Review: Operation Ivy - Energy:

Upon first listen I had never given this band a chance growing up. As all of my friends were transitioning from punk to ska I ridiculed them for the horns they were now dancing to. Despite being more punk than ska, I lumped Operation Ivy in with this crowd and ignored them until now. Either the music doesn't hold up or it was never that good at all, either way I'm disappointed by the legendary status that they have received over the years.

Stream four tracks

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band - EP:

Upon first listen every time I listen to Ms. Newsom I realize how I had forgotten how magical she can sound. This EP is no exception and a wonderful compliment to her last album.

Download Crab, Clam, Cockle Cowrie (via The Daily Growl

Purchase for $10

Review: Manchester Orchestra - I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child:

Upon first listen it's poppier than orchestral but it's a solid debut for this pop-rock-with-punky-undertones band.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $6.21

Review: Bob Dylan Parody - Dylan Hears A Who:

Upon first listen this ingenius idea for a parody should be amazing. Sadly, Kevin Ryan (the brainchild of this adventure) picks Seuss stories that are a bit long and wear down the patience of the listener.

Stream Green Eggs And Ham, Too Many Daves and Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!

This album not for sale

Review: Dungen - Tio Bitar:

Upon first listen it lacks that magical element that Ta Det Lungt had and while it's still enjoyable it's not amazing.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Brand New x2

Brand New - Your Favourite Weapon: Upon first listen this album was buried behind the Saves the Days, Get Up Kids and Taking Back Sundays for no good reason. While it likely doesn't eclipse those bands, it compliments them well.

Download Seventy Times 7

Purchase for $12.00

Brand New - Deja Entendu: Upon first listen this effort is far more focused than their debut and it begins to get easier to see why they have such a horde of loyal fans.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.11

Review: Golden Smog - Blood On The Slacks:

Upon first listen these guys likely have a lot of fun while in the studio and it shows on this album.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.95

Review: Dinosaur Jr - Beyond:

Upon first listen this is the first time I've listened to Dinosaur Jr outside of the bits from 1981: The Year Punk Broke and I have to say that once you turn the volume up it is a very satisfying listen. It's too bad that bands like Nickelback are our rock heroes because there is no reason bands like Dinosaur Jr couldn't be.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.38

Review: Kevin Devine - Make The Clocks Move:

Upon first listen it really is like Dashboard Confessional meets Bright Eyes, only not as good as either.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.88

Review: The Clientele - God Save The Clientele:

Upon first listen I don't think I realized how much this band sounds like The Beatles when I listened to Strange Geometry. With that being said, I think this one is a better album and more enjoyable from start to finish.

Stream Bookshop Cassanova and Nothing But Sunshin

Purchase for $9.95

Review: The National - Boxer:

Upon first listen it's pretty standard fare for The National, but where their previous effort managed to grab the listener, this one does not. More likely is that it takes more than just one listen to appreciate what they do.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.82

Review: Various - La Vie En Rose Official Motion Picture Soundtrack:

Upon first listen this is one of the best soundtracks I have heard in a long time. This despite, or in spite of the fact that's almost entirely in French.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $11.85

Review: Bjork - Volta:

Upon first listen this wasn't the electropop album I was expecting based on the pre-release buzz, but then again, that's likely a good thing. Most of the songs are hit or miss with the slower, more intimate songs being better and the production-heavy songs feeling out of place.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $11.85

Review: Talking Heads - Fear of Music:

Upon first listen this is certainly their darkest, slowest and most straightforward release (thus far) and has its moments but doesn't grab me the way the first two albums did.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $5.95

Review: Patti Smith - Twelve:

Upon first listen this is certainly interesting to listen to once, but likely not to be revisited unless you make a lot of mix CDs.

Stream most of the album in its entirety

Purchase for $10.40

Review: Wilco - Sky Blue Sky:

Upon first listen this is a pop record and certainly not what I expected from Tweedy and Co. after A Ghost is Born.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $12.34

Review: Brandi Carlile - The Story:

Upon first listen this is leaps and bounds
better than her debut, but I have to agree with one of my co-workers;
she's got a great album in her, but this just isn't it.

