music essentials Archives

Essentials: Aretha Franklin ‘I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You’

This is the album that made Aretha Franklin the undisputed Queen of Soul back in 1967, a title she never relinquished throughout her stellar career.

Talking Heads’ 1980 masterwork “Once In A Lifetime” was selected by NPR as one of the top 100 musical works of the 20th century.

This classic jazz piano album belongs in every collection; here are three reasons to listen to this record for the next ten or twenty years.

‘Getz/Gilberto’ was a great album when it was released in 1963, and it is a great album today.

While several of our selections are established country classics, recorded decades ago, there are a few surprises here.

In ‘The Suburbs’ their third album, Arcade Fire created their most sophisticated and ambitious work, replete with string arrangements.