Best Pop
"Hamilton" - which transferred to Broadway following a sold-out run at The Public Theater in NYC - is the acclaimed new musical about the scrappy young immigrant Alexander Hamilton, the $10 Founding Father who forever changed America with his revolutionary ideas and actions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Then avoid this album at ALL COSTS. Soon your family will start experimenting with this album and know Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton are more than just a trivia question from the Got Milk commercial from 1993. I'll leave it at this: I enjoyed this album enough to: -sing along with it. -move along with it. -make plans to fly out to Broadway to watch and support this show. -most importantly: find out more about Alexander Hamilton beyond the 1993 Got Milk commercial. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I have."
"This excellent cast album has it all: songs about desire, triumph, love, heartbreak, power, obsession, family, cheating, status, happiness and loss. After an eight year absence from visiting NYC, Hamilton has inspired me to book a plane ticket and a ridiculously expensive hotel room in the Big Apple just to see this show in the Fall."
"It's a brilliant pastiche of musical and poetic styles, all perfectly tailored to each particular character, yet woven into an intricate narrative that will inspire, entertain, and break your heart. I was privileged to see the show the week that it opened, and can't stop telling people about it, so I was beyond thrilled that the production team, including writer/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda and producer Ahmir Khalib Thompson (aka Questlove) chose to produce a full-length soundtrack that skipped nothing from the original show. Now an entire generation of theater-goers will arrive at Hamilton already knowing the music and words, and that's probably a great thing, because it's incredibly complex and fast-paced."
"I've been immersed in American musical theater my entire life and work in it full-time now."
"Totally met all my expectations. Took the advice from friends to do your research."
2017 edition of festive 2016 album with 5 bonus tracks.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I first found out about this because my teenager nearly blew out my eardrums as she ran screaming from her room that Pentatonix was releasing a Christmas album. Each of the five musicians have gifted voices and talents and are essential to the group's unique style."
"A few of the songs on here skeptics may think the songs have been overdone and have no way of being different, but pentatonix found a way to twist the songs enough to keep the original magic but make it their own enough that it really stands out from other covers and brings the excitement of listening to that song for the first time again."
"Heard this group on the Christmas TV special - amazing voices, and acappella!"
"I love Pentatonix!!!!"
"Very interesting album - the voices are really good and close harmony I enjoy it and my guests were pleased."
"A fun new spin on holiday favorites, and sung by the talented Pentatonix and a few featured artist."
"This is by far our favorite Christmas album."
"'This was good but not half as good as last years."
The Herald Angels SingWhite Winter HymnalSleigh RideWinter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy (featuring Tori KellyThat's Christmas To MeMary, Did You KnowDance Of The Sugar Plum FairyIt's The Most Wonderful Time Of The YearSanta Claus Is Coming To TownSilent Night.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I could get all excited about Kirstie and Avi nailing their leads ("Sleigh Ride" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" respectively) AND the fact that Kevin gets to sing several lines in "Mary..." I could rave over their original song "That's Christmas to Me" which is both beautiful and moving. But I won't......because that would take too much time that I could spend listening to this incredible album."
"I love Pentatonix so it was natural that I had to have "That's Christmas to Me"."
"We drive many miles over the Christmas holidays and most often listen to Christmas CD's as we drive."
"My daughter, a dance teacher, told us about Pentatonix."
"I want to listen to Christmas music year round thanks to this awesome band!"
"I purchased and shipped it to 4 of my friends/family AND gave it as a white elephant gift last year for Christmas."
"I Love acapella."
"One of my favorite groups and my grandchildren want to hear it every time we get in the car - even in the heat of summer!"
Best Adult Alternative
We had started writing new songs well before we got into the studio to record.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There have been numerous acts (an American idol and a band referencing monsters, to name two) that sound pretty good, but this is the real thing."
"Love Mumford & Sons - you have to love the driving music and the accents and the rough and tumble poetry that they put into song."
"It's completely recognizable as the Simon & Garfunkel standard but Marcus adds a slight tweak to the melody line that makes it fresh and new ."
