stones’ best... © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Picture This found Huey Lewis and the News developing a signature sound, but they truly came into their own on their third album, Sports. It's true that the record holds together better than its predecessors because it has a clear, professional production, but the real key is the songs. Where their previous albums were cluttered with generic filler, nearly every song on Sports has a huge hook. And even if the News aren't bothered by breaking new ground, there's no denying that the craftmanship on Sports is pretty infectious. There's a reason why well over half of the album ("The Heart of Rock & Roll," "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug," "Walking on a Thin Line," "If This Is It") were huge American hit singles -- they have instantly memorable hooks, driven home with economical precision by a tight bar band, who are given just enough polish to make them sound like superstars. And that's just what Sports made them.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Youth says, "I can do it all." But years pass and suddenly, in music at least, the idea of collaborators, of stacking the deck in your favor while paying tribute to the past begins to have a canny appeal. There's no questioning Jenny Lewis' prodigious talents—Vegas-born successful child actor, onetime leader of the band Rilo Kiley and now, on her fourth solo album, a fan of old pros and the success of the California sound of the 70s. Using the piano on which Carole King recorded Tapestry, and with vocals recorded in Sinatra's Capitol Records Studio B, On The Line evinces a cool, effective nerve and perspective in both Lewis’ dynamic singing and her multi-faceted songwriting, which here serve bruised, reflective lyrics about rampant familial dysfunction, hot sex and the edge between self-discovery and self-destruction. The wonderful specificity of her words adds vivid flavors as she argues about Elliott Smith and grenadine, plays Candy Crush, cries like Meryl Streep and looks up "at the chemtrail haze." Where her last album The Voyager leaned towards an 80’s rock sound, this stronger set revels in a seductive musical homage to 70’s Fleetwood Mac-like L.A. decadence and hooky pop/rock. Lewis' sharp, imagistic originals are the star here. The album’s rocker, "Red Bull and Hennessy," complete with an abrupt ending, is appropriately intoxicating. Led by an acoustic piano, "Wasted Youth" examines one of Lewis favorite subjects. If there’s any controversy here it lies in the gleaming sound and glossy production choices which, centered on her voice, layers on the reverb, big drums and a booming ambience. And then there's that aforementioned supporting cast. Starting with heavyweights like Beck and Ryan Adams producing and playing on the album, the band here speaks volumes about Lewis’ reputation and talent and includes drummers Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr, guitarists Smokey Hormel and Jason Faulkner, bassist Don Was and keyboardist Benmont Tench. Simultaneously harrowing, irresistible and more than a little calculating, On The Line, with its accumulated experience and wisdom is a career milestone. © Robert Baird / Qobuz

Using his status as a glam rock icon, Brian Eno launched the label Obscure Records in the mid- 70s, allowing him to bring his most experimental projects to life and introduce his listeners to works by contemporary composers with somewhat discrete audiences (Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, Harold Budd…), the British equivalent to the American minimalist movement (Riley, Glass, Reich…). 1976 marked the release of Penguin Café Orchestra’s debut album, a group founded by the British composer Simon Jeffes. After exploring rock and contemporary music, Jeffes became interested in the spontaneous aspect of traditional music. He synthesised these three genres by combining classical instruments (from Europe and elsewhere) with manipulated tapes and electronic accessories, and in doing so defined an energetic, conceptual and light sound. Penguin Café Orchestra continued for decades, crafting a strong, influential identity right up until Jeffes’ death in 1997. Ten years later, his son Arthur Jeffes, also a composer (Sundog, Aparat), decided to continue his father’s legacy and, by shortening the name, brought Penguin Café back to life. He revisited their original repertoire as well as developing the group’s sound through new inspired compositions. Handful of Nights is the fruit of an expedition to Antarctica, bringing artists and scientists together under the auspices of Greenpeace. Arthur Jeffes was particularly moved by the beautiful scenery. The album begins with the dazzling Winter Sun and ends with the dusky Midnight Sun, two pieces where the piano seems to illustrate the Northern lights. Four pieces were inspired by the behaviour of different types of penguins: Chinstrap, Adelie, The Life of an Emperor and Gentoo Origin. The instruments recreate the birds’ amusing way of waddling, as well as describing the ruffling of their feathers and their splendid environment. Pythagorus on the Line Again is a reworking of one of the tracks from Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s last album, Union Café (1993). Situated somewhere between folktronica, pastoral ambience and updated minimalism, Handful of Nights unveils soothing and stimulating music with the added bonus of promoting ecological awareness. © Benjamin MiNiMuM/Qobuz

Featuring the singles "Cut the Line," "Swerve," "Kill the Noise," "Dying to Believe," and "Stand Up," Ego Trip is the 11th full-length effort from the multi-platinum-selling California hard rockers. The LP sees Papa Roach unleash their most wide-ranging effort to date, delivering a dizzying 14-song set of anthemic, mainstream rock peppered with flourishes of hip-hop, heavy metal, and glitchy electronics.© TiVo