Stream
the entire album

Purchase
for $6.53

Review: Various - Petrol Present The Greatest Songs Ever Series Sampler:

Upon first listen this collection has 2 tracks from each region of the upcoming aforementioned series. I can't say that I can recommend any of the regions unless I hear more, but from what I did hear, they're all at least interesting.

Stream clips from all of the different series

Purchase each series for $24.95

Review: Master P - Ghetto D 10th Anniversary Edition:

Upon first listen there are some great tracks on here. But only about 10 of the 19, making for a longer-than-necessary listen.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $13.25

Review: Jethro Tull - The Best of Acoustic Jethro Tull:

Upon first listen I can't help but believe that this wouldn't be better reviewed by someone more familiar with the source material. That being said, it did make me interested in exploring their other work. Hopefully, it retains the fantasy, gypsy-esque qualities that I liked so much.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $13.95

Review: Paula Abdul - Straight Up-Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen I can't believe that pop music was ever this bad.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Jerry Lee Lewis - Last Man Standing:

Upon first listen, this duet album full of covers is a necessary listen for Jerry Lee Lewis fans and likely so of fans of his duet partner. But for the more casual listener, it's interesting to listen to once but likely won't get played again.

Stream all but one song

Purchase for $12.22

Review: Various - A Tribute to Joni Mitchell:

Upon first listen this is worth a listen if only for the covers by Sufjan Stevens and Bjork. The rest of them are still good, just not great.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.15

Review: McCarthy Trenching - McCarthy Trenching:

Upon first listen this let's-get-drunk style country album leaves a bit to be desired as I don't hear the passion and intensity I was expecting.

Stream XXX and Headlines

Purchase for $10.29

Review: Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position:

Upon first listen it's like listening to someone who is can't decide which persona he wants to undertake.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.58

Review: Feist - The Reminder:

Upon first listen I'd like to issue my own reminder about how much really great music there is out there and that this sadly isn't.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $7.59

Review: Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare:

Upon first listen this is a giant pile of mediocrity. The beauty of their debut was the tightness they displayed with their cocky attitude that somehow managed to not turn you off. That beauty has been bastardized as they don't sound like the uber-tight band that we all over-hyped.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.49

Arctic Monkeys tomorrow. Rest of week off.

I'm actually out of CDs to review. I don't have anything new and I've stopped mining some of the older artists for a little while. Recommend me something.

Review: Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall 1971:

Upon first listen I have removed all of the previous Neil Young albums from my DAP and have replaced them with one Neil Young album; this one.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $13.73

Review: Various - Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration:

Upon first listen there are some great covers on here, but they're buried amongst a whole bunch of terrible ones.

Stream 8 of the tracks

Purchase for $12.04

Review: Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings And Food:

Upon first listen it doesn't seem as tight as 77 does, but that's likely because 77 has been playing constantly on my computer for the past few weeks. Still, I can't wait to give this one more of a chance as it has the potential to be great.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.54

Review: Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero:

Upon first listen this album is so 'industrial' it's a frustrating listen. Especially, when I thought maybe, just maybe he was getting away from such noise.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Patty Griffin - Children Running Through:

Upon first listen I had trouble getting past some of the over-singing and thus did not enjoy the album.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.77

Review: Brandi Carlile - Brandi Carlile:

Upon first listen this folky, classic rock-esque album shows a lot of promise for the heretofore relatively-unknown Carlile. A lot of promise that isn't fulfilled on this outing but could be further down the road.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.01

Review: Bright Eyes - Cassadaga:

Upon first listen there is no doubt the Mr. Oberst of capable of greatness, it's just that he still hasn't achieved it. There are, as usual, so really good tracks on here, and mixed with the left off tracks from the Four Winds EP, could make a pretty solid album, but it still just doesn't have that final piece to the puzzle that's been lacking for his entire career.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $7.59

