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Love God Murder - Johnny Cash
Country, review by David Hill

Johnny Cash never killed a man just to watch him die, but he forged a career of love, God and murder. (05/18/00)

Bedhead Loved Macha - Bedhead/Macha
Pop/Rock, review by Joey Sweeney

Bedhead sing their swan song through Macha, the only indie-rock band forgiven for smelling like patchouli. (05/17/00)

Pastoral Composure - Matthew Shipp
Jazz, review by Seth Mnookin

Downtown jazz pianist Matthew Shipp takes the A train. (05/16/00)

Comatised - Leona Naess
Pop/Rock, review by Carrie Havranek
Another solipsistic chick with an airy voice? Leona Naess proves that's not such a bad thing. (05/15/00)

This Time Around - Hanson
Pop/Rock, review by David Cantwell
Teen trio Hanson grows up on "This Time Around." But will they still have an audience willing to listen? (05/11/00)

Hot Rail - Calexico
Pop/Rock, review by Lisa Gidley
Like a long drive through the American Southwest, Calexico's "Hot Rail" evokes a landscape of sun-cracked desert basins and lusty border towns. (05/10/00)

The Geometrid - Looper
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Heim
Belle and Sebastian spinoff Looper's billowy songs float on groovy rhythms, electronic beats and laid-back vibes. (05/09/00)

The Noise Made By People - Broadcast
Pop/Rock, review by Carlene Bauer
Futures past to past futures, Broadcast fuse the cool sounds of '60s films to singer Trish Keenan's chilly fables. (05/08/00)

Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Joey Sweeney
In an era when everyone is cool, "sadcore" musicians rewrite the pathetic story of tortured soul John Denver. (05/05/00)

distant - Sarge
Pop/Rock, review by Charles Taylor
As a band, Sarge never knew how good they were. Fortunately, their post-break album "distant" makes a decent epitaph. (05/04/00)

The Complete Columbia Recordings, 1956-61 - Miles Davis and John Coltrane
Jazz, review by Michael Ullman
Three kings -- Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderly -- rip through six CDs of the most ravishing jazz ever played. (05/03/00)

White Pepper - Ween
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
The brothers Ween might be living in the shadow of Frank Zappa, but they still sound like they're shocked by their own shtick. (05/02/00)

Kids in Philly - Marah
Pop/Rock, review by David Cantwell
Endorsed by Steve Earle, compared to Springsteen, Marah map out the streets of South Philly with an out-of-breath rock 'n' roll rush. (05/01/00)

Gimme Indie Rock Volume One - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Joey Sweeney
The label synonymous with "As Seen on TV" goes after indie rock. Oh, sweet, delicious irony. (04/28/00)

Both Sides of the Brain - Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Hip-Hop, review by Bill Werde
At 18, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien had hits, connections and a major record deal. Nine years later, Del the Funky Homosapien has got domino rhymes and severely sore thumbs. (04/27/00)

The Pizza Tapes - Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Tony Rice
Country/Folk, review by Seth Mnookin
Sometimes Jerry Garcia sounded bored playing with the Dead. But on the David Grisman-Tony Rice project "The Pizza Tapes," the old guitarist nearly caught fire. (04/26/00)

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, The Album - Various Artists
Soundtrack, review by Alex Pappademas
RZA's music "inspired by" Jim Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog" lags behind the inspired cuts of the actual film. (04/25/00)

A Night at the Playboy Mansion - DJ Dimitri from Paris
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
DJ Dimitri from Paris swings at the Playboy Mansion. (04/24/00)

The Freelance Years: The Complete Riverside and Contemporary Recordings - Sonny Rollins
Jazz, review by Michael Ullman
On a magisterial five-CD reissue, legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins explodes modern jazz. (04/21/00)

The Man Who - Travis
Pop/Rock, review by Wendy Mitchell
England's favorite band, Travis, shakes schizophrenia, embraces bummer folk rock. (04/20/00)

Beyond - Joshua Redman
Jazz, review by Philip Booth
Young-lion jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman steps up to roar on "Beyond." (04/19/00)

Flying Saucer Blues - Peter Case
Pop/Rock, review by Geoff Edgers
From "Hanging on the Telephone" to hanging in the old oak tree, Peter Case has left power pop for jilted folk. (04/18/00)

Desert Skies - Beachwood Sparks
Pop/Rock, review by Carrie Havranek
Listening to the sound of deserts and canyons, Beachwood Sparks ride a California dream. (04/17/00)

Punishing Kiss - Ute Lemper
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
The vision of a Valkyrian dominatrix, Ute Lemper steps into a smoky cabaret with songs by Tom Waits, Kurt Weill, Nick Cave and Elvis Costello. (04/14/00)

Greatest Gospel Hits - Al Green
Jazz/World, review by Andy Battaglia
From "Ha!" to "Hallelujah," the Rev. Al Green's gospel hits held onto the earthly sound of sweet salvation. (04/13/00)

Vertigo - Cinnamon
Pop/Rock, review by Joey Sweeney
Swedish popsters Cinnamon have the singer, the songs and the sheen. They're like the Cardigans -- for smart people. (04/12/00)

Equally Cursed and Blessed - Catatonia
Pop/Rock, review by Stephanie Zacharek
Like Lolita with a conscience, Catatonia's Cerys Matthews blows and huffs through the beguiling "Equally Cursed and Blessed." (04/11/00)

High Fidelity Original Soundtrack - Various Artists
Soundtrack, review by Michelle Goldberg
Loaded with off tunes by Dylan and the Velvet Underground as well as killer songs by Smog, Stereolab and the Beta Band, the "High Fidelity" soundtrack plays like a perfect mix tape. (04/07/00)

000 - Delta 72
Pop/Rock, review by Mac Montandon
Goddamn! Soul-punk R&B fans the Delta 72 trade sharp angles for shaggy, stoned beats. (04/06/00)

Installation Sonore - Rinocerose
Pop/Rock, review by Joey Sweeney
Fronted by a husband-and-wife team of French psychiatrists, Rinocerose introduce house music to post-rock. Yikes! (04/05/00)

Glenn Gould Plays Bach (Original Jacket Collection) - Glenn Gould
Classical, review by Patrick Giles
The stunning Glenn Gould on Bach boxed set of reissues captures the rare instant when performer, composer and instrument meet in perfection. (04/04/00)

Supergrass - Supergrass
Pop/Rock, review by Lisa Gidley
Hook-filled singles and breezy rock songs about the joy of breezy rock songs -- maybe Supergrass are the new Kinks. (04/03/00)

Late for the Future - Galactic
Pop/Rock, review by Philip Booth
Galactic's swampy funk melds Meters-style riffs, acid-jazz grooves and jam-band spontaneity. (03/31/00)

White Ladder - David Gray
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Heim
English folkie David Gray is a star in the U.K. Can some electronic blips and an endorsement from Dave Matthews win him an audience in the States? (03/30/00)

Beneath the Country Underdog - Kelly Hogan and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Country/Folk, review by Don McLeese
Post-punk good ol' gal Kelly Hogan has a smoky alto that can effortlessly waltz between an uptown cabaret and a country roadhouse. (03/29/00)

Aquarius - Aqua
Pop, review by Michelle Goldberg
Aqua's radio confections match pomo knowingness with sugar-shocked swells. The insidious result: Pop that eats itself. (03/28/00)

Zero Accidents on the Job: Luaka Bop 10th Anniversary - Various Artists
World, review by Joey Sweeney
Celebrating 10 years of David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, "Zero Accidents on the Job" shows how to do world music right. (03/27/00)

The Covers Record - Cat Power
Pop/Rock, review by Dave McCoy
On "The Covers Record," Cat Power strips "Satisfaction" of Jagger's swagger and manages to velvet over the VU. (03/24/00)

"Gung Ho" - Patti Smith; "Both Sides Now" - Joni Mitchell
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
Patti Smith explodes on "Gung Ho," the best record since she returned to rock. Joni Mitchell, meanwhile, collapses under jazz pretense and a ravaged voice. (03/23/00)

Points in Time, Vols. 4, 5 and 6 - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
The three-disc "Points of Light" comp flies off to an expansive, airy space -- somewhere between jungle, jazz-fusion and outer space. (03/22/00)

Winners Never Quit - Pedro the Lion
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Pedro the Lion's acoustic pop aims to reconcile evil, pain and weakness with belief and compassion. (03/21/00)

Madeline - Randy Weeks
Pop/Rock, review by David Hill
Former Lonesome Stranger Randy Weeks' thin, wobbly voice conveys the pain and emotion of a grown-up cowpunk. (03/20/00)

Blackalicious; The Anti-Pop Consortium
Hip-hop, review by Joseph Patel
The positive hip-hop of Blackalicious and Anti-Pop Consortium celebrates hip-hop past, present and future. (03/17/00)

At Home With the Groovebox - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Alex Pappademas
Beck's Kraftwerk-meets-Kraft-cheese funk -- and more audio fromage from Sonic Youth, Pavement, Cibo Matto and Air -- on "At Home With the Groovebox." (03/16/00)

The Truth - Beanie Sigel
Hip-Hop, review by Jon Caramanica
Hyped hip-hop star Beanie Sigel tells "The Truth," the whole truth and everything but the truth. (03/15/00)

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants - Oasis
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Caramanica
What happens when a band like Oasis, known for youthful swagger and insouciance, actually grow up? You fall asleep of boredom. (03/14/00)

1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions - The Stooges
Pop/Rock, review by Don McLeese
On Rhino's exhaustive "1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions," the Stooges obliterate the line between dumb joke and visionary achievement. (03/13/00)

Whatever You Love, You Are - The Dirty Three
Pop/Rock, review by Lydia Vanderloo
The sad, dangerous sounds of the Dirty Three capture the wisdom of pain and experience. (03/10/00)

One Endless Night - Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Pop/Rock, review by David Cantwell
Zen cowboy Jimmie Dale Gilmore expresses the beauty of sadness and the perfection of sorrow. (03/09/00)

V.I.P. - Jungle Brothers
Hip-Hop, review by Jon Caramanica
Socially conscious hip-hop pioneers the Jungle Brothers find the dance floor. Pointlessness ensues. (03/08/00)

Buildings and Grounds - Papas Fritas
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
On "Buildings and Grounds," Boston trio Papas Fritas prefer precious pretense to prescient emotion. (03/07/00)

Ordinary Man - Day One
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Day One find beauty in the sidewalk cracks without glossing over the British lower-middle-class milieu. (03/06/00)

Supreme Clientele - Ghostface Killah
Hip-Hop, review by Jon Caramanica
Wu-Tang Clan's grandest gastronome, Ghostface Killah, slips between chaotic crime and silly non sequiturs. (03/03/00)

