Probably the most hyped hip hop album by rock critics of the last decade – but don't hold that against Stankonia, because these ghetto grooves from planet P-Funk were exactly what world needed in 2000! The millenium blowout party jam feel throughout is surely a nice change of pace from all the doom and gloom out there, but they still manage to spit out enough reality to keep things feeling true – particularly in the playful battle of the sexes showdowns. Dre, Big Boi and Organized Noize continue to innovate, even if they are at the top of the charts – and we can't wait to see where they take it all next! Tracks include "Gasoline Dreams", "So Fresh, So Clean", "Ms. Jackson", "Spaghetti Junction", "I'll Call Before I Come" featuring Gangsta Boo & Eco, "B.O.B.", "Xplosion" featuring B-Real, "We Luv Deez Hoez", "Humble Mumble" featuring Erykah Badu, "Red Velvet", "Gangsta Sh*t", "Toilet Tisha" "Slum Beautiful", and "Stankonia (Stanklove)". CD

El-P and Killer Mike finally deliver a killer duo record! We knew that this one would be a win, considering how great the El-P produced RAP Music album by Killer Mike turned out to be, how versatile the El-P futuristic production vibe is and how timelessly inventive each rapper is on their own. They didn't team-up to coast on their reputations, though, as Run The Jewels is nearly as great as anything either one has done in the preceding couple of years. Includes "Run The Jewels", "Banana Clipper" feat Big Boi, "DDFH, "Sea Legs", "No Come Down", "Get It", "Twin Hype Back" feat Prince Paul as his Handsome Boy alter-ego Chest Rockwell, "A Christmas F**king Miracle" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Pick any 10 words out of any Outkast album description on our pages at random, and you'll see how dearly we've loved these boys throughout the years – but truth be told, deep down we didn't think that they would be able to pull off the double album/solo album project(s). We were seriously wrong – Speakerboxxx/Love Below is HUGE in every way, and both halves are great all the way through! If you were worried Big Boi's Speakerboxxx half would be lazy southern hip hop without Andre's freaky presence throughout, you can put those fears to rest right now. Speakerboxxx is a deeply soulful electro hopping pounder from front to back – every bit as innovative as Andre's half! Tracks include "Ghettomusick" (which features one of just two appearances by A3000 on the whole disc), "Bowtie" with Sleepy Brown, "Bust" with Killer Mike, "Church", "Tomb Of The Boom" with Konkrete, Big Gipp and Ludacris, "Flip Flop" with Jay-Z, "The Way You Move" and more. A lot of press has been given to the assumption that Andre 3000 has largely forsaken hip hop on his half (The Love Below) and has instead dived head first into cosmic future funk. Well, the rumors are true. There's lots of straight up jazz piano and horn bits on the Love Below, with Andre's half serious, half tongue-in-cheek romantic soul cabaret croon way over the top. It's steeped in the classic Outkast party vibe, but with lots of Sign Of The Times-era Prince (complete with androgynous distorted vocals), Parliament and Cameo thrown into the mix. Sick, energetic genius! Tracks include the deliriously great "Hey Ya!" single, "She Lives In My Lap", "Love Hater", "Happy Valentine's Day", "Roses", "Good Day, Good Sir", "Behold A Lady", "Pink And Blue", "Spread", "Dracula's Lady" with Kelis, and more. Who the hell knows what they can possibly do to surprise us after this – but wherever Andre 3000 and Big Boi go from here, they each have yet another classic in the discography! CD