Review: Neil Young - On The Beach:

Upon first listen this is easily the weirdest Neil Young album I've ever heard (though I'm told it's not nearly his weirdest). Still, it's got some good tracks but falls a bit on the uneven side of the tracks.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $6.61

Review: Neil Young - Harvest:

Upon first listen this is the album that Neil Young finally realizes his orchestral vision that began with Everybody and was tightened with Gold Rush but completes itself here. It's still a frustrating listen at times because some of the songs are too short and could use some of the aforementioned piddle-farting to help amplify the track.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $6.57

Review: Neil Young - After The Gold Rush:

Upon first listen Young spends less time piddle-farting around and just sings the songs. And it works masterfully.

Stream the entire album (Save Oh, Lonesome Me)

Purchase for $7.05

Review: Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere:

Upon first listen and with great naivete and enormous hindsight I found the album to be lacking in emotion, passion and overall execution as most of the tracks failed to impress.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $6.70

Review: Kings of Leon - Because of the Times:

Upon first listen it took me most of the album to really appreciate the voice and delivery (as it did with their previous effort) but once I did I found myself dancing along and enjoying every minute.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $7.89

Review: Fucked Up - Hidden World:

Upon first listen I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this set as I hadn't heard anything by them previously and hadn't seen much good press (save for the Pitchfork review) but I wasn't pleasantly surprised. There are a couple of really, really great hardcore-but-not-hardcore tracks on here that convince me of impending genius. There are also a couple of tracks that seem like very traditional hardcore tracks with a couple of strings or whistles tacked on. Ultimately it's an album with the band looking over its shoulder, making sure it's OK to move forward and once they realize that it is, look for them to run free.

Download Baiting The Public

Download Hidden World

Purchase for $12.75

Review: Sterling - Cursed:

Upon first listen there is just too much good instrumental and crescendo-building music around to recommend this one.

Stream Lurker, Part 1

Purchase for $11.08

Review: Shook Ones - Facetious Folly Feat:

Upon first listen they decided not to copy Kid Dynamite as much and I decided I didn't like them as much.

Stream Pheasant

Purchase for $10.00

Review: The Poison Arrows - Straight Into The Drift:

Upon first listen the album feels very detached from its surroundings, giving way to a an extremely isolated post-rock meets electronic pop outing.

Stream Lockaway and Clear Cut

Purchase for $6.59

Review: Talib Kweli and Madlib - Liberation:

Upon first listen some of the tracks here are some of the best that Kweli has released since Black Star. Others, not so much.

Stream Funny Money

Purchase for $14.95 (or invent time travel to go back a few months and download it for free from Stones Throw)

Review: Various - Endless Highway- The Music of The Band:

Upon first listen it's hit or miss, as expected, but ultimately makes me want to go listen to my copy of Big Pink.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $12.08

Review: Maria Taylor - Lynn Teeter Flower:

Upon first listen I'm finding it very difficult to not make a comparison to a chorus-less Rilo Kiley.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.95

Review: Shabutie - Plan to Take Over the World:

Upon first listen this is exactly what it is; early Coheed and Cambria.

Stream Strung Short, Disciple's Anthem, Star Cecil and Goodnight

Purchase, if you can find it

Review: Low - Drums and Guns:

Upon first listen it's a rather disappointing follow-up to The Great Destroyer.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.71

Review: Ted Leo and Pharmacists - Living with the Living:

Upon first listen I think Mr. Leo and drug-pushing counterparts should stick to live performance and mainstream pop covers as their studio output never seems to hold a candle to either of those.

Stream BombRepeatBomb and The Sons of Cain

Purchase for $11.98

Review: 3/20 Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha:

Upon first listen, wow!

Upon further consideration, wow!