Living in the Flood - Horace Andy
Jazz/World, review by Michelle Goldberg
Reggae legend and Massive Attack collaborator Horace Andy returns to the rootsy style and socially conscious work of his early Studio One career. (03/02/00)

Machina: The Machines of God - Smashing Pumpkins
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Heim
Message to Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan: You are not God. (03/01/00)

Virgin Suicides - Air
Soundtrack, review by Michelle Goldberg
Air's "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack sparkles with the sublimated passion of teenage occultism. (02/29/00)

Get Some Go Again - Rollins Band
Pop/Rock, review by Christopher Binkley
Smashing fey rockers with one hand, punching complacency with the other, Henry Rollins robotically returns to rock 'n' roll. (02/28/00)

Guarapero: Lost Blues 2 - Will Oldham
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
"Guarapero: Lost Blues 2" collects Will Oldham's stream-of-consciousness rants and odd tales of sexual dysfunction. (02/25/00)

Furnace Room Lullaby - Neko Case
Country, review by Joe Heim
Caught between Patti and Patsy, between Dolly and the Dolls, Neko Case steamrolls your emotions, then whispers confessions you should probably never hear. (02/24/00)

Grammy Nominees 2000 - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Caramanica
A compilation of songs from this year's Grammy nominees aims for the hearts of soccer moms and Shrieking Teenage Girls. (02/23/00)

BBC Sessions - The Who
Pop/Rock, review by John Perry
"BBC Sessions" captures the tension and drive of the Who's unlikely marriage of pop smarts and rock violence. (02/22/00)

"Twenty Four Seven" by Tina Turner, "New Day Dawning" by Wynonna
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Caramanica
Tina Turner and Wynonna Judd want you to feel their pain (02/18/00)

Bloodflowers - The Cure
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Cure fans know the band was at its best making shiny, happy pop. So why have the cartoon necrophiliacs gone back to wallowing in muddy gunk? (02/17/00)

Nixon - Lambchop
Country, review by Seth Mnookin
Nashville's Lambchop mixes Salvation Army band arrangements with '50s Stax R&B and country torch and twang. (02/16/00)

Pieces in a Modern Style - William Orbit
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
For all its pretentions, William Orbit's "Pieces in a Modern Style" makes for seductive secret listening. (02/15/00)

It's Very Stimulating - Paul Barman
Hip-Hop, review by Joseph Patel
Infused with pop culture and heady literary theory, Paul Barman's Ivy League rhymes crackle with clever jokes and silly wit. (02/14/00)

Country Favorites -- Willie Nelson Style - Willie Nelson
Country, review by David Hill
Never before released on CD, "Country Favorites -- Willie Nelson Style" introduces the quirky singer before he became the Red Headed Stranger. (02/11/00)

Future Shock - Herbie Hancock
Jazz, review by Geoff Edgers
Herbie Hancock's "Future Shock" annoyed the critics and offended the purists in 1983, but the new reissue just sounds like a Bill Laswell record that spawned an unfortunate series of fusion projects. (02/10/00)

III - Guy
R&B, review by Jon Caramanica
New Jack Swingers Guy killed old-school R&B. On "III," the trio gets what's coming. (02/09/00)

Clicks + Cuts - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
"Clicks + Cuts" reconciles avant-electronic music with the politics of dancing. (02/08/00)

Trio 99>00 - Pat Metheny
Jazz, review by Mike Britten
On "Trio 99>00," Pat Metheny's stipped-down outfit rips and soars above off-the-metronome grooves. (02/07/00)

Helicopter String Quartet - Karlheinz Stockhausen
Classical, review by Andy Battaglia
Stockhausen's "Helicopter String Quartet" gives a whole new meaning to in-flight recording. (02/04/00)

The Night - Morphine
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
Morphine's last record, completed just before singer Mark Sandman's death, bids farewell to the rocker who wanted to walk across a carpet of stars. (02/03/00)

Voodoo - D'Angelo
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
D'Angelo's potent sensuality sneaks into dreams and turns day into steamy night . (02/02/00)

Passport - Kahn
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
On the scattered "Passport," Kahn's musical shortcomings upstage a compelling multiple-personality crisis. (02/01/00)

Building Nothing Out of Something - Modest Mouse
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Heim
Modest Mouse builds a singles collection -- nothing out of something -- and all sorts of other contradictions. (01/31/00)

Duke Elegant - Dr. John
Jazz, review by Seth Mnookin
New Orleans boogie king Dr. John botches an album of standards. Duke Ellington would not be amused. (01/28/00)

Blow'n the Blues: Best of the Great Harp Players, Frett'n the Blues: Best of the Great Blues Guitarists - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
Three chords, 12 bars or just one note -- two Vanguard collections promise the essence of the blues. (01/27/00)

New Dreams for Old: 1984-1998 - Gary Numan
Pop/Rock, review by Mac Montandon
A new Gary Numan retrospective fills in the gap between "Cars" and an era when one man and a keyboard actually became cool. (01/26/00)

I Am Shelby Lynne - Shelby Lynne
Pop/Rock, review by David Hill
Shelby Lynne offers a fresh start from someone who's been burned before. (01/25/00)

INCredible Sounds of Drum 'n' Bass - Various Artists, Mixed by Goldie
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
On "INCredible Sounds of Drum 'n' Bass," mix DJ and jungle superstar Goldie loses the rattle and throb of the street. (01/24/00)

"til you've seen mine" - Tom House
Country/Folk, review by Joe Heim
Beautifully bitter philosopher-poet Tom House scraps for some piece of an answer (01/21/00)

"Early Modulations" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
"Early Modulations" captures the important (and unlistenable) history of turntablism, electronica and drum 'n' bass. (01/20/00)

"Tha G Code" - Juvenile
Hip-Hop, review by Andy Battaglia
Juvenile's rhymes are near idiotic, but the production -- that's another story. (01/19/00)

"March to Fuzz" - Mudhoney
Pop/Rock, review by Mac Montandon
If Nirvana was tight and Mudhoney was a disaster, why is the other grunge band still around? (01/18/00)

Nasty business new albums from Ol' Dirty Bastard, Akinyele and Blowfly
Hip-Hop/R&B , review by Jon Caramanica
Ol' Dirty Bastard, Akinyele and Blowfly deliver sextastic anthems, freaknasty odes to oral sex and chocolate dildos for Christmas.(01/14/00)

"Late Night Sessions" - Caravana Cubana
Jazz/World, review by Jason Ferguson
Caravana Cubana, a handful of seasoned island music vets, out-spice "Buena Vista Social Club." (01/13/00)

"Magnolia: Music From the Motion Picture" - Aimee Mann, Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Stephanie Zacharek
On the "Magnolia" soundtrack, beleaguered singer-songwriter Aimee Mann comes into full bloom. (01/12/00)

" ... And Then There Was X" - DMX
Hip Hop, review by Britt Robson
Suspended between murder and redemption, DMX captures the conflicted soul of a hardcore thug. (01/11/00)

"The Very Best of Robbie Fulks" - Robbie Fulks
Pop/Rock, review by David Hill
Then he tried to kill Saturday night. A new collection connects the dots in between. (01/10/00)

"Nastradamus" - Nas
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Gross
Nas' career has a Wellesian scale. The rapper's gone from "Kane" to Gallo in five records. (01/07/00)

"You Go-Go Girl!" - Nancy Sinatra
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Sure, Nancy Sinatra was a lightweight, but 30 years later, the queen of cool still sounds fresh. (01/06/00)

"Armide" - Christoph Willibald Gluck
Pop/Rock, review by Patrick Giles
Gluck gave Armide a new life to save opera in the 18th century. The grand sorceress still bewitches. (01/05/00)

"'The Sopranos': Music from the HBO Original Series" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Gross
"The Sopranos" features the best songs on TV. How come none of them made it to the soundtrack? (01/04/00)

"Being John Malkovich" - Various Artists
Soundtrack, review by Michelle Goldberg
Creepy and romantic, subtle and strange, the music from "Being John Malkovich" is good enough to stand on its own.
(12/24/99)

"So... How's Your Girl" - Handsome Boy Modeling School
Pop/Rock, review by Britt Robson
Hip-hop producers Prince Paul and the Automator recruit young multi-culti bohos for their Handsome Boy Modeling School. (12/22/99)

"The Complete Django Reinhardt and Quintet of the Hot Club of France Swing/HMV Sessions 1936-1948" - Django Reinhardt
Jazz, review by Seth Mnookin
A new box set of lesser-known Django Reinhardt cuts illuminates another side of the hottest jazz guitarist in the world. (12/21/99)

"Viva Wisconsin" - The Violent Femmes
Pop/Rock, review by Mac Montandon
The Violent Femmes could never get laid, but a new live set remembers that the trio wrote definitive mash songs. (12/20/99)

"The New Latinaires 2" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
On the "The New Latinaires 2," transnational artists fusing Latin, house and electronic music suggest that the Ricky Martin explosion was not a fluke. (12/17/99)

"Christmas With Buck Owens and His Buckaroos" and "Christmas Shopping" - Buck Owens
Country, review by Gary Kaufman
Two Buck Owens reissues imagine Christmas as a mostly secular holiday. (12/16/99)

"EP + 2" - Mogwai
Pop/Rock, review by Carlene Bauer
Mogwai's migrainous wankery has absolutely no potential for popular appeal. (12/15/99)

"From Bone to Satellite" - Tarentel
Pop/Rock, review by Jonathan Lee
Free of lyrical limitations, San Francisco's Tarentel channel the meditative power of music into audio cinema. (12/13/99)

"Amplified" - Q-Tip
Hip-Hop/R&B, review by Michelle Goldberg
On his debut solo album, A Tribe Called Quest rapper Q-Tip shores up his street cred. (12/10/99)

"Earbox" - John Adams
Classical, review by Patrick Giles
"Earbox" collects the intricate grace and visionary minimalism of John Adams. (12/09/99)

"Live Era '87-'93" - Guns n' Roses
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
A double live set remembers when Guns n' Roses played with the thunder of the gods. (12/08/99)

"Singles Box Set" - Underworld
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
For some reason, the Underworld let remixers with a lot less talent rework the U.K. outfit's songs. (12/07/99)

"Subliminal Minded: The EP" - DJ Spooky
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
DJ Spooky remixes the remix. (12/06/99)

"Goodbye 20th Century -- SYR 4" - Sonic Youth
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
On "Goodbye 20th Century," Sonic Youth refuse to draw a line between pretension and fun. (12/03/99)

"SSAB Songs" - Harmony Korine
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
Semiotics and narcotics guide filmmaker Harmony Korine's debut record. (12/02/99)

"All the Way ... A Decade of Song" - Celine Dion
Pop/Rock, review by Geoff Edgers
To deny Celine Dion is to deny the culture that made her a star. (12/01/99)

