Editorial Review

One of ZZ Top's great gifts is its concision; even in the side-long-jam era of the '70s, the Texans almost always fit 10 cuts on their albums. Surveying two decades of their output, Read more

Reviews (56)

Billy Gibbons is an influence;but this?
One look at the tracks...naw. Just buy the first album,maybe the 2nd, DeGuello...the rest of the 80's stuff was saturated junk (IMHO).
ZZ Top-Greatest Hits
If you are a super ZZ fan, this is for you.Even if you are not a major fan, it should still be in your collection, if just to remember the early days of MTV.

I Say Lord, Take me Downtown...
I'm just looking for some lunch.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Blues-Rock    4. Boogie Rock    5. Hard Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock    9. Rock & Roll    10. Rock/Pop    11. Southern Rock   

Editorial Review

More than Read more

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (57)

Oh Janice,
I needed to remember how progressive Janice was yet forgot about that scratchy voice. Nice memory

Just the Best
If you enjoy the works of one of the great rock and roll stars of our time, Janis Joplin, I would highly recommend this CD of Janis Joplin-Greatest Hits.It captures Janis in a number of concert scenes where she was at her best...in front of live crowds..talking and singing...the music, music tones, moods, language, conversation, all make this CD very special...I had the pleasure of seeing Janis when I was a young kid in my first year of high school...she was very special...and her work is very special.If you don't know of Janis...try this out...it will rock your world.

Janis Live!
I never saw Janis perform in person; however, anyone can see her perform live because there is an excellent video: Janis: The Way She Was. This includes three different renditions of "Ball and Chain". She left Mamma Cass in shock at the Monterrey Pop Festival. My advice is that people skip the recordings and go straight to the video. Janis was much more than a singer; she was a cultural icon. A recording of Janis is like a recording of opera - incomplete. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Blues-Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock & Roll    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

With the pop sense of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks now leading the band, Fleetwood Mac moved completely away from blues and created this homage to love, Southern California-style. Each songwriter makes his or her presence known: Nicks for her dreamy, mystical reveries ("Dreams," "Gold Dust Woman:); Christine McVie for her ultra-catchy slogans ("Don't Stop"); and Buckingham for his deceptively simple pop songs ("Second Hand News," "Go Your Own Way"). "The Chain," written collectively, is the Mac at their most dramatic. But it's the ensemble playing, the elastic rhythms, and lush harmonies that transform the material into classic FM fare. Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (235)

A classic
They say passion fuels the fire and this album is a perfect example of that. The McVie's marriage was coming to an end, the Buckinham/Nicks relationship also. And it's all displayed so wonderfully here...failing relationships form the backbone to pretty much every song here - the song titles alone indicate where the songs are headed. I can't imagine what it must have been like recording this album - having to work alongside the person that you no longer love. And so it goes - the songs are akin to a game of tennis, one songwriter fires a shot, only to find it returned with a blistering volley. The album opens with the high tempo "Second Hand News" and the energy is maintained through to "Go Your Own Way". The tempo drops for "Songbird" and via superb sequencing "The Chain" follows - starting with just a drum and a couple of guitars it builds to such a superb crescendo that it was used by the BBC as the theme song to their Formula One Motor Racing coverage. The quality songwriting and musicianship is maintained throughout the album. One of the most important albums ever recorded.

THE archetypical 70's album!
A great album for anyone and eveyone, which truly captures the essence of not only the 70's but Fleetwood Mac itself falling apart at the seems. Great songs such as "Go Your Own Way" and "The Chain" make this a must for any record collection!

Biggest Album Of The 70's
In my opinion Rumours from Fleetwood Mac is one of the biggest albums of the 70's. The 10 songs on this CD are outstanding. In my opinion this is one of the best CD's of all time. Stevie Nicks does a very good job on Dreams. I really didn't know what the words were until I looked at the liner notes of the song. She gives this song good vocal performance. You Make Loving Fun is my favorite song on this CD. Christine McVie does a wonderful job of singing this song. I love the beats of the songs Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way. The CD starts out with the song Second Hand News which is a very nice up-tempo song by the group. Never Going Back Again is the shortest song on the CD but a very good song. The Chain has very good harmony vocals on it also. The CD ends with Stevie Nicks singing Gold Dust Woman, A haunting theme to it. Fleetwood Mac went above and beyond when they recorded this album. Good Job!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Pop    3. Pop/Rock    4. Popular Music    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop    7. Soft Rock   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (32)

Great Stones Collection
If you want to listen to the best Mick Jagger & company had to offer from the early 70s to the early 90s then this is the CD for you.
not the best choice of songs
This should have included SHATTERED, SHE'S SO COLD, and ONE HIT TO THE BODY, if it was a true greatest hits cd from this time period.

