Elvis picks the 500 Greatest Albums Ever
Vanity Fair, 2000-11-01
- Elvis Costello
COSTELLO'S 500
From Abba to Zamballarana, and from Mozart to Eminem, one of rock's finest talents has identified 500 albums essential to a happy life. It was a long, tortuous undertaking, but the man knows music - and his aim is true
BY ELVIS COSTELLO
I had intended to add a word or two of praise or explanation after each entry on this list. I made a sparkling start.
ABBA: Abba Gold
Fast songs: for nights entertaining your Australian friends, or playing with the dressing-up box. Slow songs: a pop-music version of Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage.
Then I thought, That's enough of that nonsense. How many times can you write "Superb," "Beautiful," "Stomping," or "Absolutely tangerine" before it loses all meaning? How many times do you need to read: "Masterpiece"? Or, better still "Masterpiece . . . ?"
Instead, I decided to also name the tracks that make these albums special to me. So, if nothing is written, head straight for the title track or assume that the whole damned thing is irresistible. When in doubt, play Track 4-it is usually the one you want.
Here are 500 albums that can only improve your life. Many will be quite familiar, others less so. Ever needed to get rid of unwanted guests in the early hours? Just reach for Dirk Bogarde's Lyrics for Lovers, on which the actor inhales audibly on his cigarette before reciting Ira Gershwin's "A Foggy Day" amid a swathe of violins. Then there are the good records.
It was impossible to choose just one title by Miles Davis, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Mingus, etc. How can you say Miles Ahead is "in" and Sketches of Spain is "out"? It looked that way for a while. I knew I would need the space for In a Silent Way and On the Corner. In the end Sketches of Spain did make it, but only at the expense of Someday My Prince Will Come. That is the pleasure of a list like this. Everyone will disagree with your choices.
Sometimes an album contains just one indispensable song. Shot of Love may not be your favorite Bob Dylan record, but it might contain his best song: "Every Grain of Sand." Other albums are like sets of chairs. You can't break them up. This is true of the Band's first two records and also of Tom Waits's trilogy of albums, which began with Swordjshtrombones.
There are plenty of "Best of" and "Greatest Hits" collections. That's not just taking the easy way out. Many of these people really only made "singles." No one "album" will give you all the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles or George Jones songs that you need. I've also gone for some less well-known titles by famous artists, but they are records that dig a little deeper.
You should be able to find most of this music, but you may have to go out of your way to locate the records of David Ackles, perhaps the greatest unheralded American songwriter of the late 60s.
This is also a list of where I began and where I stopped listening. There are huge gaps and blind spots. Unsurprisingly, I favor songwriters over players, but any hit parade of great singers would have to include Johnny Hodges. Making this list made me listen all over again.
If your shelf can stand it, I recommend a few boxed sets. Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled by the great Harry Smith from rare 78s seems like a trip to another planet, yet it is really just humans singing and playing in the not-so-distant past. The RCA Ellington set runs to 24 CDs, and the Schubert lieder collection is only a little smaller, but they are a bit like having a Complete Works of Shakespeare close at hand.
The Yazoo label's Secret Museum of Mankind series gives a glimpse of the early days, when HMV or the Gramophone Company would send out recording engineers to gather music from the world for the new, curious audience. These editions are not compiled by country. So, they may begin in the Society Islands, travel to Mongolia via Bulgaria, and end up in Nova Scotia. The world that you will hear probably isn't there anymore.
I sometimes torture myself by considering all the musicians who were still performing during my lifetime but whom I failed to see because I was too stupid, too timid, or too preoccupied with some passing fancy. Records can fix some of that. It's a form of time travel. You can hear Lester Young or Bing Crosby close in on the microphone in a way that we now take for granted and regularly abuse. The 30s recordings of Stravinsky reveal him directing a band of musicians who are clinging to the edges of his new, frightening music. Ornette Coleman's "Peace" is a thing of beauty that was once a minor outrage.
The classical recordings are listed by composer; that is not to say that any version of that piece will do. Great vintage recordings sit alongside new releases by artists whom you can actually hear in concert. These are the performers who opened up this music to me. In the end, it is the music of forgiveness in the last act of Le Nozze di Figaro or the way an incomplete Schubert sonata breaks off in a devastating way that matters more than whether the performance was captured digitally or with some sealing wax and a knitting needle. There is a song setting by Hugo Wolf, "Alles Endet, Was Entstehet." The text concludes:
"We too were men joyful and weary like you, and now we are lifeless, we are only earth, as you see. All that is created must end. All, all around us must perish."
These words are by Michelangelo.
The minute this list goes to press I will think of 20 records that I left out. There are no comedy records, unless you count Louis Armstrong's magnificent nine-minute performance of all of the verses of "Let's Do It." In fact, no real spoken-word recordings are included - it was too hard to choose among Richard Pryor, T. S. Eliot, and Bill Hicks. Groucho Marx makes it on the strength of his rendition of "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady."
If you look in the C's, you won't find anything with my name on it. This is not false modesty. There are at least 500 records better than everything that I've made. I do make a few walk-on appearances as vocalist or producer.