Pick any 10 words out of any Outkast album description on our pages at random, and you'll see how dearly we've loved these boys throughout the years – but truth be told, deep down we didn't think that they would be able to pull off the double album/solo album project(s). We were seriously wrong – Speakerboxxx/Love Below is HUGE in every way, and both halves are great all the way through! If you were worried Big Boi's Speakerboxxx half would be lazy southern hip hop without Andre's freaky presence throughout, you can put those fears to rest right now. Speakerboxxx is a deeply soulful electro hopping pounder from front to back – every bit as innovative as Andre's half! Tracks include "Ghettomusick" (which features one of just two appearances by A3000 on the whole disc), "Bowtie" with Sleepy Brown, "Bust" with Killer Mike, "Church", "Tomb Of The Boom" with Konkrete, Big Gipp and Ludacris, "Flip Flop" with Jay-Z, "The Way You Move" and more. A lot of press has been given to the assumption that Andre 3000 has largely forsaken hip hop on his half (The Love Below) and has instead dived head first into cosmic future funk. Well, the rumors are true. There's lots of straight up jazz piano and horn bits on the Love Below, with Andre's half serious, half tongue-in-cheek romantic soul cabaret croon way over the top. It's steeped in the classic Outkast party vibe, but with lots of Sign Of The Times-era Prince (complete with androgynous distorted vocals), Parliament and Cameo thrown into the mix. Sick, energetic genius! Tracks include the deliriously great "Hey Ya!" single, "She Lives In My Lap", "Love Hater", "Happy Valentine's Day", "Roses", "Good Day, Good Sir", "Behold A Lady", "Pink And Blue", "Spread", "Dracula's Lady" with Kelis, and more. Who the hell knows what they can possibly do to surprise us after this – but wherever Andre 3000 and Big Boi go from here, they each have yet another classic in the discography! LP, Vinyl record album

Outkast's first single from Aquemini – one of the great southern hip hop singles of the late 90s and an important creative benchmark for Big Boi, Andre 3000 and Organized Noize however you might feel about their use of the civil rights heroine's name! As fresh, soulful & uniquely Outkast today as ever. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A landmark album – both for Outkast and the Atlanta scene too – as the set soars forward from the territory of their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik – with crazy, free flowing, inventive rhymes and soulful outer space grooves that still manage to stay grounded enough to aptly reflect the darker realities of the ATL scene! While some of that city's work would soon lapse into cliche, that's definitely not the case here – as Dre and Big Boi rhyme over these wonderfully laidback grooves that have a wicked southern fried vibe. Titles include "ATLiens", "Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac)", "Wheelz Of Steel", "Jazzy Belle", "Babylon", "Millennium", and "13th Floor/Growing Old". LP, Vinyl record album

Probably the most hyped hip hop album by rock critics of the last decade – but don't hold that against Stankonia, because these ghetto grooves from planet P-Funk were exactly what world needed in 2000! The millenium blowout party jam feel throughout is surely a nice change of pace from all the doom and gloom out there, but they still manage to spit out enough reality to keep things feeling true – particularly in the playful battle of the sexes showdowns. Dre, Big Boi and Organized Noize continue to innovate, even if they are at the top of the charts – and we can't wait to see where they take it all next! Tracks include "Gasoline Dreams", "So Fresh, So Clean", "Ms. Jackson", "Spaghetti Junction", "I'll Call Before I Come" featuring Gangsta Boo & Eco, "B.O.B.", "Xplosion" featuring B-Real, "We Luv Deez Hoez", "Humble Mumble" featuring Erykah Badu, "Red Velvet", "Gangsta Sh*t", "Toilet Tisha" "Slum Beautiful", and "Stankonia (Stanklove)". CD

Only a six track record, but one that delivers more funky punch than most full length sets – thanks to the group's wonderful blend of vibes, keyboards, and fuzzy guitar! There's no vocals at all, and the proceedings are nice and lean – grounded by funky drums and superb work on bass – which really lets the keys and vibes do some especially nice things – adding in tones and colors you're not likely to find on other funky records of this type, and which are almost more the stuff of larger arrangements – yet winnowed down here to a cool lean groove! Titles include "Spiky Boi", "Pash Rash", "Talent Stick", "Rosemary Hemphill", "Friendship Theme", and "Over The Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

Chemical Brothers still riding high at the end of the 90s! In some ways, Surrender scales back on bigger, more boisterous big beat vibe for slightly hipper dancefloor vibe – but there's really a ton of ambitiousness here. Just a glance at the guest appearances is clue of how wild the ride is – a far reaching lot for sure – including Missy Elliot, Bernard Sumner, Hope Sandoval, Bobby Gillespie, Jonathan Donahue of Mercury Rev and more. Includes "Music: Response", "Under The Influence", "Out Of Control", "Orange Wedge", "Let Forever Be", "The Sunshine Underground", "Asleep From Day", "Got Glint?", "Hey Boy Hey Girl", "Surrender" and "Dream On". LP, Vinyl record album