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.54

Review: The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta:

Upon first listen it's reggae-based music that I really like. Go figure. And it (mostly) holds up the test of time.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $4.34

Review: Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block:

Upon first listen I think I want to cut this up with Falling Out and make one good LP.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.72

Review: Comeback Kid - Broadcasting:

Upon first listen this is leaps and bounds better than Wake the Dead. It's still formulaic and predictable but it's so much more raw. The change of singers has definetly served them well (though not for live shows, yet).

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $9.97

Review: The Besnard Lakes - Are The Dark Horse:

Upon first listen it has its moments in a brooding, potential-filled way, but fails to deliver entirely.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.75

Review: Andrew WK - Close Calls With Brick Walls:

Upon first listen this pretty much severs my relationship with Mr. WK as I will no longer be investing time into his future endeavors in a vein hope of preserving I Get Wet in all its quirky, unrelenting glory.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $19.78 (it's an import)

Review: Various - William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet Music From The Motion Picture (10th Anniversary Edition):

Upon first listen this movie was so iconic when it came out, but the soundtrack does not hold the test of time.

Stream (most) of the album

Purchase for $9.99

Review: Van Morrison - At The Movies- Soundtrack Hits:

Upon first listen it's only necessary for Van Morrison fans and only if they don't have these songs elsewhere.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.99

Review: The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen:

Upon first listen it's exactle what you were expecting from Mr. Blur; downtempo, guitar-based rock that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.89

Review: Calla - Strength In Numbers:

Upon first listen this follow-up to the solid Collisions is a more complex, more textured effort that I found even more rewarding. If you were a fan of Collisions, or even Elbow (not that they sound similar) you should be checking this out.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.75

Review: Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere:

Upon first listen this is a case of the pre-released media hyping an album that inevitably will fail to deliver. I was so stoked on this album after the pre-release of My Sword Hand's Anger and the album title track (the best 2 tracks on the album), but was slightly underwhelming. Hopefully, it will grow on me.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.85

Review: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible:

Upon first listen it lacks the immediacy present on Funeral, but still manages to be compelling. A lot of the tracks are good (No Cars Go, Intervention), but it's not the album that Funeral is.

Stream Keep The Car Running

Purchase for $8.95

Review: Explosions in the Sky - All Of the Sudden, I Miss Everyone:

Upon first listen EITS is certainly the most consistent post-rock band and they do little to tarnish their own legacy. It's everything you're expecting and maybe a little you're not.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.99

Review: Talking Heads - 77:

Upon first listen this is the blueprint for nearly all of the indie rock albums in at least the past 7 years. And I loved every minute of it.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $6.48

Review: Ron Sexsmith - Time Being:

Upon first listen the songwriter's songwriter
strikes again. Great songs, wonderful arrangements and no acclaim or
record sales to show for it.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $13.49

Review: Sonic Youth - Sister:

Upon first listen I wasn't impressed until I turned the volume up. Way up. Part of the problem would have to be my admittedly high expectations predicated on the first 10 minutes or so of 1981, The Year Punk Broke in which the band performs Schizophrenia live and it blew me away.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $4.34

Review: Sloan - Never Hear The End Of It:

Upon first listen I never thought I was going to hear the end of the 30 tracks presented here, a lot of it filler, most of which owing a great deal to the Beatles and Badfinger.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.95

Review: Shearwater - Palo Santo:

Upon first listen it's moody and exhilarating if a little tired and overdone.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.73

Review: New Amsterdams - Worse For The Wear:

Upon first listen it's a really great album if you're not expecting On A Wire, Pt. 2. And even if you are, it's pretty great.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.77

Review: Lifetime - Lifetime:

Upon first listen it's almost a little forumlaic in its raw-yet-melodic pop/punk style. Until you realize that these guys pretty much invented the style and then it becomes what it is; a natural evolution of the style they created.

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Purchase for $11.18

Review: Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder:

Upon first listen I'm growing a bit tired of all of this great pyschedelic pop out there. Unfortunately, as great as it is there is better.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.18

Review: Peter Bjorn and John - Falling Out:

Upon first listen there are some good tracks on this Swedish pop album, but I just didn't enjoy the entire thing.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $11.56

Review: Luscious Jackson - Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen there is such a melange of different, but oddly similar genres that works only sometimes. All of that is not to say that there aren't some good tracks on here, because there are. But I could have dealt better with a Greatest Hits EP.