You will see that some very famous names are missing completely. There is nothing at all by Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Michael Jackson, or Sting. You may love them. They just don't do it for me. There's not too much disco or dance, except the mighty Chic. If you want something from Los Angeles in the early 70s, I suggest you purchase the first Jackson Browne record; it will save you buying all those Eagles albums. The "Fleetwood Mac" herein is the great group led by Peter Green, not the Californian mob with Stevie Nicks. There is nothing to speak of from the 80s, the decade that music forgot, except for Robert Wyatt. Not many "Divas," except for Callas and Aretha.
As for the hit records of today, maybe some of them will sound just fantastic in 20 years' time. It's your life. So! No Marilyn, Puffy, Korn, Eddie Money-sorry, Kid Rock-Limp Bizkit, Ricky, Britney, Backstreet Boys, etc., etc.
The best record of today that I could find was The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem, faster, funnier, and, in an odd way, more truthful than most records. It's up there with the best of The Simpsons, and I mean that as the highest compliment.
There are probably songs being composed right now that will eclipse every entry on this list in somebody's heart or mind. It is my experience that music is more like water than a rhinoceros. It doesn't charge madly down one path. It runs away in every direction.
500 ALBUMS YOU NEED
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- The Road To Cairo (1968)
- Down River
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- Subway To The Country (1969)
- That's No Reason To Cry
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- The Best Of Cannonball Adderley (1968)
- Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
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- The Maudlin Years (1996)
- The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter
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- The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (2000)
- Wild Man Blues
- Tight Like This
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- The Well-Tempered Clavier (Edwin Fischer; 1934)
- The Six Cello Suites (Pablo Casals; 1936)
- Six Partitas BWV 825-830 (Andras Schiff; 1984)
- Mass in B Minor (conductor: Otto Klemperer; 1999)
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- The Band (1969)
- The Unfaithful Servant
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- Six String Quartets (Emerson String Quartet; 1988)
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- If You Love Me, 18th Century Italian Songs (1992)
- Alessandro Parisott - Se Tu M'Ami
- Antonio Vivaldi - Sposa son disprezzata
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- Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" (1972)
- Cuddle Up
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- Holland (1973)
- The Trader
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- Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys (boxed set; 1993)
- Surf's Up
- Wonderful
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- Paul's Boutique (1989)
- Shadrach
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- With The Beatles (1963)
- You Really Got A Hold On Me
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- A Hard Day's Night (1964)
- Things We Said Today
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- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
- A Day In The Life
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- The Beatles (White Album; 1968)
- I'm So Tired
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- Odelay (1996)
- The New Pollution
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- Best Of Bee Gees (1969)
- To Love Somebody
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- Otto Klemperer Live At The Concertgebouw (1954)
- Symphony No. 9; Piano Sonatas Op. 109, 110, 111 (Sviatoslav Richter; 1965)
- Symphony No. 7 (conductor: Carlos Kleiber; 1975)
- Late Quartets (Budapest String Quartet; 1997)
- Violin Concerto (soloist: Yehudi Menuhin; 1997)
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- Derek Bell Plays With Himself (1981)
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- The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album (1975)
- `Some Other Time
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- Violin Concerto (soloist: Anne-Sofie Mutter; 1993)
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- Damnation Of Faust (conductor: John Eliot Gardiner; 1987)
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- Debut (1993)
- Venus As A Boy
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- Two Steps From The Blues (1961)
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- The Best Of Blondie (1981)
- In The Flesh
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- 13 (1999)
- No Distance Left To Run
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- Lyrics For Lovers (1960)
- A Foggy Day
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- Hunky Dory (1971)
- Life On Mars?
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- Station To Station (1976)
- Wild Is The Wind
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- Low (1977)
- Always Crashing In The Same Car
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- Heroes (1977)
- Joe The Lion
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- Ein Deutsches Requiem (conductor: Otto Klemperer; 1962)
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- Hang On In There Baby (1974)
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- Serenade For Tenor, Horn And Strings (soloist: Ian Bostridge; 1996)
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- Driftin' Blues: The Best Of Charles Brown (1992)
- Black Night
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- Clifford Brown With Strings (1955)
- Yesterdays
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- Live At The Apollo (1963)
- I Found Someone
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- Star Time (boxed set; 1991)
- Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing
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- Jackson Browne (Saturate Before Using) (1972)
- My Opening Farewell
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Anton Bruckner
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- Symphony No. 9 (conductor: Gunter Wand; 1990)
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Jeff Buckley
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- Grace (1994)
- Corpus Christi Carol
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Harold Budd and Brian Eno
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- Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)
- Above Chiangmai
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Buffalo Springfield
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- Retrospective: The Best Of Buffalo Springfield (1969)
- Expecting To Fly
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Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Choir
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- Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (1990)
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T Bone Burnett
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- Proof Through The Night (1983)
- Fatally Beautiful
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- T Bone Burnett (1986)
- River Of Love
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- The Talking Animals (1988)
- Image
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The Byrds
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- The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)
- Goin' Back
- Artificial Energy
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John Cale
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- Music For A New Society (1982)
- Taking Your Life In Your Hands
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Maria Callas
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- Five Heroines-Operatic Extracts (1990)
- Vissi d'arte
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Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band
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- Trout Mask Replica (1969)
- The Dust Blows Forward 'n' The Dust Blows Back
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- Clear Spot (1972)
- Big Eyed Beans From Venus
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Hoagy Carmichael
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- Hoagy Sings Carmichael (1956)
- Rockin' Chair
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James Carr
Johnny Cash
June Carter Cash
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- Press On (1999)
- Tiffany Anastasia Lowe
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Ray Charles
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- Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music (1962)
- You Don't Know Me
- A Life In Music (1982)
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- I Believe To My Soul
- Just For A Thrill
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Chic
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- Chic's Greatest Hits (1979)
- My Forbidden Lover
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Frédéric Chopin
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- Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (pianist, conductor: Krystian Zimerman; 1978)
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The Clash
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- London Calling (1979)
- Rudie Can't Fail
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- London Calling (1979)
