In recognition of Leonard Cohen’s new album, Old Ideas, Columbia Records has teamed with Vimeo for a covers series, entitled Old Ideas With New Friends. We’ve already heard Bradford Cox, Cults, Cold War Kids, and Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli reinterpret their favorite Cohen tracks, and now you can watch The Mountain Goats‘ John Darnielle deliver a tender rendition of “The Smokey Life” from 1979’s Recent Songs. Though originally a duet, Darnielle opts to keep things soft, sparse, and intimate. By taking few liberties with the track, the cover ends up being a lounge-y, personal late-night ballad. Check it out below.

Other musicians participating in the series are to include Old 97s’ Rhett Miller and The New Pornographers’ A.C. Newman, so stay tuned for more.

Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas is available now via Columbia Records. The Mountain Goats’ 15th LP, tentatively entitled Transcendental Youth, is expected sometime this year.

So in addition to Vimeo’s still ongoing “Old Ideas With New Friends” series, which has already seen Bradford Cox, Cold War Kids, Cults, and The Afghan Whig’s Greg Dulli cover tracks from the great Leonard Cohen, there’s also a covers album of Cohen’s 1967 debut that comes included in the new issue of MOJO magazine. Contributing artists included Bill Callahan, Cass McCombs, The Low Anthem, Field Music, and ex-Fleet Fox’er Father John Misty, as well as Marc Ribot and My Brighest Diamond, who teamed up for a bonus track version of “Bird on the Wire” from Cohen’s 1969 album Songs from a Room. You can stream snippets of the entire thing below, or throw down £6.50 for a physical copy.

Cohen’s first album in eight years, Old Ideas, is out now. It was worth the wait.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

As reported, Columbia Records is marking the release of Leonard Cohen’s first album in eight years, Old Ideas, with a cover series called “Old Ideas With New Friends”. We’ve already heard reworkings of the legendary songwriter’s catalog by Cold War Kids, Cults, and The Afghan Whig’s Greg Dulli. Now, Pitchfork brings us Bradford Cox’s acoustic take on “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy”. Watch it here.

In more Bradford Cox news, Deerhunter’s contribution to the Japan benefit album We Are The Works In Progress recently hit the web. It’s an instrumental entitled “Curve”, and you can stream it below (via Stereogum).

With all of that history and acclaim, here Cohen is at age 77, resonating about his own failings, the dark looming at every corner. The fact that Cohen’s one-time manager made off with a good deal of money that Cohen could be living off of now instead of needing to go on a world tour is something that seems fated, a necessity to give more bleak reality for him to write beautiful lyrics about. I mean, there’s a reason his Wikipedia page includes a link to “List of people with depression.” Opening the album on “Going Home” with lines to a fictionalized self, a “lazy bastard living in a suit,” re-introduces the listener to Cohen’s world succinctly. The song proceeds to discuss the failed desire for “a manual for living with defeat,” the old man attempting to convey the necessity of a pure, personal reality.

While Cohen’s always played on the insistence of mortality, the album tremors with a sense of finality that leaves one to wonder whether this is the last batch of Cohen originals. This is certainly at least partially due to the assumption that he can’t keep doing this forever, but songs like “Amen” (which visually strikes like a conclusion to the grandeur of “Hallelujah”) with its graveyard horn solo and talk of the Lord’s vengeance strike that note too strongly to ignore.

That eye for the religious finality returns on “Show Me the Place”, Cohen taking the role of “the slave” looking for orders from above, his deeper-than-ever baritone murmuring over a lilting piano. “Come Healing” is perhaps the most blatant version, definitely the most hopeful, and the least effective, saccharine synth and female harmonies draped all over. But here Cohen asks to “see the darkness healing that tore the light apart,” his heart calling out for a Christian redemption. The song is a “penitential hymn,” a phrase that works well with much of Cohen’s catalog.

The intricate fingerpicked guitar of Cohen’s early work returns on the intro of the rollicking “Darkness”, but this too is taken under a rush of calamity, the grim smirk in Cohen’s voice recalling the darkness “drinking from your cup.” That bad boy bravado is still there, too, the man just as seductive despite nearing 80. The sardonic tone he perfected so many years ago returns so easily for a line like “I dreamed about you, baby/You were wearing half your dress/I know you have to hate me/But could you hate me less?” Album closer “Different Sides” discusses the possibility of remaining “good” in a tough world and the influence of sex in a relationship. Rounding out all of his old tropes in one go gives this album even more of its conclusive tone, his lyrical voice unified and singular.

Cohen is, first and foremost in many minds, a poet, as evidenced in his highly evocative imagery throughout, whether in the service of grim biblical apocalypse or playful sensuality. On first listen, the prostrate, lovelorn language in “Crazy to Love You” brings to mind an epic relationship, but it’s only foregrounding his own fallacy. “I had to be people I hated/I had to be no one at all,” he drolly explains, insisting on the “souvenir heartache” that brought everything together.

As such, much has been made of the poet’s musical side, especially in his shift from acoustic folk to 80′s synths, replete with glossy backing vocals. Old Ideas, however, succeeds in largely keeping the music subservient, buoyant enough to keep things moving but not distracting any attention from the lyrics, the true star of the show. The Webb Sisters are still on board with soulful harmonies behind Cohen, but their presence is nowhere near as present as on his 2009 tour.

“If the night is long, here’s my lullaby,” Cohen croons on the song of that same title, offering something to guide the listener through the night. Listeners have been relying on Cohen’s heartbroken yet grinning, world-weary yet hopeful voice to get through that night for decades, and this album should continue that for a whole new batch of souls.

Essential Tracks: “Going Home”, “Amen”

Featured artwork by Cap Blackard.

 - Better Than Ezra, “Under You”

“But I was caught, like a fleeting thought / Stuck inside Leonard Cohen’s mind”

- Mercury Rev, “A Drop In Time”

“Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld / So I can sigh eternally”

- Nirvana, “Pennyroyal Tea”

It’s almost unbelievable now to think that we almost never heard Leonard Cohen, the singer. A well-regarded poet from the late 1950s through the mid-’60s, it was Judy Collins who encouraged the middle-aged Canadian writer to try his hand at performing his own songs, and the rest is history. She also had a successful cover of Cohen’s “Suzanne”.

Nearing half a century and 12 albums later, Cohen is one of the most celebrated and critically-acclaimed artists of the era. He’s also one of the most covered songwriters alive, with songs like “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah” registering several hundred different recordings alone. To celebrate the arrival of Old Ideas, his first new studio album in eight years, we’ve collected 30 great covers of Cohen songs for your listening pleasure.

For sake of brevity, this list sticks to a one-song-per-artist rule, with other exceptional covers by a musician cited in several cases. The list also doesn’t include any covers of “Hallelujah”, because everyone and their father has covered that one, and only a few come close to the Jeff Buckley version. (A few of the best ones are mentioned in the entries below, if you’d like to look them up for yourself.)

“Avalanche”

Who: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Where: From Her to Eternity (1984)
What: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds recorded a grim cover of “Avalanche”, which became the very first track on their debut album. Not losing a beat after the collapse of Cave’s former band, The Birthday Party, From Her to Eternity was as powerful a release as anything he had put out. (Cave has a number of Cohen covers to his name, including an excellent “I’m Your Man” from the soundtrack album of the same name, and a raucous version of “Tower of Song” on the I’m Your Fan tribute record.)

“Bird on a Wire”

Who: Johnny Cash
Where: American Recordings (1994)
What: Producer Rick Rubin revitalized Johnny Cash’s career with his first American album. Despite his status as a country icon, Cash was unable to find an audience for his new recordings. Rubin set up a studio at Cash’s home and recorded an acoustic set with him, which showcased the emotional power of his famous baritone voice on a combination of Cash originals and cover songs, Cohen’s classic “Bird on a Wire” among them.

Who: Willie Nelson
Where: Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1995)
What: Tower of Song was a mid-’90s tribute album that featured contributions from an all-star cast including Elton John, Bono, Sting, Billy Joel, Don Henley, and Peter Gabriel. Nelson’s countrified cover of “Bird on a Wire” is a highlight among the bunch. (Nelson also covered “Hallelujah” on his Ryan Adams-produced album, Songbird.)

Who: Fairport Convention
Where: Heyday: The BBC Radio Sessions, 1968-1969 (recorded in 1969, released in 1987)
What: As its title spells out, Heyday was a collection of live radio recordings from early in Fairport Convention’s career. Early supporters of Cohen’s, the English folk rockers covered several of his songs in the late 1960s.

“Chelsea Hotel #2”

Who: Lloyd Cole
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The ex-Commotions singer was in the studio working on his second solo album, Don’t Get Weird on Me, Babe, when he recorded this cover, which sounds like it could have been a B-side from his group’s breakout debut, Rattlesnakes. (Cole also performed a nice cover of “Famous Blue Raincoat” on KCRW, which appears on their Rare on Air, Vol. 2 compilation.)

“Everybody Knows”

Who: Concrete Blonde
Where: Pump Up The Volume Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1990)
What: The soundtrack for the Christian Slater pirate radio film Pump Up The Volume acts as a great time capsule for the era of college rock that immediately preceded Nirvana’s Nevermind, featuring tracks from Sonic Youth, Henry Rollins, the Pixies, and Soundgarden. While Cohen’s version was featured in the film – as the theme song for Slater’s radio show, no les – Concrete Blonde’s cover was included on the soundtrack and released as a single.

Who: Rufus Wainwright
Where: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2006)
What: Rufus Wainwright performed this excellent bossa nova-inflected rendition of “Everybody Knows” in the Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man documentary/concert film. There’s a long history of friendship between the Wainwright and Cohen families—Cohen’s daughter Lorca is the mother of Wainwright’s child, Cohen is name-dropped in the song “Want”, and Wainwright and sister Martha are all over the I’m Your Man concert film. Wainwright also counts a superb version of “Hallelujah” amongst his covers of the older poet’s work.

Who: Julee Cruise
Where: The Art of Being a Girl (2002)
What: The first album from David Lynch’s musical muse in nearly a decade, The Art of Being a Girl marked Cruise’s split from the director of the weird and his long-time musical collaborator, Angelo Badalamenti. The album was a far stylistic leap from the spooky, ethereal dreampop with which she’d made her name, and included this strange, trip-hop cover of “Everybody Knows”.

“Famous Blue Raincoat”

Who: Tori Amos
Where: Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1995)
What: In the year between the hit albums Under the Pink and Boys for Pele, Tori Amos contributed this beautiful piano cover of the popular Cohen song to the all-star tribute album Tower of Song. (Amos has also worked “Suzanne” into her live set at several points over the years.)

Who: Marissa Nadler
Where: Folk Off! (2006)
What: The Boston-based folkstress contributed this somewhat spooky cover of Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat”, a regular piece of her live setlist, to this two-disc compilation that pitted North American and British artists against each other in a good-natured competitive “folk off.”

“First We Take Manhattan”

Who: R.E.M.
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: R.E.M. fans still in mourning can seek comfort in the large number of rare tracks and obscurities the band left behind. Among those is a cover of “First We Take Manhattan” from the I’m Your Fan Cohen tribute album, which was also included as a B-side on the U.K. single for “Drive”.

“Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”

Who: The Lemonheads (featuring Liv Tyler)
Where: Varshons (2009)
What: The Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes spent years passing mix tapes to The Lemonheads’ Evan Dando, who later paid tribute by recording an album of covers consisting of songs from those tapes. Varshons includes perhaps the most surprising appearance on this list, when Dando duets with actress Liv Tyler (!?) on “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”.

“I Can’t Forget”

Who: Jarvis Cocker
Where: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2006)
What: Highly lauded for his own lyrical skills, the Pulp frontman and solo artist performed this sincere cover of “I Can’t Forget” in the tribute documentary I’m Your Man. (Cocker provides a spoken-word, slight re-interpretation of Cohen’s “Avalanche” lyrics for the Boys Noize and Erol Alkan dance track, “Avalanche (Terminal Velocity)”.)

Who: Pixies
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The Pixies were nearing the end of their recording career when they recorded this poppy cover of “I Can’t Forget” for a tribute album originally commissioned by French music mag Les Inrockuptibles. (Black Francis cited Cohen’s I’m You Man as one of his all-time favorite albums in the 33 1/3 volume on Doolittle.)

“If It Be Your Will”

Who: Antony
Where: Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2006)
What: Antony Hegarty’s one-off performance in the I’m Your Man tribute documentary manages to make Cohen’s lyrics sound even more heartbreaking than on his original version. (Antony & The Johnsons also performed a great cover of “The Guests” live on BBC4 during the same year.)

“Joan of Arc”

Who: Anna Calvi
Where: B-side to the “Desire” single (2011)
What: British singer/shredder Anna Calvi paid tribute to Leonard Cohen by subtracting the thing he’s most famous from the song: his lyrics. Calvi found the song’s lyrics so atmospheric that she was inspired to write her own instrumental piece that followed the story that unfolds in Cohen’s verses.

“Lover, Lover, Lover”

Who: Ian McCulloch
Where: Mysterio (1992)
What: Singer Ian McCulloch included this very new wave-y cover of “Lover, Lover, Lover” on his second post-Echo and the Bunnymen solo album. (McCulloch must be a big-time Cohen fan, judging by his additional covers of “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”, “Suzanne”, and “There Is A War” appearing on various compilations.)

“Master Song”

Who: Beck, Devendra Banhart, and MGMT
Where: Record Club: Songs of Leonard Cohen (2009)
What: Beck’s all-star covers/jam side project took on the entirety of Cohen’s debut album for their second outing. With the help of Devendra Banhart and MGMT, they transform “Master Song” from a tender, acoustic song-poem to a vulgar, old-school hip-hop joint.

“One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong”

Who: Harvey Milk
Where: Courtesy and Good Will Toward Men (1996)
What: The Athens, GA stoner rock group Harvey Milk unplugged for a quiet (uncommon, for them) rendition of “One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong” on their sophomore album. (Their cover of “Seems So Long Ago, Nancy” is included on the Japanese limited edition of Life… The Best Game in Town.)

“So Long, Marianne”

Who: James
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The British band covered “So Long, Marianne” for an early alternative-era Cohen tribute album. At the time primarily known only in the U.K., it would still be two years before they released their breakout hit single “Laid”.

[Note: YouTube has blocked this song in most countries, so here's the Spotify link.]

Who: John Cale and Suzanne Vega
Where: Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60′s (1999)
What: Cale’s much more famous, of course, in the Cohen covers world for his sublime recording of “Hallelujah”, but his take on this track from Cohen’s debut record came almost a decade later and also features vocals from Suzanne Vega (of “Tom’s Diner” fame).

“Suzanne”

Who: Pearls Before Swine
Where: Balaklava (1967)
What: The first side of Tom Rapp’s surreal, heady sophomore album with Pearls Before Swine served as the singer/songwriter’s unsettling but powerful rail against the Vietnam War. The second side was perhaps more bizarre (if a bit less effective), beginning with this cover of “Suzanne” and ending with the Lord of the Rings-inspired song “Ring Thing” (for which Tolkien was given a joint songwriting credit).

Who: The Flying Lizards
Where: Top Ten (1984)
What: Known best for their bizarre new wave cover of “Money (That’s What I Want)”, The Flying Lizards’ cover of “Suzanne” is even further removed from the source material, featuring icy-cold synths, robotic drumming, and spoken word vocals. This is perhaps the second strangest cover on this list, after Beck’s Record Club entry.

Who: Nina Simone
Where: To Love Somebody (1969)
What: Clumped onto a rushed-out album that also contained three Bob Dylan tunes and two Bee Gees covers, Nina Simone’s cover of “Suzanne” is as bright and cheery as they get.

Who: Roberta Flack
Where: Killing Me Softly (1973)
What: The closing track to Roberta Flack’s Grammy Award-nominated album Killing Me Softly was a cover of the Cohen staple. Flack added orchestral flourishes and lingered on every lyric to create an extensive, nearly-10-minute rendition of the famous song.

Who: Neil Diamond
Where: Stones (1971)
What: While Neil Diamond’s Stones did contain his popular songs “I Am… I Said” and “Crunchy Granola Suite”, many of the tracks on the record are actually covers. Paired up with songs originally performed by Randy Newman and Joni Mitchell, it’s Diamond’s lush, pastoral Leonard Cohen cover that’s a standout.

“Who By Fire”

Who: Coil
Where: Horse Rotorvator (1986)
What: The name of the British industrial/experimental group’s landmark second album comes from a dream in which the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse tear out their steeds’ jawbones and graft them together to build a plow that will tear up the world. The cover of “Who By Fire” included there isn’t as terrifying as one might expect from such an album, but the atmospheric backing vocals are pretty haunting.

Who: The House of Love
Where: I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1991)
What: The House of Love may not be as beloved a band to come out of Creation Records as, say, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, or Oasis, but their self-titled debut record really holds up as a great piece of pre-Britpop British indie rock. Their cover of “Who By Fire” was the lead track on the U.K. edition of I’m Your Fan.

“Winter Lady”

Who: Palace Songs
Where: Hope EP (1994)
What: Will Oldham, the man of many changing names, released this EP under the Palace Songs moniker. Chronologically part of a spurt of singles and EPs released between Days in the Wake and Viva Last Blues, it’s more in tune with the full band sound he’d use more in his Bonnie “Prince” Billy days than much of the Palace era. This startling cover is included among Oldham originals.

“You Know Who I Am”

Who: Mama Cass Elliot
Where: Dream A Little Dream (1968)
What: The final Mamas & the Papas single, “Dream a Little Dream of Me” became the first Mama Cass solo single after label execs wagered on Elliot being the group’s breakout member. Their bet was good, as the song became a smash hit for the singer. Most of the album’s material was written by Elliot’s friends and Laurel Canyon neighbors, but there’s a sweetly-sung version of Cohen’s “You Know Who I Am” that’s quite pretty, despite a few overbearing psychedelic effects.

Conclusion

And there are some of our favorites. Given how popular Cohen’s songs have been over the last four-and-a0half decades, there are quite literally thousands of covers we couldn’t even begin to include. Please feel free to share your favorites in our comments section.

Whenever I hear anybody do one of my songs, my critical judgments go into immediate, suspended animation. I’m just knocked out when anybody does a cover of mine … First of all, I’m happy that someone has heard the song and is moved to cover it. Second of all, it gives me a completely fresh take on the song, and I can then enter it into my own judgmental process … I think there are songs that are better done than I have done them.”

- Leonard Cohen to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 18, 1997

In honor of Leonard Cohen’s upcoming album Old Ideas, his first in eight years, Columbia Records has teamed up with a group of musicians/Cohen devotees for a cover series, entitled Old Ideas With New Friends. We’ve already witnessed Greg Dulli’s somber cover of “Paper Thin Hotel”, and Filter now brings us a rendition of ”There Is a War” by Long Beach soul-rock purveyors Cold War Kids.

In explaining their choice of songs, guitarist/vocalist Nathan Willett said the song’s message was powerfully effective, adding, ”it’s a song that talks about inner struggle, a war between all things happening around you, and that our life is lived in that war. It’s so striking.” With Cohen’s original message fully intact, the Kids took some musical liberties, creating a pseudo funk-meets-punk vibe, powered by a rollicking groove that epitomizes the sound of youthful rebellion. Check it out below.

Other participants in the series are to include Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, Old 97s’ Rhett Miller, and The New Pornographers’ A.C. Newman. Stay tuned for more on those performances.

On January 31st, Leonard Cohen will release Old Ideas, his first studio album in eight years. In honor of his return to the spotlight, Columbia Records is holding a cover series called Old Ideas With New Friends, where various musicians and devotees rework classic tracks from Cohen’s catalog.

Kicking off the series is Afghan Whigs head honcho Greg Dulli‘s cover of “Paper Thin Hotel” (from 1977′s Death of a Ladies’ Man). In explaining his decision to tackle this particular cut, Dulli said it ranked as one of his favorites, adding, “I wanted to do a version of this song because I think they might be my favorite set of Leonard Cohen lyrics. I think they kind of explain and validate love all at the same time.” The resulting performance feels incredibly personal and romantic, with Dulli’s jagged vocals a great companion to the classical-sounding violin. Watch it below.

Other participants in the series are to include Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, Old 97s’ Rhett Miller, Cold War Kids, and The New Pornographers’ A.C. Newman. Stay tuned for more on those performances.