"As the follow up to the 2009 album, Babel does a lot to impress the listener. The band allows themselves to go quiet at times to paint a picture that is in compliment to what Mumford & Sons has created since their early formation."
"The heartfelt lyrics pierce the soul, at times, and the emotions build with guitars, banjos and even brass to a crescendo befitting the sentiment, never out of place or disjointed."
"Like my other review of this band-I can't listen to them ALL the time-but they are a fun romp when I am ready and always have rollicking tunes and lyrics."
"The band follows Sigh no More with a album that is even larger in sound than the first, a feat I thought impossible."
"When I tried to rip the songs off of the CD the mp3's had the same issue which makes me think it is a defect on how it's imprinted on the CD."
Best Dance Pop
i. am, as well as 'For All Time', a previously unreleased track from the Thriller sessions that has been newly mixed and mastered by Michael Jackson.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As with most new records these days, it has a slight warp; but with the proper tracking force it plays just fine."
"Item arrived quick and just as described!"
"Absolute classic, my little sis loves it!!"
"Specifically, the new versions of Wanna Be Startin Somethin (With Akon was really good), Billie Jean (Kayne West with a nice remix), Beat It (With Fergie which was a nice twist), P.Y.T (with Will.I.Am which is better than the original IMO) & even The Girl Is Mine (which was my least favorite on the original album but made better this time around). You get the original nine songs, the little Vincent Price rap and the 6 new versions PLUS a DVD of the Thriller videos (Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller and the Motown 25th Billie Jean performance). With the exception of the original "The Girl Is Mine" (which I never really liked) this is the perfect version of Thriller released to date."
"One of the greatest albums of all time by one of the greatest artists of all time."
Best Euro Pop
Sweden's biggest musical export! Included are a full 19 digitally remastered hits, most notably Dancing Queen; Take a Chance on Me; The Winner Takes It All; Waterloo; Fernando , and The Name of the Game . 76 minutes of AM bliss.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I admit that I became interested in purchasing in this collection of Gold Greatest Hits by Abba after watching the Mama Mia movie with my husband around August 2009 (when we were living in Orlando, Florida)."
"Was deliberating on getting one of the Mamma Mia soundtracks, and then figured it would be better to actually purchase this greatest hits album which contained all of those songs and more."
"Great memories from my teenage years listening to this music."
"I got this in preparation for seeing Mama Mia!"
"A great album with all of Abba's hits."
"This 19 song album has some of my favorites that I've heard over the years - Knowing Me, Knowing You, Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me."
"Friends gave me an old CD I could not get to transfer to my Kindle, so I purchased this so I could enjoy this delightful collection on-the-go."
"This is the perfect round up of all your favorite abba songs!"
Best Pop Oldies
The classic original Beatles studio albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It has Bungalow Bill, Back in the USSR, Rocky Racoon, and Blackbird plus a lot more."
"A 2 CD "mini-box" with a picture book, and a small version of a collage poster that may have been part of the original album all those years ago."
"Album cover was slightly warped, but other than that it was sure nice to hear these old songs again."
"I could go in depth about this album in my review, but don't need to: This mono issue has different versions of many tracks that cannot be heard anywhere else, including the Anthology series."
"As any Beatles fan already knows this album (CD)may be the groups best ever compilation of original music, in my opinion the Beatles changed the face of music and created sounds that no one before them ever thought of as music, alarm clocks, crowing roosters,sustained notes the list goes on and on."
"The Beatles."
"While some tracks seem decidedly tongue-in-cheek like the swagger on "Rocky Raccoon" or "Piggies," some of these songs remain classic and the set wears well over 40 years after it was released. The White Album varies sounds and allows the band to explore and stretch, one of the most interesting and provocative of the Beatles' sets."
"Rocky Raccoon, Why Don't We Do It Ii the Road, Blackbird, I Will...I keep it in my CD player in the car as a back up to my Bluetooth device."
Best Vocal Pop
The Herald Angels SingWhite Winter HymnalSleigh RideWinter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy (featuring Tori KellyThat's Christmas To MeMary, Did You KnowDance Of The Sugar Plum FairyIt's The Most Wonderful Time Of The YearSanta Claus Is Coming To TownSilent Night.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I could get all excited about Kirstie and Avi nailing their leads ("Sleigh Ride" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" respectively) AND the fact that Kevin gets to sing several lines in "Mary..." I could rave over their original song "That's Christmas to Me" which is both beautiful and moving. But I won't......because that would take too much time that I could spend listening to this incredible album."
"I love Pentatonix so it was natural that I had to have "That's Christmas to Me"."
"I threw my nearly 16 year old golden retriever an early Christmas since cancer was taking her life."
"We drive many miles over the Christmas holidays and most often listen to Christmas CD's as we drive."
"My daughter, a dance teacher, told us about Pentatonix."
"I want to listen to Christmas music year round thanks to this awesome band!"
"i played this for when folks came to visit me near Christmastime, and they loved it just as much as i. i'd only recently heard of the group on CBN and fell in love with their unique talent and sound."
"I purchased and shipped it to 4 of my friends/family AND gave it as a white elephant gift last year for Christmas."
Best Rock
Pink Floyd- The Dark Side Of the Moon LP. "Breathe" (listed as "Breathe in the Air" on the original LP label) 2:43 3.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The remastering is just incredible."
"Like the original, it came with the original notes, posters and stickers along with an extra wax sleeve to protect your vinyl while leaving the other in tact for collectibility."
"If you consider yourself a 70's rocker and don't have this vynil, whether original or a repress, well..."
"This is the best selling album of all time for a reason."
"Of course the content is fantastic."
"Love this record, was excited that amazon had this available at a great price."
"My main drive for this version was to purchase a Multichannel version that was perviously only available on SA-CD (Super audio CD) This box includes a quad and a 5.1 mix. I would also not feel cheated if they had included a rebate for the 3 box sets when you bought the Big box of Pink Floyd."
"When music was at its best."
Best Country
(2LP) Grammy Award winning 2015 debut solo album from US singer-songwriter blending country, southern rock & bluegrass influences.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"While today's country music is filled with songs detailing long drives on back country roads with a beer in the console, this album actually inspires you do actually get in your car and drive. If you like, country, blues or southern rock at all, this album is a must have!"
"This album is an apology for 20 years of what Nashville called Country music."
"You may have not lived the life the song speaks about, but you sure have had the feelings the song provokes . GREAT songs take you to a place that you are familiar with and allows you to relive that moment in time."
"I'm not really a country music fan (though I used to be), but this album is great!"
"Thank you to whoever convinced him to do this, and i'll buy Chris Stapleton albums as long as he's putting them out!"
"This is a bad ass record....I want to LP and have tried twice now, yet Mercury Records must have the worst quality control ever on LP pressing."
"In fact, one of the last songs on the album is "Outlaw State of Mind" - shades of Waylon Jennings."
"I bought this after seeing Chris Stapleton on the CMAs singing with Justin Timberlake, which if you haven't watched that video, it's definitely a must see!"
Best Soul
Combining a strong, Jazzy vocal style with often frank lyrical content recounting tales of love and loss, Winehouse is a truly talented songwriter with a good ear for melody, making this album an essential purchase.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I feel that her feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness of love come through in a couple of songs so strongly, that I feel for her and want to remind her of those that do care for her, but alas, it is too late."
"Perhaps the best known is Dusty Springfield (1939-1999), who took a cue from jazz artist Peggy Lee and combined it with the soul inflections of such girl groups as Martha and the Vandellas. By the time of its release, Winehouse had become a controversial figure, adopting Ronnie Spector's beehive hairdos and miniskirt dresses while drifting into alcohol and drugs in a way that quickly became infamous. On-going speculation about her chemical dependencies led Winehouse to write and record the album's signature cut: "Rehab," a strange mixture of R&B, South American edges, and slap-in-the-face, tough-girl lyrics that startled virtually everyone who heard it. Drug and alcohol problems, troubled romances, and publicity disasters have kept Winehouse largely silent on the music scene since BACK TO BLACK proved such an international smash."
"It is a true shame that Amy Winehouse passed so young, but listening to this album along with her other music (whether it be on vinyl or other formats) creates a comfort to her listeners that her music will be a huge impact for generations to come."
"This album was purchased for my adult daughter."
"Bad rating because I received two replacements and they both are skipping and the songs mix together."
"Be careful when ordering vinyls, it seems like they get warped in transition and then you're stuck with a defective product you paid for."
"the first 2 tracks on the disc do not work, listens with many jumps."
"I would NOT recommend this album."
Best Christian
An invitation to encounter God in worship is at the heart of Lauren Daigle's first full-length project, HOW CAN IT BE.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The voice I hear on Lauren Daigle’s debut, How Can it Be, reminds me of Adele and the International House of Prayer’s, Misty Edwards. The handclaps bring a smile, as well as the chorus, “When you don’t move the mountains I’m needing you to move/When you don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through/When you don’t give me answers as I cry out to you/I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you.” I hear an endearing lightness and it’s easy to identify with the thought of life being a battle and more than a little unpredictable. “Let the waters rise I will stand as the oceans roar/Let the earth shake beneath/Let the mountains fall/You are God over the storm/And I am yours.” This is unshakeable confidence framed in majesty. Though our world be shaken, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Daigle’s voice makes this regal, fitting for a King that presides over all. She starts off soulfully and becomes increasingly earnest, “Oh let this be where I die/My Lord with thee, crucified/Be lifted high as my kingdoms fall/Once and for all/Once and for all.” It brings to mind what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”. One of my favorite thoughts from Scripture highlights our need: “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). As Robert Robinson wrote in a hymn, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.” It’s why I like the line, “Be lifted high as my kingdoms fall.” Live enough years and it’s not hard to see the wreckage."
"I was out driving when I heard the single "How Can It Be" on my local Christian station."
"Only problem, there was no packing material/bubble wrap with this cd and the case was broken."
"I'm a new fan of this woman after God's own heart...her lyrics are raw, they're scriptural, and above all they are motivating and spiritually stirring."
"Great writing and Lauren's voice pulls you into the song."
""Peace be Still" by the Belonging Co. not on this CD but here is that great voice, exuding humble worship."
"Best new Christian artist I've heard or met in a long time."
"I listen to this often."
Best Music of Laos
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a great ablum but the preview on it is a different album which was recorded 30 years ago, as compared to this one which is only a few years old."
Best Disney Music
Directed by the renowned filmmaking team of Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess & the Frog) and produced by Osnat Shurer (Lifted, One Man Band), Moana sails into U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a 30-something who grew up in the age of the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s and had (still has) a collection of all the original Walt Disney classics, I can be hard to convince in this age of CGI...but "Moana" is perfection...and so is the soundtrack. I'm not a big "Hamilton" fan, but I can appreciate Miranda's considerable talent - and it shines in this soundtrack. No, it doesn't "sound" like the rest of the soundtrack - but who says it's supposed to?"
"Her father is the village chief and she feels drawn to the ocean that surrounds their beautiful, tropical Polynesian island of Motunui. If you purchase the audio CD version, the lyrics are listed inside the booklet, along with the character who sings them. Some of the songs are energetic and full of adventure whereas others reflect the darker tone when Moana and Maui are faced with their main task. Auli'i Cravalho has a beautiful voice and does an amazing job with all of the songs, my favorite being "How Far I'll Go," which can be heard multiple times on the soundtrack. The score is a lot of fun too and we enjoy figuring out which part of the movie the current song is from."
"If the music isn't stuck in your head yet from your kids constantly watching and rewatching the movie, it will be by the time you're done listening to this in the car for the tenth time."
"I purchased this so my daughter could listen to the soundtrack on our Echo since she loves the movie."
"We leave this in my car every day and my kids want to listen to it every time we get into the car."
"Not neccessarily my favorite, but my two four year old grandaughters love it."
"I bought it shortly after seeing the movie for the first time and have been listening to it non stop."
