The seminal debut of The Grateful Dead – a record that was maybe as important to the American psychedelic scene as the first two albums by Pink Floyd were to the UK! Like those sets, this one almost seems to come out of nowhere – still very much a part of its time, with trippiness and fuzz that other groups were certainly working with – but put together at a level that's very much its own thing, and which is undeniably worthy of all the copycats who paid it tribute in years to come. There's maybe a deeper current of blues roots here than in later years of The Dead – but in the best way possible – and titles include "The Golden Road", "Beat It On Down The Line", "Cold Rain And Snow", "Morning Dew", and "Viola Lee Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Not a true history of the Grateful Dead, but instead an important early album of well-selected live tracks – presented in a way that hints at the huge run of archival material that would see the light of day in the 21st Century! The release came out in the early 70s, but features tracks recorded at the Fillmore in 1970 – split into both an electric and an acoustic set, and hand-picked by the group's famous soundman, Owsley Bear Stanley – in part as a tribute to then group member, Pigpen, who sings lead on a number of tracks! Titles include "Black Peter", "Wake Up Little Susie", "Katie Mae", "Dark Hollow", "Hard To Handle", and "Smokestack Lightnin". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album attempt to recreate the live Dead experience! Long jams as only Jerry and crew could play them – with cuts that include "Dark Star", "The Eleven", "Feedback", "Turn On Your Love Light", and "We Bid You Goodnight". LP, Vinyl record album

The Grateful Dead in the early 80s – still going strong in a live setting, and with a vibe that's maybe even closer to their roots than some of their Arista studio material at the time! The set is a massive ten-sided representation of a show that has the group soaring and stretching out on nearly every track – with jamming versions of "Ramble On Rose/El Paso", "Althea", "Feel Like A Stranger", "Stella Blue/Good Lovin", "Space/The Other One", "Uncle John's Band/Drums", "Ship Of Fools", "Estimated Prophet", "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider/Samson & Delilah", "Deep Elem Blues", "New Minglewood Blues", "Beat It On Down The Line", "US Blues", and "Bird Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary live set from the Grateful Dead – served up here in a set so big, it needs 16 sides' worth of vinyl to deliver the music! There's loads of long jams here – the kind of criss-crossing, song-shifting material that makes the Dead so wonderful at this point in their career – as you'll hear on tunes that include "Dark Star", "Here Comes Sunshine", "Around & Around", "Not Fade Away/Goin Down The Road Feelin Bad", "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry", "That's All Right", "Promised Land", "Dark Star/He's Gone", "Wharf Rat/Truckin", "Ramble On Rose", "Jack Straw", "Wave That Flag", "Morning Dew", "Beat It On Down The Line", "Looks Like Rain", "Box Of Rain", "El Paso", "Bird Song", "Playing In The Band", "Big River", "Eyes Of The World", and "Stella Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album issued by the Grateful Dead on their own label – a setting that might make you think they'd act with less control than when at Warner Brothers, but which actually seems to have them doing the reverse! The whole thing's a great back-to-basics effort – sharp songs, rootsy instrumentation, and this nicely compact presentation of all the best ideas they'd been percolating for the past five years – maybe expanded a bit on the longer "Weather Report Suite" that ends the record, but tight and sing-songy on most of the rest – titles that include "Row Jimmy", "Stella Blue", "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Eyes Of The World", and "Here Comes Sunshine". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album issued by the Grateful Dead on their own label – a setting that might make you think they'd act with less control than when at Warner Brothers, but which actually seems to have them doing the reverse! The whole thing's a great back-to-basics effort – sharp songs, rootsy instrumentation, and this nicely compact presentation of all the best ideas they'd been percolating for the past five years – maybe expanded a bit on the longer "Weather Report Suite" that ends the record, but tight and sing-songy on most of the rest – titles that include "Row Jimmy", "Stella Blue", "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Eyes Of The World", and "Here Comes Sunshine". LP, Vinyl record album

Prime Grateful Dead from the mid 70s – a time when the group were traveling famously around the globe, spinning out long songs with plenty of solos – but also able to keep on coming up with nicely sharp songs on records like this! By this point in their career, they're so instrumentally strong, they hardly need to show off – that is, they certainly do, but in a much more subtle way than before, and maybe than in a live setting – packing decades of roots and years of deftness into songs that include "Franklin's Tower", "Crazy Fingers", "Sage & Spirit", "Blues For Allah", "Sand Castles & Glass Camels", and "The Music Never Stopped". LP, Vinyl record album