"End of Days Original Soundtrack" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Britt Robson
Despite Axl Rose's screeches, the "End of Days" soundtrack is only semi-apocalyptic. (11/30/99)

"So Many Roads (1965-1995)" - The Grateful Dead
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
The first serious Grateful Dead retrospective is riddled with confounding decisions, stupid mistakes and beautiful music -- just like the band. (11/29/99)

"When the Pawn ..." - Fiona Apple
Pop/Rock, review by Alex Pappademas
Fiona Apple transforms from a flinty "Shadowboxer" to a raging bull. (11/24/99)

"Chant Down Babylon" - Bob Marley, with Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Lauryn Hill and Bob Marley, together at last. But what's Aerosmith doing on this shameless collection of posthumous duets? (11/23/99)

"The Battle Of Los Angeles" - Rage Against the Machine
Pop/Rock, review by Gavin McNett
Why listening to Rage Against the Machine is bad for lefty idealism. (11/22/99)

"San Lorenzo's Blues" - Nuzzle
Pop/Rock, review by Mac Montandon
Nuzzle's plaintive rock comes on as unexpectedly soft as a full-count change-up. (11/19/99)

"Tabula Rasa" - Arvo Prt
Classical, review by Patrick Giles
In the mid-'80s, people with AIDS lived and died to Arvo Prt's "Tabula Rasa." A new recording reprises music "like the motion of angels' wings." (11/16/99)

"To the Teeth" - Ani DiFranco
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Forget the solipsistic neurotica of Fiona Apple, on "To the Teeth" righteous babe Ani DiFranco feels the funk and represents Buffalo. (11/16/99)

"Vol. 2" - Los Hombres Calientes
Jazz/World, review by Philip Booth
Steeped in Crescent City musical voodoo, Los Hombres Calientes reconfigure jazz in the city where it was born. (11/16/99)

"K.K.K.K.K." - Kahimi Karie
Pop/Rock, review by Lydia Vanderloo
The girlish and irresistible Kahimi Karie spins delicious pop confections. (11/15/99)

"Days of Our Nights" - Luna
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
Luna's latest album got the band dumped by Elektra. For once, a major label made the right call. (11/12/99)

"Le Tigre" - Le Tigre
Pop/Rock, review by Carlene Bauer
Kathleen Hanna and Le Tigre say dance first and theorize later. (11/09/99)

"Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall -- 1938: Complete" - Benny Goodman
Jazz, review by Geoff Edgers
Benny Goodman believed in great jazz players, no matter their color. A live 1938 double CD captures one of the ambassador's finest moments. (11/09/99)

"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" - The Artist
Pop/Rock, review by Christina Nunez
Call it a comeback: The Artist employs Sheryl Crow, Ani DiFranco, Chuck D. and others to get back into the groove. (11/09/99)

"La Bohème" - Puccini
Soundtracks, review by Patrick Giles
"La Bohème" again? With a revised text and a fine young cast -- yes. (11/05/99)

"Northern Star" - Mel C
Pop/Rock, review by Mac Montandon
Sporty Spice breaks out of the pack. Who knew Mel C was an L.A. rocker at heart? (11/05/99)

"There Is Nothing Left to Lose" - Foo Fighters
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
Forget Nirvana, unrepentant Foo Fighter Dave Grohl settles down for mediocrity. (11/04/99)

"Snowbug" - High Llamas
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
Why the High Llamas are more than just another workingman's Beach Boys. (11/02/99)

"Trike" - Bob Log III
Pop/Rock, review by Jason Ferguson
One-man band Bob Log III makes the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion look like blues night at the local jazz club. (11/02/99)

"Malcolm X Park" "Kustom Karnal" - Unrest
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Gross
From Kiss to loungecore, Kenneth Anger to blaxploitation, Unrest anticipated '90s hipster fads way back ... in 1988. (11/01/99)

"Stardust" - Willie Nelson
Country/Folk, review by Seth Mnookin
Willie Nelson's 20-year-old masterpiece of classic songs, "Stardust," is re-released. (10/29/99)

"Prize" - Arto Lindsay
Rock/Pop, review by Seth Mnookin
Arto Lindsay graduated from horrible noise to gently beautiful music. It only took 20 years. (10/28/99)

"Aphrodite" - Aphrodite
Rock/Pop, review by Michelle Goldberg
Aphrodite's first commercial drum 'n' bass record gets at the difference between music for the DJ and music for your stereo. (10/27/99)

"Poor Little Knitter on the Road: A Tribute to the Knitters" - Various Artists
Rock/Pop, review by Brett Anderson
The Knitters broke from X and the Blasters to find classic country. A new slew of alt-country bands is repaying the favor. (10/26/99)

"A Ma Zone" - Zap Mama
Jazz/World, review by Banning Eyre
Afro-European world music queen Marie Daulne and Zap Mama travel from Mother Earth music novelty to international hip-hop group. (10/25/99)

At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Country/Folk, review by Seth Mnookin
"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." (10/22/99)

"Woodstock 99" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
"Let me stand next to your fire" and other joyful idiocies prop up two CDs' worth of Woodstock 99 live cuts. (10/21/99)

"Geology: A Subjective History of Planet E, Volume 1" - Various Artists
Hip-Hop/R&B, review by Amanda Nowinski
Carl Craig and a new Detroit techno compilation examine past futures and futures past. (10/20/99)

Cruel Moon - Buddy Miller
Country/Folk, review by David Hill
On "Cruel Moon," Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris back Buddy Miller, an unheralded singer-songwriter establishing a graceful link between country and soul. (10/19/99)

As Time Goes By - Bryan Ferry
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Bryan Ferry retreats from the ignominy of contemporary pop with a set of smoky standards. (10/18/99)

Hours - David Bowie
Pop/Rock, review by Gavin McNett
After hemorrhaging mystique for a decade, David Bowie finally releases a record that's better than its gimmicks. (10/15/99)

White Sky - Archer Prewitt
Pop/Rock, review by Carlene Bauer
Archer Prewitt's songs sound like they were written on a piece of shag carpet resting in a slice of sun. (10/14/99)

Pack Up Your Sorrows: Best of the Vanguard Years - Mimi and Richard Fariña
Folk, review by David Bowman
Mimi Fariña was tempting jailbait. Her husband, Richard, fought alongside Castro, sold guns and called Thomas Pynchon a pal. (10/13/99)

Us and Us Only - The Charlatans U.K.
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
The Charlatans U.K. aren't really an innovative band, but they've got a world-weary confidence that makes for good rock 'n' roll. (10/12/99)

"In the Life of Chris Gaines" - Garth Brooks
Pop/Rock, review by By David Cantwell
Garth Brooks had friends in low places. Chris Gaines is just weird. (10/11/99)

"Dwarf Star" - Chris Cacavas'
Pop/Rock, review by Dawn Eden
Don't let songwriter Chris Cacavas' play with guns. (10/08/99)

"See It Another Way" - Macha
Pop/Rock, review by Funke Sangodeyi
Macha rides a rickshaw loaded with esoterica to the top of the college charts. (10/07/99)

"The Day That Didn't Exist" - The Fastbacks
Pop/Rock, review by Brett Anderson
The Fastbacks saw grunge come and go. Like that matters to a band that hasn't left the garage in 20 years. (10/06/99)

"Run Devil Run" - Paul McCartney
Pop/Rock, review by Geoff Edgers
Paul McCartney used members of Pink Floyd and Deep Purple to help him get back to rockabilly on "Run Devil Run." The real surprise? It worked. (10/05/99)

Fly - The Dixie Chicks
and Ruff Ryder's First Lady - Eve
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Dolan
Thug rapper Eve's assertive female raps would sound even more radical at the top of the charts if the countrified Dixie Chicks weren't telling the exact same stories. (10/04/99)

New York Underground - "Little Louie" Vega
Pop/Rock, review by Jeff Stark
"Little Louie" Vega's mix of early '90s dance remembers a time when electronic music was still sexy. (10/01/99)

Ad Finite - Genaside II
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
Genaside II bring hard-ass thuggism to the paranoid visions of dark electronic music. (09/30/99)

"Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Robert Wilonsky
"Saturday Night Live" has 24 years of the best acts in rock 'n' roll on tape. Too bad none of that made it onto a new two-CD compilation. (09/29/99)

Temperamental - Everything But the Girl
Pop/Rock, review by Charles Taylor
Everything But the Girl marry the lonely pop romance of Frank Sinatra to the dance-floor sounds of house and drum 'n' bass. (09/28/99)

In Spite of Ourselves - John Prine
Country/Folk, review by Rachel Elson
For "In Spite of Ourselves," John Prine enlisted Iris DeMent, Lucinda Williams, Trisha Yearwood and others for a set of great country love songs. (09/24/99)

Day One - Sarah Dougher
Pop/Rock, review by Stephanie Zacharek
Sarah Dougher, a collaborator with Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker in Cadallaca, releases her own minor suite of summer songs. (09/23/99)

To Venus and Back - Tori Amos
Pop/rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
A new record suggests that Tori Amos' power is inversely proportional to the number of instruments involved. (09/22/99)

Nightlife - Cobra Verde
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Gross
Cobra Verde find the swaggering essence of glam rock that Todd Haynes and "Velvet Goldmine" missed. (09/21/99)

Leisure Noise - Gay Dad
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Gay Dad are a controversial sensation in England, proving once again that the only thing that the Brit press likes better than pure pop is overbearing hype. (09/20/99)

Rhythm and Stealth - Leftfield
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Four years ago, Leftfield were contenders in the Fatboy Slim-Chemical Brothers-Prodigy poptronica pantheon. Now they're back, but where's the hype? (09/17/99)

Forever - Puff Daddy
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Dolan
Puff Daddy's audacious "Forever" captures a paranoid success spitting in the face of his own demise. Is the Ebenezer Scrooge of rap losing it? (09/16/99)

Field Studies - Quasi
Pop/Rock, review by Joe Heim
On Quasi's "Field Studies," the divorced duo sing about romantic disillusionment like they know what they're talking about. (09/15/99)

Tie Down that Shiny Wave - Sukpatch
Pop/Rock, review Andy Battaglia
Low-fi electronic indie duo Sukpatch release the fall's best summer record. (09/13/99)

Bitter - Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Hip-hop/R&B, review by Alex Pappademas
Unable to translate critical success into mainstream sales, Me'Shell Ndegeocello ends up "Bitter." (09/10/99)

Brand New Year - The Bottle Rockets
Pop/Rock, review by Kandia Crazy Horse
The Bottle Rockets trade trad country for classic rock, leaving them with one tire in a ditch, the other on the right track. (09/09/99)

The Dust Blows Forward (An Anthology) - Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
Pop/Rock, review by David Bowman
A new anthology tries to put the wild career of the deranged Captain Beefheart in perspective -- as if that's even possible. (09/08/99)