Stream Naked Eye, Ladyfingers and a remixed Why Do I Lie

Purchase for $14.88

Review: Love of Diagrams - EP:

Upon first listen I love diagrams no more and no less than I did prior to listening to this post-punk EP.

Stream the entire EP

Purchase for $2.99

Review: Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch:

Upon first listen it seems as though Mr. Lerche's confidence grows exponentially with each album. I grew to really like Two Way Monologue and quite enjoyed Faces Down, but this one may be the best of his young career.

Stream clips of the entire album

Purchase for $10.85

Review: Kayo Dot - Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue:

Upon first listen it's a bit more avant garde than Choirs of the Eye, but there are a lot of rewarding parts to it. Just don't expect to be blown away.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.95

Review: Hot Cross - Risk Revival:

Upon first listen this is the best punk/hardcore/screamo album of this year, by far. Granted this is among the first that I have listened to, but it's going to take some really great to top this.

Stream Fatefully

Purchase for $10.00

Review: Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City:

Upon first listen I just can't enjoy this album. I loved the EP, enjoyed the first LP but will probably never listen to this one again. It's boring and lacks any of the spontaniety of the aforementioned discs. Its energy is something to be laughed. The best part of that EP was how you felt that the songs were to fall apart at any minute. I just don't feel that way here.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.70

Review: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Some Loud Thunder:

Upon first listen I can't believe how much I liked this album when I didn't really care for the narcissistic debut. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just works for me this go round. Though it could have been a track or two lighter.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.95

Review: Shins - Wincing The Night Away:

Upon first listen I absolutely loved Chutes Too Narrow and really liked Oh, Inverted World (perhaps because I listened in that order?) but do not find the same attachment to this new disc. It's less of a pop album and more of an indie-rock album which isn't always a bad thing but I'm certainly going to need some more time with it.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Ambulance LTD - New English EP:

Upon first listen the best part of this EP is the demo songs from their debut. The new tracks just don't have that same immediacy, shimmer or stick-in-your-head-forever allure.

Stream Fearless and the Sugar Pill Demo in full and clips from the rest

Purchase for $4.97

Review: The Stranglers - Suite XVI:

Upon first listen it's not all bad, but it certainly is forced and not very organic sounding.

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $11.69

Review: Roxette - A Collection Of Roxette Hits!:

Upon first listen when people say the '80s suck, I'm pretty sure they're talking about Roxette.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $17.60

Review: Diana Ross - I Love You:

Upon first listen I Love You is to romance and love what Andrew WK's I Get Wet is to partying and drunken shenanigans. Where Andrew WK's campiness and overall enthusiasm make his album a winner, Diana's overproduction and underwhelming performances (Not to mention, 15 love songs? You've got to be nuts) make this a disc not worth exploring.

Stream most of the album

Purchase for $10.95

Review: Monty Python x4

Monty Python - Another Monty Python Record: Upon first listen I'm not a very big Monty Python fan and this album is no exception. Though I did laugh a few times, I won't be revisiting this album soon.

Stream clips from the entire album and purchase it for $18.98

Monty Python - Monty Python's Previous Record: Upon first listen I didn't laugh once on this record.

Stream clips from the entire album and purchase it for $18.98

Monty Python - The Life Of Brian: Upon first listen I was the most familiar with The Life of Brian coming into this exercise in patience. I couldn't finish the movie, however, and the album nearly met the same fate.

Stream clips from the entire album and purchase it for $13.97

Monty Python - The Meaning of Life: Upon first listen I didn't laugh, but I felt as though I could have. I almost want to see this movie now because I felt that if I could better relate to some of these characters, the skits could actually be funny.