- The Singles (1991)
- (White Man) In the Hammersmith Palais
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Patsy Cline
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- Greatest Hits (1973)
- Sweet Dreams
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The Coasters
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- The Ultimate Coasters (1986)
- Shoppin' For Clothes
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Leonard Cohen
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- The Best Of Leonard Cohen (1976)
- Who By Fire
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- More Best Of (1997)
- The Future
- Tower Of Song
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Ornette Coleman
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- The Shape Of Jazz To Come (1959)
- Peace
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John Coltrane
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- My Favorite Things (1961)
- Every Time We Say Goodbye
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- The Impulse! Years (1993)
- A Love Supreme
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Ry Cooder
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- Paradise And Lunch (1974)
- Married Man's A Fool
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Sam Cooke
Don Covay
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- Checkin' In With Don Covay (1989)
- It's Better To Have Than Not Have
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Noël Coward
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- The Master's Voice: His HMV Recordings (1993)
- The Stately Homes Of England
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Bing Crosby
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- His Legendary Years (1993)
- Gigi
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David Crosby
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- If I Could Only Remember My Name (1971)
- Laughing
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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Crowded House
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- Temple Of Low Men (1988)
- Into Temptation
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D'Angelo
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- Voodoo (2000)
- Devil's Pie
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Miles Davis
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- Birth Of The Cool (1956)
- Boplicity
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- Miles Ahead (1957)
- My Ship
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- Porgy And Bess (1958)
- Bess, You Is My Woman Now
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- Kind Of Blue (1959)
- All Blues
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- My Funny Valentine (1964)
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- In A Silent Way (1969)
- Shhh
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- On The Corner (1969)
- New York Girl
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Miles Davis and Stan Getz and Lee Konitz
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- Conception (1975)
- Ezz-thetic
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Claude Debussy
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- Pelléas et Mélisande (conductor: Claudio Abbado; 1992)
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- Preludes (Krystian Zimerman; 1994)
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Alfred Deller
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- William Byrd and His Age (1956)
- Ye Sacred Muses
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Destiny's Child
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- The Writing's on the Wall (1999)
- Say My Name
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Bo Diddley
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- His Best (1997)
- Crackin' Up
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Dr. John
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- Dr. John's Gumbo (1972)
- Junko Partner
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Eric Dolphy
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- Outward Bound (1960)
- G.W.
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- Iron Man (1969)
- Come Sunday
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Lee Dorsey
John Dowland
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- Awake Sweet Love (The Deller Consort; 1965)
- Flow My Tears
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- Dowland: The Collected Works (Consort of Musicke; 1980)
- A Pilgrimes Solice.
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John Dowland And William Byrd
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- Night's Black Bird (Fretwork; 1989)
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Henri Duparc
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- Melodies (baritone: Bernard Kruysen; 1971)
- Phidyle
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Jimmy Durante
Ian Dury
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- New Boots And Panties!! (1977)
- Sweet Gene Vincent
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Dyke & the Blazers
Bob Dylan
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- Blonde On Blonde (1966)
- Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine
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- John Wesley Harding (1968)
- All Along The Watchtower
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- Planet Waves (1974)
- Dirge
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- Blood On The Tracks (1974)
- You're A Big Girl Now
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- The Basement Tapes (1975)
- Nothing Was Delivered
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- Shot Of Love (1981)
- Every Grain of Sand
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- Time Out Of Mind (1997)
- Not Dark Yet
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- Bob Dylan Live 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998)
- Like A Rolling Stone
- I Don't Believe You
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Edward Elgar
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- Symphony No. 1 (conductor: Edward Elgar; 1957)
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- Cello Concerto (Jacqueline Du Pré; 1965)
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Duke Ellington
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- Anatomy Of A Murder (1959)
- Haupe
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- . . . And His Mother Called Him Bill (1968)
- Blood Count
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- The Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (boxed set; 1999)
- East St. Louis Toodle-oo
- In A Sentimental Mood
- Tonk
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Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach
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- Money Jungle (1962)
- Wig Wise
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Eminem
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- The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
- The Way I Am
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The Bill Evans Trio
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- Waltz For Debby (1961)
- Waltz For Debby
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The Gil Evans Orchestra
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- Out Of The Cool (1960)
- Where Flamingos Fly
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The Everly Brothers
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- It's Everly Time (1960)
- Sleepless Nights
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The Fairfield Four
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- I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray (1997)
- There Must Be A City
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Marianne Faithfull
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- Blazing Away (1990)
- Strange Weather
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Georgie Fame
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- Sound Venture (1966)
- Funny How Time Slips Away
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Gabriel Fauré
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- L'Horizon Chimérique (baritone: Gerard Souzay; 1999)
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Morton Feldman
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- Madame Press Died Last Week At Ninety (1991) (conductor on "American Elegies": John Adams)
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Ella Fitzgerald
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- Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
- Miss Otis Regrets
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Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Amstrong
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- The Complete Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong on Verve (1997)
- Let's Do It
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Fleetwood Mac
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- Greatest Hits (1971)
- Man Of The World
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The Flying Burrito Brothers
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- The Gilded Palace Of Sin (1969)
- Juanita
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The Four Tops
Aretha Franklin
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- I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)
- Do Right Woman-Do Right Man
- Dr. Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)
- Soul Serenade," etc., etc.
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- Aretha's Gold (1969)
- I Say A Little Prayer
- Chain Of Fools
- (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
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Bill Frisell
Fugees
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- The Score (1996)
- Ready Or Not
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Funkadelic
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- One Nation Under A Groove (1978)
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Marvin Gaye
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- Super Hits (1970)
- The End Of Our Road
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- Here, My Dear (1979)
- When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You
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Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
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- Greatest Hits (1970)
- You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin'
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Stan Getz
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- Stan Getz Plays (1952)
- Stella By Starlight
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Stan Getz and Astrid Gilberto
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- Getz/Gilberto (1963)
- Desafinado (Off Key)
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Dizzy Gillespie
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- Perceptions (1961)
- The Sword Of Orion
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Allen Ginsberg
Graham Central Station
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and the Sugar Hill Gang
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- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five vs. the Sugar Hill Gang (1997)
- The Message
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Grateful Dead
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- Workingman's Dead (1970)
- Dire Wolf
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- American Beauty (1970)
- Box Of Rain
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- Europe '72 (1972)
- Tennessee Jed
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- Wake Of The Flood (1973)
- Stella Blue
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Al Green
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- Call Me (1973)
- You Say It! Raw! Rare! And Unreleased! (1990),
- I'm A Ram
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Edvard Grieg
Charles Haden and Hank Jones
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- Steal Away (1995)
- Hymn Medley: Abide With Me, etc
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Merle Haggard
George Frideric Handel
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- Marian Cantatas (mezzo-soprano: Anne Sofie von Otter; 1994)
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- Heroes (countertenor: Andreas Scholl; 1999)
- "Ombra mai fu" from Serse
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Tim Hardin
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- Tim Hardin (1966)
- Hang On To A Dream
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Slim Harpo
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- The Best Of Slim Harpo (1997)
- I'm A King Bee
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Emmylou Harris
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- Elite Hotel (1976)
- One Of These Days
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PJ Harvey
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- Rid Of Me (1993
- 50 Ft. Queenie
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Coleman Hawkins
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- Rainbow Mist (1993)
- Yesterdays
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Joseph Haydn
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- Complete Piano Sonatas (Alfred Brendel; 1987)
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- String Quartets (Quatuor Mosaïques; 1990)
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Tubby Hayes
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- Tubby's Groove (1959)
- Embers
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Richard Hell and The Voidoids
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- Blank Generation (1977)
- New Pleasure
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Jimi Hendrix
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- Smash Hits (1968)
- Wind Cries Mary
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- Electric Ladyland (1968)
- Crosstown Traffic
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- Live At Woodstock (1994)
- Star Spangled Banner
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The Heptones
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- Night Food (1976)
- I've Got The Handle
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Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
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- Last Train To Hicksville . . . The Home To Happy Feet (1973)
- It's Not My Time To Go
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Lauryn Hill
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- The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998)
- Ex-Factor
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Johnny Hodges
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- Passion Flower (1995)
- Day Dream
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Billie Holiday
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- Lady In Satin (1958
- Glad To Be Unhappy)
- I'm A Fool To Want You
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- The Billie Holiday Story (1972)
- The Man I Love
- Body And Soul
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- The Complete Decca Recordings (1991)
- Don't Explain
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The Hollies
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- The Best Of The Hollies (1978)
- Look Through Any Window
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Howlin' Wolf
The Isley Brothers
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- Super Hits (1976)
- Behind A Painted Smile
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Charles Ives
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- The Unanswered Question For Orchestra (conductor: Leonard Bernstein; 1998)
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Jackson 5
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- Greatest Hits (1971)
- I Want You Back
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The Jam
Skip James
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- The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James (1994)