Dracula - Music by Philip Glass, performed by the Kronos Quartet
Classical, review by Stacey Kors
With a new score for the original "Dracula," Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet allow the children of the night to sing once again.
(09/07/99)

"Stigmata" - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Who dropped the Bomb? The "Contents Under Pressure" compilation oddly normalizes hip-hop's avant-garde (09/03/99)

Quite contrary - Mary J. Blige
Hip-Hop/R&B, review by Jon Dolan
Mary J. Blige transforms herself into the first diva with both feet on the ground.
(09/02/99)

Burn to Shine - Ben Harper
Pop/Rock, review by Seth Mnookin
Ben Harper is no Bob Dylan -- he's actually not even Robbie Robertson.
(09/01/99)

Blush - Bows
Pop/Rock, review by Lydia Vanderloo
On the debut "Blush," Bows creak and skitter like a haunted house. (08/31/99)

Kakusei - DJ Krush
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
DJ Krush reduces trip-hop to suggestive subtlety. (08/30/99)

Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Dolan
Teen queen Britney Spears invites you to hit her with your best shot. (08/27/99)

Contents Under Pressure - Various Artists
Hip-Hop/R&B, review by D. Strauss
Who dropped the Bomb? The "Contents Under Pressure" compilation oddly normalizes hip-hop's avant-garde (08/26/99)

The Moscow Hold - Utah Phillips
Folk/Country, review by Simon Rodberg
Utah Phillips tells Old West tales and hardscrabble anecdotes. But don't call him a folk singer. (08/25/99)

Stars Forever - Momus
Pop/Rock, review by Wendy Mitchell
On "Stars Forever," British cult singer Momus offered fans personalized, one-of-a-kind songs -- for $1,000 apiece.
(08/24/99)

I Am the Greatest - Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
Soundtrack, review by Andy Battaglia
"I Am the Greatest" captures the boastful rants of a young boxer caught between Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali.
(08/23/99)

Lost in Space/Black Elvis - Kool Keith
Hip-hop/R & B, review by Alex Pappademas Kool Keith is an alien. Kool Keith is Elvis. But why isn't the rapper weird anymore?
(08/20/99)

Come Pick Me Up - Superchunk
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg On "Come Pick Me Up" the once-great power-pop of Superchunk rots with its own complacency.
(08/19/99)

Altered States of Drum & Bass - Raymond Roker
Pop/rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
DJ Raymond Roker's bleak and claustrophobic "Altered States of Drum & Bass" crushes the warm beats of hip-hop and strangles the gasping voice of house.
(08/18/99)

Sweet Release & Ghost Story - Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
Jazz/World, review by Seth Mnookin
Wynton Marsalis was born with a silver trumpet in his mouth. Maybe that's why his jazz compositions are so stiffly academic. (08/17/99)

Social Dancing - Bis
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
Growing up all wrong: The anti-electronic anthems of Bis make hypocrites out of youngsters who should know better.
(08/16/99)

Remedy - Basement Jaxx
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
House music will never die: The hyped -- but worth it -- Basement Jaxx testifies. (08/13/99)

Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons - Various Artists
Country/Folk, review by David Bowman
More than 25 years after country songwriter Gram Parsons died, Emmylou Harris still carries a torch for him. (08/12/99)

Kabalogy - Hasidic New Wave
Jazz/World, review by Seth Mnookin
New York combo Hasidic New Wave illustrates the difference between klezmer and Jewish jazz. (08/11/99)

On How Life Is - Macy Gray
Hip-hop/R & B, review by Kandia Crazy Horse
I'm the lamest craze: Macy Gray is nothing but a new soul pretender.
(08/10/99)

Royal Astronomy - -Ziq
Pop/Rock, review by Alex Pappademas
-Ziq's forbidding electronic music paraphrases the cool minimalism of Philip Glass.
(08/06/99)

Significant Other - Limp Bizkit
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Dolan
Why Limp Bizkit's idiotic rap-metal represents a cresting wave of alt-rock conservatism. (08/05/99)

Freedom Blues - Various Artists
Jazz/World, review by Jon Dolan
"Freedom Blues" presents the tunes of South African jazz artists under apartheid -- and they sound a lot like John Coltrane. (08/04/99)

Philadelphonic - G. Love and Special Sauce
Hip-hop/R & B, review by Joe Heim
Wigga wit attitude: Why white hip-hopper G. Love needs to ditch his "Amos 'n' Andy" routine. (08/03/99)

"Teenage Head" and "Flamingo" - Flamin' Groovies
Rock/Pop, review by Geoff Edgers
Garage days revisited: Two reissues re-introduce the trashy sounds and perverted pop of the Flamin' Groovies. (06/24/98)

Best of the Vanguard Sessions - John Fahey
Country/Folk, review by Andy Battaglia
"Best of the Vanguard Sessions" introduces John Fahey's chillingly beautiful six-string folk.
(07/30/99)

Too Much Fun! - Holy Modal Rounders
Folk/country, review by Andrew Hamlin
The Holy Modal Rounders are old-time counterculture folkies in form, but they're not afraid to toss a pie in the face of tradition.
(07/29/99)

Millennium - Backstreet Boys
Pop/rock, review by Jon Dolan
Why teenage girls will murder their grandmothers for a whiff of Backstreet Boys sweat.
(07/28/99)

The Art of the Song - Charlie Haden
Review by Philip Booth
Jazz bassist Charlie Haden evokes the heart-stopping romance and mournful melancholy of film noir on "The Art of the Song." (07/27/99)

Buzz Me In - Jack Logan
Review by Stephanie Zacharek
"Come on, baby, let me pay your rent": Songwriter Jack Logan wrote the year's most romantic verse. (07/26/99)

"All Sold Out" and "(S)he Smiled Sweetly" - Spinanes
Rock/Pop
The evanescent Spinanes sharpen two songs from the Rolling Stones' catalog, chronicling the impulse to fight emotional weariness and the temptation to succumb to it. (07/23/99)

Unknownwerks - Various Artists
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
A new Astralwerks compilation takes the electronic pulse of underground urban America. (07/22/99)

Live 81-82 - The Birthday Party
Pop/Rock, review by Dave Clifford
Nick Cave and The Birthday Party adored the sound of piercing feedback, physical exhaustion and collapse.
(07/21/99)

Pretty Strange - Mannix
Pop/Rock, review by Dawn Eden
The New York City duo Mannix crafts timeless power pop driven by sad songs that sound happy.
(07/19/99)

Sky Motel - Kristen Hersh
Pop/Rock, review by Michelle Goldberg
With a series of dark acoustic records, Throwing Muses singer Kristin Hersh transformed herself from a post-punk Ophelia into a macabre folk singer. On "Sky Motel," she plugs in again.
(07/16/99)

Tigermilk - Belle and Sebastian
Pop/Rock, review by Douglas Wolk
Pastoral pop group Belle and Sebastian finally re-release their out of print debut "Tigermilk," which once sold for $1,200. The excellent disc is worth the long wait, if not the inflated auction price. (07/15/99)

Goodbye, So What - Cake Like
Pop/Rock, review by Robbie Woliver
On "Goodbye, So What," New York trio Cake Like play power pop with sweet and sour kiss-offs. (07/14/99)

The Seduction of Claude Debussy- Art of Noise
Pop/Rock
On "The Seduction of Claude Debussy," Art of Noise offer a playfully pretentious tribute to the father of modern music.
(07/13/99)

Oh, Merge: A Merge Records 10-Year Anniversary Compilation - Various Artists
Rock/Pop, reviewed by Wendy Mitchell
Now celebrating a 10th anniversary with a compilation featuring Rocket From the Crypt, Superchunk and Neutral Milk Hotel, Merge Records is the little label that could, and did. (07/12/99)

Cold Hard Truth - George Jones
Country/Folk, review by David Hill
"Cold Hard Truth" is peppered with dark ballads about lost love and regretful decisions. George Jones, country's greatest living voice, knows his subject well. (07/09/99)

Stay Down - 2 Lone Swordsmen
Pop/Rock, review by Amanda Nowinski
Proudly synthetic, the electronic duo 2 Lone Swordsmen prove that man is more intelligent than machine. (07/08/99)

The Bluegrass Sessions - Tales from the Acoustic Planet, vol. 2 - Béla Fleck
Jazz, review by Seth Mnookin
Béla Fleck ditches the jammy, New Age dreck for an album of smokin' jazzgrass. (07/07/99)

Wild, Cool & Swingin' - Mrs. Miller
Jazz, review by Geoff Edgers
1960s socialite Mrs. Miller sang the Beatles and Sinatra worse than anyone. For the first time, her ungodly awful -- and hilarious -- repertoire appears on CD. (07/06/99)

Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the '60s - Various Artists
Country/Folk, review by Robbie Woliver
Greenwich Village folk tribute covers Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and Tim Buckley. But how can Chrissie Hynde and Marshall Crenshaw, among others, forget that some art belongs to its creator? (07/02/99)

Fill Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr - Gang Starr
Hip-hop/R & B, review by D. Strauss
Gang Starr introduced the hip-hop nation to jazz, but a new retrospective proves that you don't have to blame them for letting vital music devolve into bourgeois R&B. (07/01/99)

Electric Honey - Luscious Jackson
Hip-hop/R & B, review by Andrew Strickman
On Luscious Jackson's new record, "Electric Honey," the all-female hip-hop trio turns 30. And evolves. (06/30/99)

Songbook - Gordon Lightfoot
Country/Folk, review by Seth Mnookin
Gordon Lightfoot's "Songbook" delivers timeless tunes and a little bit more. (06/29/99)

Viva El Amor! - The Pretenders
Pop/Rock, review by Joyce Millman
On the most coherent Pretenders album in a decade, Chrissie Hynde proves that she does Chrissie Hynde better than anyone. (06/28/99)

Jet Generation - Guitar Wolf
Pop/Rock, review by Alex Pappademas
Garage sounds revisited: Guitar Wolf roars on the loudest record, ever. (06/25/99)

Live in Texas - Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
Country/Folk, review by Seth Mnookin
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band offer a bracing live set of cosmopolitan country -- and an alternative to all that Nashville pap. (06/24/99)

Grow Fins, Safe as Milk, The Mirror Man Sessions - Captain Beefheart
Pop/Rock, review by David Bowman
Oh, Captain, my Captain. Zoot Horn described it best when he said Captain Beefheart was "Jackson Pollock trying to play John Lee Hooker." A new box set and two re-releases chronicle the chaos. (06/23/99)

Paintin' the Town Brown - Ween
Pop/Rock, review by Andy Battaglia
Cheech and Chong meet Leiber and Stoller. On "Paintin' the Town Brown," the brothers Ween plug in for a two-CD live in-joke. (06/21/99)