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An album that hardly has the Grateful Dead in the dark – given that it was one of their biggest of the 80s, and really helped the group find a big new audience, thanks to a surprising hit! All the older elements are still in place, but the production has definitely changed since the early years – more upfront elements throughout, although still not really aimed at territory that's totally commercial – maybe just refining some of their older ideas for a new generation, in ways that Dylan and Springsteen were finding on their records at the time – maybe as an answer to the younger generations who were copping their style. Titles include "Hell In A Bucket", "West LA Fadeaway", "Tons Of Steel", "Touch Of Grey", "When Push Comes To Shove", and "Black Muddy River". LP, Vinyl record album

An album that hardly has the Grateful Dead in the dark – given that it was one of their biggest of the 80s, and really helped the group find a big new audience, thanks to a surprising hit! All the older elements are still in place, but the production has definitely changed since the early years – more upfront elements throughout, although still not really aimed at territory that's totally commercial – maybe just refining some of their older ideas for a new generation, in ways that Dylan and Springsteen were finding on their records at the time – maybe as an answer to the younger generations who were copping their style. Titles include "Hell In A Bucket", "West LA Fadeaway", "Tons Of Steel", "Touch Of Grey", "When Push Comes To Shove", and "Black Muddy River". LP, Vinyl record album

Live recording from Winterland on October 4, 1970. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first giant hits by the Grateful Dead – and a record that has the group tightening things up a bit more, and stepping into some of the country-tinged territory of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers! Turns out, the move is a great one – as the songs come across with a real down to earth charm that maybe humanizes the group a bit more for the uninitiated listener – a mix of northern Cali pastoral with some of the musical dexterity they'd brought with them from the Haight – folded together perfectly, with a quality that's made the album one of their best-remembered over the decades. Titles include "Uncle John's Band" – maybe their biggest hit at the time – plus "Dire Wolf", "New Speedway Boogie", "Cumberland Blues", "Casey Jones", "Easy Wind", "High Time", and "Black Peter". LP, Vinyl record album

Dylan & The Dead come together in the late 80s – touring together for quite a while and here with Dead backing Dylan on classics like "All Along The Watchtower", "Slow Train", "Gotta Serve Somebody", "Joey", "Knocking On Heaven's Door" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the crowning early moments from the young Grateful Dead – a key Warner studio album that really has the group moving from psychedelic to more roots-oriented modes – maybe a Marin vibe versus a Haight sort of happening – with loads of great guitar and pedal from Jerry Garcia, plus lots more from the rest of the crew too. Robert Hunter wrote the tunes, Mickey Hart added in lots of percussion next to the drums - and titles include the very groovy "Truckin", plus "Box Of Rain", "Candyman", "Operator", "Sugar Magnolia", "Friend Of The Devil", "Ripple", "Brokedown Palace", "Attics Of My Life", and "Till The Morning Comes". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from the Grateful Dead – and one that features the group mixing studio tracks with their rising fame as a must-see live act! The package features both concert and studio recordings, and there's a wonderfully optimistic, late 60s vibe to the whole thing – the group still looking forward strongly, almost playing with a sense of surprise as they make their way through new musical discoveries – mixing catchiness and complexity together in ways that few of their contemporaries could match. Titles include "That's It For The Other One", "New Potato Caboose", "Born Cross Eyed", "Alligator", and "Caution Do Not Stop On The Tracks". LP, Vinyl record album

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A nice early 80s show with a strong "Scarlet Begonias – Fire On The Mountain". LP, Vinyl record album

Prime Grateful Dead from their early years on the San Francisco scene – performing in the very friendly confines of The Fillmore – and spinning out long tracks that already show the group embracing their talent for improvisation! The set features an 18 minute "Jam" track – plus a 23 minute blend of "That's It For The Other One/Cryptical Envelopment", a 21 minute take of "Dark Star", and more long tracks that include "Caution/Feedback/And We Bid You Goodnight", "St Stephen/The Eleven", "Turn On Your Lovelight", and "Alligator/Drums/Jam". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful, easygoing live set by the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band – a short-lived 80s project that featured a whole new side of the Grateful One's musical explorations! In a way, the music here almost goes back to some of Garcia's roots – which were occasionally a bit bluegrass-oriented – and joyous cheers of the crowd really add the listening experience here. The group features Jerry and David Nelson on guitar and vocals, with Kenny Kosek on fiddle, and Sandy Rothman on mandolin, dobro, and banjo – and the titles include "Deep Ellum Blues", "I've Been All Around This World", "Oh The Wind & Rain", "I'm Troubled", "Diamond Joe", "Gone Home" and "Ripple". LP, Vinyl record album

Early solo work from Bob Weir – with guest work from Jerry Garcia! LP, Vinyl record album