Mixed Emotional CD
I have Mixed Emotions about this CD compilation. Most of the Stones best songs are here during that era, although I would have liked to have seen "Can't You Hear Me Knocking?", "Monkey Man", "Shattered", "She's So Cold", or "Dance Little Sister" on it.But the biggest letdown in this CD was the editted version of the Monster Hit: "Miss You" by one minute and sixteen seconds. (the singles version)Also, "Beast of Burden","Hot Stuff", and "Fool to Cry" were each cut by almost a full minute! "Rock and A Hard Place" was also editted too.(You can hear the eight minute dance version of 'Miss You' on the "Rarities '71 to '03" CD, but that was more amusing than fantastic listening.) Overall the 'Jump Back' CD is good, but You Can't Always Get What You Want. If you did, you got me Rocking! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Blues-Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Rock    7. Rock & Roll    8. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

As Roger Waters's solo career set into a sunset of suspiciously self-serving Read more

Reviews (406)

Encapsulates all their musical grandeur
"The Division Bell" followed "Momentary Lapse of Reason" and it constituted the band's second release without Roger Waters and with David Gilmour at the helm of the band. In my mind, it can be considered as an album that encapsulates all of Pink Floyd's grandeur, having an abundance of musical references to their greatest works.
Not Enough Stars, This Is Their Pinnacle, since.....
....DSOTM is almost impossible to compare with anything, it's such an iconic recording.At least I can't be very objective about it....As a tremendous fan of most all Floyd since that record, I can honestly say Division Bell ismy favorite. Less cynical than the rest of them (with a couple of tracks as very notable exceptions!!)
Cold and distant, album leaves me empty
I just cant warm up to anything on this album. It reminds me of some of the NewAge stuff back in the 80s mixed with some of the candy rock of the time. Like George Winston's piano on "Winter" where the pauses between the notes added meaning. It seems Gilmour was playing with the space between the notes. Definitely not the space between his ears. If you like this try Jean Michelle Jarre or Kitaro. They do a much better job. Lord knows I've tried to listen to MLOR and Division Bell but PF truely died with the parting of Waters. This is just retire money for Gilmour or he as gone by way of Sid Barrett. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Psychedelia    3. Pop    4. Popular Music    5. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    6. Psychedelic    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (126)

Most Underrated Album Ever!
Disclaimer: I am reviewing the original, and have never heard the extra tracks or remastering.
Coherent
Is this album really a joke?The music has tremendous rhythm, grace, depth, and the lyrics develop a single idea and make perfect sense to anyone who's seen metaphors before.Sometimes they hardly count as metaphors:
Judge's Disqualify "Little Milton"
Jethro Tull's best record. A heavy, mad flute seemlessly blends together elements of folk, classical, rock, minstrel and progressive rock to create a grand aural experience.Thick As A Brick is a visionary concept album with strong vocals by Ian Anderson, intricate acoustic tones and excellent drumming.Two sides, one song. If you are a Jethro Tull fan and don't have this crown jewel in your collection, it 's a must. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Hard Rock    3. Pop    4. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Commissioned as the soundtrack for Barbet Schroeder's 1972 film Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered
• Soundtrack

Reviews (137)

Nearly Perfect!