Stream clips from the entire album and purchase it for $13.97

Review: Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes:

Upon first listen if you're looking for some '60s psychadelic pop that was made, well, in the '60s, please do yourself a favor and check this band out. They're from Brazil and lack the gene that allows them to sing in English, but it's worth it. There are some songs that miss their mark, but on the whole it's a good album.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $8.19

Review: Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?:

Upon first listen this album is worth a good deal of the hype it's getting. And how could it not be? Sounding like someone put the Fiery Furnaces, Belle and Sebastian and Of Montreal into a blender, it would be an almost certain smash and it doesn't entirely dissapoint. Some of the tracks tend be get a little repetitive, but there's so much good about it that I can see it getting overlooked on future spins.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.49

Review: Piebald - Accidental Gentleman:

Upon first listen I've hated each of the last two Piebald records. A few listens later and I loved them both. But it took some time. Accidental Gentleman continues that trend in that I hate it upon first listen. Hopefully, they won't dissapoint and I'll love it a few listens from now.

Stream the entire album at TheirSpace

Purchase for $11.00

Review: Menomena - Friend And Foe:

Upon first listen the title is very fitting. This is a really, really good album, but ever so short of being a great album. Lots of good tracks (Friend) and a couple of mediocre ones (Foe).

Stream clips from the entire album

Purchase for $8.35

Review: Freddie Jackson - Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen I just couldn't get past the third track or so.

Stream the entire album

Don't buy it

Review: Al Green - The Definitive Greatest Hits:

Upon first listen I enjoyed myself for the first few tracks, but after that it's hard to be energized by 21 consecutive tracks by Mr. Green. Still, if you're a fan, surely this would be on repeat.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $9.72

Review: Crowded House - Farewell To The World:

Upon first listen it's very solid arena-friendly pop. Some great songs, some OK songs and some sketchy songs all culminating with their only US hit Don't Dream It's Over.

Stream studio versions of four tracks

Purchase for $16.80

Review: Califone - Roots & Crowns:

Upon first listen his is a great follow-up to Heron King Blues which I thought was an OK album. This one sure would shake up my best of '06 list (if I ever devote the time to making one).

Stream Spider's House and The Orchids

Purchase for $11.25

Review: Various - Peanut Butter Wolf Presents Chrome Children:

Upon first listen there is some absolutely stunning music on this disc. Accompanied by some absolutely atrocious music. Still it's a nice selection from one of the few record labels actually pushing hip-hop forward.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.68

Review: Mos Def - True Magic:

Upon first listen I think it's time for Mos Def to hang up his rapping career.

Stream True Magic, Undeniable, U R The One and Thug Is A Drug

Purchase for $11.22

Review: Ghostface Killah - More Fish:

Upon first listen this may be the best rap album of '06, if it weren't for that pesky Fishscale album.

Stream clips from mostof the album and entire songs of the rest

Purchase for $7.88

Review: Chin Up Chin Up - This Harness Can't Ride Anything:

Upon first listen I really liked their debut but found myself struggling to finish this new disc.

Stream This Harness Can't Ride Anything and Virginia Don't Drown

Purchase for $10.38

Review: The Beatings - Holding On To Hand Grenades:

Upon first listen the post-punk stylings of this band do nothing for me. If you're looking for some good post-punk this year, check out Mission of Burma.

Stream Feel Good Ending and a few non-album specific tracks

Purchase for $12.25

Review: Various - Rocky Balboa, The Best of Rocky:

Upon first listen I must confess that I have never seen a Rocky movie from beginning to end. I'm familiar with the concept and seen bits and pieces of the previously released five installments, but never a complete one. That being said, this compilation gets me really excited to see not only the first five, but the new one. There's nothing like Theme from Rocky back-to-back with Eye of the Tiger to get you're heart racing.

Stream a couple of tracks off of the Rocky IV Soundtrack

Purchase for $13.29

Review: Dean Martin - Christmas with Dino:

Upon first listen if you've heard these songs once, you've heard them a thousand times. If you're a Dino fan, this is for you.

Stream the entire album

Purchase for $10.88