A piano trio, but one with a very modern ear – a group from that school of groups who've emerged in the years after the early recordings of Robert Glasper – graced with a very similar 21st Century sense of rhythm and sound! It's clear that these guys grew up on more than jazz, as the way they put together the tunes is very fresh and untraditional – yet also not overly gimmicky, as in some of the bigger-name crossover trios of the past decade or so. The trio features Gael Bourgeault on Fender Rhodes and piano, Leo Debroise on bass, and Victor Dubois on drums – and the set also features guest guitar, trumpet, and vocals from a female singer – who each appear on different tracks. Titles include "Half Moon Night", "777", "LGFI", "Kamalodo", "Pedrocha", and "Catamandelo". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection of Stevie Wonder cover versions – different versions of familiar tunes, but ones that really manage to sparkle with all the righteous soul of the Stevie himself! It's been over a decade since DJ Spinna brought us the last version of his Wonder Of Stevie series – and during that time, he's managed to come up with a huge amount of great tracks that make the whole thing go way way deeper than before – not just cuts that copy the Wonder mode, but which seem to draw strong inspiration from its genius, and really soar to the skies! Much of the music here resonates with a charm that's located around the years of albums like Music Of My Mind and Innervisions, with all the jazzy currents that might imply – and some cuts are 70s vintage, others are more contemporary. Titles include "Bird Of Beauty" by US Atlantic First Navy Show Band, "It's My Pleasure" by Billy Preston, "Love's In Need Of Love Today" by John Minnis Big Bone Band, "As" by Tony Sherman, "Buttercup" by Jackson 5, "Have A Talk With God" by East St Louis Gospelettes, "Betcha Wouldn't Hurt Me" by Quincy Jones, "Golden Lady" by Reel People with Tony Momrelle, "If You Don't Love Me" by GC Cameron, "If She Breaks Your Heart Again" by Foreign Exchange, "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing" by Black Sugar, "Go Home" by Jrod Indigo, and "Make My Water Boil" by David Ruffin. 2CDs – one of the cuts unmixed, one with the tracks in a continuous mix by Spinna! CD

An incredible collection of Stevie Wonder cover versions – different versions of familiar tunes, but ones that really manage to sparkle with all the righteous soul of the Stevie himself! It's been over a decade since DJ Spinna brought us the last version of his Wonder Of Stevie series – and during that time, he's managed to come up with a huge amount of great tracks that make the whole thing go way way deeper than before – not just cuts that copy the Wonder mode, but which seem to draw strong inspiration from its genius, and really soar to the skies! Much of the music here resonates with a charm that's located around the years of albums like Music Of My Mind and Innervisions, with all the jazzy currents that might imply – and some cuts are 70s vintage, others are more contemporary. Titles include "Bird Of Beauty" by US Atlantic First Navy Show Band, "It's My Pleasure" by Billy Preston, "Love's In Need Of Love Today" by John Minnis Big Bone Band, "As" by Tony Sherman, "Buttercup" by Jackson 5, "Have A Talk With God" by East St Louis Gospelettes, "Betcha Wouldn't Hurt Me" by Quincy Jones, "Golden Lady" by Reel People with Tony Momrelle, "If You Don't Love Me" by GC Cameron, "If She Breaks Your Heart Again" by Foreign Exchange, "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing" by Black Sugar, "Go Home" by Jrod Indigo, and "Make My Water Boil" by David Ruffin. LP, Vinyl record album

Later material from Osibisa, who have lost some of their harder Afro-Funk edge, and are working here more as an ensemble funk outfit, with a sound that's similar to some of the bigger American groups of the time. Titles include "Do It (Like It Is)", "Uhuru", "Sunshine Day", "Chooboi", and "Right Now". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest projects we've heard from drummer Ben Riley in awhile – a big band project devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk, and one that gets most of its angular changes from the saxophone section! There's a great post-Monk quality to this one that makes it way more than just a copycat of the old days – a re-interpolation of the music and inspirations of Monk for a slightly different jazz idiom, presented with 4 saxophones, 1 trumpet, guitar, bass, and drums – and no piano at all! Riley's on drums, and saxophones include Bruce Williams on alto and soprano, Wayne Escoffery and Jimmy Greene on tenor, and Jay Brandford on baritone – working alongside guitar from Freddie Bryant, bass from either Kiyashi Kitagawa or Peter Washington, and trumpet from Don Sickler, who sometimes blasts out in the lead. Titles include "Gallop's Gallop", "Green Chimneys", "Shuffle Boil", "Straight No Chaser", "Rhythm-A-Ning", and "Let's Call This". CD