- Devil Got My Woman
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Leoš Janáček
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- String Quartets (Talich Quartet; 1994)
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Jefferson Airplane
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- Crown Of Creation (1968)
- Greasy Heart
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The Jesus And Mary Chain
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- Psychocandy (1985)
- You Trip Me Up
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Antonio Carlos Jobim
Little Willie John
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- Free At Last (1970)
- Leave My Kitten Alone
- Need Your Love So Bad
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Robert Johnson
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- Complete Recordings (1990)
- Love In Vain
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George Jones
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- Anniversary: Ten Years Of Hits (1982)
- The Grand Tour
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- Cup Of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years (1994)
- Mr. Fool
- Window Up Above
- Relief Is Just A Swallow Away
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Oum Kaltsoum
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- Anthologie De La Musique Arabe, Vols. 1-8 (1989)
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The Kinks
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Erich Korngold
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- From The Operas Of Erich Korngold (1993)
- Glück Das Mir Verblieb" from Die Tote Stadt (conductor: Erich Korngold)
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The La's
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- The La's (1990)
- There She Goes
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Peggy Lee
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- Miss Peggy Lee (1998)
- Don't Smoke In Bed
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John Lennon
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
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- My Fair Lady (1956)
- I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
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- Gigi (1958)
- I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore
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Jerry Lee Lewis
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- Rockin' My Life Away (1991)
- Rita Mae
- Don't Let Go
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Little Feat
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- Sailin' Shoes (1972)
- Willin'
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- Feats Don't Fail Me Now (1974)
- Rock And Roll Doctor
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Little Richard
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- Here's Little Richard (1957)
- Slippin' And Slidin' (Peepin' And Hidin')
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- The Explosive Little Richard (1967)
- Commandments Of Love
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The Louvin Brothers
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- When I Stop Dreaming: The Best Of The Louvin Brothers (1995)
- My Baby's Gone
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The Lovin' Spoonful
Nick Lowe
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- Jesus Of Cool (1978)
- 36 Inches High
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- The Impossible Bird (1994)
- Shelley My Love
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Donal Lunny
- Donal Lunny(1987)
- Declan
Loretta Lynn
- The Best Of Loretta Lynn (1999)
- One's On The Way
Machito and His Afro-Cubans
- Cubop City (1992)
- Si Si, No No
Madness
- The Rise And Fall (1982)
- Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)
Gustav Mahler
- Symphony No. 1 (conductor: Klaus Tennstedt; 1968)
- Kindertotenlieder & Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen
The Mamas & The Papas
- A Gathering Of Flowers (1970)
- I Saw Her Again Last Night
Aimee Mann
- Whatever (1993)
- 4th Of July
Bob Marley and The Wailers
- African Herbsman (1972)
- Small Axe
- Natty Dread (1975)
- Lively Up Yourself
The Marvelettes
- The Return Of The Marvelettes (1970)
- No More Tear-Stained Make-Up
Groucho Marx
- An Evening With Groucho (1972)
- Lydia, The Tattooed Lady
Massive Attack
- Protection (1994)
- Karmacoma
Matching Mole
- Matching Mole (1972)
- 0 Caroline
Curtis Mayfield
- The Very Best Of Curtis Mayfield (1996)
- Move On Up
- (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go
Curtis Mayfieldand The Impressions
- The Anthology 1961-1977 (1992)
- Keep On Pushing
- I'm So Proud
Paul McCartney
- McCartney (1970)
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- Flaming Pie (1997)
- Little Willow
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
- Kate and Anna McGarrigle (1975)
- Go Leave
Tommy McLain
- The Essential Collection (1997)
- Sweet Dreams
The Meters
- The Best Of The Meters (1975)
- Cissy Strut
Mina
- Gli Anni d'Oro (1984)
- Un Bacio E Troppo Poco
Charles Mingus
- Blues And Roots (1959)
- Mingus Ah-Urn (1959)
- Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
- Pre-Bird (also known as Mingus Revisited) (1960)
- Weird Nightmare
- Mingus At Antibes (1960)
- What Love?
- Mingus Plays Piano (1963)
- Myself When I Am Real
- Let My .Children Hear Music (1971)
- Don't Be Afraid, The Clown's Afraid Too
- Epitaph (1990)
- The Children's Hour Of Dream
Joni Mitchell
- Blue (1971)
- The Last Time I Saw Richard
- For The Roses (1972)
- Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire
- Court And Spark (1974)
- Down To You
- The Hissing Of Summer Lawns (1975)
- Shades Of Scarlet Conquering
- Hejira (1976)
- Amelia
- Taming The Eger (1998)
- Man From Mars
- Stay In Touch
The Modern Lovers
- The Modern Lovers (1976)
- Pablo Picasso
- Someone To Care About
Thelonious Monk
- Genius Of Modern Music, Vol. 1 (1951)
- Off Minor
- Brilliant Corners (1957)
- Monk's Music (1958)
- Abide With Me
- Off Minor
Bill Monroe
- The Music Of Bill Monroe (1994)
- Walls Of Time
Claudio Monteverdi
- L'Incoronazione Di Poppea (conductor: John Eliot Gardiner; 1993)
Moondog
- The Story Of Moondog (1957)
Van Morrison
- Astral Weeks (1968)
- Beside You
- Moondance (1970)
- Into The Mystic
- His Band And Street Choir (1970)
- Street Choir
- Veedon Fleece (1974)
- Linden Arden Stole The Highlights
Jelly Roll Morton
- Birth Of The Hot (1995)
- Dead Man Blues
- Wolverine Blues
The Mothers Of Invention
- We're Only In It For The Money (1968)
- Who Needs The Peace Corps?