Leonard Cohen returns on January 31st with Old Ideas, his first album in eight years. Right now, you can stream the 10-track effort in its entirety at NPR.org.

While you’re listening, might we suggest you check out our recap of Cohen’s recent album listening party in London, which included a discussion with the legendary songwirter, moderated by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.

Old Ideas hits stores January 31st via Columbia. Pre-order?

Old Ideas Tracklist:
01. Going Home
02. Amen
03. Show Me the Place
04. The Darkness
05. Anyhow
06. Crazy to Love You
07. Come Healing
08. Banjo
09. Lullaby
10. Different Sides

“The lazy bastard living in a suit,” to quote opening track “Going Home”, appeared dapper in dark grey with trilby pulled down over his brow, occasionally lifted to reveal a carpet of closely cropped grey hair. His trim frame and still handsome profile belies his years, similarly remaining mentally sharp. With Cohen taking a front seat by guest interviewer, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, the 10 songs from Old Ideas were replayed to a screen backdrop of song lyrics alongside a collage of Cohen’s scribbled notebooks and drawings. The inside cover of Old Ideas, housing his sketch of a naked woman and skull, suggests that his enduring concerns with sex, mortality and redemption remain. On screen, the words crystallized; words, almost always poetic yet allusive as ever, while the music just ebbed and flowed around them.

Albums deserve more than a single listen for impressions to form fully but the attention and applause engendered spoke volumes. In the dialogue that followed, Cocker bravely attempted to tease secrets of the songwriter’s art from Cohen, who largely was having none of it. The sparring was nonetheless fascinating with Cocker doggedly dangling the bait and Cohen constantly eluding the line. I mean where do you go when the response to “How is it for you to listen to your own records?” was “I wasn’t listening.” Though he added postscripts to questions, the skill Cohen used to deflect some all too earnest inquiries was a delight. It’s his version of Hamlet’s antic disposition you could say; his method in madness. Asked about his deepening vocal timbre, he perversely put it down to giving up cigarettes. “I thought it would destroy my whole position and my voice would rise to a soprano.” He vowed to take up the habit again on reaching 80, just so he could smoke on the road!

The wit in Cohen’s responses had a dose of realism too; whereas fame as a songwriter once carried much credence with the opposite sex “now it doesn’t really matter one way or the other.” Cohen declared a love of poetry early on, especially that of Yeats whom he said “had a willingness to put his personal life on the line,” and the Spanish writer, Federico Garcia Lorca, after whom he named his daughter. Judging by the notebooks on screen during the album playback, you might expect Cohen to be a prolific ideas generator. Yet he claimed the opposite in that “you just work with what you got… I always felt I was scraping the bottom of the barrel just trying to get a song together. I never had the sense I was standing in front of a buffet table with a multitude of choices.”

Cohen wouldn’t be drawn on hidden meanings. “Let’s not examine the nature of images that seem to have their own validity. If you look too deeply into things you get into a state of paralysis.” Throughout, Cohen appeared reluctant to dissect his work in front of a bunch of critics and fell back on logic as well as humor to deflect things, putting a metaphorical arm around Cocker, his fellow songwriter. “We’ve got to be very careful analysing these sacred mechanics because somebody will throw a monkey wrench into the thing and we’ll never write a line again.” He added that “now and then something invites you to animate it, which you try and do with grace and illumination.”

Cocker asked about the album title, Old Ideas, and the gestation of the record. “You know, I don’t have that many ideas,” Cohen batted back. The sacred and the carnal may be bedfellows in Cohen’s work but the songwriter would not say whether it was God or man who should be the penitent one. He added: “I never figured that one out.” Cohen was more prosaic when acknowledging the PEN New England award for literary excellence in song lyrics. “The thing I liked about this award was that I’m sharing it with Chuck Berry. Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news. I’d have loved to have written that line.”

Questions from the floor followed. Recalling his last tour, a 247-date marathon over two years following a 15 year break, the artist claimed the experience invigorated and illuminated him. Wryly he compared himself to a latter days Ronald Reagan: “he remembered he’d had a good role. He’d played the president in a movie and I felt somewhat that I had been a singer.” Being back on the road though redeemed this self put-down. He coyly played down the possibility of a duet with Rufus Wainwright (father of a Cohen grandchild): “he can keep a tune and that puts me at a disadvantage.”

“Anthem”:

Perhaps the most precious moment arrived when Cohen was asked where the light came into “The Darkness”, quoting that enigmatic line from 1992 song, “Anthem”: “there is a crack in everything/that’s how the light gets in.” “You got me stumped there” was Cohen’s droll retort. Cocker stepped in and prompted Cohen to open up. “It’s just the song that allows the light to come in. It’s the position of the man standing up in the face of something that is irrevocable and unyielding and singing about it. It’s the sort of position Zorba the Greek took; that when things get really bad, you just raise your glass and stamp your feet and do a little jig and that’s about all you can do.”

Maybe it really is that simple and there’s no need to break into discussion groups to pull apart lyrics once Old Ideas hits the streets.

Photography courtesy of Sony.

The great Leonard Cohen returns on January 31st with Old Ideas, his first album in eight years. We’ve already heard “Show Me the Place” and “Darkness”, and now The New Yorker brings us a stream of “Going Home”. Click here to listen.

Old Ideas hits stores January 31st via Columbia. Pre-order?

Old Ideas Tracklist:
01. Going Home
02. Amen
03. Show Me the Place
04. The Darkness
05. Anyhow
06. Crazy to Love You
07. Come Healing
08. Banjo
09. Lullaby
10. Different Sides

A whirlwind week such as this could only end with a bang. Suffice to say, that’s exactly what we have here. Jay-Z (and his child)? Leonard Cohen? The Shins? Three juggernaut names that could easily headline any number of top lists. But, alas, there’s more – plenty more.

On a side note, Jeremy Larson will no longer be spearheading this feature. Now that he’s become more involved with other CoS-related activities, he’s decided to pass on the reins to Möhammad Choudhery. Good things lie ahead.

-Winston Robbins
Senior Staff Writer

120 Days - “Dahle Disco”

With “Dahle Disco”, the first track off of their forthcoming 120 Days II, Norwegian outfit 120 Days do well to warrant their absence since 2006′s eponymous album. Produced by fellow Norseman dance producer extraordinaire Lindstrøm, it’s an extended 10 minute dance jam that’s destined to sneak its way onto plenty of summer mixtapes later this year. -Möhammad Choudhery

Jay-Z – “The Glory (Feat. B.I.C.)”

Jay-Z celebrated the birth of his daughter- Blue Ivy Carter – with the aptly titled track, “Glory”. It’s mushy, sure, but it’s straight from the heart, and it features the aforementioned heir to the Roc Nation throne crying during the outro. Clearly, Blue Ivy Carter has taken no time getting her music career started. -Winston Robbins

Jay-Z feat. B.I.C – “Glory”

Leonard Cohen – “Darkness”

Our second taste of Leonard Cohen’s forthcoming 12th studio album Old Ideas, “Darkness” is a strutting, Western-styled strummer that’s on par with anything he’s released in the past decade. Cohen’s weathered croon and signature barbed one-liners here are as good a testament as any to his legend. Old Ideas arrives January 31st via Columbia. -Möhammad Choudhery

Lianne La Havas - “Forget” (Shlohmo Remix)

Just weeks following her BBC’s Sound of 2012 nomination, British singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas announced the release of “Forget”, the first single from her forthcoming debut LP. Due out February 13th, the single will be backed by several remixes, the best of which is Shlohmo’s sprawling five-minute rework of the track. Reprising the meticulously crafted undercurrents of Places and Bad Vibes, Shlohmo wrings La Havas’ ballad of all its emotion and stretches it into a deep, cavernous groove. His new EP, Vacation, is out February 7th via Friends of Friends. -Möhammad Choudhery

Lianne La Havas – “Forget” (Shlohmo Remix)

of Montreal -”Dour Percentage”

“Dour Percentage” isn’t the first track we’re hearing off Paralytic Stalks, Of Montreal’s forthcoming album, but along with “Wintered Debts”, it sets the bar pretty high. Kevin Barnes’ typically morbid lyrics and the band’s loose groove carry the track, but it’s that sweet flute bit that’s the real star here. Paralytic Stalks is due out February 7th via Polyvinyl. -Möhammad Choudhery

Of Montreal – “Dour Percentage”

Nicolas Jaar - “With Just One Glance”

Fresh off the success of “Don’t Break My Love”, one of the most criminally overlooked singles of 2011, Brown University student/wunderkind producer Nicolas Jaar released “With Just One Glance” this week. With vocal and sax help from Scout LaRue (Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ kid) and Will Epstein respectively, Jaar turns in a surprisingly jazzy effort that’s one of his finest releases to date. -Möhammad Choudhery

With-Just-One-Glance

School of Seven Bells – “Lafaye”

After having released two albums as a trio, SVIIB went back into the studio losing one member, Claudia Deheza, twin sister to now lead vocalist Alejandra Deheza. As a duo, the remaining Deheza sister and Benjamin Curtis toured out the remainder of their last album, Disconnect From Desire, and hit the studio. The result? What will be Ghostory. We’ve heard the intro to the album, but they’ve graced us with new single, “Lafaye”, that starts out fierce by their standards but falls into their sonic sphere about a minute in. Ghostory is out February 28th via Vagrant. -Winston Robbins

The Shins – “Simple Song”

This one’s been cooking for some time. It’s been almost five years since The Shins’ released Wincing The Night Away, and the wait has not been easy. In the time since, James Mercer has re-arranged about half the band, so the sonic results concerning this particular release have been in question. But the wait was not in vain. What begins as a building, aural beast quickly turns into the indie pop that we’ve become so accustomed to hearing over the years. Mercer’s still got it in spades. Port of Morrow is out March 20th via Columbia/Aural Apothecary. -Winston Robbins

Tanlines – “Brothers”

In what is thankfully not a cover of The Black Keys’ “Brothers”, Tanlines have dropped the driving, ethereal first look at their forthcoming debut album, Mixed Emotion. This Brooklyn duo has been around the blogosphere for a while, but they’e yet to release anything conclusive. Judging from this track, it’s safe to say this one will be worth hearing. Mixed Emotion drops March 20th via True Panther Sounds. -Winston Robbins

Tanlines – “Brothers”

Wavves – “Hybrid Moments” (Misfits cover)

Wavves returns with its latest batch of mischief, this time a fitting cover of the Misfits’ “Hybrid Moments”. It lacks the edge of the original, perhaps, but there’s a blissful high that accompanies the cover in a way that’ll have you singing along in no time. In its all too short 1:38, the distortion is heavy, and so are the good surf vibes. An unlikely match made in heaven. -Winston Robbins

Wavves – “Hybrid Moments” (Misfits cover)

When you compile a list like this, you start to tremble at how much you’re really going to absorb in the ensuing months. This doesn’t even cover the misses and surprises. If you’re a casual listener, you might get through an album a day. Okay, maybe two. If you’re a fanatic, you’re spinning discographies left and right. Still, after 365 days, either person is buzzing. One’s just a little louder with the phonetics.

As I wrote back in December, in a year, you’ll have your next roundup of favorite albums. You’ll have a new favorite song. You might even have a new band you’re obsessed with. It’s far too early to tell anything right now, but I’m willing to bet at least two or three of the records on this list will make up everyone else’s come December. At the very least, they’ll get people talking.

Hold me to it, if you want.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Porcelain Raft – Strange Weekend

What we know: The debut record from Porcelain Raft is the sum of Mauro Remiddi’s 27 years of traveling across Europe, recording hundreds of tapes, and working on sundry, eclectic musical projects. It’s pregnant with personal history and influences from across the globe, not just some upstart hazing up his bedroom with a MIDI processor.

What CoS says: It’s a lush and most excellent dream pop record that stretches into the past while continuing to blaze into tomorrow. They’re on tour with M83 and can fill the spaces with the same amount of sound. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: January 24th via Secretly Canadian [Pre-Order]

Grimes – Visions

What we know: Indie-major label 4AD called them up from the sticks to release Visions, and the mystical gaze of Claire Boucher’s music does what a few of her gauzy contemporaries have a hard time doing: Her songs float out of the bedroom and onto the dance floor.

What CoS says: It’s easy for music like this to turn from daze to doze in a flash, but Grimes seems to know when to pop it up. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: January 24th via 4AD [Pre-Order]

Grimes – “Genesis”

Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas

What we know: The esteemed singer-songwriter and poet will grace fans with his first studio album since 2004. No stranger to grappling with heavy concepts within his lyrics, the 10 songs on this new record will deal with “the most profound quandaries of human existence – the relationship to a transcendent being, love, sexuality, loss, and death.” The announcement of the album described it as “the most overtly spiritual” of Cohen’s career.

What CoS says: Cohen is one of music’s greatest living poets, and if anyone could craft a beautiful song from such solemn subjects, it would be him. His albums have usually proven worth the wait, and Old Ideas should hopefully be no different. –Austin Trunick

Due out: January 31st via Sony [Pre-Order]

Air – Le Voyage Dans La Lune

What we know: With both a Sofia Coppola score and a diverse catalog to their credit, Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin of Air are no strangers to blissfully abstract accompaniment. Expect this century-old silent film re-release come February, and if the “Sonic Armada” sampler was any indication, those schooled in Tangerine Dream have nothing to fear.

What CoS says: As it just so happens, Le Voyage Dans La Lune is much like Air itself — quietly influential and undoubtedly French. If you thought the Reznor/Ross dynamic was spaced-out, this project may very well take The Orb’s place on your iTunes playlists. –David Buchanan

Due out: February 6th via Astralwerks [Pre-Order]

Air  feat. Victoria Legrand - “Seven Stars”

Dr. Dog – Be the Void

What we know: On their seventh full-length, these Philadelphian psych-rockers trade symphonic for rollick. Even the tracks harkening most back to 2010’s orchestral Shame, Shame find moments of stomp, and folksy strums have largely given way to rocking blares. Though the good Dr. is still very much in, this “cathartic rock ‘n’ roll” record may be the loudest and heaviest thing they’ve ever put out.

What CoS says: With a catalog of consistent quality and the fact that their last two albums earned CoS Top Star honors, this one’s a no-brainer. The true test will be seeing where contributions from new full-time members drummer Erik “Teach” Slick and multi-talented Dimitri Manos take the band’s sound. –Ben Kaye

Due out: February 7th via ANTI- [Pre-Order]

Dr. Dog – “That Old Black Dog”

of Montreal – Paralytic Stalks

What we know: Across 10 albums, Kevin Barnes has played with all kinds of lysergic bliss, and their 11th LP sounds like a blend of former acid-pop songs and latter-day avant-electronic stretches. Its closest cousin is David Bowie’s Low, which is a great thing.

What CoS says: Beneath the vaporous instrumentals and glitchy funk, we could really use a good single this time around. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: February 7th via Polyvinyl [Pre-Order]

of Montreal – “Dour Percentage”

Sharon Van Etten – Tramp

What we know: To escape from the corner of a coffee shop can take some years, but with an indie debut as powerful as Van Etten’s 2010 album, epic, it only took a short amount of time for her to get noticed by The National’s Aaron Dessner. Tramp includes collabos with Dessner, Matt Barrick (Walkmen), Zach Condon (Beirut), Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak), Julianna Barwick, and more.

What CoS says: With a little help from her friends, Tramp more than gets by. Look forward to some roots rock and poison-tipped lyricism from this young talent. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: February 7th via Jagjaguwar [Pre-Order]

Sharon Van Etten – “Serpents”

Islands – A Sleep & a Forgetting

What we know: Montreal indie rock outfit Islands stripped down for its 2009 breakthrough record, Vapours. With A Sleep & a Forgetting, the band’s fourth album, the aesthetics and sensibilities are torn apart even further to reveal the rawest nerve, resulting in an LP of potent, minimalist instrumentation and low-key, yet sultry, lyrical content about falling out of love and listening to the radio. Even with so much of the band and frontman Nick Thorburn exposed, they’ve never seemed as powerfully succinct or alluringly lethal.

What CoS says: You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone doing so very much with so very little in 2012.  –Chris Coplan

Due out: February 14th via ANTI- [Pre-Order]

Islands – “This Is Not a Song”

Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror

What we know: Noise pop duo Sleigh Bells set the blogosphere aflame with Treats and its cranked-to-11 hooks and reckless abandon. As a follow-up, Reign of Terror will seemingly hone the pair’s sound, as evidenced by the return of producer Shane Stoneback and the shred-tastic bombast of lead single “Born to Lose”. Stock up on your extra-strength earplugs posthaste.

What CoS says: Why fix what ain’t broke? The group has a fresh enough sound to ride through at least this record before something may have to give musically. –Chris Coplan

Due out: February 21st via Mom+Pop Music [Pre-Order]

School of Seven Bells – Ghostory

What we know: Ghostory is more gothed out than anything School of Seven Bells has done before. The record pulses with dance beats reminiscent of Front 242 death disco, the duo’s signature misty sound, and more ghost imagery than you can shake a proton pack at. Singer Alejandra Deheza spells “P-R-E-D-A-T-O-R” breathily on record centerpiece “Low Times”, a moment that’s as terrifying as it is beautiful.

What CoS says: It should be interesting to see how SVIIB fares as just a core duo without vocalist Claudia Deheza, singer Alejandra’s twin sister. Claudia left the group abruptly in 2010, so it should be interesting to see how her departure might affect its songwriting, lyrically and structurally. –Paul de Revere

Due out: February 28th via Vagrant/Ghostly International

School of Seven Bells – “The Night”

Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself

What we know: It’s been almost three years since Andrew Bird’s last outing, 2009′s Noble Beast. He’s accomplished a lot over that time (including a recent installment at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art), though he’s waited this long to produce a proper LP. Surprisingly, he’s had the material all along. Based on the album’s tracklist for Break It Yourself, we’ve heard up to at least six of the 14 tracks live, already: “Desperation Breeds…”, “Danse Caribe”, “Give It Away”, “Lazy Projector”, “Lusitania” (feat. St. Vincent), and “Hole in the Ocean Floor”.

What CoS says: Bird has proven he’s a virtuoso five times over. He doesn’t need to shatter any barriers this far into his career. So, if this stuff sounds as familiar to you as it does to us, then you’re probably not too surprised. If you’re looking for something new, well, let’s see how the other tracks fare. Whatever the case, it’ll be a very cozy listen. –Michael Roffman

Due out: March 7th via Mom + Pop Music [Pre-Order]

Bowerbirds – The Clearing

What we know: Phillip Moore and Beth Tacular have always bounced their sound off of the roots of American music, and while their LP3 echoes with similar tones, it’s a richer production this time around. “Tuck the Darkness In” earns its crescendos, flips a catchy melody into the air, and stays rooted.

What CoS says: Bowerbirds take the faux out of the folk that’s around these days and get down to the core of their songs without cluttering it with smoke and mirrors. Here’s hoping they can still make the wounds as well as salve them. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: March 6th via Dead Oceans

Bowerbirds – “Tuck the Darkness In”

Ceremony – Zoo

What we know: For their first record with the famed Matador Records, California hardcore outfit Ceremony enlisted producer John Goodmanson (Bikini Kill, Simple Plan) with an aim to “refine their jagged sound while continuing to pursue themes of exurban alienation and confinement.” To give listeners a taste of the new record ahead of its official release date, Ceremony will release “Hysteria” b/w “I’m a Bug” (Urinals cover) on February 7th.

What CoS says: If “Hysteria” is any indication, Zoo will be a tamer—if no less enjoyable—affair than their previously more abrasive albums. –Harley Brown

Due out: March 6th via Matador

Ceremony – “Hysteria”

The Magnetic Fields – Love at the Bottom of the Sea 

What we know:  Stephin Merritt says he’ll be returning to more synth-heavy and acoustic arrangements on The Magnetic Fields’ 10th LP—their first with Merge since 1999’s classic collection 69 Love Songs—with his usual cast of collaborators: Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo, Shirley Simms, Johny Blood, and Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket!). Signature amusing and quirky song titles abound— “All She Cares About Is Mariachi”, “Infatuation (With Your Gyration)”, and “I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies”.