This or That - Sway and King Tech
Hip-hop/R & B, review by Michelle Goldberg
DJs Sway and King Tech spin like true old-schoolers. Too bad "This or That" props snotty gangsta bullshit like NWA instead of Afrika Bambaattaa. (06/21/99)

Surrender - Chemical Brothers
Pop/Rock, review by Jon Dolan
The Chemical Brothers grow up but find no place to go. (06/18/99)

Swingin' on the Strings: The Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant Collection, Volume 2 - Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant
Country/Folk
Session men Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant hot-licked Hollywood -- and escaped the long arm of Nashville. (06/17/99)

Supernatural - Santana
Pop/Rock
Surrounded by multi-platinum young artists, Carlos Santana still sounds like a noodly old hippie. (06/16/99)

Catalog - Danielle Howle
Country/Folk
Singer/songwriter Danielle Howle and the bearable lightness of being alone. (06/15/99)

Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Pop/Rock
A resurrected John Frusciante establishes the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the premier white-boy party band of the last two decades. (06/14/99)

Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me - Various Artists
Soundtrack
Have Dr. Evil's corporate toadies stolen the "Austin Powers" soundtrack from Mike Myers? (06/11/99)

On the 6 - Jennifer Lopez
Rock/Pop
Baby got back, but can Jennifer Lopez sing? (06/10/99)

Stereotype A - Cibo Matto
Rock/Pop
Cibo Matto's "Viva! La Woman" rewired hip hop in the same way that riot grrrls reinvented punk. What happened on "Stereotype A"? (06/09/99)

Play - Moby
Rock/Pop
Moby draws a bold line straight from the Mississippi Delta to the South Bronx, connecting the dots of black music in a search for the roots of his electronic craft. (06/08/99)

Terror Twilight - Pavement
Rock/Pop
Pavement's latest is as polished and refined as the band's early efforts were rough and jagged. (06/07/99)

Abductions and Reconstructions - Thievery Corporation
Rock/Pop
Thievery Corporation's second full-length compiles brutal dissections of songs by remix-friendly hipster outfits like Pizzicato Five, Stereolab and Gus Gus. (06/04/99)

Waylon Jennings By David Bowman
Country/Folk
When country got too slick, Waylon Jennings broke it down. Sound familiar? (06/03/99)

In the Fishtank - Tortoise meets the Ex
Rock/Pop
On "In the Fishtank," Tortoise meets the Ex, new prog meets art-noise and boredom meets indifference. (06/02/99)

Middle of Nowhere - Orbital
Rock/Pop
Orbital's impaired glimpse into the greater possibilities of techno will hypnotize you right to sleep, hypnotize you right to sleep. (06/01/99)

There's no way you're going to pay $400 for a Duke Ellington box set. By Ezra Gale
Here are five reissues that get to the center of the legend's vast genius. (05/28/99)

Can Box - Can
Rock/Pop
The German progressive-rock band Can made world music for some other world. (05/27/99)

Whereabouts - Ron Sexsmith
Rock/Pop
Singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith whispers sweetly. (05/26/99)

Stir It Up: The Music of Bob Marley - Monty Alexander
Jazz/World
Jazz pianist Monty Alexander's gutsy vision stirs up Bob Marley's greatest hits. (05/25/99)

The finest children's album ever made By Douglas Wolk
Of three new Carole King reissues, it's "Really Rosie" -- a "Tapestry" for the under-10 set -- that stands out.
(05/25/99)

Good Dog, Happy Man - Bill Frisell
Jazz/World
Homespun avant-gardist Bill Frisell explores the unfolding saga of the American West. (05/24/99)

The New Latinaires - Various Artists
Jazz
"The New Latinaires" fuses Latin jazz with electronic ingenuity. (05/21/99)

See What You want to See - Radney Foster
Rock/Pop
Radney Foster's neo-traditionalist country faces the harrowing future of not mattering. (05/18/99)

Mocking the Mayflower By Charles Taylor
There was plenty of antagonism in the air at the start of Hole's Boston show Sunday night. But Courtney Love wouldn't have it any other way.
(05/18/99)

Ben folds five By Brett Anderson
Piano man Ben Folds grows up on "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner."
(05/17/99)

I Am - Nas
Hip-hop/R&B
On "Hate Me Now," Nas detonates the first summer bomb, but the rest of "I Am is a dud. (05/11/99)

Brand New Second Hand - Roots Manuva
Hip-hop/R&B
The South London artist also known as Rodney Smith exploits the link between hip-hop and reggae. (05/11/99)

DNA - Matthew Shipp Duo with William Parke
Jazz
Matthew Shipp reworks clinical self-examination and spiritual flailing into a perfect balance between science and seance. (05/11/99)

This Note's for You, Too!: A Tribute to Neil Young - Various Artists
Rock/Pop
If this collection of Neil Young covers inspires even one listener to write a new, original song, then the tribute, and the genre as a whole, is redeemed. (05/11/99)

One for the Road - The Kinks
Rock/Pop
This live comeback wasn't one of unplugged storytellers, it was loud arena rock, pop subtlety blown out with power chords. (05/04/99)

Marsalis Plays Monk: Standard Time Vol. IV - Wynton Marsalis
Jazz
It's Monk's very nature -- his stubborn individualism, his incessant innovation -- that both made him a master and ensured that Marsalis would stumble in his interpretations. (05/04/99)

Summertown - The Mayflies USA
Rock/Pop
Summertown" is punchy enough to unite power popsters and indie rockers at the altar of the three-minute pop song. (05/04/99)

Take Your Shoes Off - Robert Cray
Rock/Pop
Take Your Shoes Off" is a sign of life for Cray after a serviceable if somewhat uninspired decade of anemic electric stylings. (05/04/99)

The Slim Shady LP - Eminem
Hip-hop/R&B
Eminem is a phenomenon, "a ghost wrapped in a beat." (04/27/99)

Ghosts of Hallelujah - The Gourds
Folk/Country
Obliquely borrowing bits of country, honky-tonk, Delta blues, Cajun and Tex-Mex, the Gourds revisit the creative search and spirit of early roots rockers. (04/27/99)

Delphonic Sounds Today! - Various Artists
Rock/Pop
Innovative indies pay tribute to Del-Fi's wonderful amalgam of primitive rock 'n' roll, vintage surf and twang, prime-time sleaze and dream teens. (04/27/99)

Unboxed - Los Angeles Free Music Society
Rock/Pop
A magnificent single-disc distillation that should cement the Society's place in the history of West Coast outness. (04/27/99)

Hot Rod Guitar: The Danny Gatton Anthology - Danny Gatton
Pop/Rock
Danny Gatton's unbelievable guitar playing embraced so many pop music styles that no record label could ever figure out how to sell him. (04/20/99)

Bury the Hatchet - The Cranberries
Pop/Rock
The songs are not particularly innovative -- they still have that same grungified dreaminess -- but the album maintains a consistency and stamina absent on the group's bland third album. (04/20/99)

Record No. 1 - The Mary Janes
Country/Folk
Even when the Mary Janes' Janas Hoyt sings something upbeat, darker straits lurk below, and even when she's being optimistic the atmosphere quivers with ambiguity. (04/20/99)

Combustication Remix - Medeski, Martin & Wood
Pop/Rock
A collection of trip-hop influenced mixes oftunes released on their 1998 album lands right in the middle of the remix debate. (04/20/99)

Dose - Latin Playboys
Pop/Rock
the Playboys specialize in fantasias, matrixes of sounds and grooves that coalesce for reasons that the musicians themselves are probably still trying to comprehend. (04/13/99)

Virgin Voices - Various artists
Pop/Rock
On "Virgin Voices" the same kind of underground artists that Madonna once mined for sound and image attempt to take back the songs that they helped inspire. (04/13/99)

Drinking From Puddles - Various artists
Pop/Rock
This Kill Rock Stars compilation is a glorious collection of live, in-studio recordings from Portland's KBOO. (04/13/99)

Echo - Tom Petty
Pop/Rock
Even though the Heartbreakers sound as crisp as ever, "Echo" is as digestible and predictable as a "Tonight Show" monologue. (04/13/99)

Fish Trees Water Blues - Various Artists
Jazz/World
Elders like John Lee Hooker and Mavis Staples rub elbows with Ani DiFranco and Keb' Mo' for a good cause. (04/08/99)

Owsley - Owsley
Pop/Rock
Deft rock 'n' roll from a one-named guitarist, this might be the best debut of the year. (04/08/99)

Come On Die Young - Mogwai
Pop/Rock
This once-rowdy hybrid Scottish ensemble has defected to the artiste side with a sentimental album and a case of the blahs. (04/08/99)

The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark - Roy Clark
Country/Folk
These 12 instrumental virtuoso swing standards first released in 1962 are crackerjack. (04/08/99)

Blue riffs parkway By Stephanie Zacharek
Fountains of Wayne wears its melancholy lightly on the near-perfect pop songs of "Utopia Parkway."
(04/13/99)

13 - Blur
Pop/Rock
Is celebrity ennui a fitting topic for a concept album? (03/30/99)

The Albemarle Sound - Ladybug Transistor
Pop/Rock
The band's got its style down fine -- with stately instrumentation and impressive arrangements. It's just still working on the songs to apply it to (03/30/99)

Gourmet - Nixon's Head
Pop/Rock
A 14-course ear candy pig-out courtesy of some exceedingly choosy epicures of pure pop (03/30/99)

Atardecer - Friends of Dean Martinez
Pop/Rock
Steel guitarist Bill Elm has given up the band's sweet simplicity in favor of turbulent sound textures and spacey effects (03/30/99)

Silly loved songs - Paul McCartney and Wings
Pop/Rock
"Band on the Run" may have aged badly, but 25 years later, it still sings (03/31/99)

Fanmail - TLC
Pop/Rock
Dense, hectic, sexy, cool and it's already sold a zillion copies. (03/23/99)

Breathing Tornados - Ben Lee
Pop/Rock
If there's a downside to the precocious pop of this album, it's that finding true love with Clair Danes has left Lee a little tepid in his lyric sentiments (03/23/99)

Dusty in Memphis | Dusty in London - Dusty Springfield
Pop/Rock
A Rhino Records compilation of the singer who maintained a profoundly feminine voice within the traditionally masculine idiom of blues and soul (03/23/99)

The Story of Babar, Rapsodie Negre, Six Songs By Poulenc - Hugues Cuénod
Classical
For those afraid that the Three Tenors may never retire, it is salutary to hear this 95 year-old Swiss tenor still going strong (03/23/99)

What Is Not to Love - Imperial Teen
Pop/Rock
Like a carefully set table, but instead of food there's mostly just condiments (03/16/99)

Rehearsals For Departure - Damien Jude
Pop/Rock
Mostly acoustic, thematically driven foray through acres of sorrow, heartbreak and despair, is about as close to brilliant as CDs get these days (03/16/99)

