One of Henry Kaiser's more widely-circulated albums of the 80s – with work from Joey Baron on drums, Hank Roberts on cello, David Balakrishnan on violin, and a host of other artists too! CD

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Classic late 80s underground rock from Dinosaur Jr – creaky, emotional vocals and blazing, yet raw guitars – you can definitely hear in this record the sound that was going to bust into the mainstream in a huge way several years later. It's pretty amazing to think that what Dino Jr was doing pretty much alone in 1988 was going to take over the world a few years later, and with a bunch more years of hindsight, Bug still stands strongly. Includes "Freak Scene", "No Bones", "Let It Ride", "They Always Come", "Budge", Pond Song", "Yeah We Know", "The Post" and "Don't". CD

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This is perhaps THE masterpiece of indie/alterna-/punk/whatever from the 80s. 2 LPs worth of jazzy existential punk from guys who weren't afraid to admit that they liked Steely Dan, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult, or CCR. This record has affected many a life. CD

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Right before the big time, and filled with great tracks that include "Hate Paper Doll", "Divide & Conquer", "Green Eyes", "Flip Your Wig", and "Flexible Flyer". CD

Titles include "Magic Toy Missing", "Lost", "Aurora Borealis", "Split Myself In Two", "Lake Of Fire", "Oh Me", and "New Gods". Features 7 bonus tracks! CD

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Husker Du's debut for Warner – just barely "bigger" and "more polished" soundwise than their pivotal SST canon – and all these years later stands as tall as one of the more timeless and influential rock albums to appear on a major label in the mid 80s! A couple of heart-on-sleeve, get-get-it-all-out emotional numbers point the way towards some of Bob Mould's work to come, but more of them recall the Husker Du at near peak greatness. Includes "Crystal", "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely", "I Don't Know For Sure", "Sorry Somehow", "Too Far Down", "Hardly Getting Over It", "Eiffel Tower High", "Al This I've Done For You" and more. CD

3 tremendous albums from modern trombonist Eddie Bert – all of which stand as some of his greatest work of the 50s! The records were all originally recorded for Savoy, and all within a few months of each other – and there's a crystal-clear focus on all of them that you don't always find in both Savoy sessions, and other trombone outings from the time. The groups here are all small – either quartet or quintet lineups that feature Bert's trombone with Hank Jones on piano, JR Monterose on tenor, Joe Puma on guitar, Clyde Lombardi on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – carving amazing lines out of the ether, and using the instrument with a deftness and sense of imagination that most other 50s players couldn't touch! Titles include "Fragile", "Three Bass Hit", "See You Later", "Bert Tram", "One For Tubby", "It's Only Sunshine", "Crosstown", "Wishbone", "Steady Eddie", "Slow Crosstown", "Conversation", "Bronx Line", and "Manhattan Suite". CD

Gil plays Jimi? Sounds like a gimmick, but it comes off pretty darn great – and it helps you forgive him for trying to convince the kids that he's not as old as his grey hair might make you think! As always with Evans, the key to the album is a beautiful balance between the strength of the players and vision of the arrangements – a hip mix of musicians who include Billy Harper on tenor and flute, Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet, and both Ryo Kawasaki and John Abercrombie on guitars! Arrangements are great too – handled by Tom Malone, Warren Smith, and Howard Johnson – all of whom make the album way more than just an instrumental reading of Jimi Hendrix tunes – and instead a great platform for improvisation that uses tunes that include "Up From The Skies", "Foxy Lady", "Gypsy Eyes", "Voodoo Chile", "Angel", "Crosstown Traffic", and "Castles Made of Sand". Plus, the CD features 4 bonus alternate tracks – not on the original album! CD

The grooviest work so far from the Hi-Fly Orchestra – a set that moves even farther past the sublime territory of their debut, into a really classic blend of soul jazz and Latin rhythms – produced to perfection with a wonderfully solid feel! Instrumentation here is all live – a blend of sax, flute, trombone, Fender Rhodes, piano, and plenty of percussion – all handled with a feel that takes us back to some of our favorite territory on Verve Records from the 60s, those wonderful records that blended elements from the Latin underground with some of the harder jazz leanings of the period – a legacy these guys are happy to add to with their wonderful grooves. Miriam Aida guests on vocals on two cuts, but most titles are instrumental – and tunes include "Afro Boo", "Carioquinha", "Polonesa", "SP Samba", "Mrs Shing A Ling", "Hi Fly Stomp", "Mambo Atomico", and a surprisingly groovy cover of "Crosstown Traffic". CD

One of the best Stevie Wonder albums ever! Stevie's moving into god-like territory here – handling a multitude of styles, all well, and crafting some of the most sophisticated soul of his generation. The album's got the same jazzy references you'll find on the best work by Donny Hathaway – best heard on the sublime track "Golden Lady", which gets our clear vote for one of the best songs ever! Just about every track is great, though – and the album features the big hits "Living For The City", "All In Love Is Fair", "Higher Ground", and "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" – plus "He's Misstra Know It All", "Jesus Children Of America", and "Too High". CD

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to come out in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". CD

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to comeout in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that include s"Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". CD

Experience Hendrix – a phrase that's become a calling card for the proper presentation of the musical legacy of Jimi Hendrix, but which first appeared here on a classic collection of his most famous tracks! The set's about as strong as you might expect from a Hendrix "best of" – no missing moments, and no sleepers either – just pure fire on vocals and guitar, on titles that include "Hey Joe", "All Along The Watchtower", "Purple Haze", "Fire", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Stone Free", "Crosstown Traffic", "Manic Depression", "If 6 Was 9", "Foxy Lady", "Bold As Love", "Freedom", "Star Spangled Banner", "Night Bird Flying", "Angel", "Voodoo Child", and "Castles Made Of Sand". CD

Includes work by the Acchords, Endings, Darvels, Tribunes, Crosstones, Fabulous Harmonaires, Chalets, Lexingtons, Five Pyramids, Little Isidore & The Inquisitors, and more – 25 tracks total. CD