The Move
- The Best Of The Move (1974)
- Blackberry Way
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Piano Concerto No. 20 (pianist: Clifford Curzon; 1970)
- Requiem (conductor: John Eliot Gardiner; 1986)
- Quartets Dedicated To Haydn (Quatuor Mosaïques; 1991)
- La Clemenza Di Tito (conductor: John Eliot Gardiner; 1993)
- Le Nozze Di Figaro (conductor: Karl Bohm; 1993)
Modest Mussorgsky
- Songs And Dances Of Death (soloist: Sergei Leiferkus; 1995)
Roy Nathanson
- Fire at Keaton's Bar and Grill (2000)
- Bend in the Night
Oliver Nelson
- The Blues And The Abstract Truth (1961)
- Stolen Moments
- Straight Head (1961)
- Images
Willie Nelson
- Stardust (1978)
- Moonlight In Vermont
Bob Neuwirth
- Back To The Front (1988)
- Annabelle Lee
Aaron Neville
- Greatest Hits (1990)
- Tell It Like It Is
Randy Newman
- Randy Newman (1968)
- Cowboy
- Sail Away (1972)
- Good Old Boys (1974)
- Trouble In Paradise (1983)
- Real Emotional Girl
New York Dolls
- New York Dolls (1973)
- Personality Crisis
Nirvana
- Nevermind (1991)
- Lithium
Luigi Nono
- Fragmente-Stille An Diotima (LaSalle Quartet; 1983)
NRBQ
- NRBQ (1969)
- Rocket #9
Laura Nyro and Labelle
- Gonna Take A Miracle (1971)
- The Bells
Roy Orbison
- The Orbison Way (1966)
- Crawling Back
Augustus Pablo
- El Rockers (2000)
- Black Gunn
Giovanni Palestrina
- Missa Viri Galilaei (direction: Philippe Herreweghe; 1992)
Charlie Parker
- The Complete Savoy Studio Sessions (19781.
- Ko-Ko
Van Dyke Parks
- Discover America (1972)
- Jack Palance
Gram Parsons
- GP (1973)
- We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In The Morning
- Grievous Angel (1974)
- Hearts On Fire
Ann Peebles
- I Can't Stand The Rain (1974)
Dan Penn
- Nobody's Fool (1973)
- Raining In Memphis
Dan Penn And Spooner Oldham
- Moments From This Theater (1999)
- It Tears Me Up
Sam Phillips
- Martinis And Bikinis (1994)
- Same Rain
The Pogues
- Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (1985)
- The Old Main Drag
- I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day
Dulce Pontes
- Caminhos (1998)
- 0 Infante
Iggy Pop
- The Idiot (1977)
- Nightclubbin'
- Lust For Life (1977)
- Some Weird Sin
Portishead
- Dummy (1994)
- Sour Times
- Glory Box
- Portishead (1997)
- Western Eyes
Francis Poulenc
- Melodies (baritone: Pierre Bernac; 1950)
- Hotel
Bud Powell
- The Best Of Bud Powell On Verve (1994)
- April In Paris
Elvis Presley
- The Sun Sessions (1976)
- Blue Moon Of Kentucky
- The Memphis Album (1987)
- Power Of My Love
The Pretenders
- Pretenders (1980)
- Kid
- Precious
- The Singles (1987)
- Message Of Love
Prince
- Around The World In A Day (1985)
- Pop Life
- Parade (1986)
- Kiss
- Sign Of The Times (1987)
- If I Was Your Girlfriend
John Prine
- John Prine (1972)
- Sam Stone
Sergey Prokofiev
- Romeo And Juliet (conductor: Charles Dutoit; 1998)
Pulp
- Different Class (1995)
- Sorted Out For E's And Wiz
Henry Purcell
- Dido And Aeneas (Dido: Dame Janet Baker; 1993)
- Fantasias & In Nomines (Fretwork, 1995)
Radiohead
- The Bends (1995)
- The Bends
- O.K. Computer (1997)
- No Surprises
Bonnie Raitt
- Give It Up (1972)
- Love Has No Pride
Otis Redding
- The Very Best Of Otis Redding (1992)
- Mr. Pitiful
Jimmy Reed
- The Best Of Jimmy Reed (1962)
- Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby
Lou Reed
- Berlin (1973)
- The Kids
R.E.M.
- Reckoning (1984)
- Pretty Persuasion
- Green (1988)
- Orange Crush
The Replacements
- All Shook Down (1990)
- Nobody
Marc Ribot
- Marc Ribot Y 10s Cubanos Postizos (1998)
- No Me Llores Mas
Charlie Rich
- Feel Like Going Home: The Essential Charlie Rich (1997)
- A Woman Left Lonely
Jeannie Robertson
- The Queen Among The Heather (1998)
- Son David
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
- The Anthology (1973)
- Going To A-Go-Go
The Rolling Stones
- Aftermath (1966)
- Stupid Girl
- Take It Or Leave It
- Between The Buttons (1967)
- My Obsession
- Let It Bleed (1969)
- You Can't Always Get What You Want
- Some Girls (1978)
- Shattered
Sonny Rollins
- Saxophone Colossus (1964)
- St. Thomas
Diana Ross And The Supremes
- The Ultimate Collection (1997)
- Reflections
- I'm Living In Shame
Gioacchino Rossini
- Rossini Arias (mezzo-soprano: Cecilia Bartoli; 1989)
- Assisa A Piè D'un Salice
Otis Rush
- His Cobra Recordings (1989)
- It Takes Time
George Russel
- The Jazz Workshop (1956)
- Ye Hypocrite, Ye Beelzebub
Salt'N Pepa
- The Best Of Salt'N Pepa (1999)
- Whatta Man
Sam & Dave
- The Best Of Sam And Dave (1969)
- When Something Is Wrong With My Baby
Franz Schubert
- B-flat Major Piano Sonata, D. 960 (Alfred Brendel; 1971)
- F-sharp Minor Piano Sonata (fragment), D. 571 (Andras Schiff; 1993)
- Winterreise (Wolfgang Holzmair; 1996)
- 22 Lieder (boxed set; 1997)
- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau And Gerald Moore, "Meerestille"
Jimmy Scott
- Heaven (1996)
Raymond Scott
- Reckless Nights And Turkish Twilights (1992)
- Manhattan Research Inc. (2000)
- Limbo: The Organized Mind.