The last solo Jerry Garcia album, and a record that's a great illustration of just how far Garcia had come as an artist away from the Grateful Dead! The tunes are still full of that sunnier, more compact energy the group were doing on their own records in the period – but Jerry's also stepping out more with a sense of presence in the lead – and working in a lineup that has a lot more focus and punch than his more acoustic outings. There's plenty of great organ on the record – a bit by Merl Saunders, most by Melvin Seals – and bassist John Khan handles other instruments as well, and arranges most of the tunes. Titles include Jerry's version of the Dylan classic "Knockin On Heaven's Door" – plus "Midnight Getaway", "Run For The Roses", "Leave The Little Girl Alone", and "Valerie" – plus Garcia's take on the Clyde McPhatter soul tune "Without Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great 80s albums that really helped Jerry Garcia demonstrate his commitment to deeper currents of American acoustic music – sounds that always colored his contributions to the Grateful Dead, but which by this point have emerged as a fantastic second side of Jerry's genius! And sure, the guy's a superstar, so most folks would lend their ears to anything he does – but the sounds here are really balanced so that Garcia is hardly the leading light of the set – trading guitar lines and vocals with David Nelson, in a group that also features John Kahn on bass, Kenny Kosek on fiddle, David Kemper on snare drum, and Sandy Rothman on mandolin, dobro, and banjo – all of which really add a lot to the set. Titles include "Bright Morning Stars", "Turtle Dove", "Rosa Lee McFall", "Deep Elem Blues", If I Lose", "Ragged But Right", and "I Ain't Never". LP, Vinyl record album

Label sampler with selections by Kensington Market, Joni Mitchell, Eric Andersen, The Collectors, Tiny Tim, David Blue, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Guthrie, Randy Newman, The Fugs, The Electric Prunes, Tom Northcott, and Van Dyke Parks. LP, Vinyl record album

A Jerry Garcia solo album, but one with a fair bit of help from the Grateful Dead as well – as the group play on album half the album's tracks! Some of the music still has that slinky vibe of solo Garcia – and a number of tracks are warmed up by Fender Rhodes from Larry Knechtel – but there's also that fuller spirit that the Dead can bring to the music, yet delivered in a way that's nicely laidback compared to some of their own records. A nice meeting at the crossroads – with titles that include "They Love Each Other", "Catfish John", "Comes A Time", "It Must Have Been The Roses", "Might As Well", and "Mission In The Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Mickey Heart of the Grateful Dead teams up with Mike Hinton and Airto Moriera for this percussion heavy session, ostensibly recorded for use in Apocalypse Now. 10 tracks in all: "Compound", "Trenches", "Street Gang", "The Beast", "Steps", "Tar", "Lance", "Cave", "Napalm For Breakfast" and "Hell's Bells". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's definitely Pure Jerry – as the record features Jerry on acoustic guitar and vocals, with just the acoustic bass of John Kahn for support! The music has that core acoustic Garcia roots sensibility – that sideline that Jerry started developing alongside his work with the Grateful Dead, almost from the start – but which really blossomed on performances like this in the 80s. Titles include versions of "Little Sadie", "Deep Elem Blues", "Jack A Roe", "Dire Wolf", "Bird Song", "Ripple", "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie", "Spike Driver Blues", and "Friend Of The Devil". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly strong project from guitarist John Scofield – one that we'll admit we were a bit skeptical about, but which really delivers strongly overall! The set features Scofield and group taking on some tunes from a variety of sources – including the Grateful Dead, who are namechecked in the title – and the lineup features the bass of Vicente Archer and drums of Bill Stewart next to Scofield on electric guitar – all recorded at a level that's a bit warmer than you might expect from ECM, which really makes the music come alive – spacious, yet up-close and personal too, with hollow-body guitar work that resonates almost in an acoustic way at times, even as Scofield shows a few of his funkier currents on a few tunes. Titles include "How Deep", "TV Band", "Old Man", "Nothing Is Forever", "Budo", "The Girlfriend Chord", "Stairway To The Stars", "Mask", "Ray's Idea", and "Uncle John's Band". LP, Vinyl record album

Heaven might be a blast, but The Wilson McKinley are having a plenty good time on earth, too – really honing their craft for this obscure album of spirit-filled rock from the Seattle scene! The album's got the same gentle message of faith as the group's previous records, but also has the group picking up a bit more bite on their guitars, too – solos that are maybe a bit more prominent in the mix, and played with surprising intensity for a combo who also dedicated some of their time to street level ministry in the city. Vocals often have a nice sense of harmony – almost Grateful Dead-like at times – and titles include "Never Cry No More", "A Warm Summer Day", "Standin At The Crossroads", "I'm Only Smilin", and "Words To Tell You". LP, Vinyl record album