Pleasant, personally surpasses The Wall for me actually
Obscured by Clouds, the 1972 soundtrack to the obscure French film (set in Papua New Guinea) La Vallée composed and performed by a little-known band called Pink Floyd. Should be fun.
The forgotten Floyd album
Obscured by Clouds, the other soundtrack album if you will, is one of their best in terms of the actual songs themselves.I would say the songs on here are better than on Dark Side of the Moon it's just that Dark Side had all the cool sound effects and the concept album feel.Now onto the album itself.It starts wonderfully with "Obscured by Clouds" and "When You're In".I'm not usually a fan of instrumentals but these two are very well done and set the tone for the album.Next is "Burning Bridges" which is a good Waters/Wright song.After that is the upbeat rocker, yes kids thats right an upbeat Pink Floyd song called "The Gold It's In the.." which is just a simple song about going out and looking for gold i suppose.Next is the best song on the album and one of my favorite Floyd songs of all time."Wot's...Uh the Deal?" is a slower acoustic sounding number that is just beautiful in every sense of the word.I especially love the use of electric guitar in the middle and the lyrics are just fantastic.After that we get "Mudmen" which is a nice and has good Gilmour guitar in it.We get more Gilmour in the next song "Childhood's End" which seems as a precursor to "Time" as they both have the same sound going on."Free Four" is considered by some the best album on here and it is definetly an interesting song.Deathly lyrics set to what sounds like a Floyd version of "Spirit in the Sky".Now this wouldn't be a Pink Floyd album without a little bit of Rick Wright so he brings us "Stay" which is one of his better songs and I like the overall sound of it.Than we close on a downer "Absolutely Curtians" which is horrendous.It's boring and those chants are not even needed.But don't let one song ruin the expierence for you it is one of the better Pink Floyd albums and has one of their better songs on it.So if you don't have it and you consider yourself a Floyd fan, go get it.You won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Psychedelia    3. Pop    4. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    5. Psychedelic    6. Rock/Pop    7. Soundtracks & Film Scores   

Editorial Review

What once seemed Queen's greatest liabilities--a preening flamboyance and pompous, overwrought theatricality--have ironically become their most enduring charms in a gray, postmodern pop-music landscape. While it eschews the glammy, pre-punk hard rock of live faves like "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Tie Your Mother Down" for the band's more quirky club-beat string of latter-day hits, this 51-track triple-CD anthology goes a long way toward documenting the true dimensions of the band's music and fame. Some songs may not be instantly familiar to American fans because of yet another irony: just as their U.S. fortunes waned during the punk and new wave era, the band was exploding into true international superstars. Thus, there may be a sense of discovery here, whether of latter-day Queen material or solo work by Brian May and Freddie Mercury, whose duet on "Barcelona" with diva Montserrat Caballé transcends boundaries of both time and genre. A previously unreleased live performance of "The Show Must Go On" featuring Elton John on vocals is also included. Read more

Features

• Box set
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (76)

A great place to start for people just starting to get into Queen.
The Platinum Collection is a repackaging of their 90's compilations Greatest Hits 1 & 2 that were issued by Hollywood Records with the addition of a third disc of additional Queen tracks, some solo Freddie Mercury tracks and a few good/bad cover versions of tracks from a few different artists like Elton John, George Michael and Wyclef from the Fugees.
I WANT IT ALL
This Greatest Hits 1,2,&3 Compilation Is A Stroke Of Genious And A Look Into One Of The Greatest Bands Of All-Time. Vol. 1 Starts Out Perfectly With My Favorite Song "Bohemian Rhapsody" Which Is Worth Buying It All By Itself. It has all of their best songs on here. Such as "We Will Rock You", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Killer Queen", "Another One Bites The Dust", "We Are The Champions", and many many more.
"Queen - The Platinum Collection: Greatest Hits I, II & III"
the queen was the best it has all the hits ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Box Sets (Audio Only)    2. Pop    3. Rock    4. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

This compilation repeats seven tracks from 1988's Read more

Reviews (94)

Great compilation but not the same
If you buy this item, the lyrics are not what you may have heard when you were growing up in the mtv gerneration.THE theme song for the MTV generation has gone beyond PC by excluding an entire verse of the song.Apparently, you cannot say, "little [...] with an earing and a mink coat".
ultimate dire straits
Excellent CD.All of the best songs that Dire Straits have done are in one package.

A GREAT DIRE STRAITS COMPILATION.
This is a pretty darn good album from Dire Straits but most people complain because 'Money for Nothing' is edited! Well I don't mind. A compilation that has 'Heavy Fuel' is the best to
Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Pop    3. Pop/Rock    4. Rock    5. Rock & Roll    6. Rock/Pop    7. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Simon & Garfunkel have two 3-CD box sets collecting their entire career output, one with out-takes and live recordings, but the duo who were among the bestselling acts of the 1960s only recorded five studio albums throughout the entire 1960s! Their studio perfectionism is never better served than here. This greatest hits is simple and to the point, a perfect collection for anyone looking to get the basic idea (and hits) without committing to a more serious relationship. The harmonies, Paul Simon's masterful songwriting, Garfunkel's soaring choirboy voice, are all here. Read more