Andres Segovia
- Andres Segovia and His Contemporaries, Vol. 6 (1999)
- (Maria Luisa Anido: Bouree BWV l009, J. S. Bach)
The Sex Pistols
- Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (1977)
- Pretty Vacant
Ron Sexsmith
- Ron Sexsmith (1995)
- Wastin' Time
Dmitri Shostakovich
- Cello Concerto No. 1 (cellist: Mstislav Rostropovich; 1959)
- The String Quartets (Brodsky Quartet; 1991)
- 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 (pianist: Tatiana Nikolayeva; 1995)
- Shostakovich Plays Shostakovieh, Cello Sonata, Op. 40 (cellist: Mstislav Rostropovich; pianist: Dmitry Shostakovich; 1998)
- Symphony No. 14 (soloists: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Julia Varady; 2000)
Paul Simon
- Paul Simon (1972)
- Congratulations
- Peace Like A River
- There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973)
- American Tune
Simon And Garfunkel
- Bookends (1968)
- Overs
Nina Simone
- The Best Of Nina Simone (1969)
- Mississippi Goddam
- I Loves You, Porgy
Frank Sinatra
- In The Wee Small Hours (1955)
- Dancing On The Ceiling
- When Your Lover Has Gone
- Songs For Swingin'
- Lovers (1956)
- I've Got You Under My Skin
- Only The Lonely (1958)
- Good-bye
- No One Cares (1959)
- I Can't Get Started
- Live In Paris (1962)
- Without A Song
Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim
- Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
- How Insensitive
Percy Sledge
- When A Man Loves A Woman (1967)
- Out Of Left Field
Sly & The Family Stone
- Anthology (1981)
- Stand!
- Family Affair
The Small Faces
- The Immediate Years (1995)
- Itchycoo Park
Elliott Smith
- XO (1998)
- Waltz #2
The Smiths
- The Smiths (1984)
- Still Ill
Son Volt
- Trace (1995)
- Loose String
The Specials
- Specials (1979)
- Blank Expression
Phil Spector
- Back to Mono (1991)
- the Crystals, "He's Sure the Boy I Love"
The Spinners
- The Best Of The Spinners (1978)
- Rubberband Man
Dusty Springfield
- Dusty In Memphis (1969)
- I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore
- Just One Smile
- Greatest Hits (1979)
- I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
Bruce Springsteen
- The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle (1973)
- The E Street Shuffle
- The River (1980)
- Point Blank
- Tunnel Of Love (1987)
- Brilliant Disguise
- The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1995)
- Galveston Bay
Squeeze
- East Side Story (1981)
- A Woman's World
The Stanley Brothers
- The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers (1996)
- Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet
Steely Dan
- Countdown To Ecstasy (1973)
- Show Biz Kids
Rod Stewart
- The Mercury Anthology (1992)
- You Wear It Well
Richard Strauss
- Der Rosenkavalier (conductor: Carlos Kleiber; 1934)
- Four Last Songs (soloist: Gundula Janowitz; 1996)
Igor Stravinsky
- L'Histoire Du Soldat (conductor: Stravinsky; 1938)
- Le Sacre Du Printemps (conductor: Leonard Bernstein; 1958)
- Igor Stravinsky Edition (conductor: Stravinsky; 1963)
The Stylistics
- The Best of the Stylistics (1975)
- People Make The World Go `Round
June Tabor
- Abyssinians (1983)
- A Smiling Shore
Howard Tate
- Get It While You Can (1967)
- I Learned It All The Hard Way
Art Tatum
- 20th Century Piano Genius (1992)
- Love For Sale
Johnnie Taylor
- Raw Blues (1968)
- That's Where It's At
Television
- Marquee Moon (1977)
- See No Evil
The Temptations
- Anthology (1973)
- Just My Imagination
- Ball Of Confusion
Joe Tex
- The Best Of Joe Tex (1965)
- Love You Save (May Be Your Own)
Them
- The Story Of Them (1997)
- Don't Look Back
Irma Thomas
- Ruler Of Hearts (1989)
Richard And Linda Thompson
- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
- Calvary Cross
Henry Threadgill
- Easily Slip Into Another World (1987)
- Black Hands Bejewelled
T.L.C.