Coming on the heels of the commercially and artistically successful Pump, the fitfully entertaining Get a Grip doesn't match its predecessor's musical diversity, but it's not for lack of trying. In fact, Aerosmith try too hard, making a stab at social commentary ("Livin' on the Edge") while keeping adolescent fans in their corner with their trademark raunch-rock ("Get a Grip" and "Eat the Rich"), as well as having radio-ready hit ballads ("Cryin'," "Amazing," and "Crazy"). It might be a studied performance, but since the album sounds good, many listeners will be willing to overlook those flaws and simply enjoy the ride.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

After the freakish hard rock of The Man Who Sold the World, David Bowie returned to singer/songwriter territory on Hunky Dory. Not only did the album boast more folky songs ("Song for Bob Dylan," "The Bewlay Brothers"), but he again flirted with Anthony Newley-esque dancehall music ("Kooks," "Fill Your Heart"), seemingly leaving heavy metal behind. As a result, Hunky Dory is a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic mélange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class. Mick Ronson's guitar is pushed to the back, leaving Rick Wakeman's cabaret piano to dominate the sound of the album. The subdued support accentuates the depth of Bowie's material, whether it's the revamped Tin Pan Alley of "Changes," the Neil Young homage "Quicksand," the soaring "Life on Mars?," the rolling, vaguely homosexual anthem "Oh! You Pretty Things," or the dark acoustic rocker "Andy Warhol." On the surface, such a wide range of styles and sounds would make an album incoherent, but Bowie's improved songwriting and determined sense of style instead made Hunky Dory a touchstone for reinterpreting pop's traditions into fresh, postmodern pop music.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

With 1974's Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell had ascended from top-tier Laurel Canyon icon into the uncomfortably rarified air of superstardom, with the omnipresent radio success of "Help Me" bringing her unique creative vision into the AM radios and console stereos of Middle America. Of course, Mitchell being Mitchell, her response was to follow up that success with a live album, Miles of Aisles, that emphasized Court's jazzier influences (and gave front-cover credit to the fusion group, L.A. Express, that helped realize them) and then a studio album that pushed her even further away from the soft-pop/singer-songwriter reputation she had among more casual fans. The Hissing of Summer Lawns is, to be blunt, the place where Joni Mitchell looked stardom in the eye and decided she would much prefer seeing how far she could push herself creatively. She is unapologetic, and absolutely forward-facing throughout, utilizing technology (the loops and samples on "The Jungle Line," the ARP string machine on "Shadows and Light") and the considerable chops of some of L.A.'s best musicians (members of L.A. Express, along with similarly jazz-oriented session players like Victor Feldman, Larry Carlton, and Joe Sample) to realize the complex sonic constructions she envisioned to complement her lyrics. The result is a piece of work that combines highly evocative lyrics, dense rhythms, and an organic spaciousness. Hissing utterly defines the possibilities of a musician fully realizing their inspiration, much in the same way Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life would a year later. Unlike Key of Life, though, Mitchell's work was greeted with near-hostility by contemporaneous critics, who would have much preferred she stay in her confessional folksy lane. And while many folks latched onto the album's "jazzy" elements, this is still very much a pop record. Sure, the structures are more open-ended than a typical verse-chorus-verse pop song, but this is not improvisational jazz. Joni Mitchell has always been an architect of songs, and the works here are all meticulously constructed. (And in several instances—"Edith and the Kingpin" or "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow"—he open-chord guitar work and gentle melodies would not have been out of place on earlier albums.) Still, there is a rich, lived-in warmth to the instrumentation here (which positively blossoms in contemporary hi-res masterings), and the interplay between Mitchell's evocative lyricism and the rich sonic tapestry created by all the players (including Mitchell herself) makes for a dazzling listening session. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

Five years after his Brown Sugar album helped launch contemporary R&B, D'Angelo finally returned with his sophomore effort, Voodoo. His soulful voice is just as sweet as it was on Brown Sugar, though D'Angelo stretches out with a varied cast of collaborators, including trumpeter Roy Hargrove and guitarist Charlie Hunter, fellow neo-soul stars Lauryn Hill and Raphael Saadiq, and hip-hop heads like DJ Premier, Method Man & Redman, and Q-Tip. It must have been difficult to match his debut (and the frequent delays prove it was on his mind), but Voodoo is just as rewarding a soul album as D'Angelo's first.© John Bush /TiVo

Renewal, the sequel to his Grammy-winning Rounder debut Home, finds Billy Strings following a similar path that he did on his breakthrough record. The instrumentation and format are traditional bluegrass, while the songwriting is progressive and the execution is heartfelt and lively, elements that make Renewal feel vital and vibrant. At seventy minutes, Renewal runs a bit long but its momentum never ceases and the extra space allows for Strings and his supple, intuitive band to push at the boundaries of where traditional and progressive bluegrass meet.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo