Best British Alternative
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Dig Out Your Soul [2 LP][Reissue]. Just got the double 45rpm vinyl reissue of this classic."
"And to be quite honest, though I've enjoyed these early records that most Oasis fans continue to hold up as the holy grail of band, I found them to be generally kind of musically one-dimensional. Oasis is a one vocalist band, for crying out loud, banging on three or four jangely chord songs,with amps on 11 for most of those early records. In this sense, they are following a path perhaps originally layed down by The Beatles, but followed by a number of wonderful British bands who proved over the years that they were much more than just the muscial adrenaline of their youth. This wasn't the straight up rock n' roll band I had fallen in love with and these new sounds The Beatles were making just didn't do it for me at that time. Though I can't say I like it quite as much, after afew listens, "Dig Out Your Soul" picks up right where "Don't Believe The Truth" left off, but without quite as much of the Beatle derivative in it."
"That said, the tension between these two artists is so strong that it creates an amazing sonic experience almost 20 years into the band's journey. Ian Gallagher the vocal brother is channeling Lennon in this album through the filter of the familiar Oasis sound. Noel Gallagher is channeling Tommy from The Who with ghostly drum rhythms from a drummer that seems to be none other than Keith Moon himself in the bodily form of Zak Starkey. Ringo's son Zak was the Godson of Moon and learned to play drums at his feet."
"This album proves that Oasis is more than just "stadium rock," and provides modern alternative vibes that definitely are great to listen to."
"Better than most other bands best albums and that's a fact."
"There are some other good tunes in here, but a lot of the songs are very mellow, psychedelic (not what I was expecting, although it isn't necessarily a bad thing), and a little blase, with too much reverb effect on the vocals that make it sound like Liam is singing in a public restroom....or singing off key through a megaphone."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a great CD."
"A glance at my record collection about a week ago while I was making room for a new acquisition revealed a simple, sad truth: the stories are drying up. Blame it on my age (I’m at the doorstep/precipice of 40), or on the TV dinner, assembly line, subdivisions nature of responsible adulthood, but as I looked over the majority of my albums I could single out a scant few that sparked that mixture of happiness and longing that I once thought every record I owned would conjure for me. Nope, instead you call in sick, grab the albums that you think will impress her the most, show up 5 minutes earlier than you told her you would, open her door like a gentleman, and head for the turnpike. The opening wall of Robin Guthrie’s synths and reverberated guitars in ‘Violaine’ is accompanied by a slumbering vocal from Liz Frasier that’s only punctuated with her signature soprano, not dominated by it. But by the time this yields to ‘Serpentskirt’s’ Cure-esque, subterranean guitar and Liz’s dreamy, unintelligible loveliness in the chorus’, I’ve stolen a glance or ten at Emily as she watches mile markers tick by; her hair, mingling with the sunset, dancing across her cheek. Blame it on the grapes or the girl or the glow of the lights hung above our table or the sweet passage of time that can only add, never detract, allure, but the echoes of ‘Half-Gifts’ and Guthrie’s carnival from heaven organ loop and the rise and fall of Liz’s extraordinary, multi-tracked vocal arrangement were all around us that evening. And as ‘Calfskin Smack’ plays in the background while I type this, I can remember a conversation that faded- and there’s this image in my memory of Em sitting silent in her new bedroom, her form lit by a single lamp."
"No one knew at the time that it was to be their swansong, and it's easy to imagine that many of their longtime fans welcomed the musical direction informing "Milk and Kisses" as a return to the the sense of dynamic tension and sustained ,explosive release that had so often animated the 'Twins sound prior to the release of "Blue Bell Knoll", and yet it isn't a true reversion to their old form, as the band seem to have extracted some of the distinctive elements from both "Heaven Or Las Vegas" and "Four Calendar Cafe", crafting some tracks that are positively vibrant, densely layered mosaics, and others that are dominated by a level of submission and restraint. Marking a positive return to form, Robin Guthrie milks his effects rack for all it's worth on "Violaine", and conjures up a massive wall of heavily processed, overdubbed guitar, the overdriven mechanics of his playing style building to explosive crescendo, over which Liz Frazer's highly emotive soprano vocals are multi-tracked several times ."
"Then I was lucky enough to come across an excellent copy of this album on vinyl (which is not an easy task to do!). I notice much more nuance, which actually brings more feeling and emotional meaning to the songs. My mind often used to drift listening to the cd, but I was thoroughly engaged with the LP version."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"4 tripped me back to the mid 60's and the psychedelically mind bending release by The Chocolate Watch Band, where they not only delivered some spectacular music, but packaged the record with wrapped liner notes, written as a journal, of recording in a smokey drugged haze of thick Afghani Finger Hash, and assorted pills late into the night ... late into the recording session ... all while waiting on a mystical magical box ... a box that would not only release the music, set it all in order, but free the lads from their mortal coil, and allow them to roam the galaxies free and unbounded. Legend: 2008 A.D. ... Across the marsh, it was hard to believe that civilization had ever existed at all, much less come and gone and was about to come again."
"This album is a big improvement over their older stuff, the songwriting is better and the overall sound rocks out more."
"Sounding a bit reminiscent of their first CD ("Introducing..."), the heavily-fuzzed, delayed, whammied, and reverbed guitar lines on "My Love" the opening cut from this release, are joined by an acoustic passage that not only gives the track its universally wistful quality, but more deeply establishes Asteroid #4's roots in late 60's folkish psychedelia, which the band continues to mine for the entirety of "These Flowers Of Ours"."
"For example "My Love" features some beautiful acoustic guitar playing, "Let It Go" resembles an undiscovered Syd Barrett composition (so much) featuring some killer harmonica playing, that you'll swear up and down it's a Barrett cover and the same goes with "She's All I Needed"."
Best American Alternative
![Minutes To Midnight [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41H0qcOUjBL._SS600_.jpg)
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The events over the last year with Chris Cornell and Chester just broke my heart."
"Great value, ships quickly and comes with Amazon digital album."
"I love the music, came on time perfectly and everything."
"It is what the description says it is, but in the end it doesn't even matter."
Best Compilations
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I admit I originally bought this album because Split Lip Rayfield had a song on it--it's never too early to teach your children about great bluegrass--but it turns out the whole thing is fantastic."
"I bought this CD to get one song: Rosie Flores doing "Red Red Robin"."
"These are fun songs for kids of all ages."
"We received it as a gift for our son's birth and now I give it as a gift to other friends."
"The preschool member of the family loves "Senor Don Gato". Thank you Bloodshot for making a kids' CD that doesn't suck!"
"Bought this YEARS ago when my kids were still little."
"I checked this out at the library and liked it so much that I bought a copy for myself."
"It sets the tone of the album, which is almost relentlessly upbeat, fun music, with just the occasional slow song like It's not easy being green, performed by Rex Hobart and the misery boys. Apart from Red red robin, perhaps the most famous songs here are Camptown races (done as an instrumental), I am my own Grandpa (sung here by the Asylum street spankers), Three billy goats gruff (narrated by Carolyn Mark) and The fox (sung by the Waco brothers)."
Best Singer-Songwriters
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It's so good, so awesome to listen to, that I just could not pull myself away from listening to it in order to write a review. Let's face it, when having the choice between listening to a jewel of a surround disc or writing out a review, the music is going to win every time. I want to emphasize this again, as a music lover- if you love this album, if you appreciate the few in a lifetime experiences of joy when you listen to a real talent performing in front of you, get this disc for yourself."
"I bought one of these for my sister when hers got fried in her car a. number of years ago."
"The multi-channel is well done with nice separation between the vocals and the instruments for each channel."
"I got this was for my mother for Christmas she said when she was a child when she was young she just had this album and it was her favorite album ever and that it brought back a lot of memories in a few tears to her eyes when she got it."
"I can't say how much I'd like this if I were in my 20's, but as this album came out when I was indeed that age and was both relevant and well performed (and composed! If you were fortunate enough to hear and see Aretha Frankllin singing "Natural Woman" recently, you know what I mean."
"Heard a deep dive on Ms. King on EW radio and it brought back so many memories of the best album of my youth."
"What can you say about Carol King....she's one of the greatest singer songwriters of her day and she continues to still measure up to that statement."
"Great CD and it was in great condition."
Best Live Recordings
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Boz has always been a great singer song writer."
"Usually I'm skeptical of live greatest hits albums, but Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits Live offers an intriguing look at the career of a successful artist who gained a larger audience by altering his approach without losing his integrity."
"outstanding cd came on time and also played great."
"Although I am a real fan and may be biased, I truly believe this is his best CD, not only because he's in such good voice, but because the band that backs him is unbelievable."
"If you love Boz Scaggs like I do, this is a must for your collection."
"My only hesitation is that I realize I enjoy the polished rich sounds coming from studio musicans, and not the improvised singing (from the back up singers) or sounds of the audience in the background."
Best Goth & Industrial
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One of the most underrated albums of Nine Inch Nails, but I find it one of the most cohesive and with a strong personality."
"I thought this was a better album than "Year Zero"; I'm finding that I listen to this album quite a bit more than "Year Zero"."
"Head Down is great, Echoplex is awesome, and Discipline is my favorite single from the last 3 major CDs NIN has released (as in I like that song more than both The Hand The Feeds and Survivalism)."
Best Ska
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Really, really, really, really, good!"
"This music is suitable for mailbox baseball, late night rendezvous with pinball machines, and even calculus homework."
"All the songs on here are instant sing along fan favorites, the opening song is sung at the beginning of every show (unfortunately there will be no more) which just kicks off a great night of entertainment. I love how the songs tell stories and mostly in a very funny or thought provoking way."
"'Midgets With Guns' has kind of a zesty Mexican feel to it, and then picks up to faster punk riffs. Just try these guys out, music fans of everything from ska to punk to emo to hardcore will love this band, and even most pop fans would like it."
"As said in the other reviews, I to enjoyed "The Wonderful Beef" and "Full Speed Ahead(which for whatever reason is not carried by this site)" They gained a little fame for their song and music video "Jabberjaw" on Cartoon Network."
"Pain displays numerous musical styles on the album, from a Middle Eastern tone on the revenge ballad "Chuck Al Hashib" to a Spanish flavor on the title track."
"No matter how many new CDs you buy, this is the one you'll keep going back to."
Best Indie & Lo-Fi
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I wish that M Ward and Zooey Deschanel were my parents."
"Downloaded this album years ago, decided to purchase on vinyl and very glad I did so!"
"Bought as a Christmas present (It's what they asked for)."
"Love the cd, it's awesome!"
"My only complaint is the way she did the song "Baby, it's cold Outside. "."
"I'd prolly buy a copy for my sis or niece who appreciate different kinds of music."
Best Hardcore & Punk
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good press."
"Smashing!"
"Love this one - even better on vinyl."
"Great great cd."
"This album does everything a punk rock album should do: Violently discuss politics, quick jab authority, and ask the same time how educated are they and how much drugs do they have in their system?"
Best New Wave & Post-Punk
![1999 [Explicit]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61dvtOA1x3L._SS600_.jpg)
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Other highlights include the bouncy "Delirious", great party dance song "D.M.S.R."
"Our birthdays were separated by 2 yrs & 2 days. Favorite from this cd,..."Lady Cab Driver"."
"This was the album that started it all for me back in the 80s."
"I will continue to purchase my music from Amazon, for this very reason."
"I'm a Prince fan every since I had a record player."
"Bought this to have it available digitally easily... it really took me back."
"I love this record as it helped create a major shift in what we heard on the radio and saw on MTV."
"Another beautiful piece of work by Prince."