Nu Blaxploitation - Don Byron and Existential Dred
Pop/Rock
Byron's abrasive, self-absorbed personality fights for space with the virtuoso musicality that marked his past work(03/16/99)

Le Cinema - Gidon Kremer
Classical
From the most musically adventurous classical violinist around, a tribute to movie music that features international composers (03/16/99)

Life is a Carnival - The Wild Magnolias
Jazz/World
New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians have created a training ground for local funk. This rough blend of hot R&B, Caribbean voodoo and street-tough parade sentiment comes from the city's premiere musical tribe (03/16/99)

Sunrise - Elvis Presley
Pop/Rock
Another comprehensive look at Elvis lovingly compiles all of his known recordings (03/09/99)

Star Crossed Lovers - Placido Domingo, Rene Fleming
Classical
One of the classical "theme" CDs increasing in popularity documents a mutilmedia event featuring romantic duets (03/09/99)

Animation - Tim Hagans
Jazz
A fusion of jazz concepts, rhythms and instruments with electronic elements that's so seamless and intuitive, it shows how linked these genres really are (03/09/99)

Apple Venus - XTC
Pop/Rock
XTC sound, as always, so amazingly vibrant, so timeless (in a kind of apres-Beatles, postmodern kind of way), so unlike a band that hasn't released new material in seven years (03/09/99)

Extremely Cool - Chuck E. Weiss
Pop/Rock
Weiss is a boon to those demented blues aficionados who prefer their music served up with equal parts gibberish and attitude (03/02/99)

Things Fall Apart - The Roots
Hip-Hop/R&B
Every track boasts considerable sonic depth and sophistication, but four breakthrough songs ignite a powerful groove (03/02/99)

Died For Your Sins - The Avengers
Pop/Rock
Nine rare songs collected for the first time. Punk can get faster and more gnarly than this, but it doesn't get more musically whole (03/02/99)

Murder, Misery, and Then Goodnight - Kristen Hersh
Pop/Rock
These 12 traditional selections which spin dark yarns are different from Hersh's own song style of strange fragments and moody puzzles (03/02/99)

The Hot Rock - Sleater-Kinney
Pop/Rock
Sleater-Kinney love rock enough to come up with a new way to play it, incandescing with their own energy, bouncing from sheer power. (02/23/99)

Live in Montana - Meat Puppets
Pop/Rock
A never-before-released '88 recording of one of the corniest bands to ever flirt with transcendence. (02/23/99)

This World Is Not My Home - Lone Justice
Pop/Rock
Fifteen years later, this set of tracks reveals a great bar band whose L.A. energy never translated to wax. (02/23/99)

On the Way Down From the Moon Palace - Lisa Germano
Pop/Rock
A rerelease of her 1991 solo debut shows hints of the stark and pulsing terror that pushed later albums to the scalpel-edged limits of emotional endurance. (02/23/99)

Blues Blues Blues - The Jimmy Rogers All-Stars
Pop/Rock
Rogers is the magnanimous host of a sweet Chicago blues party featuring dinosaur rockers such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jimmy Page. (02/23/99)

Central Reservation - Beth Orton
Country/Folk
The young English folkie's voice is so disarmingly good that it's worth ignoring her clichéd lyrics
(02/16/99)

The Family - The Del McCoury Band
Country/Folk
A primer for the bluegrass-curious and a refresher for the jaded
(02/16/99)

Half Mad Moon - The Damnations TX
Country/Folk
A smart, tuneful roots-rock trio from Austin, TX., with potential in spades
(02/16/99)

Industry and Thrift - Bad Livers
Country/Folk
Known for bluegrass and punk-rock purism, Livers eschew roots-rock clich é -- which is why this may be the roots-rock album of the turn of the century
(02/16/99)

Good Morning Spider - Sparklehorse
Pop/Rock
Mark Linous' second full album contains the subtext of a kind of terror and pain that can only be explained from behind masks
(02/09/99)

Salad Days - Adrien Belew
Pop/Rock
This collection offers a satifying tour of Belew's universe, which is loony but not sardonic, full of suprising and moving pathos
(02/09/99)

Trio II - Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt
Country/Folk
There's a great album to be made by three of pop and country's purest female vocalists, but this effort is ultimately a letdown
(02/09/99)

'Rushmore' Original Soundtrack - Various Artists
Soundtrack
This is the work of someone who cares about music, who ferreted out great forgotten songs (half of them by British Invasion bands), rather that plucking cuts from best-of compilations
(02/09/99)

Eat this song By Clea Simon
A writer fondly remembers the horrible, beautiful rush of seeing X for the first time
(02/03/99)

It's heeeeeeeeere By Gavin McNett
Rhino's new collection announces that '80s retro has finally arrived -- and not a moment too soon
(02/03/99)

Up Up Up Up Up Up - Ani DiFranco
Pop/Rock
The 12th album from the courageous folk/punk musician is a baffling misstep. This time, she's just fakin' the funk
(02/02/99)

The Jelly Roll Kings - Frank Frost and Sam Carr
Hip-Hop/R&B
If this album doesn't leave you feeling laid-back and buoyant, you need a good stiff drink
(02/02/99)

My Inspiration: The Music of Brazil - Charlie Byrd
Jazz/World
Byrd's distinctive guitar establishes him as one of the few non-Brazilian masters of the bossa nova genre
(02/02/99)

Punk Singles Collection - Newtown Neurotics
Pop/Rock
The blazing power-trio energy and snap-tight combo arrangements of these songs prove the Neurotics to be on the of the great punk bands of all time
(01/26/99)

The House of Tomorrow - Nancy Wilson
Pop/Rock
The raucous echo of Heart's heavy-metal influence lingers on this spare record recorded in front of a small audience in Los Angeles in 1997
(01/26/99)

Holiday - The Magnetic Fields
Pop/Rock
This reissue from Stephin Merritt's bubble-gum band is permeated with radical electronic experiments
(01/26/99)

The House of Tomorrow - The Magnetic Fields
Pop/Rock
A reissue from Stephin Merritt's bubble-gum band, this high-concept experiment is a small treat for fans
(01/26/99)

Transistor Blast - XTC
Pop/Rock
A long-winded summation of the band's years on the Virgin lablel, with BBC studio recordings and live broadcasts, and not a dud among them
(01/19/99)

Love Thinketh No Evil - Peter Himmelman
Pop/Rock
Himmelman writes songs with an assured easiness, the music fitting snugly around his graceful but often biting words
(01/19/99)

Knock Knock - Smog
Pop/Rock
An almost unbelievable change of heart for the man who built his burning kingdom on bitterness itself
(01/19/99)

Bombay the Hard Way - Kalyanji, Anandji and Dan the Automator
Pop/Rock
This selection of Bombay film soundtrack music set to hip-hop beats is both shamefully derivative and proudly original.
(01/06/99)

By Your Side - The Black Crowes
Pop/Rock
The swaggering cock rockers come back to rock-roots basics to create a solidly mediocre album.
(01/06/99

American Water - Silver Jews
Pop/Rock
Archetypal slackers set indie rock's angular melodies to prairie rhythms.
(01/06/99)

A Streetcar Named Desire - Composed and conducted by André Previn and performed by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Classical
This postmodern "Streetcar" fails Tennesse Williams' play because its music lacks cohesion.
(01/06/99)

A master at dangerous play By Gary Kamiya
"Bitches Brew" changed jazz history -- and proved again that Miles Davis was the Proteus of 20th century music
(12/16/98)

Thinking inside the box By Eric Alterman
The year's best in box sets provides obsessed fans of country, jazz, blues and rock with some treasures and some trash
(12/16/98)

What's so funny about peace, love and understanding? By Gina Arnold
The worlds of pop and pomp collide at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo
(12/15/98)

Material Girl: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays the Music of Madonna - The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Pop/Rock
While the ironies inherent in this album are substantial enough to fill a Camille Paglia essay, they seem lost on the orchestra, which reduces the pop icon's music to its most basic, tuneful components.
(12/09/98)

1965 - Afghan Whigs
Pop/Rock
A straight-up party record. Lead singer Greg Dulli has never sounded so open, his great and terrible bastard persona nowhere to be found.
(12/09/98)

The Secret Handshake - Geoff Muldaur
Country/Folk
Muldar's whispery wail of a voice and his sublime musicianship are the thumbprints that bind together this varied country blues repertoire.
(12/09/98)

On Two Legs - Pearl Jam
Pop/Rock
The consummate album from a canonized classic-rock band that's always been just exactly as good as they had to be -- and not a bit more or less.
(12/02/98)

'I'm Still Here... Damn It!' - Sandra Bernhard
Soundtracks
Acerbic wit, personal memoir and song create the kind of pop-culture roller coaster ride that only comic/performance artist Bernhard can provide.
(12/02/98)

Heater - The Silos
Pop/Rock
Singer-songwriter Salas-Humara's plaintive voice remains unpretentious, and the soulful folk-pop grooves here are deeper than ever.
(12/02/98)

Spirit - Jewel
Pop/Rock
There's only one reason to listen to Jewel, and it's a good one -- the girl can sing.
(11/18/98)

Verdi Per Due - Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado
Classical
Their second recording of duets proves unequivocally that the art of opera's golden couple is as remarkable as their life.
(11/18/98)

The Salesman and Bernadette - Vic Chesnutt
Country/Folk
Talented but self-indulgent, country absurdist Chesnutt privileges the hit-or-miss surrealism of private lyrics over the art of the song.
(11/18/98)

Bach Goldberg Variations - Andras Schiff
Classical
Schiff plays Bach on piano with much of the expressiveness we heard in Glenn Gould, with comparable virtuosity and yet none of the eccentricity.
(11/18/98)

Wonsaponatime: Selections form the Lennon Anthology - John Lennon
Pop/Rock
A grossly contrived marketing scam full of greatest misses is not, for my money at least, how I want to remember one of the most enigmatic musicians of our time.
(11/18/98)

Mutations - Beck
Pop/Rock
Another record where Beck "turns shit to gold"; constantly churning through forgotten pop movements, the folkie alchemist resuscitates late '60s Brazillian jazz, hayseed country and orchestral easy listening.
(11/11/98)

Human Being - Seal
Pop/Rock
This pilgrim's progress continues in the previous elegant, winning style, but on Seal's latest song cycle of the human conundrum, the world makes him wanna holler and throw up his hands.
(11/11/98)

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie - Alanis Morissette
Pop/Rock
Mellowed from an angst-filled demoiselle to a more reserved woman, her self-absorbed songs are broadcast friendly, mid-tempo ballads that still follow the formula that gave her a mortal lock on the pop charts.
(11/11/98)

Up - REM
Pop/Rock
After 15 years, you'd think they'd show at least a few signs of artistic weariness, but they're raring to go.
(11/04/98)