What CoS says: More inventive and endlessly catchy pop treasures from the man responsible for some of the greatest pop records of the last 20 years. –Lainna Fader

Due out: March 6th via Merge [Pre-Order]

The Men – Open Your Heart

What we know: The kind of volume that was on Leave Home, their previous album released not eight months ago, is hard to eclipse. But leave it to The Men to plumb even deeper into their milk crates to continue moving forward with their sound. There’s a bit of country, a bit of kraut-rock, and some ’70s AOR, and the whole thing still stays jagged in the best ways.

What CoS says: It’s a short turn-around time, but nothing on this album sounds tossed off. Even if some of the razors are less sharp this time around, it works. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: March 6th via Sacred Bones

The Shins – Port of Morrow

What we know: It’s been a solid five years since their last album. James Mercer is the only original member in the lineup. They’ll release it on his new label, Aural Apothecary. So, things have changed. But so far, based on three of the album’s 10 tracks (which includes the recently unveiled “Simple Song”), The Shins remain intact.

What CoS says: Despite the shake up in the lineup, there really isn’t much working against this album. Sure, Broken Bells wasn’t an awe-inspiring juggernaut, but it had its moments. With Mercer at home now, and seemingly alone (at least in the studio), one has to believe this will be, at the very least, a solid follow-up to Wincing the Night Away. –Michael Roffman

Due out: March 20th via Aural Apothecary and Columbia Records [Pre-Order]

Spiritualized – Sweet Heart, Sweet Light

What we know: When he debuted some new songs at Royal Albert Hall in October, Jason Pierce had a choir and orchestra in tow. He’s said the album “encompassed all I love in rock ‘n’ roll music. It’s got everything from Brötzmann and Berry right through to Dennis and Brian Wilson.”

What CoS says: The seminal Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is an intimidating high-water mark. It sounds like his heart’s in the right place for this to rise to that level. Dicey live recordings of new material aren’t the best gauge, though, so we’re still holding out for a studio preview. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due Out: UK on March 19th via Double Six. U.S. release is set for sometime in March via Fat Possum

“Hey Jane” (Live):

Alabama Shakes – TBD

Photo by Ben Kaye

What we know: With a hearty co-sign from Patterson Hood of The Drive-By Truckers, Alabama Shakes are off to inject the soul of the south into the mainstream with their first official studio LP.

What CoS says: To prove Alabama Shakes can ride longer waves than those created by the press lauded upon them at CMJ and subsequent live shows, the Dap-Tone/Muscle Shoals acolytes are going to have to show the world they can write some memorable songs.  – Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: April via ATO Records

Tyler, The Creator – Wolf

Photo by Heather Kaplan

What we know: The veracity of his pull-quotes is always dubious, but Mr. Tyler Okonma told SPIN that his new album Wolf will be due out in April. He said of his third LP, “Talking about rape and cutting bodies up, it just doesn’t interest me anymore… What interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to. I’ll brag a little more, talk about money and buying shit. But not like any other rapper, I’ll be a smart-ass about it…”

What CoS says: If Tyler wants to make a psych-rap record, that’s at least interesting, but I have this nagging feeling that he’s going to be an insufferable smart-ass about it. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: April (?)

Regina Spektor – What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

What we know: Regina Spektor continues her reign as one of the best goddamn singer-songwriters of her era. The new record’s title is perhaps an indicator that she’s continuing her music’s frequent theme of plucky underdog-isms.

What CoS says: Except for a live record, Regina Spektor was awfully quiet over the last two years. In November, she announced the release of What We Saw from the Cheap Seats without much indication of what it’ll sound like, but her signature cute quirks will likely abound. It will be her sixth studio full-length, her latest since 2009′s Far. –Paul de Revere

Due Out: May

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – TBA

What we know: Surprisingly, very little. A producer has yet to be confirmed, same with the E Street Band. The Boss’s follow-up to 2009′s The Promise remains a slight mystery. Based on the album’s announcement – “We want you to know that the music is almost done (but still untitled), we have almost settled on the release date (but not quite yet), and that we are all incredibly excited about everything that we’re planning for 2012″ – there’s a heavy use of “we,” so one has to believe this will again be an E Street effort.

What CoS says: With the loss of Clarence Clemmons, already this will be a fairly controversial effort for Springsteen. On that note, it should also be quite emotional. If you know your E Street history, you’ll remember it’s only been a little over four years since the death of Danny Federici as well. Throw in another political race next year, Occupy Wall Street, and half a dozen recent collaborations… well, this album could go anywhere. Fingers crossed The Boss doesn’t pen a follow-up anthem titled “King of the Supermarket”. –Michael Roffman

Due out: Spring

Dirty Projectors – TBA

What we know: Figurehead David Longstretch took a Vernon-esque approach with this Bitte Orca follow-up. Sequestered for the most part alone in an unoccupied house in rural New York, Longstretch crafted creepy songs “about horror and fear,” including the “Thriller”-esque “About to Die”. He’s also said the record leans towards the band’s stripped-down Björk collaboration, Mount Wittenberg Orca.

What CoS says: Bitte Orca was a breakthrough, filled with lively and eccentric musicality. It rightfully earned a perfect score in our review almost three years ago. Fingers crossed that this apparently subtler and more haunted effort still shares qualities with their adored previous release. –Ben Kaye

Due out: Spring

Rufus Wainwright – Out of the Game

What we know: Rufus Wainwright’s last two projects have been an opera and a dramatic album performed start-to-finish as a song cycle. It seems appropriate that he should follow with an excursion back into pop, and his upcoming Mark Ronson-produced album promises to be Wainwright in all his mass marketable glory. Featuring backup from the Dap-Kings, Wilco’s Nels Cline, and Wainwright’s equally talented sister Martha, “there’s this kind of anchor of guys sitting around jamming. And it’s very sexy,” Wainwright told Stereogum.

What CoS says: Wainwright’s had a turbulent few years, including the death of his mother and the birth of his daughter. To see all that energy channeled into pop music will be interesting, and to hear it belted out by one of the marquee voices of our time will surely be enthralling. Wainwright is a consummate showman, and with this supporting cast, Out of the Game has miles of promise. –Megan Ritt

Due out: Spring

How to Destroy Angels – TBA

What we know: This past fall, How to Destroy Angels had originally planned on releasing a full-length LP, at least according to Reznor. The most fans received was a Brian Ferry cover and, well, a 174-minute soundtrack for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Shortly after the soundtrack’s release, Reznor told Rolling Stone that a new LP was due out “[probably] in the first quarter of next year.” As far as direction goes, Reznor says they “were influenced by early Cabaret Voltaire – it’s very deconstructed rhythmically and more textural.” Vague, but something.

What CoS says: Reznor works in mysterious ways. He also never stops working. So, it’s likely that we’ll see this pop up while we’re sleeping sometime, or perhaps when we’re on a lunch break. Who knows? If it’s anything like their recent soundtrack work – hey, it’s essentially the same team – one can expect something wild. Or just another helping of music to carry you from the gym to the train, from the coffee shop to the sadistic caretaker to the… wait, what? –Michael Roffman

Due out: ”First Quarter”

Animal Collective – TBA

Photo by Frank Mojica

What we know: Notorious for touring on largely new, unrecorded material, it’s entirely possible that songs from AC’s ninth album (and their first since 2009′s Merriweather Post Pavilion) have been floating around in various states of gestation in bootlegs. That said, Dave “Avey Tare” Portner let a few details slip in interviews promoting his solo work, including the fact that they’ve got at least 10 songs written and that they’re having fun “jamming.” He’s also described their recent live shows as a “more immediate… hard-hitting set with more rhythm.” But these are the guys who brought you ODDSAC, so you never quite know what’s coming next.

What CoS says: As a band that seems to evolve more organically and dramatically from disc to disc than almost any other, it’s hard to imagine Animal Collective sticking too closely to the formula that made Merriweather such a crossover smash. Either way, moving from cult heroes to indie megastars over the past 10 or so years means that both the demand and the stakes have never been higher. –Adam Kivel

Due out: TBA

Atoms for Peace – TBA

What we know: Back in October, Thom Yorke spun some heads when he told Rolling Stone there would be an Atoms for Peace record by the end of the year. As is the case with most records on here titled TBA, that wasn’t the case. His excuse for the delay then was that “it’s not good enough yet.” Longtime collaborator and Atoms member Nigel Godrich added, “The idea was to generate the music, then record the band. We did that. Some of it worked. We also went back to some of the electronic stuff. It’s still in flux. We’re waiting for the lightning bolt to strike.” Since then, it’s been clear skies, apparently. To get an idea of what they worked on, take a listen to “Judge, Jury, and Executioner”, which the band premiered during their 2010 tour – their first collaborative track.

What CoS says: It’s been a long time coming. Someone stand outside the studio with an umbrella, please.  –Michael Roffman

Due out: TBA

The Avalanches – TBA

What we know: This will they/won’t they tension bullshit is getting older than a bad sitcom. But this tweet is the closest thing we’ve had to something yet. Keep the dream alive.

What CoS says: Teasing this album is getting less funny as the years go on. But as with most myths, if you stop believing in it, it dies. –Jeremy D. Larson

Due out: TBA

Best Coast – TBA

What we know: Surf-rock romanticists Best Coast may have recently released drummer Ali Koehler, but they also previously managed to nab legendary producer Jon Brion (The Crystal Method, Kanye West) for album No. 2 (seems like a fair trade). For this record, frontwoman Bethany Cosentino has promised less “melodrama” and more maturity thanks to her drastically different lifestyle. That sentiment, mixed with Brion’s avant pop style, should make for one decidedly fresh take on young love and all its ups and downs.

What CoS says: The band’s sound on Crazy for You caught people’s attention despite the decided immaturity of the album’s lyrical content (or perhaps that helped). We’re interested to see how their cutesy sound holds up with an infusion of adulthood. –Chris Coplan

Due out: TBA

The Beach Boys – TBA

What we know: Brian Wilson has returned. So has Al Jardine. Even David Marks. It’s a full-scale reunion, all for the group’s 50th anniversary. While we’ve only heard a re-recording of “Do It Again”, Beach Boys sessions veteran Eddie Bayer says, “Brian’s new creations are just unbelievable.” What’s more, Mike Love, who has a long storied history of opposing Wilson, agreed, stating, “He hasn’t lost the ability to do what he does best.” So, there’s a positive outlook on this.

What CoS says: For the past few years, Wilson has been issuing covers albums (including last year’s abysmal Disney record). However, his last solo record, 2008′s That Lucky Old Sun, was a sugary-sweet classic that shines bright in his highly celebrated discography. If Wilson’s been holding out on songs for this LP and he’s supported by the vocals of Love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, and even David Marks, then we’re in for a tasty, nostalgic treat. Let’s just hope it isn’t Stars and Stripes, Volume 2. –Michael Roffman

Due out: TBA

Cat Power – TBA

What we know: It’s been four years since Chan Marshall’s last album, Jukebox, a collection of mostly covers that furthered the transition from the raw, minimal Cat Power of the ’90s to a polished, blues-evoking sound. In a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone, Marshall revealed that she was attempting to play all the instruments herself on the next Cat Power release, and a recent Facebook posting intimated that the new album is almost finished.

What CoS says: If the smoky soul exhibited in the new songs debuted on her 2011 tour or the seven-minute, eerily echoed reinvention of “King Rides By” are any indication, then the new Cat Power should prove well worth the wait. –Frank Mojica

Due out: TBA

Cibo Matto – TBA

What we know: Cibo Matto split in 2001 after two albums, but Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori joined forces again in December 2010 for Honda’s 50th birthday and three months later for a tsunami benefit concert. A reunion tour was subsequently announced, along with news that a new album would surface sometime in 2012. As of press time, the new album does not have an official title or release date.

What CoS says: A reunion that results in new songs and not just a trip down memory lane? Yes, please. During their brief “YEAH BASICALLY” tour, the duo mixed two new songs, “Tenth Floor Ghost Girl” and “Check In”, into the well-received sets, hinting that the magic that made Cibo Matto so fun 16 years ago has not been lost. –Frank Mojica

Due out: TBA

D’Angelo – TBA (Working Title: James River)

What we know: If the neo-soul genre had a Holy Grail, it’d be D’Angelo’s third album. With the release of the immensely powerful Voodoo in 2000, the world has been waiting with bated breath ever since for the follow-up, which frequent collaborator ?uestlove has recently confirmed is in the home stretch of completion. But after D’Angelo’s various, er, extracurricular activities have led to a decade-long cycle of delays and other such promises, the music world’s left hoping for a miracle. How fitting would it be if this record FINALLY arrived just in time for the End of Days?!

What CoS says: While probably not a part of the final tracklist, a demo of D’Angelo covering Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” recently surfaced. Not only was it weird and catchy, it helped generate a lot of buzz. Ya know, like the kind used for promoting something… –Chris Coplan

Due out: TBA

Daughter – TBA

What we know: Elena Tonra, aka Daughter, set pulses racing in 2011 with two delicious taster EPs. A full debut album is expected to follow later this summer or fall. She and her band are hoping to hit a UK studio for their first set of sessions in early spring.

What CoS says: Daughter has a number of new songs up her sleeve and, reviving the long held rock tradition of getting it together in the country, has hired a tiny cottage in a hidden corner of SW England this month to begin to work them up. The album should contain new material with perhaps a couple of reworked songs from the earlier EPs. –Tony Hardy

Due out: TBA

Fiona Apple – TBA

What we know: Rare live performances with preferred collaborators and several benefit and cover songs here and there have more than whetted the appetites of any Fiona Apple fan over the recent years; they must be a ravenous and wary bunch, considering her last album, Extraordinary Machine, almost never saw the light of day after its demos leaked. Rumors swirled for an album last year, fueled by those claiming to have heard it – more concrete news comes from Apple herself, jokingly admitting onstage last November that she had trouble remembering any new songs because “they’ve been done for a fucking year.”

What CoS says: Around the turn of the millennium, this powerhouse singer-songwriter was omnipresent, crooning her unique brand of melancholy, ruffling feathers at award shows, and upholding a strong musical integrity at such a young age. Now, more than a decade later, and only one album under her belt since then, Apple would have to stand distinct and tall next to her current imitators, both good and bad, to make any mark at all. –David DiLillo

Due out: TBA

Grizzly Bear – TBA

Photo by Heather Kaplan

What we know: Psych-folk outfit Grizzly Bear literally rewrote the rules of indie music and its cultural spread and impact with 2009′s Veckatimest, so it’s no surprise that the band would want to take their time with the follow-up. However, since announcing work on the album in May 2011, it’s been all but radio silence from Camp Grizzly save for apologies for delays (blame multi-instrumentalist Chris Taylor’s CANT side project and frontman Ed Droste getting married). However, with a new year comes a new Facebook message of dedication, and the band is looking to make 2012/2013 the Year of the Bear.

What CoS says: Can lighting strike twice for the boys from Brooklyn? Lots of bands would crumble underneath such pressure, but Grizzly Bear seem to have a more solid foundation of devoted fans to keep them afloat. The real question, though, will be whether they stick with the Veckatimest formula or go for something brand-new sonically, thus expanding their skill set while also increasing the risk of an unsatisfied public. –Chris Coplan

Due out: TBA

Kanye & Friends – G.O.O.D Music Album -TBA

What we know: One of three albums West might be dropping this year (the others being his sixth solo album and a second full-length with Jay-Z), G.O.O.D. Music will also feature his G.O.O.D. Music kindred Big Sean, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, Pusha T, and others. However, it’s not yet known how the album will be carried out; maybe we’ll get a bunch of posse cuts, like what pervaded West’s pre-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy G.O.O.D. Fridays series.

What CoS says: If G.O.O.D. Music is similar to MBDTF or West’s 2011 Jay-Z team-up, Watch the Throne, expect ostentatious greatness. –Mike Madden

Due out: TBA

The Knife – TBA

What we know: Though it’s provided one of the most single-handedly influential records of the last decade, The Knife has taken six years off since the release of their 2006 opus, Silent Shout. The Dreijer siblings have kept rather busy during their time off, though, between Karin’s acclaimed debut solo outing as Fever Ray, Olof’s stint as a minimal electro producer under the name Oni Ayhun, and the pair’s turn as operatic songwriters on 2010′s Tomorrow in a Year.

What CoS says: There isn’t too much to go off of yet, but all signs point to an effort as ghoulishly delightful as Silent Shout and Fever Ray. –Mike Madden

Due out: TBA

Lotus Plaza – TBA

What we know: Having released an impressive split 7″ in 2011 to compliment his Lotus Plaza alias’s hazy, but beautiful, first LP from two years prior, Deerhunter guitarist Locket Pundt remains stoic and reserved as ever. An upcoming Atlanta show in March, recent Twitter buzz of mastering company The Lodge “having way too much fun working on Lotus Plaza”, and Kranky Records stating bluntly on Facebook “any day now,” however, all point towards an imminent sophomore album.

What CoS says: Both Deerhunter’s and fellow noisemaker Bradford Cox’s most recent albums excelled because of their embrace of the eerily straightforward; with any luck, Pundt will mine some of his more decipherable ideas featured on The Floodlight Collective and put them to exquisite use. –David DiLillo

Due out: TBA

Madlib & Freddie Gibbs – TBA

What we know: Back in late November at Madlib’s Medicine Show tour stop in San Francisco, the producer revealed plans for a new collaboration with L.A.-based, Gary, Ind.-raised gangsta rapper Freddie Gibbs, starting with a six-track Thuggin’ EP on Madlib’s Madlib Invazion label. It’s yet another killer joint venture for Madlib—see DOOM (Madvillainy), the late J Dilla (Jaylib), and Strong Arm Steady (In Search Of Stoney Jackson)—and a chance for Gibbs to explore new territory post-Cold Day in Hell before the release of the album he’s finishing for Young Jeezy’s CTE imprint. The duo’s as-of-yet untitled album is scheduled for early 2012.

What CoS says: If the EP’s first single is any indication, expect to hear Gibbs’ rugged rhythms detailing brutal tales of the young, desperate, and reckless over Madlib’s masterful mix of swirling psychedelia and deep soul grooves on MadGibbs’ debut album. –Lainna Fader

Due out: TBA

Mumford & Sons – TBA

What we know: In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, band member Ted Dwane described Mumford & Sons’ much anticipated follow-up to Sigh No More as “doom folk, kind of Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake.” There may be a degree of mischief in that remark that’s matched by comparative silence from the band’s record label. However, judging from new songs like “Ghosts” and “Lovers Eyes” debuted live in 2011, the new album is not likely to stray that much from the band’s core territory.

What CoS says: Even with a planned shift to the darker side of the musical spectrum, the band has a lot to celebrate after a giant-sized last couple of years. That dichotomy should be interesting to absorb when the record hits stores. –Tony Hardy

Due out: TBA

Nas – Life Is Good

What we know: Rumors about Life Is Good, Nas’ 10th studio album and his last at Def Jam, have been flying around for a while, but the only detail known for certain about it is that the previously released single “Nasty” will be on it. Anything else you’ve heard about the album – like, say, that AZ will be on it or that RZA will have a major hand in the production – is probably mere speculation.

What CoS says: If “Nasty” and Nas’ recent Common collaboration “Ghetto Dreams” are indicators, Life Is Good could be one of the Queens legend’s best albums of late. –Mike Madden

Due Out: TBA

Nas – “Nasty”

No Doubt – TBA

What we know: The last No Doubt album, Rock Steady, hit stores in December 2001 (does it not feel waaaay longer, though?). Even with the band at work on the album since May 2010, details are still decidedly sparse: The album promises to be another poppy synthesis of reggae and ska, resulting in song titles like “Settle Down” and “One More Summer”, all heaped together by a returning Mark “Spike” Stent (who also produced Rock Steady). Collaborations with dance hall wunderkinds Diplo and Switch show signs of some new life, but how those will work in tandem with the band’s tried-and-true stuff is as big a mystery as the remainder of this LP.

What CoS says: The more things change, the more No Doubt seemingly stays the same. That musical homogeneity is comforting in a way, like an old blanket or an ex-girlfriend you can’t get rid of. –Harley Brown

Due out: TBA

Pearl Jam – TBA

Photo by Jeremy Larson

What we know: This and that. Last March, Jeff Ament told Billboard, “We did a whole bunch of demos and everybody’s got a disc of 25 [songs] right now,” stating the band would hit the studio the next month and that they hoped “to get something done this year.”