Reviews (81)

The top two harmonic volcalists
Simon and Garfunkel turned me onto music.Their beautiful voices, tones and harmony made me appreciate singing as an Art and just how hard, and wonderful true singing could be.
A 6-Star Greatest Hits Package
This is one of the soundtracks to my life. This great compilation has been with me since I first heard it coming from my parents speakers 30+ years ago. I wore out my LP copy in my late twenties and snatched up a CD copy shortly thereafter...it remains close to me and my player to this day. Melancholy, somber, jubilant, hopeful, happy...these are just a few words to describe this album and the emotions it evokes while listening to it. Many great reviews have been posted on this wonderful Hits package and its obvious that it has almost "universal" appeal. Most of the reviews here resonate with the same tone---"this album is so much a part of my life". Without going into individual songs, I'll say that I enjoy every song from start to finish. This is really timeless music that will continue to reach new generations of listeners and will remain very special to me for decades to come....enjoy this(your not likely to find the 'Magic' these two gentlemen had in today's artists).

Not as good as the twenty-song best-of, but worth a look.
I once had a friend (he quickly turned into an @$$hole but that's off-topic) who thought I was insane because I like Simon & Garfunkel. His logic was along the lines of "If it's not crushingly loud, it sucks". As I walked away, I told him he should expand his musical horizons. He gave me the finger and called me some things that should never be mentioned on a family website.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Folk-Pop    2. Folk-Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock    5. Rock/Pop    6. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Released in 1969, Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (161)

The Floyd's most experimental work
Ummagumma was released in the autumn of '69 and reached #5 on the UK charts, it also broke the top 100 in the States, at #74.
Easily Floyd's Worst Offering!
This 2 disc set is easily Pink Floyd's worst offering of their expansive collection.It is odd because Waters and Co. would have you believe A Saucerful of Secrets and Atom Heart Mother were far more "Rubbish".However this helping really isn't an album it is merely a disc of 4 live recordings of older singles and then a second disc of experimentation.
Ummagumma
This is coming from a petit bourgeouise(and proud of it) reviewer.This seems to be a psychleediddleedelic effort.I know great things were to follow such as "Dark Side of The Moon" and "The Wall".
Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Psychedelia    3. Pop    4. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    5. Psychedelic    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

This time selected and programmed by the man himself, the two-disc second installment in Dylan's Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (49)

a really great collection
the funniest thing ,i think, about this album is that it came out in the 90s.his 1st greatest hits album came out in 73.that was supposed to cover 73 and back.this new one sgould have picked up in 74 and went till its realease.however all the songs are oldies from the 60s,hinting maybe the 70s and 80s werent nearly as good.anyhow,theres "dont think twice its alright"-catchy."lay lady lay"-a beautiful love song."stuck inside mobile with the memphis blues again"-upbeat and catchy."ill be your baby tonight"-a sort of love dovey song abour a one night stand.only dylan!!!!!!!!!!"all i really want to do"-lyrical genius!"my back pages" is a song about reversing theaging process."maggies farm" is the dylan equivelant of "take this job and shove it!"."tonight ill be staying here with you" is good just like all the rest.ok disc 1 is down .now disc 2."she belongs to me" still sounds fine."all along the watchtower" is classic!then theres "mighty quinn the eskimo"-wtf???????????and "just like tom thumb blues".i guess they canr all be winners.then "a hard rain is gonna fall" a jim morrison like song but full of love like john lennon."if not for you"is singable."its all over now baby blue" is very pretty.then a few extras for space i think.this album kicks butt!

