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One of the most classic albums of the 70s – a never-ending hit that's continued to inspire generations! Back in the early years of punk, we were thinking that Rumours was a record that would pass by quickly – but it turns out to have a fair bit more staying power than Never Mind The Bollocks – and continues to get new interest and new appreciation as the years go on! And, after decades, we're finally on board with the greatness of the record, and everything the group was going through, and put into the songs within – a classic lineup that includes "Dreams", "Don't Stop", "Never Going Back Again", "Go Your Own Way", "The Chain", "You Make Loving Fun", "Oh Daddy", and "Gold Dust Woman". CD

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An early Warner Brothers classic from the Grateful Dead – a set that has them stretching out in maybe a more collaborative way than usual – using a few key guests to expand their freewheeling sound! The larger posse is pictured on the back cover, with a down to earth image that's a nice contrast to the trippy vibe of the front – and that may well be the best illustration of the group's changing spirit during this key year – as they shake off a bit of the hippie stink, and settle into even more serious musicianship overall. Titles include "Cosmic Charlie", "China Cat Sunflower", "Doin That Rag", "Mountains Of The Moon", and "Dupree's Diamond Blues". CD

The best years of the Dead – with all original albums in original artwork! CD

The long strange trip the Grateful Dead began with Warner Bros in the late 60s culminated in this concise, pretty darn solid attempt at an early Best Of, appropriately called Skeletons In The Closet! The Dead would never be best known for their studio recordings, but this really is a good reminder that the band wrote and recorded a lot of wonderful songs in their heyday that feel uniquely, distinctively Dead even in the 3 to 6 minute studio versions. It's a worthy reminder of that for eternal fans, and an even better gateway to Dead fandom for newcomers. Includes "Truckin'", "Sugar Magnolia", "St. Stephen", "Uncle John's Band", "Casey Jones", "Mexicali Blues", "Turn On Your Love Light", "One More Saturday Night", "Friend Of The Devil" and more. CD

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Sure, Rickie Lee Jones went onto become a bit of a cliche in later years, but this early album's still got an undeniable power – and was a great breath of fresh air, at a time when it seemed like most of modern music was forgetting its roots! What is it with the LA scene from the 60s onward that they always seemed to find their best inspiration in the past? Artists like Harpers Bizarre, Randy Newman, Tom Waits and others set the stage for a record like this – by reaching back into older styles and bringing them forward with a more contemporary spin. (And why was it that LA seemed to be the center of this mode – and New York, Chicago, and other cities never worked that way?) Rickie serves up a nice assortment of older-styled vocal cuts – performed with a mixture of traditional and 70s jazz backings, supported by some extra-classy Warner production from Lenny Waronker. Titles are all originals, but done with an older hipser sort of feel – and titles include "Easy Money", "Chuck E's In Love", "Young Blood", "The Last Chance Texaco", "Danny's All Star Joint", "Weasel & The White Boys Cool", "Company", "Coolsville", and "On Saturday Afternoons In 1963". CD

A near-complete package of this legendary group – with the full albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer, plus the Ideal For Living EP, material from Still, rare singles, compilation tracks, and live material too – almost everything the group ever recorded! CD

The third album from Little Feat – and one that brings a bit of Crescent City rock and soul into the mix – but it's still Little Feat, so it's got a restless creative energy that's beautifully tough to classify! There's quite a bit of soul influences in the mix – especially the tunes with the female chorus backing vocals. Not a Dixie rock cliche to be found anywhere on it, either! Includes "Dixie Chicken", "Two Trains", "Roll Um Easy", "Kiss It Off", "Fat Man In The Bathtub", "Fool Yourself" and more. CD

The last album of the 70s by Little Feat – and it's a strange one! On one hand, Little Feat is revisiting some of their country rock and New Orleans-inspired songs of years past – as well as the self-conciously oddball humor. But they're also working in a tighter, leaner and cleaner studio sound than on the previous albums. Includes "Down On The Farm", "Six Feet Of Snow", "Front Page News", "Wake Up Dreaming", "Be One Now", "Kokomo", "Perfect Imperfection" and more. CD

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Of course, this is not the last record album – it's not even the last album by Little Feat – but it's a damn good one! The Last Record Album isn't as creatively restless as the previous few albums, with kind of a laidback groove, overall – and we actually really dig Little Feat in a mellow mood! Includes "Romance Dance", "Long Distance Love", "Down Below The Borderline", "Mercenary Territory", "Don't Bogart That Joint", Somebody's Leavin" and more. CD

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A much cooler folk group than usual for the time – thanks to great work from a young Jerry Yester and Chip Douglas – both of whom create all the right hip currents to live up to the "modern" in their name! The group definitely have that folk harmony style of the time – but there's a lot more complexity to their music than some of the pop groups – really amazing criss-crossing of vocals that hints at some of the broader directions post-folk groups would take their lyrics in the late 60s! Production is wonderful – clean, clear, and robust without overstating itself – and the group turn in a beautiful reading of "It Was A Very Good Year", plus "Pennies", "To Catch A Shad", "Lee Lo", "Yes I See", "Home Is Where The Heart Is", "Brandy", and "Ox Driver" (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

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One of the great albums from Van Morrison during that incredible peak period – and a record that stands out as a less emotionally fraught effort after the heavy mood of Astral Weeks and the super far-reaching Moondance albums. Here Van concentrates a bit more on his love of R&B, but still with some soaring touches. Titles include the unshakable classic "Domino", plus "Crazy Face", "I've Been Working", "Blue Money", "Virgo Clowns", "Gypsy Queen", "Street Choir" and more. CD