"Daughter loves the movie and singing all the songs."
Best Music of Afghanistan
From Kabul to California, Homayun Sakhi is admired as the outstanding Afghan rubâb player of his generation, a charismatic virtuoso who has pushed the limits of his instrument.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Homayun Sakhi is peaceful w/tunes that soothe the audience."
"Our Press paints Afghanistan as a backward, dusty country devoid of any cultural richness and overrun by barbaric religious fanatics. Sadly, the oppressed common Afgan man (and certainly woman) are heirs to an ancient culture where the arts flourished along side those of its sister India to the east and Persia to the west."
"The Music of Central Asia initiative was set up by the Aga Khan and the Smithsonian Insitution to document the surviving folk music traditions of that rich part of the world, and to present it to the global community with enough background to get the most out of it. In this third volume, the Afghan rubab tradition is represented by virtuoso performer Homayun Sakhi. While the rubab is squarely a Central Asian creation, but its Afghani performance tradition developed in close relationship with players in the East, and so afficionados of North Indian music will find this to be quite familiar."
"(little new to the Afghan music) chosen are of a more minor/dissonant nature than the Afghan music I've heard on popular Afghan websites. The instrument itself is related to sarod, but much more percussive due to frets."
"I was hoping for more percussion, but the instrumental music was pleasing."
"Homayun jaan and Toryala jaan are both exceptional musicians and performers, respectively."
"Who played the instrument RABAB is so good, you can feel it in your heart, when you listen to it more and more carefuly, it will grab you heart, some times it will take me so away from this world, Sound of Rubab is so deep and full of joy and flavor."
"Homayun Sakhi is living proof that faith in God and faith in yourself still produce the highest results in man."
Best Britpop
a Rush of Blood to the Head is a soulful, exhilarating journey, moving from the cathartic rock of 'Politik' to the hushed tones of 'Green Eyes' without once breaking its mesmerizing spell.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Front to back it's just a great album."
"This is where it all started."
"My favorite band and the album that first made me fall in love with them - so awesome to finally have it on vinyl!"
"These cd is awesome."
"Great CD original recording."
"Super fast shipping."
Best Music
"Hamilton" - which transferred to Broadway following a sold-out run at The Public Theater in NYC - is the acclaimed new musical about the scrappy young immigrant Alexander Hamilton, the $10 Founding Father who forever changed America with his revolutionary ideas and actions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Then avoid this album at ALL COSTS. Soon your family will start experimenting with this album and know Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton are more than just a trivia question from the Got Milk commercial from 1993. I'll leave it at this: I enjoyed this album enough to: -sing along with it. -move along with it. -make plans to fly out to Broadway to watch and support this show. -most importantly: find out more about Alexander Hamilton beyond the 1993 Got Milk commercial. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I have."
"This excellent cast album has it all: songs about desire, triumph, love, heartbreak, power, obsession, family, cheating, status, happiness and loss. After an eight year absence from visiting NYC, Hamilton has inspired me to book a plane ticket and a ridiculously expensive hotel room in the Big Apple just to see this show in the Fall."
"It's a brilliant pastiche of musical and poetic styles, all perfectly tailored to each particular character, yet woven into an intricate narrative that will inspire, entertain, and break your heart. I was privileged to see the show the week that it opened, and can't stop telling people about it, so I was beyond thrilled that the production team, including writer/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda and producer Ahmir Khalib Thompson (aka Questlove) chose to produce a full-length soundtrack that skipped nothing from the original show. Now an entire generation of theater-goers will arrive at Hamilton already knowing the music and words, and that's probably a great thing, because it's incredibly complex and fast-paced."
"I've been immersed in American musical theater my entire life and work in it full-time now."
"Totally met all my expectations. Took the advice from friends to do your research."
Best Philly Soul
Contains all of their classic Atlantic hits and more, including eight Top 20 pop smashes!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Classic group."
"This CD is one of my favorites."
"still singing and dancing."
"Good arrangement too, and great songs!"
"The spinners is one of the best groups I have ever heard."