What CoS says: That didn’t happen, but do you blame them? With a festival, a book, a documentary, a soundtrack, and late-night appearances, it’s no surprise we’re not listening to Pearl Jam’s 10th studio LP already. But with the festivities now over and a looming European tour, one starts to believe they’ll need something new to promote. Like, say, 12 of those aforementioned tracks? We’ve already heard a potential track with “Olé”. Or, maybe that was just a birthday anthem. You never know… –Michael Roffman

Due out: TBA

Peal Jam – “Olé”

Phoenix – TBA

What we know: Last we heard from the Franco-pop savants, they were recording an as-yet-untitled fifth album with a release date to be announced. We do know that Phoenix has been playing with “the dad of a friend’s orchestra” in Byron Bay, AU, to expand their percussive range. According to frontman Thomas Mars, “Drums are the DNA of our music, ‘cause we’d like to go somewhere else, we’d like to change that DNA.” He also said that so far the album can be analogized to the high-speed French commuter rail TGV.

What CoS says: Mars has been covering LP #5′s bases with catchall descriptors “nostalgic,” “futuristic,” “experimental,” and “minimal.” Considering the pressure to follow Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’s Grammy Award-winning success, it’s no wonder he’s playing it safe. –Harley Brown

Due out: TBA

Queens of the Stone Age – TBA

What we know: Rockaholic Josh Homme spent the better part of 2011 touring behind the re-release of Queens of the Stone Age’s eponymous 1998 debut, including a double shot at the PJ20 Festival. He also found some time apparently with the QotSA lineup as it stands to record their sixth album, their first in nearly five years since Era Vulgaris. When it will be out is anyone’s guess; hanger-on Alain Johannes tweeted in November that he “can’t say exactly when… but it’s a really good start.” 

What CoS says: Homme told BBC Radio 1 around Glastonbury that QotSA doesn’t “feel they have anything to prove,” implying it’ll probably be more of the same old, same old from them. When it’s loud, badass rock, though, we’re more than OK with this. –Gilles LeBlanc

Due out: TBA

Sigur Rós – TBA

What we know: Well, if we round up all the adjectives from each respective member (culled from an interview with The Wall Street Journal, of all places), we know Sigur Rós’ sixth LP is: “ambient”, “introverted”, “floaty”, “minimal”, and essentially a “slow takeoff toward something.” So, it’s another offering from Sigur Rós. Here’s a fun little tidbit: The band recorded in a studio that was once occupied by a swimming pool. Could we add “aquatic” to that list? We’ll see come spring.

What CoS says: The group’s last studio LP, 2008′s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, found the Icelandic troupe taking a few turns, even adding some English to the mix. It still worked splendidly. Everything else that’s followed since – Jónsi’s 2010 solo LP, Go, Jónsi’s Cameron Crowe-assisted soundtrack, We Bought a Zoo - has left nothing but a ruby-colored, bloody trail. One that doesn’t taste like nickel, but rather sophisticated cakes. Much like the trio’s lyrics, that right there is pretty incomprehensible. But, it still gets the point across. Rest assured, we’ll be soundtracking our lives to the new LP by summer. –Michael Roffman

Due out: Spring

Soundgarden – TBA

Photo by Karina Halle

What we know: New material from Soundgarden has been rumored ever since Chris Cornell tweeted they were coming back on January 1st, 2010 from an extended hiatus. Things really started to heat up last February when the band stated that their goal for 2011 was to “make a record.” After a retrospective compilation (Telephantasm), Record Store Day exclusive, live album (Live on I-5), and an acoustic Songbook solo effort from Cornell, it looks like we’re actually going to get something fresh from the Seattleites as soon as this spring.

What CoS says: The grunge revival love-in is sure to continue for a good while yet, although guitarist Kim Thayil has tempered expectations that the album may not exactly be of the genre Soundgarden helped pioneer. We will keep our ears open with interest. –Gilles LeBlanc

Due out: TBA

WHY? – TBA

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

What we know: In the summer of 2011, WHY? announced a series of shows played on a baby grand piano, where they would be testing out material for an upcoming album. A hand injury forced many shows to be rescheduled or canceled, but some fans were lucky enough to catch the new songs onstage in December of last year.

What CoS says: As Eskimo Snow was recorded during the sessions for the acclaimed Alopecia, this will be the first collection of all-new material WHY? has recorded in four years. Yoni Wolf’s songwriting seems to improve with each album, and we’re eager to hear how he’s developed over that time. –Austin Trunick

Due out: TBA

The xx – TBA

What we know: The xx seems to have retreated back into the void from which it burst forth with mind-blowing, CoS Top Star-earning debut XX, emerging (with the exception of Jamie xx, who’s appeared on anything from Take Care to We’re New Here and remixed everything else) only to say that, yes, they really are recording a sophomore album, and here’s demo “Open Eyes” to prove it.

What CoS says: There’s been a two-year buildup and the danger of a sophomore slump, but no pressure, guys. Take your time. –Harley Brown

Due out: TBA

The xx – “Open Eyes” (demo)

Yeasayer – TBA

Photo by Carson O’Shoney

What we know: Loads of bands like to worry about one album per release cycle. Brooklyn psych-pop crew Yeasayer isn’t like other acts in more than a few ways. Discussing the group’s third album with Spin recently, frontman Chris Keating said the group recorded some 22 songs, which may be split up over two separate albums, “one that’s the real album with three-and-a-half to four minute pop songs, and another that’s more like a soundtrack and released on the Internet.” Even better still, Keating described the material recorded as a “demented R&B” album, like an “Aaliyah album if you played it backwards and slowed it down. Or David Bowie’s Lodger. Those two are major influences.” Whether that last bit’s a joke or not (perhaps even a half-truth?), the band continues to redefine how appealing being weird can truly be.

What CoS says: Based on 2010′s Odd Blood and these newsy tidbits, the outfit is getting closer and closer to a more complicated sound. With every catchy hook and pop-tastic beat they record, the songs become further entrenched in their own sense of intricacy and obscurity. LP #3 should be a shining example of that dichotomy. –Chris Coplan

Due out: TBA

On January 31st, Leonard Cohen returns with Old Ideas, his first album in eight years. We’ve already had our first listen with “Show Me the Place”, and now comes our second with “Darkness”. Classic Cohen, you might say, with a lurching crawl that’s both gloomy and menacing. Not exactly as dark as, say, Tom Waits, but Cohen does have one moody outlook on things, especially when he croons, “The present’s not that pleasant, just a lot of things to do.” Can’t argue there. Check it out below (via Pitchfork).

Old Ideas hits stores January 31st via Columbia. Pre-order?

Old Ideas Tracklist:
01. Going Home
02. Amen
03. Show Me the Place
04. The Darkness
05. Anyhow
06. Crazy to Love You
07. Come Healing
08. Banjo
09. Lullaby
10. Different Sides

Some people see Christmas/Hanukkah/the Winter Solstice/Festivus as a time for family and friends and celebrating the inherent warmth and goodness in us all. Others view these as tired traditions, cooked up to fuel rampant consumerism and act as a means of torture by making you choose between frostbite and spending time with Uncle Maurice. And others just try to get by through the oceans of eggnog and terrible, terrible sweaters. But we here at CoS believe you don’t have to choose between being jolly and celebrating something earnest and true. While Santa Claus may be giving gifts of toys and goodies, we’re giving the gifts of hope and creativity with our annual Holiday Gift Guide. It’s way better than that fire truck you wanted for Xmas ’96.

Now you may be asking yourself, “How does just another list of items to buy offer up anything of any real value?” Well, children, come sit down by the fire as we weave our explanation like popcorn strings on a Christmas tree. It’s true that some of these music-related gifts are just fun or silly, like the Official DEVO Yellow Suit (page eight) or the Illustrated “Juicy” by Notorious B.I.G. (page seven). But the rest of the gifts, ranging from the Dinosaur, Jr. Cassette Trilogy (page two) to the Z.vex Effects Instant guitar petal (page nine) all have slightly more value than being great gag gifts (or to wear as kickin’ costumes next Halloween). These may be material goods, and sometimes overpriced material goods at that, but don’t forget what you’re ACTUALLY giving: music. Not just sounds or noise that are either enjoyable or total rubbish, but something that can reshape emotions and create new, life-altering experiences for someone.

By giving something like The Bridge School Concerts 25th Anniversary Edition DVD, you’re telling someone you love, “Hey, this could change your life for the better and make you see things in a whole new way.” That is the promise of music, why people obsess over it and try to cram every sound and every tiny detail and unimportant contextual nuance into a $17 DVD or a $140 box set or a $12 CD. It’s one gift that can actually make someone’s life better and spread honest-to-goodness cheer in a time of year when people cram boxes with meaningless ties and perfume sets that dilute the reason for the season. Music is the one thing that transcends all the junk of the holiday season, like a red-nosed reindeer through a blizzard, to get at the heart of why we celebrate in the first place: connecting with people on a truly deep, meaningful level and cherishing those aforementioned bonds.

So whether you’re buying for yourself or a loved one, take a good, hard look through our Holiday Gift Guide and see if you can spread a little ho-ho-happiness. That way, you’re giving someone special something unique that they could never find elsewhere. And if they re-gift it to you next year, then that’s cool too, right?

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

P.S. – From ours to yours, have a safe and prosperous holiday season.

P.P.S. – Be sure to bookmark our guide and check back often as we’ll be posting new ideas throughout the holiday season.

Box Sets

The Beach Boys: The Smile Sessions Box Set

What: The long-awaited “lost” Beach Boys album receives the lush, deluxe treatment reserved for the finest audiophiles. Over five CDs, two LPs, and two 7″ singles, SMiLE finally comes to life, featuring myriad session recordings, alternate takes, early demos, and the proposed unfinished album. The story continues with the set’s 60-page companion book, stuffed to both ends with lyrics, Frank Holmes drawings, unreleased photos, production notes, anecdotes from surrounding family and friends, and, naturally, liner notes by the band. Throw in a 24″ x 36″ poster and put it all in a three-dimensional shadow box lid…and it’s difficult to avoid smiling. -MR

Buy: Available now for $139.99 via Amazon.com.

Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 Deluxe Edition

What: The legendary hip-hop trio repackages their 2011 album in a two-disc, deluxe edition set. Available on both DVD and Blu-ray, the set includes the long and short versions of the star-studded Fight For Your Right Revisited film, the Spike Jonze-directed music video “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”, and a 130-page hardback book featuring behind-the-scenes photos of the making of Fight For Your Right Revisited. Order through the group’s website and also receive a Stuyvesant Phys. Ed T-Shirt. -AY

Buy: Available November 25th exclusively at participating independent record stores as part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday promotion. A limited number of sets is also available for $88.98 via the group’s website.

The Dear Hunter: The Color Spectrum: The Complete Collection

What: The 36-tracks constituting the tremendous 9-EP undertaking The Color Spectrum from Casey Crescenzo’s band The Dear Hunter are collected here on three CDs. Also included is a DVD containing more than two hours of footage from Crescenzo’s country-spanning journey recording the effort with a variety of producers and fellow musicians. The final piece is a 52-page booklet of pictures, lyrics and insight about the collection. -BK

Buy: Available now digitally ($34.99) and on CD($24.69) via Amazon.com. Both the limited edition collection of nine colored vinyls and the deluxe wood box set have sold out, so good luck with that.

Dinosaur, Jr.: Cassette Trilogy

What: Limited to just 500 copies and encased in a custom wooden box, the set packs cassette copies of Dinosaur Jr.’s first three albums — 1985′s Dinosaur, 1987′s You’re Living All Over Me, and 1988′s Bug. In addition, the wooden box features the classic Dinosaur Jr. ‘monster’ artwork. -AY

Buy: Available now for $39 via Joyful Noise Recordings. Note: only 350 copies are available for purchase online, with the remaining 150 copies to be sold on the band’s December West coast tour.

The Doors: LA. Woman Singles Box

What: Billed as a “one-of-a-kind limited, serial-numbered box set” commemorating the 40th anniversary of The Doors’ landmark album, L.A. Woman Singles Box packs classic tracks “The Changeling”, “Riders on the Storm”, and “Love Her Madly”, backed with newly-discovered and never-before-heard alternate takes of each song, and a fourth single of never before-released studio banter. The box artwork also includes the original Messianic image of the naked woman nailed to the telephone pole used for the album’s inner sleeve. -AY

Buy: Available November 25th for $49.98 exclusively at participating independent record stores as part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday promotion.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!!

What: Limited to just 1,500 copies, the set features a CD, DVD, and 10-inch vinyl EP of material from Elvis Costello’s two-night stint at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on May 11th and 12th, 2011. The CD comprises 16 tracks from both nights, the 10″ features four live cuts, and the DVD packs footage of the entire second night, including a special appearance from The Bangles. In addition to the music, the box set contains a 40-page hardcover book of photos, a diary from Costello detailing each gig, a 20″ x 30″ concert tour poster, a limited edition postcard, and a replica spinning wheel to play with at your discretion. -CC

Buy: Available December 6th for $268.29 via Amazon.com.

John Fahey: Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You

What: Like John Fahey?  Want to hear some of his earliest recordings, taped in a dingy basement in Frederick, MD?  Want to listen to hella-old reel-to-reel tapes of him drunkenly answering questions about his music and career interspersed between some insanely beautiful acoustic guitar playing? Well then, what better way to ring in the holiday spirit than six hours over 115 unearthed, remastered tracks of early John Fahey recordings over 5 discs, an 88-page book chronicling the legendary picker’s life, rare photographs of the guy, and some ill packaging?  Not much, not much. -DL

Buy: Available now for $69.56 via Amazon.com.

Leonard Cohen: The Complete Albums Collection 

What: The 18-disc box set compiles Leonard Cohen’s 17 studio and live albums, from his 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen up to 2009?s live release Songs From the Road. Each CD in the set is remastered from original analogue master tapes and housed in a mini-LP replica jacket based on their original artwork. In addition, the package includes a 36-page booklet full of “discographical annotations and recording information, as well as a 1,300-word essay by Pico Iyer. -AY

Buy: Available now for $119.99 via Leonard Cohen Global Store. An 11-disc set compiling only his studio albums is also available for purchase.

Mickey Newbury: An American Trilogy

What: Mickey Newbury may just be one of country music most criminally-underheard artists. More closely related to artists like Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt than Conway Twitty, Newbury’s soft songs are full of weighted emotion and beautiful lyrical imagery. A perfect introduction to a hidden gem, An American Trilogy box set collects arguably his three greatest albums from the late 1960s/early ’70s (It Looks Like Rain, ‘Frisco Mabel Joy, and Heaven Help the Child) as well as a fourth disc of rare demos and outtakes. -AT

Buy: Available now for $71.97 via Amazon.com. Vinyl editions of each disc are also available separately via Drag City’s online store.

Neutral Milk Hotel Vinyl Box Set

What: The vinyl-only box set comprises every single one of Neutral Milk Hotel’s albums and EPs along with some 15 unreleased tracks. Among the items included are the band’s two LPs (1996′s On Avery Island and 1998′s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea), a 7″ single of two never-before-released songs in “You’ve Passed” (b/w “Where You’ll Find Me Now”), another 7″ single of unreleased and live versions of “Little Birds”, a picture disk 7″ single of “Holland, 1945″, and a 10″ EP called Ferris Wheel on Fire featuring eight unreleased acoustic recordings. -CC

Buy: Available November 22nd for $88 via the band’s official website. All of the included tracks will also be available at a pay-as-you-please price via his Bandcamp account.

Pink Floyd Discovery Box Set

What: Fourteen albums. Sixteen CDs. One 60-page artwork booklet. From 1967′s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn up to 1994′s The Division Bell, this set collects it all, making it an absolute gem for any Pink Floyd fan, both new or old. So, if you’ve got a loved one begging to go on a trip, consider this your cheapest (and most worthwhile) option. See you on the other side. -MR

Buy: Available now for $178.99 via Amazon.com.

Phish: Hampton/Winston-Salem ’97

What: The long-awaited sound recordings of Phish’s first two-night stint at Hampton, VA’s Hampton Coliseum (aka the “Mothership”) from November 21st and 22nd of 1997, accompanied by the live recording of the band’s follow-up performance at Lawrence Joel Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC, on November 23rd. Re-mastered by Fred Kevorkian, the seven-CD box set contains all the music performed over those three nights (45 songs, over eight hours across seven discs), plus never-before-heard material from soundchecks at both venues. -DS

Buy: Available December 6th in various formats: 7-CD box set ($39.99), ALAC ($34.97), FLAC (34.97), and MP3 (26.87) via LivePhish.com.

Ray Charles: Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles

What: Containing the A and B-sides of 53 singles (that’s 106 songs) on five CDs, Ray Charles’ Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singlesis exactly what it says it is. The box set holds every single Charles released while signed to ABC-Paramount Records between 1960 and 1972, a peak era for a musician who had finally found “mainstream” success. Out of the 106 digitally remastered tracks included, 21 will be having their first ever digital release, while 30 are debuting on CD. -BK

Buy: Available now on CD and digitally for $42.98 via Amazon.com.

Rivers Cuomo: The Pinkerton Diaries + Alone III

What: In 237 pages, The Pinkerton Diaries gives unparalleled insight into Rivers Cuomo’s mind from 1994 to 1997, the period in which Weezer’s landmark album Pinkerton was formed. Beginning on the day of The Blue Album’s May 10th ’94 release, the book collects Cuomo’s “journals emails, letters, photos and school papers” alongside “lyric notebooks, music compositions, and studio notes from the Pinkerton sessions.” First editions are hand numbered. The companion album, Alone III, contains 26 demos of both released and unrealized tracks, all recorded during the years recounted in the book. -BK

Buy: Set for a December 12th release, pre-orders are ongoing Cuomo’s website: book and CD for $75, and a premium pack with t-shirt, lithograph, and post-card set for $135.99.

Rush: Sectors

What: Compiling Rush’s 15-album, 14-year run on Mercury Records, the three separate six-disc box sets each include five chronological CDs and a 5.1 surround sound DVD. Sector 1 comprises the band’s 1974 self-titled debut and ends with their first live album, 1976′s All the World’s a Stage. Sector 2 features 1981′s Moving Pictures and 1977′s A Farewell to Kings, which also gets the DVD treatment. Sector 3 starts with 1982′s Signals and concludes with 1988′s double live album, A Show of Hands. Each Sector comes with a booklet of photos and lyrics, with all three boxes forming a Rush CD road case. –CC

Buy: Available November 21st, Sector 1, Sector 2, and Sector 3 each cost $48.46 via Amazon.com.

Sigur Rós: Inni

What: Directed by Vincent Morisset, Inni compiles footage of Sigur Rós’ 2008 performance at London’s Alexandra Palace, their final show before embarking on an indefinite hiatus. A limited deluxe edition set includes the film and a corresponding live album, a 7″ single featuring a previously unreleased cut called “Lúppulagid”, an exclusive and unique-to-each-box artefact from the show itself in a numbered, printed envelope a DVD of the 5-minute short “Klippa”, and more, all of which are packaged in a printed 7″ sized 4 panel slitpack. -AY

Buy: Available now for $79 via the band’s website. A standard edition, comprising just the film and the album, as well as a digital edition are also available.

 The Smiths Complete: Deluxe Box Set

What: In an effort to bankrupt every fan of The Smiths, Rhino Records UK has put together the ultimate box set for completists, vinyl enthusiasts, and, well, any self-respecting music fan. Titled The Smiths – Complete, the forthcoming package features remastered editions of The Smiths’ eight albums (by Johnny Marr, no less), both on CD and 180-gram audiophile vinyl, in addition to all 25 of the group’s singles on individual 7?. They also decided to throw in some prints, a few posters, and a DVD of the group’s music videos. Just remember, we’ve got a very long winter ahead of us. Best to plan accordingly. -MR

Buy: Available now for $499.98 via Rhino Records. CD or vinyl-only box sets are also available.

Sting: 25 Years

What: The four-disc set comprises 45 remastered tracks that were “personally curated by Sting”, in addition to Rough, Raw & Unreleased: Live At Irving Plaza, a previously unreleased live concert DVD. It’s all housed in a hardcover book containing intimate and rare photos from world renowned photographers, complete lyrics, personal commentary and a newly written introduction by Sting. -MR

Buy: Available now as a 3 CD/DVD set for $119.99 via Amazon.com.