Maybe the greatest album ever from Van Morrison – and a set that broke into a whole new side of his talents! Van's producing himself on the record – not really in the conventional role as a producer, but in a way that has him really writing most of the album as he goes along in the studio – using core ideas for tunes, and fleshing them out in a relatively spontaneous way with the musicians involved – at a level that also shows some of the most jazzy elements of Morrison's music to date! That approach is heard to key effect in the sublime title cut "Moondance" – but it also echoes over the course of the whole album's stellar set list – tracks that include "Caravan", "Into The Mystic", "Come Running", "Glad Tidings", and "And It Stoned Me". CD

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Titles include "Any Day Woman", "Walking Blues", "Mighty Tight Woman", "I Ain't Blue", "Women Be Wise", and "Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead". CD

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Snide, surly and cathartic genius from the Sex Pistols – a record with a legacy as eternal as any rock album, punk or otherwise – all the more stunning, given it's the band's lone studio album! One classic after another, including "Holidays In The Sun", "Bodies", "Anarchy In The UK", "No Feelings", "Problems", "Pretty Vacant", "God Save The Queen", "New York", "EMI", "Liar", "Submisson" and "Seventeen". CD

A very powerful little session from Joanie Sommers – and like most of her work from the time, one that's done in a great blend of jazz and mainstream pop! Orchestrations are by Tommy Oliver, and there's plenty of dynamic horn passages to keep things interesting – even on the mellower numbers, which are often some of the best in the set – and feature Joanie's sweeter vocals amidst a darker bank of trombones that dip and turn gently. The more upbeat numbers often feature some nice percussion touches to get the groove going – and titles include "Till There Was You", "Make The Man Love You", "Spring Is Here", "Let's Talk About Love", "After The Lights Go Down Low", "Namely You", "Kiss & Run", and "I'll Never Stop Loving You". (Vocalists, Rock) CD

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This specially packed boxed set contains all eight of Talking Heads' studio albums, expanded and remastered as two-sided DualDiscs featuring DVD-A sound, rare and previously unreleased material, and video tracks. CD

The genius of 70s Thin Lizzy – served up here in all its glory – really stretching out in a double-length live set with nary a dull moment at all! The production on the Thin Lizzy studio albums is always impeccable – and really works wonders with the guitars, and the vocals of Phil Lynott – but as you'll hear in concert, that magic is already firmly in place – and maybe even more remarkable caught like this, in the space of some very enthusiastic fans! Tracks include great new takes on killers from the albums that came before – and titles include "The Rocker", "Baby Drives Me Crazy", "Don't Believe A Word", "Cowboy Song", "The Boys Are Back In Town", "Dancing In The Moonlight", "Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed", "Jailbreak", "Emerald", "Massacre", and a great fusion of "Rosalie" and "Cowgirl's Song". CD

A huge double-length live set of the groovy Tiny Tim at the height of his powers – and one that maybe offers up the fullest document of his surprisingly strong impact on the late 60s scene! The album's overflowing with tracks, all recorded by producer Richard Perry while Tim was strumming and singing at London's Royal Albert Hall – reworking old songs with a very strange vibe, leaving his imprint on some more contemporary numbers, and acting maybe more like an entertainer than you'd hear on record. Titles include "Save Your Sorrows For Tomorrow", "Welcome To My Dream", "Livin In The Sunlight Lovin In The Moonlight", "I Gave Her That", "Where Does Daddy Go When He Goes Out", "I Got You Babe", "Mr Tim Recalls His Visit With The Rolling Stones/I Can't Get No Satisfaction", "Nowhere Man", "I'll See You Again", and "The Other Side". CD

Television may be long gone, but Tom Verlaine has lost none of his edge – and instead has almost emerged as one of the most mature singer/songwriters on the New York scene – an underground-to-mainstream poet to match the skills of Lou Reed and Patti Smith! The album's got a vibe that's almost like Reed's work of the time – in that Tom's an artist who clearly knows the path to the dark side, and ways to overindulge – but always instead finds a way to keep things well-crafted and economical, but without sacrificing his sound or his intellect. Titles include "Penetration", "The Blue Robe", "Mr Blur", "A Future In Noise", "Down On The Farm", "Without A Word", and "Fragile". CD

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One of the only albums ever cut by Jerry Williams – a Texas-bred songwriter whose work was covered by many, but who hardly ever got a spot in the limelight on his own! The set's from the late 70s, but has more of a mid-decade appeal overall – that point when country-styled rock was getting some tighter studio production, but never in a way that was commercial or trying for a hit – just that kind of Warner or Elektra focus that really helped a singer/songwriter find their own space. In other words, had the set come out in 1974, it may well have hit a lot greater fame over the years – as its certainly got the staying power of a lot of other Texas/LA hybrids from the time – especially with songwriting this strong. Titles include "Gone", "Easy On Yourself", "Call To Arms", "Getting Stronger", "Philosophizer", "Talk To Me", and a very unusual remake of Horace Silver's "Song To My Father". CD

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Texas boogie badassery from the great ZZ Top – the follow-up to the absolutely killer Tres Hombres! One side features the trio doing what it does best – slaying a live audience, this one at The Warehouse in New Orleans – and the other side features a handful of hard grooving studio tracks. Here ZZ Top proudly promises "hot, spontaneous and presented to you honestly, without the assistance of studio gimmicks." Later on they'd wholy embrace those gimmicks, but boy, did they ever kill it in the mid 70s without that stuff! Includes "Thunderbird", the greasy "Backdoor Medley", "Nasty Dogs And Funky King", "Tush" and more. CD

Titles include "Tube Snake Boogie", "Legs", "La Grange", "Viva Las Vegas", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Tush", "My Head's In Mississippi", "Pearl Necklace", "Got Me Under Pressure", "Cheap Sunglasses", and "Sleeping Bag". CD