The resurgence of one of the most groundbreaking periods in recent groove history – the almost-forgotten post-punk years in England, a time of incredible musical convergence! In the heady days of the early 80s – a time when much music was being lost under a gloss of big hair, tinny keyboards, and wispy vocals – a small underground of British musicians were bringing together bits of funk, punk, disco, reggae, and 70s electronica – crafting dark and funky little tunes the likes of which we've barely heard since! A number of these groups went onto do much larger (and weaker) recordings – but this package brilliantly documents the edgy brilliance at the beginning of the post punk years: a nihilistic horizon on the other end of punk – no longer angry, caustic, and shouting, on one hand with the wind knocked out of its apparent sails, on the other, slowly fomenting in secret places, coming up with music far more powerful than punk ever was. And for some strange reason, much of it was pretty darn funky – thanks to a heavy use of simple electric bass, scattershot (sometimes primitive) drum parts, and nice electronic touches, almost in an inverse to American electro. The music more than speaks for itself – and the set's as classic a batch of tunes from the time as we'd ever heard. Titles include "Shack Up" and "Knife Slits Water" by A Certain Ratio, "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" by The Slits, "20 Jazz Funk Greats" by Throbbing Gristle, "Vegas El Bandito" and "Coup" by 23 Skidoo, "She Is Beyond Good & Evil" by The Pop Group, "Being Boiled" by The Human League, "To Hell With Poverty" by Gang Of Four, and "24 Track Loop" by This Heat. LP, Vinyl record album

Director John Hughes gave the world some pretty great movies back in the 80s – and in most of those movies, music was a very big part of the experience – as Hughes had a way of using just the right songs in just the right moments, and also helped get wider mainstream exposure for some of the hipper acts of the time! This package is a great tribute to the kinds of cuts that Hughes would use – some done especially for his films, most from other records but used in key scenes – in a package that collects together songs from films that include Some Kind Of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink, She's Having A Baby, Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Planes Trains & Automobiles. 4CD version comes in a great book-styled package, with plenty of notes – and includes 74 cuts in all – with titles that include "Do Anything (soundtrack version)" by Pete Shelly, "Eighties" by Killing Joke, "Full Of Love" by Dr Calculus, "Beat City" by Flowerpot Men, "She's Having A Baby" by Dave Wakeling, "I Go Crazy" by Flesh For Lulu, "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds, "If You Leave" by OMD, "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush, "Oh Yeah" by Yellow, "Pretty In Pink" by Psychedelic Furs, "Brilliant Mind" by Furniture, "Six Days On The Road" by Steve Earle, "Crazy Love" by Bryan Ferry, "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby (soundtrack version)" by Kirsty MacColl, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (inst)" by Dream Academy, "Tenderness" by General Public, "Bring On The Dancing Horses" by Echo & The Bunnymen, "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Lick The Tins, "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo, "Left Of Center" by Suzanne Vega & Joe Jackson, and "If You Were Here" by Thompson Twins. CD

Director John Hughes gave the world some pretty great movies back in the 80s – and in most of those movies, music was a very big part of the experience – as Hughes had a way of using just the right songs in just the right moments, and also helped get wider mainstream exposure for some of the hipper acts of the time! This package is a great tribute to the kinds of cuts that Hughes would use – some done especially for his films, most from other records but used in key scenes – in a package that collects together songs from films that include Some Kind Of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink, She's Having A Baby, Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Planes Trains & Automobiles. 2LP version features 25 cuts in all – with titles that include "Do Anything (soundtrack version)" by Pete Shelly, "Eighties" by Killing Joke, "Full Of Love" by Dr Calculus, "Beat City" by Flowerpot Men, "She's Having A Baby" by Dave Wakeling, "I Go Crazy" by Flesh For Lulu, "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds, "If You Leave" by OMD, "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush, "Oh Yeah" by Yellow, "Pretty In Pink" by Psychedelic Furs, "Brilliant Mind" by Furniture, "Six Days On The Road" by Steve Earle, "Crazy Love" by Bryan Ferry, "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby (soundtrack version)" by Kirsty MacColl, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (inst)" by Dream Academy, "Tenderness" by General Public, "Bring On The Dancing Horses" by Echo & The Bunnymen, "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Lick The Tins, "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo, "Left Of Center" by Suzanne Vega & Joe Jackson, and "If You Were Here" by Thompson Twins. LP, Vinyl record album