U2: Achtung Baby: Uber Deluxe Edition

Buy: A box set which truly lives up to its name, the Uber Deluxe Edition of U2′s landmark album Achtung Baby packs six CDs, including the original album, the follow-up Zooropa, B-sides, and re-workings of previously unheard material recorded during the Achtung Baby sessions. Also squeezed in are four DVDs featuring the new Achtung Baby-focused documentary From The Sky Down, the concert film Zoo TV:Live From Sydney, and all the videos from Achtung Baby, in addition to bonus material. And if that weren’t enough, the set also includes the album’s five singles pressed on clear 7″ vinyl and packaged in their original sleeves, 16 art prints taken from the original album sleeve, an 84-page hardback book, a copy of Propagandamagazine, four badges, a sticker sheet, and, yes, a pair of Bono’s trademark glasses, with all of the above comes contained in magnetic puzzle tiled box. -AY

What: Available now for $434.99 via Amazon.com. A Super Deluxe Edition, a Deluxe Edition, a vinyl-only box set, and a standard CD release are also available.

The Who: Quadrophenia – The Director’s Cut

What: Spanning five discs and 60 tracks, the Quadrophenia box set includes a re-master of the original double album, 25 demos from Pete Townshend’s archives, including five songs not on the album that portray the original version of the Quadrophenia concept, an eight-track DVD titled The Quadrophenia 5.1, and a replica 7″ of the hit single “5.15″ (b/w “Water”). In addition to the music, the set also includes a 100-page hard-back book featuring a 13,000-word essay by Townshend that sheds light on the band during the album’s recording, as well as a track-by-track guide to the demos and studio diary entries. -CC

Buy: Available now for $143.99 via Amazon.com. Double vinyl and digital editions are also available.

Books

Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Music Made New in New York City in the ’70s

What: Do you ever wish you could have experienced New York City in the ’70s? Maybe witness the birth of punk rock, loathe the spawn of disco, and get lost in all the in-betweens? Rolling Stone‘s senior critic Will Hermes takes you there; more specifically, from New Year’s Day 1973 to New Year’s Eve of 1977. It’s a first person account of one of the most culturally rich movements in music history, and it’s all for your leisurely reading. Better yet, you don’t need a Delorean to experience it. -MR

Buy: Available now for $18.81 via Amazon.com.

Moby: Destroyed

What: If you’re a popular DJ, you’re wanted. Everywhere. For nearly 30 years, Moby has hit the live circuit, traversing far and away to share his ambiant electronica. For his latest album, Destroyed, the vegan multi-instrumentalist put together an accompanying book of photography of the same name. With shots everywhere from Berlin to Sumatra to Minnesota to Budapest, Moby shares his sights, all to the soundtrack of his own latest sounds, which come packaged with the book. Who says you need Sky Miles these days? -MR

Buy: Available now for $26.37 via Amazon.com.

Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam Twenty

What: Remember the whole books on tape craze? Well, this is sort of the reverse of that. Help a loved one celebrate 20 years of grunge’s most enduring rockers with 384 pages (and 3.5 pounds) of exclusive photos, behind-the-scenes tales, interviews (with the band and their contemporaries), and assorted goodies (playlists, tour notes, and drawings). Besides, does he really need another flannel shirt?  -MM

Buy: Available now for $23.67 via Amazon.com.

Rock and Roll Always Forgets: A Quarter Century of Music Criticism

What: Writer Chuck Eddy collects various essays, reviews, and interviews in this anthology that spans over 30 years. As a writer for Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Creem, Spin, and Vibe, Eddy has interviewed everyone from the Beastie Boys to Robert Plant, Flaming Lips to Eminem’s grandmother. Widely considered one of the first critics of indie rock, Eddy’s collection of writing should easily find its way next to your Chuck Klosterman books. Hey, what do you know, good ol’ Chuck writes the foreword here, too. Consider that a more prominent endorsement than what we could ever make. -MR

Buy: Available now for $16.47 via Amazon.com.

Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction To Its Own Past

What: Sick of throwbacks? Sick of obscure 80′s references? Feel like retro-chic has transformed into retro-shit? Early on in Retromania, Simon Reynolds asks, ”Could it be that the greatest danger to the future of our music culture is … its past?” If you need a bead on how we digest pop-culture and pop-culture may be heading, this is the book. Required reading for tavern philosophers and micro-genre nerds. -JL

Buy: Available now for $12.24 via Amazon.

Unite and Take Over: Stories Inspired by the Songs of The Smiths

What: Who says all heroes have to wear tights? What about a sick hairdo and some pinstripes for the head? That’s all Morrissey works with – well, that and a seemingly endless supply of lyrical poetry. Using Kickstarter for funding, SpazDog Press publisher Shawn Demumbrum worked alongside some of his favorite comic book artists to bring a series of Smiths-influenced stories to paper. The end result is a 172-page graphic novel that spans 13 different stories, all of which stemmed from songs like “How Soon Is Now?”,”Cemetery Gates”, “Handsome Devil”, and more. Think of it this way: Wouldn’t Moz look pretty sweet sharing shelf space with The Long Halloween? The answer is a resounding yes. -MR

Buy: Available now for $14.99 via Corner Store Comics. Only 300 copies. Act fast.

Films

Adele: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

What: A 90-minute concert film and corresponding live album of Adele’s September 2011 performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The tracklist includes smash hits “Rolling in the Deep,” “Turning Tables,” and “Someone Like You” alongside covers of Bonnie Riatt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and the SteelDrivers’ “If It Hadn’t Been for Love”. In addition, the film packs previously unreleased behind-the-scenes footage. -CC

Buy: Available November 29th on DVD/CD ($13.99) and Blu-ray/CD ($21.99) via Amazon.com.

The Bridge School Concerts 25th Anniversary Edition

What: The three-disc set digs deep into Neil and Peggi Young’s annual charity concert, with appearances from Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who, Band of Horses, Thom Yorke, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and many, many more musical elite. All profits from the release will go directly to The Bridge School. -CC

Buy: Available now on DVD ($19.99) via Amazon.com. A corresponding live album is also available.

Foo Fighters: Back and Forth

What: In April 1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide, shocking the world and putting an end to one of the most vibrant acts in rock ‘n’ roll history. Out of its ashes, however, came an unlikely story: a raucous and catchy debut from the band’s shy drummer. Since the mid-’90s, Dave Grohl has been the amicable spokesman of the Foo Fighters, complete with his trademark grin. But, it hasn’t always been laughs and parties. In the group’s 16-year-long existence, the band has seen its share of turmoil, despite the goofy videos and no frills rock ‘n’ roll. Director James Moll’s 135 minute documentary, Back and Forth, captures this story with full details, interviewing not only its current members, but those of yesteryear. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll rock out. -MR

Buy: Available now on DVD ($16.99) and Blu-Ray ($20.99) via Amazon.com.

Kylie Minogue: Aphrodite Les Folies – Live in London

What: This holiday season, Kylie Minogue’s most extravagant (and successful) tour to date jumps off the stage and onto your HD television with Aphrodite Les Folies: Live in London, a two-hour concert CD/DVD recorded this past April at London’s O2 Arena. Directed by William Baker and Marcus Viner, the performance includes plenty of hits from Minogue’s back catalog, in addition to recent radio stompers off last year’s LP, Aphrodite. In addition to the concert film itself, the DVD and Blu-ray releases also feature an exclusive tour documentary. -MR

Buy: Available November 29th on DVD/CD ($20.25) and Blu-Ray ($29.49) via Amazon.com.

Peter Gabriel: New Blood: Live in London

What: New Blood: Live in London features concert footage filmed over two days at The Hammersmith Apollo during Peter Gabriel’s tour last spring. The setlist consists of 22 classics (“Wallflower”, “In Your Eyes”) and covers (Paul Simon’s “The Boy In The Bubble”, Regina Spektor’s “Après Moi”) backed by the 46-piece New Blood Orchestra. The film is offered on Blu-ray, DVD, and a 3D Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. A deluxe edition includes the DVD, regular Blu-ray, the New Blood double CD, plus the bonus Blood Donors documentary with an interview from Gabriel, all housed in 60-page hardcover photobook of over 200 pictures. -BK

Buy: Available now on DVD ($11.99), Blu-ray ($13.99), 3D combo pack ($24.99), and as deluxe edition ($89.99) via Amazon.com.

Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam Twenty

What: Cameron Crowe’s fascinating and intimate documentary on Pearl Jam’s 20 year-long history is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Chiseled down from over 1,200 hours of footage, some of which dates back to before the band’s inception, Pearl Jam Twenty offers an in-depth look into the legendary Seattle collective history, following the group through its many trials and tribulations. The standard release sports over 26 minutes of never-before-seen footage, while the deluxe release – available only via Ten Club (and currently sold out) – comes packaged as a three-disc set, featuring Crowe’s original cut of the documentary (The Kids Are Twenty) and an 80-minute fan film (The Fans Are Alright). Good luck. -MR

Buy: Available now on DVD ($17.99) and on January 3rd for Blu-Ray ($14.99) via Amazon.com. The deluxe edition, while sold out over at Pearl Jam’s Ten Club, is available for a range of prices ($150-250) via Ebay.com.

Radiohead: The King of Limbs: Live From the Basement

What: Originally released as a 55-minute television broadcast in Summer 2011, The King of Limbs: Live From the Basement sees Radiohead performing eight track from The King of Limbs in addition to three previously unreleased cuts (“Staircase”, “The Daily Mail”, and “Supercollider”). The DVD’s physical release also includes a 32-page book, featuring photographs by Steve Keros. -AY

Buy: Available in early 2012 on DVD (£ 16.00) and Blu-ray (£ 26.00) via the band’s website. Both editions include a digital download available beginning December 19th.

Talking Heads: Chronology [Deluxe Edition]

What: Follow David Byrne and Talking Heads from CBGB to their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with this career-spanning collection of 18 live performances. Extras include audio commentary by all four band members, the band’s 1979 appearance on The South Bank Show, and a 1978 interview with Byrne. The deluxe edition is packaged in a hardback cover and includes a 48-page photo and essay book. -MM

Buy: Available now on DVD ($22.49) via Amazon.com.

Tickets

Jeff Mangum

What: Reclusive no more, Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum will follow up an acclaimed fall tour with another leg of U.S. tour dates starting January 18th. -AY

Buy: Tickets are now available via Neutral Milk Hotel’s website and Seat Geek.

Primavera Sound

What: Considered one of Europe’s premiere alternative music festival, Bareclona’s Primavera Sound returns in 2012 with a lineup led by Jeff Mangum, Björk, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo, and many more. -AY

Buy: Festival tickets are now available for 160 € (+ booking fee) via the festival’s website.

Radiohead

Photo by Nate Slevin

What: Their first tour in three years, Radiohead will hit the road in support of The King of Limbs beginning February 27th. Speaking recently with the BBC, guitarist Ed O’Brien admitted that the band has intentionally chosen to play indoor venues in order to maintain the intimacy of their latest album. “The record, which has a lot of detail in it, it needs to sonically be in a space where the music is loud, strong, and detailed.” O’Brien also added that the tour’s setlist will be comprised mostly of material from The King of Limbs and their 2008 album In Rainbows. -AY

Buy: Tickets are now available via Radiohead’s website and Seat Geek.

Rammstein

What: It might not sound like your standard holiday gift, but Rammstein’s live performance is something of legend — X-Rated legend. Prepare yourself for German heavy metal, insane pyrotechnics, and a giant male, uh, apparatus spraying, uh — well, you get it. The month-long trek kicks off April 20th. -AY

Buy: Tickets are now available via Rammstein’s website and Seat Geek.

Roger Waters: The Wall

What: Already one of the highest grossing tours in history, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters will bring The Wall back to North America beginning May 1st. The production for the trek will feature a 40-foot-wide by 35-foot wall between the audience and the stage itself that is slowly knocked down as the concert progresses. Musically, Waters will be accompanied by an eight-piece band and three backing vocalists. -AY

Buy: Tickets are now available via Waters’ website and Seat Geek.

South by Southwest

What: Though one of the more pricier tickets you’ll ever buy, a badge to South by Southwest earns access to over a thousand bands, films, and panels. Last year’s edition featured performers ranging from Foo Fighters, Kanye West, and Queens of the Stone Age to Odd Future, Wild Flag, and Shabazz Palaces. -AY

Buy: Multiple types of badges are now available via the festival’s website.

Weezer Cruise

What: It’s a 4-day music festival (January 19-23) on a cruise trip from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico, headlined and curated by Weezer. If that alone doesn’t make it a “best gift” guarantee, performances from Dinosaur Jr., Gene Ween and Dave Dreiwitz, Wavves, Yuck, The Antlers and more certainly make it a contender. Add in special events and activities hosted by the individual members of Weezer and many of the other acts, and you’ve got yourself a winner. -BK

Buy: Tickets and accommodations range from $599 to $2,499 (plus $179 in taxes and fees), depending on room selection and number of people. Special 4 and 5-pack deals are available on select decks for $499 a head.

Wild Flag

What: Wild Flag — the all-female, indie-rock supergroup comprised of former Sleater-Kinney members Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, ex-Helium frontgirl Mary Timony, and former Minders keyboardist Rebecca Cole — returns to the road beginning March 30th. -AY

Buy: Tickets are now available via Merge Record’s website and Seat Geek.

Holiday Music

Gruff Rhys: Atheist Xmas EP

What: Christmastime is when we’re all supposed to feel the warmth of hope and goodness swell inside our hearts. However, Super Furry Animals frontman/solo act extraordinaire Gruff Rhys had a different sentiment in mind with his EP Atheist Xmas. The collection is described as “an unholy trinity of three turkey-free new tracks for the festive season”, with the track “Post Apocalypse Christmas” seeing Rhys re-imagine Christmas “through the semi-melted eyes of a nuclear holocaust survivor”. It truly is the most wonderful time of year, isn’t it? -CC

Buy: Available on December 20th as a digital download via Amazon.com. A 12″ single version is also available through Rhys’ website.

John Zorn: A Dreamer’s Christmas

What: With seven classic tracks and two originals, avant-garde jazz musician John Zorn puts his unique touch on the Christmas soundtrack with A Dreamers Christmas. Eccentric as always, the MacArthur Genius joined with a variety of his frequent collaborators to jazz-up “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, “Winter Wonderland”, and others. Faith No More singer Mike Patton even lends his voice to a captivating rendition of “The Christmas Song”. This is not your grandpa’s holiday record. -BK

Buy: Available now on CD ($13.11) and vinyl ($35.80) via Amazon.com.

She & Him: A Very She & Him Christmas

What: The 12-track compilation sees Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward taking on seminal holiday classics like “Blue Christmas”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”. Select packages also include exclusive She & Him mittens and winter cap, and are wrapped in She & Him wrapping papper. A portion of the proceeds benefit 826 National. -AY

Buy: Available now on CD and vinyl in various packages via the band’s website. A digital version is also available.

Scott Weiland: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

What: On The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, the Stone Temple Pilots frontman cuts deep and finds his inner Sinatra, bringing us snow and eggnog, while snapping out oldies like “Silent Night” or “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. -MR

Buy: Available now on CD ($9.99) via Amazon.com. A digital version is also available.

This Warm December – A Brushfire Holiday, Volume 2 

What: This Warm December – A Brushfire Holiday Vol. 2 features 13 tracks from artists on and friends of Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records. It includes originals (Jack Johnson’s “In The Morning”, G. Love’s “Christmas Cookies”) as well as renditions of a few classics (“Jingle Bell Rock” from Rogue Wave, Zee Avi’s “Frosty the Snowman”). 25% of profits go to charities focused on youth musical education, including Little Kids Rock and The Silverlake Conservatory. It’s like two gifts in one. -BK

Buy: Available now on CD ($11.99) via Amazon.com. A vinyl edition is also available via the label’s website.

Custom Crafts & Art

Band T-Shirts from Lost Records

What: Not just any band t-shirts, but Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Albert Ayler Trio, Sun Ra, The Sonics, 13th Floor Elevators, Gun Club, The Mummies, The Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Tommy Boy Records, 4AD Records, et effing cetera. Next best thing to seeing Television at CBGB’s is getting a shirt that looked like you saw them there. -JL

Buy: Available now for $14.99 via Lost Records Etsy Store

Rap/R&B Votive Candles

What: If your God is Based, you best have a candle for him, and you should always keep Aaliya in your memories. Plus, I can’t think of anything better than a votive candle that says  “I Think I’m Big Meech” with Rick Ross on it. Other options for hip hop devotions include R. Kelly, Nicki Minaj, Ghostface Killah, and Left Eye (not pictured). -JL

Buy: Available now, $9 for one, or $15 for two plus shipping and handling via Moneyworth’s Etsy Store.

The Illustrated “Juicy” by Notorious B.I.G.

What: Ok, so while on Moneyworth’s Etsy page, I came across this, which is a hand-drawn picture book of the song “Juicy” by The Notorious B.I.G. And the cover, that’s a color Coogi-print. For real. -JL

Buy: Available now for $13 at Moneyworth’s Etsy Store.

Ridiculous/Fun

The Flaming Lips: Silver Trembling Fetus Ornament

What: Back again for a third year, The Flaming Lips present the ornament any fan knows they want hanging from their tree. Measuring just about 3-inches tall, this silver pewter fetus comes in a custom box, making it the perfect stocking stuffer. Unless the person has some uncomfortable feelings about fetuses, especially those stuffed into stockings. . . -BK

Buy: These quirky little fellas are available through the FLips website for $30.

Mastodon: The Hunter Mask

What: Take care of next year’s Halloween costume 11 months early with The Hunter Mask. Inspired by the cover of Mastodon’s recent LP of the same name, these 100% custom makes are made from a thick plastic and were assembled locally in the Los Angeles area by a special effects company. According to the band, they’re also “very comfortable.”  -AY

Buy: Available now for $39.99 via the band’s website.

My Keepon – Interactive Robot

What: Need a pal to keep you company while you dance alone? Look no further than My Keepon. Developed by Wow! Stuff and Beatbots, My Keepon is a cute, yellow dancing fiend, who grooves to any sort of tune – especially Spoon. You’ll never get the same performance twice. Some may argue science could be better utilized today, but whatever. The scientists definitely got this one right. -MR

Buy: Available now for $55.95 via Amazon.com.

My Chemical Romance: Danger Days Jackets

What: On their most recent record, Danger Days, My Chemical Romance takes on the persona of their alter-egos, the Fabulous Killjoys. Now you too can dress like Jet Star (guitarist Ray Toro), Fun Ghoul (guitarist Frank Iero), Kobra Kid (bassist Mikey Way), or Party Poison (frontman/singer Gerard Way) with these replica jackets. Each jacket is based on designs seen in the videos for “Sing” and “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)”. -BK

Buy: The Party Poison jackets are currently sold out, but the others are all available on My Chemical Romance’s website for $89.99 to $99.99.

The Official DEVO Yellow Suit

What: “Protect yourself from dangerous human elements and stay cool during meltdowns in this official DEVO Yellow Suit.” An exact replica of the suits worn onstage by DEVO, right down to the material quality. Comes in two pieces, jacket and pants, plus an adjustable elastic belt. Please note, it most likely won’t protect you from a real nuclear emergency, but you should be safe if there’s a meltdown at your next costume party. -BK

Buy: Available online at the Club DEVO store for $49.99 (XL and Jumbo sizes only). For $32.00, finish off the ensemble with an Energy Dome hat (currently only available in blue).

“Stairway to Heaven” Ladder

What: Salvation is made simple this holiday season thanks to award-winning designer Arthur Analts’ literal take on Led Zeppelin’s most famous song. The limited edition (only 99 made), aluminum “Led Zeppelin” ladder is intended for both practical and decorative use, and various colors and customized engraving options are available. This gift is perfect for reaching paradise or even for just getting those bedroom linens off the top closet shelf. -MM

Buy: Inquire at Analts’ website.

Young Money Prepaid Discover Card

What: Consider yourself a Young Money/Cash Money Billionaire? Tired of lugging around those one hundred bills in your back pocket? Then consider the latest venture from Lil Wayne. The Young Money pre-paid debit card is essentially your standard card, with direct deposit and online billing options. However,  unlike those emblazoned with company logos or fanciful unicorns, you can rep YMCMB in style with its massive branding on top of a sleek red background. It may be the fiscally responsible move, but it will also complicate things the next time you make it rain. -CC

Buy: Apply for your very own card here.