The McGarrigle Hour - Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Pop/Rock
Harmonies that sound beautifully sweet yet induce almost instant despondency.
(11/04/98)

American Water - Silver Jews
Pop/Rock
Relaxed without undue mellowness, crafted without being stodgy.
(11/04/98)

Spirit Train - Bruce Hornsby
Pop/Rock
Catches the ear with musical moments, but instrumental virtuosity is no substitute for truly memorable songs.
(11/04/98)

John Mellencamp - John Mellencamp
Pop/Rock
A plush mix of guitars and fiddles tethered to a colorful rhythm section and Mellencamp's raspy lead vocal -- a familiar sound in search of something to say.
(10/28/98)

The Way We Were - Babe the Blue Ox
Pop/Rock
The Brooklyn trio mixes art-rock polyrhythms and kick-ass hooks to create a sound that's both complex and catchy.
(10/28/98)

Pavarotti & Friends: For the Children of Liberia - Luciano Pavarotti and Various Artists
Soundtracks
A live recording of June's benefit concert, featuring Sheryl Crow, Trisha Yearwood, Stevie Wonder and others, giving performances that range from enjoyable to dicey to unbearable.
(10/28/98)

I'm So Confused - Jonathan Richman
Pop/Rock
Richman's given up the angst for off-handedly sweet pop, spare and causal in feel.
(10/21/98)

Telescopic - Edith Frost
Pop/Rock
The heart she's presenting isn't cold at all, but she sings like she wishes she could chill it.
(10/21/98)

...Twenty-Five... - Sweet Honey in the Rock
Jazz/World
The group's politics, though clasically PC, form the foundation of unanimity for their tonal richness and dynamism.
(10/21/98)

Cheap Trick, In Color, Heaven Tonight - Cheap Trick
Pop/Rock
Cooler than ever, their gleeful and triumphant snideness is a natural fit for current indie-rock's studied, joyful cynicism.
(10/21/98)

Strange But True - Jad Fair and Yo La Tengo
Jazz/World
They haven't so much collaborated as they've stapled their ideas on top of one another.
(10/21/98)

Winterland - Emma Townshend
Pop/Rock
Best appreciated with lights out, under shimmering stars or sliding headlights. And you'd do well to flip through the lyric sheet. (10/14/98)

How It Feels to Be Something On - Sunny Day Real Estate
Pop/Rock
If anyone ever says anything bad about Sunny Day Real Estate again, I'll kill them. (10/14/98)

George Gershwin: The 100th Birthday Celebration - San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
Classical
Despite the musicians' brilliant navigation, choices of arrangement and the omission of "Rhapsody in Blue" doesn't leave Gershwin fans with much to celebrate. (10/14/98)

Tommy Boy's Greatest Beats, Volume 1-4 - Various Artists
Pop/Rock
A retrospective, from Afrika Bambaataa to Coolio, compiles the songs that ruled rec centers, lunchrooms and malls since the early '80s. (10/14/98)

Hatful of Rain: The Best of Del Amitri - Del Amitri
Pop/Rock
Seventeen tracks reflect the band's soft and harder-rocking styles and hang together as a meditation on troubled romance.
(10/07/98)

Step Inside This House - Lyle Lovett
Country/Folk
An all-covers album that's one of Lovett's best.
(10/07/98)

Feng Shui - Q-Burns Abstract Message
Hip-Hop/R&B
Chill-room ambience that works just as well in cars and living rooms as it does in those trip-hop power centers the artist ignores.
(10/07/98)

In The Doghouse - Throwing Muses
Pop/Rock
The long-promised stateside release of one of the most jarring records of the 1980s -- the Muses's debut.
(10/07/98)

Caribe Atomico - Aterciopelados
Jazz/World
Columbia's ambassadors of hipness mingle neo-folkloric takes on pop, punk and alt-rock with ambient soundfields and back-stepping beats.
(10/07/98)

Bloque - Bloque
Jazz/World
Columbian culture-clashing, aesthetically ferocious and stylistically dazzling.
(10/07/98)

White Trash Heros - Archers of Loaf
Pop/Rock
They could damn well have made a great album, but there's little here to justify the Archers's status as preeminent indie-rockers.
(10/07/98)

Is This Desire? - Polly Jean Harvey
Pop/Rock
In her first release in three years, Polly Jean Harvey offers sops to a self-consciously hip underground
(09/30/98)

I Want Magic - Renee Fleming with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera
Classical
A superb soprano gives voice to this collection of American opera arias, including one from Andre Previn's recent "A Streetcar Named Desire
(09/30/98)

Let's Kill Saturday Night - Robbie Fulks
Country/Folk
The indie songwriter and guitarist works with country heroes, meshing themes of love, joy and desperation in a perfect country rock package.
(09/30/98)

I'm Telling You For the Last Time - Jerry Seinfeld
Soundtrack
Unlike the best comedy records, poor Jerry's debut doesn't reward especially close attention or come up with a turn of phrase worth remembering.
(09/30/98)

Taming the Tiger - Joni Mitchell
Jazz/World
Mitchell proves herself a seasoned jazz vocalist on one of the loveliest suites of songs she has ever recorded.
(09/30/98)

El Oso - Soul Coughing
Pop/Rock
This album blends deep bass, snappy drums, wild sampling and jungle beats and primes the band for the international recognition it deserves.
(09/30/98)

Musical Chairs - Hootie and the Blowfish
Pop/Rock
All-midtempo OK country-rock from a South Carolina bar band that >is maturing, albeit slightly.
(09/23/98)

Moon Pix - Cat Power
Pop/Rock
Songs so slow, spare and understated that they seem to be coming from some Southern Gothic music box.
(09/23/98)

Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson
Pop/Rock
Manson is softening up, turning away from his dour preoccupation with religious fascism and toward space-age genderfuck chic.
(09/23/98)

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf - Various artists
Country/Folk
Lucinda Williams and Nanci Griffith are among those lending their considerable talents to the interpretations of Wolf's touching, deceptively simple songs.
(09/23/98)

Somewhere in the City (Original Soundtrack) - John Cale and various artists
Soundtracks
This piano and cello-dominated score is stark in effect but warm in mood.
(09/23/98)

Middlessence - Amy Rigby
Country/Folk
Her sweet voice carries the weight of post-divorce anxieties in songs that move away from her folk and country trademarks.
(09/23/98)

The Globe Sessions - Sheryl Crow
Pop/Rock
Full of small strange gestures that show she's not entirely resolved to full-speed-ahead hitmaking.
(09/16/98)

Absurd Pop Song Romance - Pansy Division
Pop/Rock
The queercore band's least funny record is also their most balanced, hook-wise and contemplative.
(09/16/98)

Central Avenue - Danilo Perez
Jazz/World
A soloist with a healthy obsession with mambos and Monk also has the maturity to take a backseat to the rhythms.
(09/16/98)

Nuggets: Original Artyfacts form the First Psychedlic Era - Various Artists
Pop/Rock
Seventy-something classic and forgotten missives from the rumpus rooms of America in the years 1965-68.
(09/16/98)

Celebrity Skin - Hole
Pop/Rock
Hole's defiant "Celebrity Skin" suggests Courtney Love's scars have calloused over
(09/11/98)

Navy Blues - Sloan
Pop/Rock
The spirit of a teenage boy band playing Led Zeppelin tributes in the basement.
(09/09/98)

The Best of John Hiatt - John Hiatt
Country/Folk
The artfully twisted love song architect demonstrates how to live well with some poison in your system.
(09/09/98)

A Standing Eight - Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Jazz/World
A three-album set from a jazz master unappreciated in his own time.
(09/09/98)

Combustication - Medeski Martin & Wood
Jazz/World
The organic trip-hop and eerie funk tunes are really launching pads for extended improvisation.
(09/09/98)

The Well - The Klezmatics with Chava Alberstein
Jazz/World
The klezmer (Jewish jazz) group mix reverence and vaudevillian slapstick in a delicious, earthy stew.
(09/09/98)

The Boy With the Arab Strap - Belle and Sebastian
Pop/Rock
A promising, gifted band reverts to involuted studies in pop allusion.
(09/02/98)

Slow Down - Keb' Mo'
Jazz/World
A slide guitar prodigy buries his blues in studio saccharine.
(09/02/98)

Bed - Julianna Hatfield
Pop/Rock
Some wonderful turns of phrase, a handful of catchy riffs and a dud or two.
(09/02/98)

Teatro - Willie Nelson
Country/Folk
A stark meditation on love that mixes new Nelson songs with tunes from his early-'60s catalog.
(09/02/98)

Law of Ruins - Six Finger Satellite
Pop/Rock
In spite of the synths and the Devo and Kraftwerk comparisons, 6FS are a Rock Band, dig?
(09/02/98)

OX - Elliot Smith
Country/Folk
Songs from this alt-folk success story are true to tradition but shuffle along drearily.
(08/26/98)

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill
Hip-hop/R&B
Hotter than July and hardcore enough to put a tear in your eye.
(08/26/98)

Walk Between the Raindrops - James McMurtry
Country/Folk
Songs that catch people in positions of exasperating uncertainty.
(08/26/98)

Gentleman's Blues - Cracker
Pop/Rock
Maturity fits this post-hippie cult hero well.
(08/26/98)

The Return of the Headhunters - The HeadHunters
Jazz/World
Hard-hitting funk vamps from that sound like they were recorded in the group's mid-'70s heyday.
(08/26/98)

How We Quit the Forest - Rasputina
Pop/Rock
The "ladies' cello society" concocts such rich, nuanced chamber rock that it's a wonder boys ever bothered with that guitar nonsense at all.
(08/19/98)

Anutha Zone - Dr. John
Jazz/World
Wink-wink humor, ass-shaking horn sections and peculiar social commentary.
(08/19/98)

Seven and Seven - MC Lyte
Hip-Hop/R&B
A forced attempt at party-friendly jiggy-ness lets Lyte's bad-ass power go to waste.
(08/19/98)

Blueblood - Silkworm
Pop/Rock
A a wry paean to dissipation, a rubbery burble of murky, fuming spirits.
(08/19/98)

Crown of Jewels - Randy Scruggs
Country/Folk
One of the hidden masters of contemporary Nashville.
(08/19/98)

The Gathering - Geri Allen
Jazz/World
A pianist/composer as familiar with funk and the blues as she is with free flowing hard bop.
(08/19/98)

Tiny Town - Tiny Town
Rock/Pop
These stinging leads, grainy vocals and slip-sliding funk are as comfortable as a good back-scratch.
(08/05/98)

Rufus Wainwright: Live on KCRW - Rufus Wainwright
Rock/Pop
Aimed at fans, this little EP features live songs off Wainwright's self-titled debut, along with some radio chitchat.
(08/05/98)

