One Night Stand - Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963
by Sam Cooke

A sweaty, rowdy, raw, and awe-inspiring live recording. Rod Stewart says “Live At Harlem Square is one of my favorite live recordings of all time. It captures the true energy of this staggering, passionate talent. It.s such an intimate recording . you can hear cracks in his voice, the madness of the crowd who are so with him, encouraging him, shouting for him in each song.”

Transformer
by Lou Reed

The David Bowe-produced Transformer “still sounds startlingly fresh, free from many of the clichés that taint other similarly minded records of the period” (Pitchfork) and features Reed’s biggest hit, “Walk on the Wild Side.”

Whitney Houston
by Whitney Houston

“She had been a model and a nightclub singer when she cut this smooth R&B debut. Her vocal gifts and technique are astounding; even slick tracks such as ‘Greatest Love of All’ stick. Best song: ‘How Will I Know,’ perky synth-funk evoking Houston’s godmother, Aretha Franklin.” -Rolling Stone

The Psychedelic Furs
by The Psychedelic Furs

“They’re a posthippie band who satirize hippie fatuousness as well as a punk-era band who send up anti-hippie orthodoxy, but I love them for simpler reasons: they’re great junk and they sound like the Sex Pistols.” -Robert Christgau

Sonny Meets Hawk!
by Coleman Hawkins

“Even in the ’50s and ’60s, Sonny Rollins’ records were inconsistent, including masterpieces, solid-but-not-great dates, and relatively flat outings, but it’s hard to think of a record that divided opinion as much as his meeting with Coleman Hawkins. Some felt that his playful interpretations of Hawk’s ideas amounted to an Oedipal attack, while others ranked it with his best playing.” -JazzTimes

The First Songs
by Laura Nyro

The First Songs, penned by a 20-year old New Yorker, inspired David Geffen to quit his day-job and were hits for Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Fifth Dimension and Barbara Streisand. These joyful and groundbreaking sides deserve to be discovered and re-discovered.

Head Hunters
by Herbie Hancock

“[Head Hunters] ultimately changed the way people heard music by opening the door to new musical soundscapes and possibilities. For that fact alone, Head Hunters remains as one of the most sought after, influential jazz recordings ever created.” - All About Jazz

Supreme Clientele
by Ghostface Killah

One of the best hip-hop albums of the current decade. Spin Magazine says: “Packing a broken heart and a fistful of disco-dusted choruses, this is Ghostface at his free-associating peak; he delivers breathless slang editorials, complete with shout-outs to fruit cocktails, over ’70s soul strings and dusty vocal samples.”

A New World Record
by Electric Light Orchestra

“A New World Record contains seven of the best songs ever to come out of the group.” -Allmusic

Face 2 Face
by Babyface

“Face2Face [is] a gleaming, stylish platter of urban funk and smooth soul that is easily among his very best records.” -Allmusic

Hard Again
by Muddy Waters

“He’s hungry for the music and completely in possession of his prowess and power as the true King of the Blues.” -Allmusic

Gratitude
by Earth, Wind & Fire

For three weeks in 1975, this album topped Billboard’s Top Pop Album charts. Now, it shows why “Earth, Wind & Fire was, behind P-Funk, the biggest R&B concert act of the ’70s” (Yahoo Music).

The Complete Okeh Sessions 1952-1955
by Big Maybelle

This essential collection features 26 tracks that Big Maybelle recorded for R&B powerhouse Okeh Records in the 50s.

Djangology
by Django Reinhardt

“Djangology is a lovely set of late-era performances from Django Reinhardt.and stands as further proof of the guitarist’s casual genius.” -Allmusic

At Carnegie Hall
by Harry Belafonte

“The granddaddy of all live albums, this double-LP set captures the excitement of a Harry Belafonte concert at the height of his popularity.” -Allmusic

Jump
by Kris Kross

1992’s Totally Krossed Out, a Jermaine Dupri production, went 4x platinum on the strength of “Jump”. Replace your worn out cassette-tape single, because this global chart-topper is not a bad trip down memory lane.

Thunder, Lightning, Strike
by The Go! Team

“Thunder, Lightning, Strike the ridiculously innovative debut by the Go! Team, conjures up all the wide-eyed fun and joyful innocence of the finest children’s television.” -PopMatters

The Cult Of Ray
by Frank Black

“In the continuing saga of life after the Pixies, Frank Black lords over his own private musical reserve on The Cult of Ray, where hints of early Bowie, late punk, and mock surf-rock fuse, somehow seamlessly.” -Entertainment Weekly

Sweet Tea
by Buddy Guy

“It’s nearly as stark, savage and unsettling as Guy’s classic work for the Chess label in the Sixties.” -Rolling Stone

A Musical Romance
by Billie Holiday

“A Musical Romance gathers some of the most romantic songs Billie Holiday recorded with Lester Young” -Allmusic

Gonna Make You Sweat
by C & C Music Factory

“This album captures them at their best, and, despite a couple of dull spots, stands as one of the definitive dance/pop albums of the 1990s.” - Allmusic

Still Bill
by Bill Withers

“Withers hasn’t made a new album in twenty years, but Still Bill is still a stone-soul masterpiece.” -Rolling Stone

Stand
by Sly & The Family Stone

One of the greatest and most sampled recordings of all time. Stand! is “a greatest-hits album in all but name…party politics at its most inclusive and exciting — singer-leader Sly Stone at the top of his ecumenical-funk game” (Rolling Stone).

Black Codes (From The Underground)
by Wynton Marsalis

“This is probably the best Wynton Marsalis recording from his Miles Davis period…The music is brilliantly played and displays what the “Young Lions” movement was really about: young musicians choosing to explore acoustic jazz and to extend the innovations of the pre-fusion modern mainstream style.” -Allmusic

Weather Report
by Weather Report

“Here we have the free-floating, abstract beginnings of Weather Report, which would define the state of the electronic jazz/rock art from its first note almost to its last.” -Allmusic

Child Is Father To The Man
by Blood, Sweat & Tears

“Child is Father to the Man is not only one of the finest jazz/rock hybrids, it is one of the finest records of the late ’60s.” -All About Jazz

The Heat Is On
by The Isley Brothers

“The Isleys may not be the intellectual giants of disco funk but Heat hits a high groove from the first second and maintains it with remarkable consistency throughout; it’s some of the best body music around.” -Rolling Stone

Battle of the Bands: Duke Ellington vs. Count Basie
by Duke Ellington

Battle of the Bands is a compilation of swing music from two giants of big band jazz from the late 40s, and there ain’t a bad track on it.