Practical

Gift Certificates

C’mon. Who doesn’t love getting these? Sure, it’s essentially saying, “Yeah, I didn’t really care to listen to you all year, but I know you dig this. So have fun,” but if you write a convincing and loving card to go with it, it’s not so bad. Plus, deep down inside, we’re screaming, “Thank god it wasn’t an IOU for a meal or dinner.” (Don’t you just love being an isolated cynic?) So, if you’re drawing a blank this season, but know you’re friend digs music. You might want to pick up a gift certificate for: InSound, iTunes, or a local record store like Chicago’s Reckless Records, for instance. It may be a piece of plastic to you, but it’s a cherished vinyl, CD, or experience for someone else. -MR

Guitar Pedals

Know a pedalhead who’s getting bored with the vanilla variety of fuzzes, compressors a wahs that are clogging space on their board? Do they like their tones a li’l bit freaky, or even balls-to-the-wall weird? Luckily for these jaded guitarists, several new stompboxes have hit the market that are doing some pretty cool stuff in relatively new ways. Below you’ll find a few suggestions for the perfect effects pedals to brighten their holiday season.

Ravish Star

What: Is your band looking to add a distinctive Eastern flavor to their songs, but have no room in the station wagon for an additional large, unwieldy instrument? Electro-Harmonix’s new Ravish Sitar pedal does an admirable job of transforming your guitar tone into a convincing sitar sound. If your interests extend beyond just a more accurate cover version of “Norwegian Wood”, the wide range of knobs, inputs and presets loaded into this pedal offer up lots of interesting drone possibilities. -AT

Buy: Available now for $239.25 at GuitarCenter.com, or demo the pedal at your local Electro-Harmonix dealer.

Z.vex Effects Instant

What: Ever want to capture the supercharming, lo-fi tone of bands like Guided By Voices, Sebadoh or Ariel Pink, but have been stumped because the quality of your gear is just too damn high? Well, fear no more – Z.Vex Effects has got you covered with their Instant Lo-Fi Junky. Combining a compressor and vibrato, you can kick on the pedal to provide awashed-out, warped cassette tape sound in real time. It’s just what you need to surf the chillwave craze before it crashes into the shore! -AT

Buy: Available now for $219 via Amazon.com, or try the unit out for yourself at your local Z.Vex dealer.

Satan Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas

What: For the noise freaks who prefer their shit to be just plain crazy, the always-intriguing Dwarfcraft is introducing the Satan Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas pedal (shortened from its incredibly-badass palindrome form simply to SOMMS). This one pedal features four different oscillators: one pulses, one drones, and two more are controlled by a joystick, so you can mix your crazy synth soundcrafting with the simple pleasures of playing an Atari 2600. Don’t even play guitar, but want to get in on the noisy action? The SOMMS features input/output jacks so it can be fed through a pedalboard, but can also be played as an independent instrument. -AT

Buy: The SOMMS will begin shipping this month and will sell for $275. Please inquire with your local Dwarfcraft dealer.

Rocksmith

What: Rhythm music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are great and all, but they mostly boil down to so much bashing of colored buttons. Rocksmith takes the next step, dumps the peripherals and lets players plug in a real guitar, allowing them to actually learn how to play the instrument while they enjoy the game. An included 6.35mm-to-USB cable enables you to plug right in and jam to songs from The Black Keys, David Bowie, The Dead Weather, Muse, and tons more, with downloadable content increasingly added.-BK

Buy: The game is available for $77.99 on Xbox 360 and PS3, with the PC version going for $79.96, all from Amazon. A bundle including a starter guitar is available, if you’re willing to search for it.

Sennheiser HD595 Dynamic High Grade Performance Premiere Headphones

What: The Maybach of headphones – nonpareil. Its double-take price tag makese these hard to stomach for a personal purchase, but make an amazing gift for a lifetime. Plug it in to your receiver and put on The Band or The Bends and hear the fidelity blow your mind. -JL

Buy: Available now for $249.09 via Amazon.

Spotify Premium Membership

What: If you walk by someone’s desk at work and wonder what’s up with their Spotify and why its covered in ads, it’s cause they probably forgot they can turn them off and get increased sound quality when they buy the premium membership. And, when you buy the $9.99 a month option, you get all of Spotify’s bounty on your iPhone or Android. -JL

Buy: Well, they don’t have gift cards available in America yet, so just tell your giftee to scoot over and you’ll put it on your card (via Spotify).

As previously reported, legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen plans to release his first studio album in almost eight years with Old Ideas. Now, as Pitchfork reports, the LP has been given a release date (January 31st via Columbia Records), its own artwork (designed by Cohen himself), and a tracklist.

A press release indicates that Old Ideas‘ “ten songs poetically address some of the most profound quandaries of human existence – the relationship to a transcendent being, love, sexuality, loss and death.” Fairly deep material, don’t you think? The album’s first single, “Show Me the Place”, is slated to stream from Cohen’s official site starting today, so keep your eyes glued on the site. Update: You can also hear the track below.

Old Ideas will be available digitally, on CD and 180 gram LP. In addition, there will be a collector’s bundle featuring the album and a limited edition lithograph of Leonard’s artwork. Lithographs are digitally signed and numbered and limited to 5500 copies. To learn more, click here to visit Cohen’s online store.

Stay tuned for more as we near the LP’s release.

“Show Me the Place”:

Old Ideas Tracklist:
01. Going Home
02. Amen
03. Show Me the Place
04. The Darkness
05. Anyhow
06. Crazy to Love You
07. Come Healing
08. Banjo
09. Lullaby
10. Different Sides

As previously reported, music legend Leonard Cohen plans to follow up that massive new box set with the release of his first studio album since 2004. Now, Reuters reports the album, due for release sometime in 2012, is titled Old Ideas and comprises 10 brand new songs.

Cohen reveled the news during a recent awards gala in Spain and added, “I’ve played it for a few people, and they seem to like it.” When asked if he plans to tour behind the release, Cohen said, “God willing. I never quite know whether there’s going to be a tour or not.”

We’ll keep you updated.

Despite rumors of a new studio album early next year, Sony Music decided now is as a good time as ever to immortalize Leonard Cohen’s brilliant 40-year career as an insane 18-disc box set. According to Exclaim, The Complete Albums Collection will compile Cohen’s 17 studio and live albums, from his 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen up to 2009′s live release Songs From the Road. Each CD in the set was remastered from original analogue master tapes and will be housed in a mini-LP replica jacket based on their original artwork. What’s more, the package will also include a 36-page booklet full of “discographical annotations and recording information, as well as a 1,300-word essay by Pico Iyer.

Sony Music will releas the box set on October 11th. A smaller, 11-disc set compiling only his studio albums will also be available on that date. Pre-orders are now ongoing at the musician’s website.

Below, you can find video of Cohen performing “The Stranger Song” in 1967.

Known for a mean R.E.M. cover, indie folk rockers The Decemberists have peppered their iTunes Session EP, which is out today, with two new covers in the form of Leonard Cohen’s “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” and the Fruits Bats’ “When U Love Somebody”. Both cuts are available for streaming below (courtesy of our friends at Cover Me). Each are perfect odes to the original and add just enough of the Decemberists’ trademark folk rock sound to make them truly their own. After listening, head here to purchase the full EP.

“Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”

“When U Love Somebody”

iTunes Session: The Decemberists Tracklist:
01. Calamity Song (iTunes Session)
02. Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye (iTunes Session)
03. Shankill Butchers (iTunes Session)
04. June Hymn (iTunes Session)
05. This Is Why We Fight (iTunes Session)
06. Shiny (iTunes Session)
07. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned) [iTunes Session]
08. When U Love Somebody (iTunes Session)

Take a look.

– The Daft Punk-helmed Tron soundtrack finally got a release date. You can hear a sample of one of the tracks here.

– Weezer scheduled the first few dates of their “Blinkerton”/”Memories” tour and detailed the forthcoming deluxe reissue of Pinkerton.

– Can’t make it to Matador at 21 this weekend? MySpace has you covered.

– Details on M.I.A.’s free NYC show finally surfaced. Here’s what to expect.

– Don’t expect another Congratulations from MGMT. Find out why here.

– The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2011 nominees.

– Godspeed You! Black Emperor added more dates to their North American reunion tour. Leonard Cohen also added dates to his stateside tour.

– Against Me! cancelled their remaining 2010 dates.

– Frank Black really is composing a rock opera.

– Brian Eno put out a “weird yet delicious” new song.

– Wilco will begin work on a new album soon.

– Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake debuted “The History of Rap.”

– Radiohead are slated to contribute to the score of Edward Norton’s latest film.

– Gorillaz revealed the names of some very special guests for their performance at Madison Square Garden.

– Remember the last time you heard from David Bowie? Me neither. Apparently he’s back.

– Steve Albini‘s in trouble. Find out what you can do to help here.

– It was all about doing time this week here at CoS. Chris Coplan explored Lil Wayne‘s post-sentencing output, and Alex Young looked into Pete Doherty‘s wild past.

– On that note, Coplan also posted a review for Lil Wayne‘s I Am Not a Human Being.

– We posted our 2010 Fourth Quarter Music Preview.

– E.N. May took on Virgin Mobile FreeFest.

– We have new concert reviews for The Flaming Lips, Band of Horses, Foals, and Menomena.

– Ryan Burleson reviewed Sufjan Stevens‘ The Age of Adz.

– Evan Minsker shared his thoughts on Neil Young‘s latest LP.

– What recap would be complete without a shameless plug. Join the CoS Street Team! Find out more by clicking here.

– P.S. We also need new writers.

According to Pollstar, AEG Live nixed the gig due to “prohibitive and insurmountable logistical issues”, which probably means they ran out of leis. The new dates are scheduled for December 2nd in Vancouver, BC at the Rogers Arena and then two shows at Oakland, CA’s Paramount Theatre for December 5th and 6th. While AEG isn’t rescheduling the Hawaii gig, they are offering refunds and the chance for people to re-purchase tickets to the newly announced shows. Gee, cause Hawaii is only a 40-minute car ride from Oakland. In a magic car-boat!

Enjoy the updated itinerary below. Fan club pre-sales for the new shows start Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. and end Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. at Cohen’s official site. Or, you can always buy your tickets via Ticketmaster.com, with tickets on sale October 9th and October 10th at 10 a.m. for Vancouver and Oakland, respectively.

Leonard Cohen 2010 Tour Dates:
10/04 – Katowice, PL @ Spodek
10/07 – Moscow, RU @ Kremlin Palace
10/13 – Bratislava, SL @ Incheba Expo Arena
10/29 – Auckland, NZ @ Vector Arena
10/31 – Wellington, NZ @ TSB Arena
11/01 – Wellington, NZ @ TSB Arena
11/03 – Christchurch, NZ @ Westpac Arena
11/06 – Brisbane, AU @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre
11/08 – Sydney, AU @ Acer Arena
11/09 – Sydney, AU @ Acer Arena
11/12 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena
11/13 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena
11/15 – Hobart, AU @ Derwent Entertainment Centre
11/18 – Adelaide, AU @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre
11/24 – Perth, AU @ ME Bank Stadium
11/27 – Phnon Penh, KH @ Pnon Penh Olympic Stadium
12/02 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
12/04 – Honolulu, HI @ Blaisdell Concert Hall
12/05 – Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre
12/06 – Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre
12/08 – Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Theater of the Clouds
12/10 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace
12/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace

For now, try and imagine the culture we live in. The idea of learning about someone through conversation, or even something as rudimentary as spending time together, is so “old-fashioned” and so “passe.” Nope. Anything that takes longer than 30 seconds isn’t worth your time. It’s the runoff from our Facebook culture, where identity depends on how well your profile looks. Do you have an underrated band next to an acceptable mainstream group? Is your bio too long or too short? Are you quirky without trying too hard? Do you look chubby in your profile photo?

Don’t shake your head. That’s how society works these days – at least our online culture here. We’re quick to pass judgment within seconds. That’s why we try to be on our toes at all times, ready for criticism and on the defensive. (Sometimes we try to just say, “Oh, fuck it” and ignore you. But that takes patience, which comes with time. Don’t ask.) Because of this difficult and remarkable situation, we turn to “the list.”

These days, lists have become synonymous with identity. Is that a surprise? It’s a collection of someone’s opinions on an easy-to-swallow topic. Whether it’s the Top 10 Solos by Ace Frehley or the Top 10 Feel Good Hits of the Summer, you’re leaving with an impression. This impression is incredibly valuable to you, the reader, and us, the publisher. It offers some clarity for you and some air for us. We may have to wash our shirts out from the rotten tomatoes, but hell, it feels good to know we tore down the proverbial curtains.

So, what about this specific list? Is it a bit much for us to lay out what we feel are the greatest albums of all time? Sure, you could argue that. (We did. Several times. Until we finally just…decided it’d be fun to do.) However, you’d be missing the point. Despite all the forthcoming disagreement, this list summarizes where we stand in our views on music. It’s sort of a, uh, take it or leave it approach, really. Are we expecting you to agree? No. Of course not. In fact, given that this is a collective endeavor, we don’t necessarily agree with every decision made here on a personal level. But, we’d all agree that this is the best representation of how we, as a staff, rank all the albums in music history.

Okay, so it’s a little egotistical, but lick it up, baby. Lick. It. Up.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Artwork by Cap Blackard.

100. Kanye West – The College Dropout

The Kanye West of 2010 is eerily similar to the Kanye West of 2002. Whereas the Chicago MC of today is fueling his creative surge with a newfound sense of hunger (the result of a MTV publicity stunt gone wrong and a corresponding eight-month, self-imposed exile), eight years earlier West was equally determined to prove his critics wrong. Despite dropping out of college to focus entirely on his hip-hop career, West could not find a record contract to save his life. They said he lacked that gangsta image and if anything he was a producer and not an MC. Even future friend Jay-Z, whose Roc-A-Fella Records was the first to give West a bite, later admitted he had doubts as to whether West could be a successful rapper.

West responded with his 2004 debut, College Dropout, a definitive record that proved not only his talents as both producer and MC but also launched him into superstardom. The 21-track effort is nothing less than spectacular, combining wit, social commentary, and even religion with a bevy of old-school soul and funk samples one would never expect to hear on a hip-hop album. Blackjack’s “Power of Love”?  Luther Vandross’s “A House is Not a Home”? A sped up Chaka Khan? It was all there. The culmination, of course, came in the form of “Jesus Walks”, a track that managed to make Christianity sound as gangsta as “Straight Outta Compton”. West was on a mission and used College Dropout to not only redefine what it meant to be a rapper but also the concept of sampling and production. Not since Jay-Z’s The Blueprint had the hip-hop industry heard such a game changer.

The rest, of course, is history and one that most of us know pretty well. West further proved his abilities with 2005′s Late Registration and 2007′s Graduation and then changed the blueprint again with 808s and Heartbreak. And though he grew an ego along the way, his music never lost a sense of originality, and much like there would be no Kanye West without Jay-Z, there would be no Lil Wayne, Drake, and Cudi without Kanye. What’s more, much like eight years ago, West is hungry again, eager to prove the doubters and once again establish himself among the industry’s elite. If College Dropout is any evidence, then the next decade and beyond will continue to be ruled and shaped by West. -Alex Young

Essential Tracks: “Jesus Walks”, “Through the Wire”, and ”Never Let Me Down”

99. Talking Heads – Fear of Music

For their first two albums, Talking Heads met with warm reception towards their quirky, post-modern songwriting, but it was with Fear of Music that they established themselves as art-rock masterminds. By staying true to their punk and avant-garde beginnings, while progressing their sound with alternative rhythms and surreal yet accessible lyrics, Talking Heads crafted a powerful collection of songs ranging dramatically in scope and subject matter – paper to heaven, wartime to electric guitars. With the aid of Brian Eno, the band set out to make dark, dystopian disco music; the end result was a landmark collection of intellectual rock songs as cutting edge as anything hanging on a wall in the most revered modern art galleries. - Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Cities”, “Life During Wartime”, “Air”, “I Zimbra”, and “Heaven”

98. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

There’s an old saying that promises, “Everyone will eventually get into Led Zeppelin.”  It may not start with Physical Graffiti, but for those already versed in their early days, this album rewards like no other. Zep embodies their own spirit of excess by giving us a double album packed with epic pysch-rockers, bluesy stompers, acoustic interludes, power ballads, and the closest they’d ever get to an alt-country song, all of which show Jimmy Page displaying some of his best work. “In My Time of Dying” is yet another microcosm of Zeppelin’s boisterousness, but it never feels indulgent, not for any of its 11 minutes. The sturdy drum work of Bonham in “Kashmir” and “Houses of the Holy” is the stuff of rhythmic head-nods everywhere. And while there are stand-out tracks and singles, Physical Graffiti stands alone in the Zep catalog as the album with the most ideas, most experiments, and greatest success rate of these risks. The latter half of the album never feels like filler, from the acoustic southern blues of “The Wanton Song”, to the aching ballad of “Ten Years Gone”, to the straight pop-rock of “Night Flight”. In 1975, Zeppelin released their longest album, arguably their last great album, but also one of their best. -Jeremy Larson

Essential Tracks: “In My Time of Dying”, “Houses of the Holy”, and “Kashmir”

97. Elliott Smith - Either/Or

Elliott Smith’s quivering whisper is so desperate; so defeated, it’s like listening to a child owning up to some horrid fault. On Either/Or, Smith mellows out his take on Beatles-esque folk-rock to the speed of a heroine high and owns up to his demons: alcohol, lethargy, and his ongoing depression. Even the semi-joyous, jaunty “The Ballad of Big Nothing” seeps with confetti-speckled agony. On “Between the Bars”, he paints a picture of a man imprisoned by his own addictions, trapped between beer taps–a cage keeping him from his passions, his lovers, and a real life. For all its misery, Either/Or is an apt title for a record that romanticizes depression-fueled indifference and pays passionate homage to the horrors of apathy.  -Drew Litowitz

Essential Tracks: “Between the Bars”, “The Ballad of Big Nothing”, “Rose Parade”, and ”Angeles”

96. Beck – Midnite Vultures

Beck has always been a pretty funky guy. However, Midnite Vultures took his groovier side to the highest degree. It’s as if Beck spent the year between Mutations and Vultures listening to Parliament-Funkadelic exclusively. The horns that start “Sexx Laws” are yet another display of how far he’s willing to push the envelope. This album can be seen as the last hurrah for the Beck of the ’90s, before Sea Change moved him into a less tongue-in-cheek career path. -Joe Marvilli

Essential Tracks: “Sexx Laws”, “Mixed Bizness”, “Get Real Paid”, and “Debra”

95. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

Five songs, 45 minutes, and all of them are awesome. Pink Floyd’s tribute to former member Syd Barrett (who coincidentally walked into the studio unnoticed during the making of this album), Wish You Were Here, is a mental ride through time and space, where one can dwell on whatever they see fit over this voyage of sound. Both segments of “Shine on Your Crazy Diamond” are perfect from start to finish, even though they both range well over 10 minutes of psychedelic wonder. The middle tracks include the bad-acid trip about conformity, “Welcome to the Machine”, and the funky live staple of Floydology, “Have a Cigar”. Pink Floyd’s five-song albums always seem to be mind-benders (see: Animals), but nothing was more classic than Wish You Were Here, and it will forever remain on my most-played list until I listen to it to calm my nerves on my deathbed. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Wish You Were Here” and “Shine on Your Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)”

94. Metallica - Kill ‘Em All

In truth, this album should not have been completed. Thrash metal was little more than an underground phenomenon in its time; tensions in the band had reached their peak as bassist Ron McGovney quit before future Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was unceremoniously ejected; the original title, Metal Up Your Ass, was not thought marketable by record executives. It was 1983 when Kill ‘Em All finally struck — a biting LP full of punk and classic rock roots mashed together with a bloody hammer. Satriani student and former Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett lent a melodic mid-section to “The Mechanix” (co-written by Mustaine) later titled “The Four Horsemen”; the late Cliff Burton was enlisted, performing his now-iconic bass solo on “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)”. In death to all those who would have passed them over, thrash metal — and what is believed by many to be Metallica’s definitive lineup — was born. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)”, “Whiplash”, and “The Four Horsemen”