Director John Hughes gave the world some pretty great movies back in the 80s – and in most of those movies, music was a very big part of the experience – as Hughes had a way of using just the right songs in just the right moments, and also helped get wider mainstream exposure for some of the hipper acts of the time! This package is a great tribute to the kinds of cuts that Hughes would use – some done especially for his films, most from other records but used in key scenes – in a package that collects together songs from films that include Some Kind Of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink, She's Having A Baby, Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Planes Trains & Automobiles. 4CD version comes in a great book-styled package, with plenty of notes – and includes 74 cuts in all – with titles that include "Do Anything (soundtrack version)" by Pete Shelly, "Eighties" by Killing Joke, "Full Of Love" by Dr Calculus, "Beat City" by Flowerpot Men, "She's Having A Baby" by Dave Wakeling, "I Go Crazy" by Flesh For Lulu, "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds, "If You Leave" by OMD, "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush, "Oh Yeah" by Yellow, "Pretty In Pink" by Psychedelic Furs, "Brilliant Mind" by Furniture, "Six Days On The Road" by Steve Earle, "Crazy Love" by Bryan Ferry, "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby (soundtrack version)" by Kirsty MacColl, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (inst)" by Dream Academy, "Tenderness" by General Public, "Bring On The Dancing Horses" by Echo & The Bunnymen, "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Lick The Tins, "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo, "Left Of Center" by Suzanne Vega & Joe Jackson, and "If You Were Here" by Thompson Twins. CD

A wonderful batch of Darlene Love recordings for Phil Spector – excellent solo numbers plus gems with The Blossoms, The Crystals and Bob B Soxx And The Blue Jeans! By nature of her career, Darlene worked in a number of different styles over the years– from R&B orchestra, to sweetly laidback soul, to boisterous girl group and back again. Sounds Of Love focuses on the big early-to-mid 60s years with Spector at the helm, but opens and closes with earlier and later gems, and it's terrific stuff all the way! Titles include "No Other Love", That's When The Tears Start" and "Good Good Lovin'" with The Blossoms, "He's A Rebel" with The Crystals, "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts?" with Bob B Soxx And The Blue Jeans, "Run Run Runaway", "A Fine, Fine Boy", "Stumble And Fall", "A Long Way To Be Happy", "Lord, If You're A Woman" and more. CD

We're alright. . .don't nobody worry 'bout us, we're smiling like fools at the sounds of this most classic of lowbrow 80s comedies – the unimpeachably hilarious Caddyshack – with we-don't-care-how-uncool-you-think-they-may-be pop anthems by Kenny Loggins and original music by Johnny Mandel! The Loggins tunes blend a masterful ear for the pop & soul hits of the previous couple decades, they're undeniable fun and catchy (if profoundly unhip, boo and hoo) and the cheeky bits of score by Mandel co-opting classical compositions in the interest of toilet humor are just as boisterous. Titles include "I'm Alright", "Make The Move" and "Mr Night" by Kenny Loggins, "There She Goes" by The Beat, "Divine Intervention", "Marina" and "The Big Bang" by Johnny Mandel and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Prodigy's solo debut HNIC – gritty and raw from intro to outro, with a methodical flow on par the with the best of his work with Mobb Deep in the best moments – while taking stylistic detours! Naturally, there's a personal vibe to the peak tracks here that he couldn't explore so singularly on rhymes in the Mobb Deep canon, but there's some less personal, more boisterous bangers here too. Stands the test of time pretty strongly production wise, too. Includes the classic "Keep It Thoro", "Wanna Be Thugs", "Infamous Minded", "Trials Of Love", "What U Rep", "YBE", "Three", "Can't Complain" and more, plus guest appearances by Havoc, Big Noyd, Cormega and production on a few tracks by Alchemist. LP, Vinyl record album