Positively Na Na - Tommy Womack
Rock/Pop
Plenty of boozing, lack-of-sex laments and rhythms that make you drum your steering wheel.
(08/05/98)

Yitzhak Rabin - Alpha Blondy
Jazz/World
Ivory Coast's reigning reggae star completes the Bob Marley connection with a tribute to a great peacemaker.
(08/05/98)

Perennial Favorites - Squirrel Nut Zippers
Jazz/World
Even on this thin endeavor, they're too darn hot to be dismissed as a novelty or revival act.
(08/05/98)

Sugar in My Bowl: The Very Best of Nina Simone - Nina Simone
Jazz/World
Unbelievably moving, unbearably self-indulgent, sometimes both, in the same song.
(07/29/98)

The 9 Volt Years: Battery Powered Home Demos and Curios (1979-198?) - Marshall Crenshaw
Pop/Rock
Relaxed, unstudied songs that distill the energy and eternal themes of sock-hop pop.
(07/29/98)

A Family Affair - Christian McBride
Jazz/World
The jazz bassist's uneven foray into R&B and funk.
(07/29/98)

Hell Among the Yearlings - Gillian Welch
Country/Folk
The spirit and sound of early Carter family and traditional bluegrass.
(07/29/98)

We Ran - Linda Ronstadt
Rock/pop
She's still playing dress-up with songs and styles.
(07/22/98)

Ultimate Alternative Wavers - Built to Spill
Rock/pop
Layers of guitar sit brooding, then punch through the speakers.
(07/22/98)

Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) - Nanci Griffith
Country/folk
Endearing if overstyled cuts from the folk/country canon
(07/22/98)

Soundshock Vol. 1 - Funky Breaks Edition - DJ Harware
Hip-hop/R&B
DJs play more than records.
(07/22/98)

Soundshock Vol.2 - Trance Edition - DJ Harware
Hip-hop/R&B
DJs play more than records.
(07/22/98)

Across a Wire - Counting Crows
Rock/pop
Another slowly metered-out rock product.
(07/22/98)

Hello Nasty - Beastie Boys
Rock/pop
The Beasties return to a slower, hollering rap style.
(07/15/98)

Big Backyard Beat Show - BR5-49
Country/folk
Fourteen songs that honor tradition, without being too smart about it.
(07/15/98)

Nomad Soul - Baaba Maal
Jazz/world
Afropop is all about experimentation, but Maal should chock this one up to experience.
(07/15/98)

In Search of The Lost Riddim - Ernest Ranglin
Jazz/world
Off the wall, but totally unpretentious, this global back-porch jazz delivers the goods.
(07/15/98)

I Remember Miles - Shirley Horn
Jazz/world
Horn's affection for Davis and the depth of this electrifying collection of ballads is immediately apparent.
(07/15/98)

Rhinoplasty - Primus
Rock/pop
There's nothing particularly funky about fulfilling a contractual obligation.
(07/15/98)

Territory - Alvin Youngblood Hart
Country
With a virtuosic guitar style and a voice that shifts from a dulcet croon to a piercing holler, Hart's second album unapologetically immerses itself in the deepest country and blues traditions (07/08/98)

Flaming Red - Patty Griffin
pop/rock
With "Flaming Red", Griffin proves she's ready for radio success, but willing to reward the long-distance listener (07/08/98)

What Makes it Go? - Komeda
pop/rock
Retro served up in the unmistakable style of this Swedish pop foursome (07/08/98)

The Black Light - Calexico
Country
Calexico look South of the border for inspiration, adding mariachi horns, Latin rhythms and Tex-Mex accordion to their desert musings (07/08/98)

Miles From Our Home - Cowboy Junkies
Rock/Pop
The latest from the Cowboy Junkies is what grunge sounds like after it achieves ambiance (07/08/98)

Time Capsule - The B-52's
Rock/Pop
Two solid new tracks show the B-52's still searching for a planet, or a dimension, cool enough to host their party (07/08/98)

Everything old is young again
By Bill C. Malone
New music from the veterans of Old Country is roping in rock audiences (07/02/98)

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
Country/Folk
The path to Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels" was paved with good intentions
(07/01/98)

Genesis Archives Vol. 1 - Genesis
Rock/Pop
An encyclopedia of songs from the ace prog-rock ensemble (06/24/98)

Arches and Aisles - Spinanes
Rock/Pop
Rebecca Gates proves she doesn't need a backseat driver on this first Spinanes album sans drummer Scott Plouf (06/24/98)

Try Whistling This - Neil Finn
Rock/Pop
Free-range pop from one-half of the former duo Crowded House (06/24/98)

Waved Out - Robert Pollard
Rock/Pop
A handful of gorgeous art-punk hymns tossed off by Guided by Voices leader (06/24/98)

Twelve's It - The Ellis Marsalis Trio
Jazz
The youngest Marsalis shares the spotlight with his now-famous father (06/24/98)

Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg and Wilco
pop/rock
A 15-song tribute to Woody Guthrie, America's most important folksinger (06/24/98)

Premonition - John Fogerty
pop/rock
John Fogerty long ago perfected music that sounds like it's tossed off, but actually takes hours of painful, painstaking work to properly place each barbecued lick and casual howl (06/17/98)

Jubilee - Grant Lee Buffalo
pop/rock
The LA-based band has a knack for combining earnest, '90s-style power-throating with a mild case of White Album-damage in an appealing pop package (06/17/98)

Amp 2 - Various Artists
pop/rock
The uncut stuff has more ideas, true, but the "electronica" on "Amp 2" has hooks, and that's all pop asks for (06/17/98)

Duality - Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke
pop/rock
Unlike a good Dead Can Dance album, this outside project lacks the accessibility that made even a medieval Italian ballad sound like rock music (06/17/98)

When We Were the New Boys - Rod Stewart
pop/rock
Stewart remains a superb singer in a field filled with mediocre vocalists, and this album of covers is one of his very best (06/17/98)

Imagination - Brian Wilson
pop/rock
"Imagination" is an admirable but flawed attempt to call up the ghosts of "Pet Sounds" (06/17/98)

Tibetan Freedom Concert
Pop/Rock
Gavin McNett reports from the third annual Tibetan Freedom Concert (06/17/98)

Adore - Smashing Pumpkins
pop/rock
The lovely "Adore" is something of a bona fide maturity move for Corgan and his (now two) Corganaires (06/10/98)

Trading with the Enemy - Tuatara
pop/rock
A non-noodling album from the rock "supergroup" Tuatara, featuring members of REM, Luna and the Screaming Trees (06/10/98)

Payton's Place - Nicholas Payton
jazz
The third album by the Crescent City's third-best trumpeter after Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard (06/10/98)

Munki - The Jesus and Mary Chain
pop/rock
Bookended by "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "I Hate Rock 'n' Roll," everything in between on the Reid brothers' sixth studio album is a search for, well, something in between (06/10/98)

Will Sing for Food - Various
Country
Fifteen artists pay tribute to the tunes of Dwight Yoakam (06/10/98)

A Long Way Home - Dwight Yoakam
Country
Dwight Yoakam's seventh batch of new songs is made memorable only by his smooth tenor (06/10/98)

Ophelia - Natalie Merchant
Pop/Rock
Big on concept, "Ophelia" is unfortunately short on the buoyant rhythms that could carry you through Merchant's melancholy songs (06/03/98)

Godzilla: The Album - Various Artists
Pop/Rock
A dozen seemingly unrelated new songs whose only mission is to stick somewhere to the charts (06/03/98)

End Hits - Fugazi
Pop/Rock
"End Hits" is Fugazi at its fiercest yet most approachable (06/03/98)

Angels with Dirty Faces - Tricky
Pop/Rock
Like Tricky's last record, "Pre-Millennium Tension," "Angels With Dirty Faces" is a jumbled, gorgeous hiss of despair (06/03/98)

Largo - Various Artists
Country/Folk
A pleasing collection of folk-rock performances that fit into the rootsy Americana format (06/03/98)

Nnenna Freelon - Nnenna Freelon
Jazz
Finally, a "concept album" whose music merits the great concept: every song here is penned in part by a woman (05/27/98)

Featuring Birds - Quasi
Pop/Rock
The third album from this Sleater-Kinney spin-off shows the duo to be in yet another unhappy, reflective mood (05/27/98)

Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1 - Various Artists
Hiphop
An innovative compilation that proves hip-hop is back in decent shape (05/27/98)

Stadium Blitzer - The Gourds
Country/Folk
Part artless bluegrass and part rustic stomp, the Gourds forge an engaging sort of slackerbilly (05/27/98)

If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope and Struggle - Pete Seeger
Folk
A best-of drawn from the folksinger's greatest and most galvanizing work (05/27/98)

Still Life - The Connells
Pop/Rock
Southern guitar-rockers give Ben Folds Five a run for their money in the college-hit sweepstakes (05/27/98)

Nature Film - Scrawl
Pop/Rock
Scrawl's not fit for Lilith Fair -- and more power to them for that (05/20/98)

Before These Crowded Streets - Dave Matthews Band
Pop/Rock
Forget Viagra -- "Before These Crowded Streets," the sexy third studio album from the Dave Matthews Band, could make even Church Lady feel like a sexpot (05/20/98)

Twistin in the Wind - Joe Ely
Pop/Rock
Ely's recorded output has often failed to reflect the dynamism of his live shows, but album number 13 proves lucky for the Texas singer-songwriter (05/20/98)

Me - Mekons
Pop/Rock
With all their deep thinking weighing down on the music, "Me" is rough going, both as rock album and political tract (05/20/98)

Into The Sun - Sean Lennon
Pop/Rock
"Into The Sun" is Sean Lennon's unabashed sonic valentine to his girlfriend and producer, Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto (05/20/98)

Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright
Pop/Rock
Rufus Wainwright, the openly gay son of the world's crankiest living folksinger, Loudon Wainwright III, writes parlor pop for the lovelorn (05/20/98)

"Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974 - Bill Laswell
Pop/Rock
Laswell honors Davis' legacy by forgetting about this "legacy" business and playing it loose (05/13/98)

Mezzanine - Massive Attack
Pop/Rock
At its best, Mezzanine is both blase and astoundingly sad, like modern life at its worst (05/13/98)

Days for Days - The Loud Family
Pop/Rock
Scott Miller's exploding-thesaurus verbiage match his springwater pop melodies like a clown nose on a pedigree poodle (05/13/98)

From the Choirgirl Hotel - Tori Amos
Pop/Rock
Amos adds her recent real-life miscarriage to the heap of negative experiences that she pours into otherwise imaginary dramas (05/13/98)

A Thousand Leaves - Sonic Youth
Pop/Rock
"A Thousand Leaves" is urban renewal planning at its smartest (05/13/98)

Solex vs. The Hitmeister - Solex
Pop/Rock
The first artist since Liz Phair to sign to Matador based sol