93. Parliament Funkadelic – The Mothership Connection

It all comes down to those eight timeless groove-demanding words, “We need the funk, gotta have that funk!” This record was made for every drug-laced, over-sexualized experience in need of a smooth gyrating bass line. Opening like the late-night radio shows of the 70’s, it plays through as the soundtrack from that decade. The songs are full of hilarious and ridiculous one-liners (“Make my funk the P. Funk, I want to get funked up”), and the track names carry the same eccentric good-times feel. As a record, Mothership is a party. Parliament throws down a steady, funky rhythm all the way through to the end of “Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples” like the life of that party depends on it. Mothership… is the record that put George Clinton on the map as the new godfather of funk and in just seven tracks had us all bouncing along with him decade after decade. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof off the Sucker)”, “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”, and “Supergroovalisticprosifunkystication”

92. Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted

Nineties indie rock will be discussed in music history books in another 15 years. This seems like an offhand attempt to sound profound, but all the indie that exists now will someday need to be documented, and the nineties will be the first chapter in said biographical accounts. One record that will be continuously referenced in the creation of modern-day music is Stockton-based Pavement’s first album, Slanted & Enchanted, with its lo-fi recording, intellectually deep lyricism from singer and lead guitarist Steven Malkmus, and percussion and backing vocals from a bizarre character named Bob Nostanovich. Together, these five relatively average dudes put together a cult classic and consistently rad album, with songs like the fantastic and triumphant “Trigger Cut/Wounded Kite at :17”, the sludge-like “In the Mouth a Desert”, the beautiful and elegant “Here”, and the fist-pumping “Two States”.  At the end of the day, Slanted & Enchanted will continue to get better with age, much like the wine that comes from the band’s neighboring Northern Cali territories. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” and ”Here”

91. The Clash – The Clash (US Version)

When the Clash released their self-titled debut album in 1977, the band’s label, CBS Records, refused to release it in the United States, citing it as “not radio friendly.” After becoming the largest selling import of the year, CBS released a US print in July 1979. With a slightly altered tracklist, removing four songs and adding five non-album British-only singles and an altered version of “White Riot”, The Clash, with its blend of old-flavor rock and roll, Jamaican rhythms, ska-like tones, and punk fury, set the stage for the band’s masterpiece, London Calling. The US release benefits from the altered tracklist and results in a stronger overall album, with stompers like “Clash City Rockers” opening the record and the atypical “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” helping to explore the diversity of the band and their influences. Lyrically, Strummer and Jones are very rooted in the actual events of the day; however, they project their message forward 30 years to modern-day America, where an economy is teetering on a cliff, unemployment is high, the youth are continually disenfranchised, and the ennui that affected the youth of the UK has nothing on the combined sense of complacency and malaise that currently seeps throughout our land. I can’t think of a more perfect album much less a more perfect time to revisit it.  -Len Comaratta

Essential Tracks: “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais”, “Police and Thieves”, “White Riot”, and “Career Opportunities”

90. Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts

In 1998, a hardcore band from Umea, Sweden, released one of the greatest, if not the greatest, hardcore/punk albums of all time. Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come remains to this day one of the most assaulting and unpredictable albums I’ve ever heard. The album’s theme is based on the idea that hardcore and punk bands who have a political message are completely counterproductive if they keep packaging their anti-establishment message in poppy punk songs for the masses. So Refused came along to fix that by having on-a-dime tempo changes, synth-jazz beats and breaks, and vintage recording interludes all combined with raw and angry vocals and guitar riffs and some of the best hardcore drumming of any record ever. “New Noise” encapsulates the album’s message, while “Liberation Frequency”, “Refused Party Program”, and “Protest Song ‘68” drive home Refused’s political ideologies into your brain like a Ginsu blade. The band members put so much effort and anger into this album that it would be their last as a band. Shape of Punk to Come caused the band to famously explode during an American tour in support of the album—as seen in their documentary Refused are Fucking Dead. The epic disintegration of the band left behind a larger-than-life myth for Refused that still lives on in their final, and greatest, album. -Nick Freed

Essential Tracks: “New Noise”, “Liberation Frequency”, and “The Deadly Rhythm”

89. Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique

Whenever the Beastie Boys were namedropped in teenage conversation, the pinnacle of my knowledge sat on any one of numerous singles from Licensed To Ill and a few scattered hits about the radio stream. I thought they were funny in the way that ICP is funny or Biz Markie is funny, so whatever, right? Wrong. A couple of years ago, I saw this used copy of Paul’s Boutique in CD Warehouse for about $10 after having heard the name come up before. I played this album in the van and started picking out familiar samples – Jaws theme, Pink Floyd, Average White Band, Afrika Bambaata, The Eagles, James Brown. Beastie Boys were juvenile rappers for most of their career, but look close at 1989′s Paul’s Boutique, the predecessor to mash-ups before samples were monitored like drug traffic and WMG-censored YouTube. Lyrically, Paul’s Boutique is goofy and unintentionally clever, but musically, it has more layers than a Grand’s biscuit. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun”, “High Plains Drifter”, and ”B-Boy Bouillabaise”

88. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

Trent Reznor has come a long way since his one-man studio band Nine Inch Nails injected 1994′s The Downward Spiral into mainstream radio. Taking some pop aesthetic from 1989′s dance-oriented Pretty Hate Machine and grinding it up with the legendary middle finger known as the Broken EP, Reznor spat out a suicidal concept record with industrial metal roots (not to mention its ’95 remix companion). The Downward Spiral spearheaded a wave of industrial pop, nu-metal, mid-90s alternative, and the like, all alongside a leviathan called grunge rock. While the overall sound and motivation of Nine Inch Nails and its sole creator has taken dramatic shifts post-’99, despite a “fist fuck” here and a marriage there, Trent Reznor will go down in history as Mr. Self Destruct — the man who brought us “closer to God” in so many words. On that note, you know you’re awesome when Johnny Cash makes one of your songs his own personal, unplanned eulogy. -David Buchanan

Essential Tracks: “March Of The Pigs”, “Heresy”, and ”Hurt”

87. N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton

Although they probably owe Schoolly D and the Park Side Killas some credit for pioneering gangsta rap, N.W.A. can proudly say that they brought this style of über-catchy, ultra-violent hip-hop to the mainstream. Released in 1988, Straight Outta Compton featured what would eventually become some of the genre’s biggest names — Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and MC Ren – spinning tales of life in one of Los Angeles’s roughest neighborhoods over minimalist beats and scratching provided by DJ Yella and Arabian Prince. Cuts like “Fuck Tha Police” and the title track came to epitomize the West Coast sound and paved a road that led to rap music infiltrating every household in America. Even if you were from the most tranquil corners of suburbia, you tensed up, clenched your fists, and pretended you were popping off rounds when you listened to Ice Cube open the record by declaring, “When I’m called off/I get a sawed off/squeeze the trigger/and bodies are hauled off.”  N.W.A. made you feel hard even though you still had to turn the volume down when your mom was home. -Ray Roa

Essential Tracks: “Straight Outta Compton”, “Fuck Tha Police”, and “Dopeman (Remix)”

86. Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

After already releasing six standout records, Elton John’s lucky number seven slapped us with piano glam rock at its finest, strutting a supersonic sound with prowess and ease. It opens with back-to-back blowouts “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” that set in motion what is still John’s most prized record to date. John had successfully become the biggest hit-maker since The Beatles, and this double record was his magnum opus. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” easily finds itself in the top echelon of fist-pumping rock songs that get your blood boiling and your head banging. The grandiose rock is filled with an energy unlike any of his other works, giving us a new side to the piano man. Ballads “Candle in the Wind” and the title track, along with every other hit off this record, have since become staples in pop, turning the record into an early greatest hits collection. Beyond that, deep cuts like “Grey Seal” carry the same huge presence, showing just how stacked this record really is. All of this could only come from the man in the glittery glasses who knew no limits to where his piano could take him, and thank God for it. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, “Grey Seal”, and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”

85. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall

I’ve never been one of those purists who claims that all “new” music is woefully shamed by all “old” music. For one, even prior to the Internet, the standard for “old” was nebulous at best, and two, the claim simply doesn’t hold up when you consider how inventive, or how life-altering, many records have been since we entered the modern era (whenever that was). But, if I’ve ever been tempted to cozy up to that idea, it’s been while listening, or rather, while being transfixed by a record like Off the Wall. Released in the fall of 1979, the record almost immediately affirmed the late Michael Jackson as the preeminent pop talent of his day, an instant classic that married the prevailing sounds of the funk, soul, and disco-inflected 70′s with an innovative zeal that, I’ll concede, has rarely been seen since.

Having met producer Quincy Jones while filming The Wiz, Jackson knew he’d met the man who would help him step out as a true solo artist, someone who could actualize his expansive vision in the wake of a young lifetime performing alongside his brothers. From the opening string-laced groove of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, which is perhaps the catchiest, most vibrant song I’ve ever heard, it was obvious that their creative union was nothing short of magical, a serendipitous collaboration that would subsequently yield the highest-selling album of all time, Thriller, in 1982. Contributions from Stevie Wonder on the smooth funk of “I Can’t Help It”, Paul McCartney on the tropical soul of “Girlfriend”, and Ron Temperton on the dance floor-igniting “Rock With You”, “Off the Wall”, and “Burn This Disco Out” further shaped Off the Wall into the Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted masterpiece that it is, a groundbreaking pop record for the masses that continues to be transformative even today. - Ryan Burleson

Essential Tracks: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, “Rock With You”, and “Girlfriend”

84. The Who – Tommy

There have been many attempts at the rock opera, but none will come close to the epic that is Tommy. By 1969, The Who had already gained substantial recognition for being the loudest band, so with Tommy they decided to flex their creative muscle and write a story. In doing so they gave us some of the most recognizable riffs and themes in rock. From the anthemic strums of “Pinball Wizard” to the last notes of “Amazing Journey”, they raise the hair on the back of your neck like only The Who can do. Just how a “deaf dumb and blind” kid can actually play pinball is only one part of the story. They would try and save Tommy with Jesus and give him acid. Tommy would be ridiculed and tortured, all the while crying out, “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me”. There’s a strong and rare theatrical quality in the music when it comes to tracks like “Tommy Can You Hear Me”, “Go to The Mirror Boy”, and “Smash the Mirror”. That writing style combined with The Who’s lush instrumentals and imaginative story line have given us the gold standard for rock operas. Others have tried, but when it comes down to it, there will be only one Tommy. -E.N. May

Essential Tracks: “The Acid Queen”, “Pinball Wizard”, and “I’m Free”

83. John Lennon - Imagine

The second album by John Lennon, Imagine, stands as his best release. While the songs are less experimental and more commercial, at least in comparison to his debut, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, you can’t argue that ”Imagine” might be one of the best songs ever written. No religion, no prejudice, and the world living as one was Lennon’s dream on this track. He would also claim that this song was as good as anything he had written with his former band The Beatles. He wouldn’t be alone in these sentiments. On later track “How Do You Sleep?”, which actually features George Harrison on the guitar, Lennon takes a jab at former collaborator Paul McCartney, as he sings, “The only thing you done was yesterday/And since you’ve gone you’re just another day,” letting the world know that there wasn’t peace between the former bandmates. While one can argue that’s hypocritical of his album’s title track, you have to look at it in a different light. This album represents a freedom for Lennon. After one listen, it’s rather apparent he still had a lot to say about his life and the world he lived in. History will always peg him as a Beatle, but on Imagine, he lets you know there was more to that. – Kevin Barber

Essential Tracks: “Imagine”, “Jealous Guy”, and ”How Do You Sleep?”

82. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream

Terrible afflictions such as pain, loneliness, and insecurity have produced some of the finest art in the world, and the Smashing Pumpkin’s 1993 album, Siamese Dream, is no exception. Frontman Billy Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, guitarist James Iha, and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky were facing some of their darkest demons while making this album, including heroin addiction, heartache, and writer’s block, all paired with Corgan’s intensely perfectionist personality and unyielding management. But with the help of producer Butch Vig, who produced their first album, Gish, as well as Nirvana’s Nevermind, they somehow managed to stick together as a band and create an album that would shape and mold the landscape of 1990’s alternative rock. -Karina Halle

Essential Tracks: “Cherub Rock”, “Hummer”, and “Soma”

81. Neil Young – Harvest

Neil Young’s 1972 solo release, Harvest, was his commercial breakthrough. Riding the wave of the number one song “Heart of Gold”, Harvest gave Young a success and credibility to his solo career that would solidify him as one of rock and folk music’s greatest artists. The album, though uneven at times, contains some of the best work of Young’s career. “Heart of Gold”, “Old Man”, and “The Needle and the Damage Done” are three of his strongest songs, and “Heart of Gold” remains Young’s only number one hit. Young instituted the help of former band mates David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, as well as friends James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt for Harvest. The success of the album allowed Young to keep pursuing his solo work, and his output in the next few years would become the best work he’d ever done. -Nick Freed

Essential Tracks: “Heart of Gold”, “Old Man”, and “The Needle and the Damage Done”

80. Paul Simon – Graceland

When Simon and Garfunkel broke up in 1970, there was little doubt that Paul Simon would go on to have a successful solo career. His angelic-voiced partner Art Garfunkel had little part in writing the songs, and it was apparent from Simon’s own pleasing voice that he could do it all on his own. Simon’s first solo album, Paul Simon, was a critical success and showed that he could dabble in alternative cultural music styles such as reggae. This curiosity and willingness to explore other types of music eventually led Simon to create the greatest album of his career, the Grammy-winning Graceland. Instead of the Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and gospel-influenced beats from his previous albums, Graceland was conceived after Simon visited South Africa and soaked up the pulsing flavor of the pre-apartheid country. Influenced by the many different musical styles of the area, such as isicathamiya and mbaqanga, Simon took these newly discovered sounds and successfully matched them to his trademark songwriting. He recorded with African artists Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Okyerema Asante and US staple Linda Rondstadt, creating an explorative and unique album, unlike any the world had heard before, that went onto be highly influential in the pop-rock world; one look at Vampire Weekend and you can see where the connection lies. -Karina Halle

Essential Tracks: “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes”,  “Graceland”, and “You Can Call Me Al”

79. Björk – Post

Björk is one of few artists who could put out an album juxtaposing blistering electro-pop with big band, club-ready tribal dance with downtempo trip-hop and find both critical and commercial success. Her second album (of her adult career), Post, the title signifying a “letter” to her Iceland self after her move to England, is everything Debut was and more. She brought back Debut producer Nellee Hooper but also worked with Tricky, Howie B., and others and did plenty of production work herself. What resulted is an album where every song contributes its own voice to create a much larger sound. It’s tempting to call what Björk does on Post pop experimentation, but it never feels like she’s experimenting. The scattered, whispering minimalism on her tribute to music, “Headphones”, comes just as naturally to her as the pop hooks on angry industrial opener “Army of Me”. -Harry Painter

Essential Tracks: “Hyperballad”, “It’s Oh So Quiet”, and ”Headphones”

78. Sly And The Family Stone - There’s a Riot Going On

You know all that hot fun you had in the summertime with Sly & The Family Stone? Well, watch out, ’cause summer turns cold. Taking a page out of Bitches Brew‘s book, Sly came into the ’70s with a new plan, albeit a drug-addled one. Emotions are running high, narcosis seeps and slithers throughout the album, and militant disaffection with the then state of affairs is all but pounded into ears. The lyrics “feel so good/don’t wanna move” speak to the continuum connecting the hubris of the late 60s and the stasis of Sly and his mind/society in the early 70s. Outside of its timely relevance, the origins of hip-hop, funk, R&B, and fusion are present throughout the album. The ur-synth beat on the beginning of “Africa Talks To You ‘The Asphalt Jungle’” might just be the herald of 808s to come. Sadly, There’s A Riot Going On also heralds Sly’s descent into addiction. But the best album of Sly and his band’s career came in on a cloudy, groovy haze of sex, drugs, and, yeah, rock and roll, and few albums are as honest and heartbreaking and funky as this. -Nick Freed

Essential Tracks: “Family Affair”, “(You Caught Me) Smiling”, and “Africa Talks To You ‘The Asphalt Jungle’”

77. Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman

1970’s Tea for the Tillerman continued Cat Stevens’ transition from mop-top teen idol to introspective singer-songwriter — a goal he began reaching for earlier that year with Mona Bone Jakon. However, Tillerman is more than an attempt at transformation. It’s a calling card to those entering adulthood — a warning and reminder pertaining to the thrills and challenges of leaving home. “Wild World” reminds that pretty girl from high school that “it’s hard to get by just upon a smile.” “Miles from Nowhere” and “On the Road to Find Out” provide spiritual signs along life’s highway. “Hard Headed Woman” is about finding those people who will tell you like it is and love you just as fully, while “Sad Lisa” is about the person you love who is too wrapped up in his or her own past to embrace that love. The jewel of Tillerman is “Father and Son”, which is the ultimate in awkward father-son chats, with Stevens’ stunning, alternating bass and tenor vocals painting the conversation. How is Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame again? – Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Hard Headed Woman”, “Wild World”, and “Father and Son”

76. Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun

Densely layered with white noise, strings, choirs, the saw of a cello bow against a guitar, and sublimely indecipherable lyrics, Ágætis Byrjun is both intense and ethereal and always unabashedly gorgeous. As Jónsi Birgisson howls in what is too uniquely otherworldly to be merely labeled as falsetto in both Icelandic and Vonlenska, a nonsensical language made and used by Birgisson on the title track and “Olsen Olsen”, the soundscapes that are divinely crafted by Sigur Rós on Ágætis Byrjun are transformed into something completely alien. With so much feeling behind both languages, it doesn’t matter what the band is, or isn’t, saying. -Frank Mojita

Essential Tracks: “Viðrar vel til loftárása”, “Starálfur”, and “Olsen Olsen”

75. Jay-Z – The Blueprint

Only eight percent of this list consists of hip-hop, so when we say Jay-Z’s The Blueprint belongs on this list, you better believe we mean it. What can be said about Jay-Z that hasn’t already been said about Pac and Biggie? No-holds-barred, the Jiggaman is widely considered the best rapper alive. Jay arrived on the scene in the early 90′s and has remained a solid presence in the rap game ever since. All 11 of his albums have debuted in the top 25, and all have achieved at least platinum status. But none was more notable than The Blueprint. Aptly named, The Blueprint laid the foundation for the future of all hip-hop. The album was a deviation from the power-hook radio hits Jay-Z and his contemporaries had been accustomed to cranking out, and it ended up being all for the best.

Instead, the album utilizes rich, intelligently placed soul-sampling that boosted not only the beats of the songs but built an immovable foundation for Jigga to throw down on. The production on this album was pioneering to say the least, and it couldn’t have been done without the cunning skills of Jay-Z to accompany it. It also helped further establish the career of an up-and-coming producer, one Kanye West, who, as we all know, has now become one of the most prominent rappers in the game. Thanks to genius production and masterful rhyming by the best rapper alive, the rap game was permanently changed for the better with the release of The Blueprint. -Winston Robbins

Essential Tracks: “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)”, “Never Change”, “Song Cry”, and ”Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”

74. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks

All things considered, the 70’s were not Bob Dylan’s best period. Sure, Desire was solid, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid produced one of his most beloved tracks (“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”), but the decade also saw him release some relative clunkers like Self Portrait, Planet Waves, and Street Legal. Luckily, all the sub-par 70’s releases are overshadowed by one of Dylan’s masterpieces, 1975’s Blood on theTracks. Widely regarded as Dylan’s most personal record, even if he denies the claim, there’s no arguing the fact that the album is filled with pain. The recording sessions in 1974 came just off the heels of his messy divorce with then-wife Sara. The songs that came out of these sessions are timeless songs of heartache, loneliness, and anger that still resonate with listeners 35 years later. –Carson O’Shoney

Essential Tracks: “Tangled Up In Blue”, “Simple Twist of Fate”, and “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”

73. Radiohead - Kid A

Everything was in its right place. But, clearly that wasn’t enough for Radiohead. No, these five lads had to rewrite their perfect formula. They had to take everything they knew about how to be a great rock band–which they most certainly were–and throw it down the garbage disposal, flipping the switch till it was growling and coughing up an almost entirely new entity. Few guitars, vocals filtered through ondes martenots, analog synthesizers, digital drums, clamoring traffic jam horns, and lush strings make up one the most jarring stylistic shifts of the past 20 years, and one of the finest records of the past 10. Somehow, whether by sheer, anxious determination or pure creative genius, by doing everything backwards, everything was in its right place again on Kid A, but the place just looked a hell of a lot different. -Drew Litowitz

Essential Tracks: “Kid A”, “The National Anthem”, “How to Disappear Completely”, “Idioteque”, and “Motion Picture Soundtrack”

72. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magic

Today, the Red Hot Chili Peppers stand as royalty on the radio. But back in the ’80s, the only thing you knew about “red hot chili peppers” was that, depending on the Mexican stand, you either could or couldn’t stomach them. Hardy har har. But it’s true. Unless you were hip to the California music scene, or caught a George Clinton show, you’d never know who the hell they were. Well, that’s only half true. Mother’s Milk did chart at number 52 on the Billboard Top 200, but overall? No. That is, until Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Everything just…fell into place. It would be the band’s first release with Warner Bros. Records, producer Rick Rubin would take over the controls from Michael Beinhorn, and all members had finally become comfortable with one another. For recording, the band shacked up in what’s now called The Mansion, which at the time was an old Laurel Canyon estate that had once belonged to Errol Flynn. Both drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante, to this day, claim they felt a ghostly presence while living there – so much so that Smith eventually left. (Look in the album artwork. There’s a “supernatural” surprise in one of the photos!) Over a month, they spent time writing and recording and consulting one another. This sort of bonding experience washed over into the album.