I'm being generous
I have mixed emotions about Bob Dylan's music. His "Blood On The Tracks" is one of the finest albums ever made. "Greatest Hits 1" is perhaps worthy of the title. However, GH 2 is not. I didn't even recognize a third of the songs on first listen, and still have to skip quite a few when listening to this CD (which is not very often). He has written some great songs which were performed very well - by other people. On this CD, they include:
Don't think twice, this is a good album!
If you're like me and have Greatest Hits Volume 1, then you want more.I like this double-disc album because I don't have a lot of the albums that contains these songs (I don't have Nashville Skyline, John Wesley Harding, New Morning, & Self Portrait, but have the rest that came before).Probably my favorite song, though, on this set is "Tomorrow Is A Long Time," which is a live version that sounds fantastic with its sparse instrumentation and beautiful, poetic lyrics.As a reviewer already stated, there are several styles of music here for people to enjoy.I have always preferred the folky Bob Dylan but also love some of his bluesy rock, so this is fun to have on a long drive to hear a little bit of everything (including songs from his country album, Nashville Skyline).If you have all the Bob Dylan CD's, you probably don't need this, but I think it's worth it alone for the last songs on the 2nd disc.If you don't have any Bob Dylan CD's, you'll probably be better off getting "Essential Bob Dylan." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Blues-Rock    3. Contemporary Folk    4. Country-Rock    5. Folk-Rock    6. Political Folk    7. Pop    8. Pop/Rock    9. Popular Music    10. Rock    11. Rock & Roll    12. Rock/Pop    13. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

It seems odd that the Band emerged in 1968, defying the counterculture's extravagant rejections of U.S. culture with literary, often Southern-tinged musical and lyrical vehicles. Hearing this 18-song anthology, with its heavy weighting toward the Canadian quintet's first three albums--Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (21)

A lot of great music on one CD
Earlier, I had an LP called "Best of the Band" that was 10 cuts and maybe 35 minutes. This is 18 well chosen cuts and double the length. There are a lot of "best of/greatest hits" type collections from veteran artists that originally came out in 70's or early 80's that had a limited number of songs and length. This IS a case where the record decided to offer more songs and give the customer a better value for their money. The music itself is 5 stars and they were a major artist due to the fact that they had 3 very good but very different lead vocalists handling the vocals. It gives the music a lot more variety and they put out a lot of fine music in their 1968-76 prime. As an aside, 3 of the Band members (Helm, Danko, and Hudson) also put out some good music in the 1990's.

The Band Greatest Hits
Wonderful!Just like I remembered!!Thanks so much!

One of the finest compilation albums on the market
If you're a casual fan of The Band, and just want one disc in your collection, this is for you. And if you're looking for a place to start, well, this is it as well.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Country-Rock    3. Folk-Rock    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock & Roll    7. Rock/Pop    8. Singer/Songwriter   

Editorial Review

At a certain point, bad taste and bombast becomes so excessive and so grandiose that they're no longer an easily dismissed irritation but an astonishing monument to the warped imagination. Such a monument is Meat Loaf's Read more

Reviews (100)

Awesome music
Love all of Meat Loaf's songs. The DVD Live with the Melboune Symphony Orchestra is a must see. Wish he had more DVD's to watch.

GREATEST ALBUM EVER RELEASED!
In my 53 Years(I.m 65 and started listening to Rock and Roll when I was 12)there has never been an album to even come close to this fantastic piece of music!!If you want to experience this trip, latch on to Meat Loaf,s and Jim Steinman,s Classic. I,ve listened to a lot of music(some great, and a lot of crap) Nothing comes close to "BAT OUT OF HELL II. !!!!!!!!!!!

Meat Loaf: BAT OUT OF HELL II-BACK INTO HELL (1993)
We all know who Meat Loaf is. If it weren't for his smashing 1977 debut album, BAT OUT OF HELL, Meat Loaf would be virtually unknown. In 1993, after seven years since his 1986 album, BLIND BEFORE I STOP, Meat Loaf released the album BAT OUT OF HELL II: BACK INTO HELL, the smashing sequel to his 1977 predecessor. I was always pretty fond of Meat Loaf's music, but this album just turned me from a minor fan to a major fan. This album, which is my favorite Meat Loaf album, is spectacular.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop-Metal    6. Pop/Rock    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Live

Reviews (36)

Outstanding!
I just got the CD delivered this morning.I am listening to it right now and I am totally impressed.I originally bought it for the #2 cut "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You" thinking the rest of it will be just OK.WRONG.I can't get over how great the whole CD turned out to be.It comes highly recommended by this listener. Rock 'n Roll is alive and well on this CD!

Tonight's Still Right for NINE TONIGHT
I've seen Bob Seger in concert several times in the 1980s and I was always blown away by how close the band sounded to their studio albums.The first time I saw them (at the Toledo Speedway Jam in '83), I was sure they were lipsynching for the first couple of songs (they started with "Even Now" from his latest at the time, THE DISTANCE).