- Fanmail (1999)
- Unpretty
Mel Torme
- Easy To Remember (1979)
- They Didn't Believe Me
Tribe Called Quest
- Anthology (1999)
- Check The Rhime
Tricky
- Maxinquaye (1995)
- Overcome
Lennie Tristano
- The New Tristano (1960)
- Requiem
- Line Up
- Turkish Mambo
Big Joe Turner
- The Very Best Of Big Joe Turner (1998)
- Honey Hush
U2
- The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
- Pride (In The Name Of Love)
- Bad
- Achtung Baby (1991)
- One
- Pop (1997)
- Please
The Undertones
- The Undertones (1980)
- Teenage Kicks
The Velvet Underground
- The Velvet Underground & Nico (1966)
- Femme Fatale
The Verve
- Urban Hymns (1997)
- The Drugs Don't Work
- Neon Wilderness
Anne Sofie von Otter
- Wings In The Night (1996)
- De Vilda Svanarna
Richard Wagner
- Tristan And Isolde (conductor: Wilhelm Furtwangler; 1952)
- Der Ring Des Nibelungen (conductor: George Solti; 1983)
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
- The Right Combination: Burning The Midnight Oil (1972)
- Her And The Car And The Mobile Home
Tom Waits
- Swordfishtrombones (1983)
- 16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six
- In The Neighborhood
- Rain Dogs (1985)
- Jockey Full Of Bourbon
- Time
- Frank's Wild Years (1987)
- Innocent When You Dream
- Hang On St. Christopher
- Bone Machine (1992)
- A Little Rain
- I Don't Wanna Grow Up
- Mule Variations (1999)
- Take It With Me
- Georgia Rae
- Filipino Box-Spring Hog
Scott Walker
- Tilt (1995)
- Farmer In The City
Dionne Warwick
- The Windows Of The World (1968)
- Walk Little Dolly
Muddy Waters
- More Real Folk Blues (1967)
- Too Young To Know
Doc Watson
- The Essential Dot Watson (1973)
- Tom Dooley
Anton Webern
- Complete Works (conductor: Pierre Boulez; 2000)
Kurt Weill
- 0 Moon Of Alabama (1994)
- Lotte Lenya, "Wie lange noch?"
Kenny Wheeler with Lee Konitz, Bill Fisell and Dave Holland
- Angel Song (1997)
The Who
- My Generation (1965)
- The Kids Are Alright
- Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy (1971)
- Substitute
Hank Williams
- 40 Greatest Hits (1978)
- I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
- I'll Never Get out of This World Alive
Lucinda Williams
- Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (1998)
- Drunken Angel
Sonny Boy Williamson
- The Best Of Sonny Boy Williamson (1986)
- Your Funeral And My Trial
- Help Me
Jesse Winchester
- Jesse Winchester (1970)
- Quiet About It
- Black Dog
- Payday
Wings
- Band On The Run (1973)
- Let Me Roll It
Hugo Wolf
- Lieder (soloist: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; 2000)
- Alles Endet, Was Entstehet
Bobby Womack
- The Best Of Bobby Womack (1992)
- Harry Hippie
Stevie Wonder
- Talking Book (1972)
- I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)
- Innervisions (1973)
- Living For The City
- Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974)
- You Haven't Done Nothin'
Betty Wright
- The Best Of Betty Wright (1992)
- Clean Up Woman
- The Baby Sitter
- The Secretary
Robert Wyatt
- Mid-Eighties (1993)
- Te Recuerdo Amanda
Lester Young
- Ultimate Lester Young (1998)
- The Man I Love
Neil Young
- Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
- Down By The River
- After The Goldrush (1970)
- Birds
- Time Fades Away (1973)
- Don't Be Denied
- On The Beach (1974)
- Ambulance Blues
- Freedom (1989)
- The Ways Of Love
- Ragged Glory (1990)
- Fuckin' Up
Zamballarana
- Zamballarana (1997)
- Ventu
Soundtracks
- Betty Blue (Gabriel Yared; 1986)
- Big Night (Louis Prima et al.; 1996)
- Claudio Villa, "Stomelli Amorisi"
- The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff; 1972)
- Many Rivers To Cross
- High Society (Cole Porter; 1956)
- Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, "Well Did You Evah?"
- One from the Heart (Tom Waits; 1982)
- Torn Curtain (Bernard Herrmann;1978)
- The Wood (1999)
- Mystikal & Outkast, "Neck uv da Woods."
Various
The Alan Lomax Collection Sampler (1997)
- Genoese longshoremen, "La Partenza"
Anthology Of American Folk Music (1997)
- Dock Boggs, "Country Blues"
The Birth Of The Third Stream (1957)
Chess Golden Decade: The Early '50s, Vol. 1 (circa 1970)
- Willie Mabon, "I'm Mad"
Ethiopiques: Ethio Jazz And Musique Instrumentale 1969-1974, Vol. 4 (1998)
- Mulatu Astatqé, "Yèkèrmo Sèw"
Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones (1996)
Mysteries Of The Sabbath: Classic Cantorial Recordings, 1907-47 (1994)
Nuggets (1998)
- the Knickerbockers, "Lies,"
- the Barbarians, "Moulty"
The Real Kansas City Of The '20s, '30s, & '40s (1996)
- Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra "Queer Notions"
The Secret Museum Of Mankind, Ethnic Music Classics: 1925-48 (1995-1998)
There Will Be No Sweeter Sound: Columbia Okeh Post-War Gospel Story 1947-1962 (1998)
- Mello-Tones, "Looking for That City Called Heaven"
Tougher Than Tough
- The Story Of Jamaican Music (1993)
- Dave And Ansel Collins, "Double Barrel"