For one, it’s a very cohesive experience – each song blends into the next – and what’s more, it’s all incredibly tight. Once “The Power of Equality” kicks off the funky fellowship, it’s clear that this isn’t the band who once sang about “…Coyotes” or “Magic Johnson”. (Technically it wasn’t.) Instead, this was a band ready to take itself seriously, while having fun doing it. Despite what detractors say, they didn’t go soft here. They took their ferocity and channeled it into something that could affect or change people…not just make ‘em laugh and shake. This wouldn’t be more obvious than on “Under the Bridge”, the single that still has folks turning up the dial whenever rock radio decides to plug it, which hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years. And while Californication nearly rivals it, Blood Sugar Sex Magik remains the watermark that set the Chili Peppers’ flag high above the rock and roll scene. Modern day Rolling Stones? Pretty close. Pretty, pretty…pretty close. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “The Power of Equality”, “Suck My Kiss”, and “Under the Bridge”

71. Tom Waits – Rain Dogs

While most albums in this list fit this criterion, in the grand scheme of things it’s pretty rare to have an entire album that does not contain a single bad track. It’s even more rare to have an album like that when it spans 19 tracks, but that’s exactly what Tom Waits did with Rain Dogs. Some of the songs may be a little too far out there for some listeners, but every song is just as effective as the next. After years of playing the club scene with just his voice and a piano, Waits shocked everyone when he came out with the jangled and insane Swordfishtrombones in 1983. This shift in his musical style would eventually define his career, even after he moved into new territory once again. While Swordfishtrombones saw him dive off the deep end, it wasn’t until his next album that he perfected his new brand of music that was all his own.

To describe it is useless; it’s something that begs to be experienced. Waits has always had an obsession with the down-and-out deadbeats on the streets, but it was never as obvious as it is on Rain Dogs – the name itself being a reference to these same type of “urban dispossessed”, as Waits describes it. And while the lyrics often deal with the bizarre side of things (“The captain is a one-armed dwarf/he’s throwing dice along the wharf”), they’re often as universally affecting as his earlier work (“Tear the promise from my heart, tear my heart today/ You have found another, oh baby I must go away”). Waits’ songwriting ability is also put on display on tracks like “Downtown Train”, which eventually became a top-five hit when Rod Stewart covered it four years later. There are many essential records in Tom Waits’ long and storied career, but Rain Dogs might be the most essential of them all. –Carson O’Shoney

Essential Tracks: “Singapore”, “Anywhere I Lay My Head”, and “Big Black Mariah”

70. The Beatles – Rubber Soul (UK Version)

It’s difficult to make one of the greatest albums of all time (understatement of this and the previous century). The Beatles made several, and Rubber Soul is undoubtedly amongst them. That tremendous bass and guitar to open up “Drive My Car”, courtesy of legends (again, an understatement) Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The only Lennon/McCartney/Starkey credit in the band’s discography, “What Goes On” is one of Ringo’s finest moments. “I’m Looking Through You” is one of McCartney’s finest offerings, with the scream of “You’re not the same!” providing one of the highlights of an album chock-full of them. However, this is John Lennon’s album. Picture Rubber Soul without the sitar-infused “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, the somber “Nowhere Man”, the sensual “Girl”, the dark “Run for Your Life”, and arguably the greatest love song of them all, “In My Life”. It’s hard to imagine that later Beatles records actually managed to top it. -Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Drive My Car”, “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”, and “In My Life”

69. The Smiths – The Smiths

“It’s time the tale were told/Of how you took a child/And you made him old.” From the initial lyrics of “Reel Around the Fountain”, we knew The Smiths’ self-titled debut was destined for classic status. Morrissey’s dour lyrics juxtaposed against Johnny Marr’s lifting guitar only made this more apparent. The theme of child abuse is prevalent throughout (“Reel Around the Fountain”, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”, “Suffer Little Children”) but somehow made bearable by that aforementioned guitar, soothing our fears while Morrissey recites nightmares both fact and fiction. The singer’s ambiguous persona is on display, as well, whether in the passenger seat of “This Charming Man” or arm-in-arm in “Hand in Glove”. Given the success of The Smiths, the multitude of fantastic singles, and a couple more classic albums, it’s hard to believe just three years later it would be over. Genius band, genius album. -Justin Gerber

Essential Tracks: “Reel Around the Fountain”, “Hand in Glove”, and “What Difference Does it Make”

68. Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Looking back to ’98, Lauryn Hill seemed primed to have a huge solo career ahead of her, especially after her stint with The Fugees. Instead, there was nothing. Well, not nothing. There’s always The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which notched eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist, earning Hill all the praise from the industry and media she wanted. Instead of following up, she just, well, quit. Only recently has her name come up as she plans her follow-up. 12 years for a follow-up is one hell of a hiatus. But what an album to follow. It could be considered one of the best solo female albums ever recorded. Full of soul and passion, you can hear and feel the messages she tries to get across about God, love, motherhood, and life. “To Zion”, one of the album’s finest songs, speaks of putting family first over the music business, which she eventually did. With a perfect blend of hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and soul, Hill brings this album to life, working from a vocal range that (arguably) still goes unmatched today. -Kevin Barber

Essential Tracks: “Doo Wop (That Thing)”, “To Zion”, and “Everything is Everything”

67. Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen

Infinitely imitated and infinitely respected, Songs of Leonard Cohen sounds like an apocalypse when we listen to it today. His mellow, dejected folk mapped out a hollow blueprint for what Jack Black referred to as “sad bastard music” in High Fidelity. Ironically, it was Judy Collins who first cut and recorded the immortal “Suzanne”, the album’s memorable lead track. Spare and affected, Cohen’s delivery worked all the more because of the late 60s psychedelia his music eschewed. Recently crowned indie-rock royalty The National accidentally swapped instruments with Cohen before a show in Brooklyn this past summer and patently refused to use Cohen’s instruments out of respect for his songwriting. There’s a certain command that Cohen’s music respects at this point in his career, and that says just as much about Songs of Leonard Cohen as his unassuming guitar lines and his pensively personal lyrics. Like his contemporaries Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen’s debut clued us in that he was here to stay. -Eric Vilas-Boas

Essential Tracks: “Suzanne”, “So Long, Marianne”, and ”Sisters of Mercy”

66. Devo – Duty Now For the Future

Duty Now For the Future doesn’t feature any songs about whipping, monkey men, or the illusion of a “beautiful world”, but the album is pure Devo. Duty Now is first and foremost a punk-rock album, flirting lasciviously with the mysterious force that would become new wave, and was among the first rock albums from a major label to heavily feature synthesizers. Guitars and electronic instruments have never purred so sweetly together before or since. The album set precedents for how raw art-house rock can be and how surrealist punk rock can get. Everything from the government to burger commercials are touched upon, and many songs are steeped in sexual tension and masculine fury. Duty Now harbors the manic sensibilities of every underground comic ever published, with the cartoon horniness of Tex Avery’s Big Bad Wolf – pop art and punk rock’s plastic-wrapped bastard baby, a perfect specimen of devolution. -Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Smart Patrol/ Mr. DNA”, “Clockout”, “Wiggly World”, and “The Day My Baby Gave Me a a Surprize”

65. Arcade Fire – Funeral

At the beginning of my senior year in college, my new neighbor, future music guru, and inevitable lifelong friend invited me up to his apartment because there was something I had to hear. The song was “Rebellion (Lies)”, and it was like nothing I had heard at that point. The pulsing drumbeat, the slow build, the giant finish, the words “sleeping is giving in” that rang too true. The wild ride Arcade Fire had on the horizon sounds like PR hype, but it came from people we knew, straight from our friends’ mouths. The performances with motorcycle helmets and flashlights, the sunset Coachella set that every other music festival performance seems to stand in the shadow of, performing with David Bowie, and ultimately living up to the promise with two more impressive and career-building records. But none will ever be Funeral, a record that really needed none of the mythology. It worked in a tiny bedroom with two dudes quietly listening and being taken aback. With showstopping moments including the aforementioned track, future NFL anthem “Wake Up”, and album opener “Tunnels (Neighborhood #1)”, it took no time to grow on listeners and never has gotten old. At six years old, it still sounds fresh and exciting, yet it’s also comfortable on a list with the rock and roll classics. Unlike them, however, the ripples of this one are still being felt. At the very least, this album was instrumental in me meeting my dear friend. Either way it’s a win. -Philip Cosores

Essential Tracks: “Wake Up”, “Rebellion (Lies)”, and ”Haiti”

64. The Doors – The Doors

The self-titled debut album from acid-rockers The Doors was released in 1967, climbing to #2 on the Billboard charts and achieving multi-platinum status. Featuring 11 tracks mostly penned by the poetic frontman Jim Morrison, the album has stood up to the test of time and is an essential component of any serious music collection. Featuring the hit single “Light My Fire” and covers of the scat-filled “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)” and “Back Door Man”, this album launched The Doors into their current status as classic rock icons. The fittingly titled “The End” closes out the album with nearly 12 minutes of singing, talking, storytelling, and guttural screaming over haunting guitar riffs. This album was just the beginning for the band that created music that has endured long after Morrison’s untimely death just four years after the release of this debut album. Its influence is rampant. Just look at old performances by Ian Curtis, or ask Iggy Pop. –Kelly Quintanilla

Essential Tracks: “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”, “Light My Fire”, and “The End”

63. R.E.M. – Document

If you were young in the 90′s, R.E.M. was a gigantic enigma that didn’t tour and seemed to continually increase in popularity without capitalizing on any of it. Like U2, they were larger than life, thus making it hard to believe that at one point they were shy southern boys who made jangly college rock that was indebted to The Velvet Underground. We live with indie bands rising to fame all around us, but in the early 80′s, it was weird to be a musician and be understated. Also, remember that this wasn’t the era of overnight sensations, and it wasn’t a swift shift from indie darlings to pop juggernaut, it was a metamorphosis over five albums, and Document would be their last as an “indie.” Purists may cite Murmur or Reckoning as the more influential album, and pop historians could point out Out of Time or Automatic for the People as greater crowd pleasers, but Document is about the only time you will ever please both camps. It was their first platinum release and contained their first top 10 hit with “The One I Love”, yet this R.E.M. still had the balls to throw a cover of Wire’s “Strange” on side one. And then there is a little song called “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”, R.E.M.’s signature song in a back catalog full of signature songs. It was the tune that took us from the 80′s straight through to Y2K. After the world didn’t end with the year 2000, you seemed to hear it a little less, but go see R.E.M. in concert and there is a good chance you’ll here it at the end. -Philip Cosores

Essential Tracks: “Exhuming McCarthy”, “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”, and ”The One I Love”

62. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

The definitive Bible of underground hip-hop. No album was rawer, grittier, or better-crafted than Wu-Tang Clan’s opus, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). They were a group to fear (after all, they knew karate) and made it known in the first 20 seconds of “Bring Da Ruckus”. On the opening track, Wu-Tang sounds like they’re begging you to bring on the heat, because they know as a collective crew, they could hold together through anything. This album showed the kind of ethic they would keep for the rest of their careers both on group and solo efforts. The way Raekwon and Ghostface trade off lines together on “Can It Be All so Simple” is some of the finest swapping in hip-hop. The flow and beat from Inspectah Deck and RZA on “C.R.E.A.M.” will forever stand as one of hip-hop’s finest lyrical and production achievements. Not to mention the raw and fantastic verses spit by legends Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Shame on a Nigga” and Method Man on his biographical track stand as some of the best rhymes in hip-hop to date. Wu-Tang created an empire, and this was the first and most essential brick within it. -Ted Maider

Essential Tracks: “Protect Ya Neck”, the only track on the album to feature almost all members.

61. Green Day – Dookie

Green Day broke into the mainstream with Dookie, perfectly timed to arrive hot on the Doc Martens heels of the grunge scene. The California-based band fronted by Billie Joe Armstrong and rounded out by bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool found success by fusing the anti-establishment nature of its punk rock roots with a grunge appearance, backed by catchy pop melodies and hooks. Exploring everything from panic attacks to masturbation to bisexuality, the lyrics struck a chord with fans of all ages and positioned Green Day as the modern punk band for the masses. Released in 1994, the band’s third and best-selling album found commercial success, reaching number two on the Billboard charts and scoring a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. The band was accused of “selling out” by previous followers of the underground punk scene, but Dookie found a way to reinvigorate interest in the original punk legends by serving as an entry-level punk record and giving a voice to rebellious teens who didn’t actually have a lot to rebel against in the relatively placid mid-1990s. –Kelly Quintanilla

Essential Tracks: “Basket Case”, “When I Come Around”, and “Longview”

60. The Band – Music From Big Pink

The Band never quite fit in with the 60s and 70s rock scene. They weren’t political, they constantly switched instruments, and they loved their families. Sure, there were drugs and women, but while other groups made songs out of such decadent behavior, The Band remained firmly rooted in tradition, filtering all of their lyrical subject matter (even the love songs) through a lens of mountainous, archaic Americana, spinning yarns about courageous settlers and the Civil War. What kept it from being corny was their sense of communal musicianship, their chestnut lyrics set ablaze by each member’s skills, and their debut album, Music From Big Pink, which captured them at the peak of their powers, before all the legal squabbles, back when they were just five fellas playing music in a cavernous house in the Catskills (the namesake of the album). Listen to Big Pink and you can feel each member in the room. There are no stage hogs and everyone stands out. You remember Garth Hudson’s Captain Nemo organ solo on “Chest Fever” just as well as you remember the stacked harmonies and traded leads of Levon Helm and Rick Danko on “The Weight”. And let’s not forget the back bayou thump of their rhythm chops either. Robbie Robertson really cooks on “Caledonia Mission”, and Richard Manuel’s aching pipes drench the entire album in earnest, alcoholic tears, especially on closer “I Shall Be Released”, inevitably performed by some of the surviving members at his funeral in 1986. Behind the tumble and prophecy of Big Pink‘s elaborate orchestration was a heart so wonderfully simple in times that were not. -Dan Caffrey

Essential Tracks: “Chest Fever”, “The Weight”, and ”I Shall Be Released”

59. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

Talk about turning the card on the sophomore slump. Today, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless stands as a testament to the beauty of sonic chaos. Originally believed by the band’s label, Creation, to be recorded in five days, the 48:36 seconds of absolute sonic bliss came to fruition after a series of catastrophic incidents. The laundry list includes dementia, bankruptcy, tinnitus, and isolation. One label head’s hair even turned gray. But like anything in art, perfection never surfaces without its share of consequences. Under a multitude of churning, whirly guitars and a bookshelf of harmonies, the diamond-like sequencing of Loveless sucks you into the madness, as well. But, it’s a beautiful trip that’s unique to the creative mind of Kevin Shields and one that nobody’s been able to replicate since. -Michael Roffman

Essential Tracks: “Soon”, “To Here Knows When”, and ”Only Shallow”

58. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Many bands break up because of infighting, but Fleetwood Mac may have been the first to be threatened by insleeping. When recording for Rumours began, the band dynamic was heading straight to hell. One band couple (Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks) broke up. A second (John and Christine McVie) got divorced. Emotional/sexual bonds formed, broke, then reformed in new configurations. Everyone cheated on everyone else in a series of many-strings-attached encounters. By the time the band hit the studio, pretty much no one was speaking to anyone else. Unlike the more collaborative effort of previous albums, Buckingam, Nicks, and Christine McVie wrote most of the songs separately. In perhaps the most brutal moment, McVie wrote “You Make Loving Fun” about her affair with Fleetwood Mac’s lighting designer and made her cuckolded husband play bass on it. As devastating as the lyrics are to these songs, the pop production lifts them above dreary anguish. The tune of “Go Your Own Way” bounces along, seemingly oblivious to its heart-wrenching lyrics. “The Chain” turns bitter rejection into a series of sing-along hooks. This tension between pain and pleasure infuses the album with its conflicted character. Never has heartbreak been so much fun. –Ray Padgett

Essential Tracks: “Second Hand News”, “The Chain”, and “Oh Daddy”

57. Genesis – Genesis

As both a prog-rock band and a pop-rock band, Genesis never produced anything short of incredible albums, but it was when they straddled both genres equally that the band showed its greatest strengths. Genesis’ cusp period is the very definition of art-pop, and no record evokes this more clearly than their 1983 self-titled album. Genesis is a tour de force of the Collins-era band at their most creative. Every facet of the band is represented:  dark pulpy narratives like “Mama” and “Home by the Sea”, goofy but brilliant tracks like “Illegal Alien” and “Silver Rainbow”, and masculine pop hits “That’s All” and “Just a Job to Do”. The production is crisp and inspired, from the opening sound collage of “Illegal Alien” to the mystical synth noises of “Silver Rainbow” and the funky breakdowns of “Just a Job to Do”; every track is simple, honest, brilliance. In this day and age when every new act gets hung up on who they’re taking inspiration from and who they hope to sound like, it’s albums like this that listeners can turn to to remind themselves what a truly original art-pop record sounds like. - Cap Blackard

Essential Tracks: “Mama”, “Home by the Sea”, “Just a Job to Do”, and “That’s All”

56. The Who – Quadrophenia

Tommy may be their most well-known album, and Who’s Next is the record that propelled them to superstardom, but for many Who fans, Quadrophenia is the British quartet at their most ambitious. Released in 1973, Pete Townshend and company put together a brilliant coming-of-age story of a young mod in Britain during the band’s formative years. From the tenacity of “The Real Me” to the overwhelming power of “Love Reign O’er Me”, Quadrophenia truly encapsulates Townshend’s genius as a songwriter. Unlike Tommy, this album is a straightforward, no-frills rocker that gives Roger Daltrey the ability to show his incredible vocal range and elevates him to rock god, while John Entwistle’s rock-solid bass and Keith Moon’s manic drumming lay the perfect foundation that allows for their bandmates to shine. Townshend is one of the only musicians to have the ability to add a synthesizer without sounding out of place. His tactical use of synthesizers on songs like “5:15” and “The Sand and The Sea” adds depth and becomes an essential addition for each track. Though it doesn’t feature any songs on the CSI soundtrack, it’s fair to say that Quadrophenia is The Who at the top of its game, and that’s saying something. –Daniel Kohn

Essential Tracks: “The Punk and The Godfather”, “5:15”, and “Love Reign O’er Me”

55. Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen has been called both the Pet Sounds of the 80s and one of the most perfect pop albums ever made – serious praise that it rightly deserves. The album is an example of incredible songwriting given the gift of likewise incredible and intelligent production, a once-every-planetary-cycle happenstance. The tracks are written in a classical style, derived directly from the high-water mark set by George Gershwin and Brian Wilson but mimicking neither. Frontman and songwriter Paddy McAloon’s unique personality shines through in lyrics laced with clever cynicism (“I hear you’ve got a new girlfriend. How’s the wife taking it?”) and heartfelt irreverence (the spite shown towards Heaven in“When the Angels” for the murder of