Lively, ambitious, almost entirely successful debut album, made up of keyboard-dominated instrumentals ("The Barbarian," "Three Fates") and romantic ballads ("Lucky Man") showcasing all three members' very daunting talents. This album, which reached the Top 20 in America and got to number four in England, showcased the group at its least pretentious and most musicianly – with the exception of a few moments on "Three Fates" and perhaps "Take a Pebble," there isn't much excess, and there is a lot of impressive musicianship here…

Like many fans, one of the things you can always love about the music of Warren Zevon has been his frequent refusal to play nice. While Zevon could write with tenderness and compassion when the spirit moved him, he was more likely to sound sarcastic, spiteful, venomous, and generally announce (loudly and with enthusiasm) that the emperor was naked given the appropriate subject, and he wasn't afraid to take on his friends and collaborators when so inclined.

The latest in-store compilation from Starbucks Entertainment is the perfect summer sampler, an 18-track collection of old and new surf tunes, from classics of the genre like Dick Dale's "Miserlou," the Marketts' "Out of Limits," and the Chantays' "Pipeline" to tracks from surf revivalists like Laika & the Cosmonauts' "N.Y. '79," making this set a nice introduction to all that is surf and summer.

DO Something. is an alternative music compilation created by the American fast food company Taco Bell in association with Sony Music Special Products, but also features other alternative music from different labels. 10 songs total.

While he might not have graced the Top 40 in the U.K. or U.S. since 1994's "The Way She Loves Me," '80s adult contemporary balladeer Richard Marx has since become a prolific songwriter behind the scenes for artists as legendary as Barbra Streisand, Ringo Starr, and Luther Vandross, in addition to sporadically recording material for his own underappreciated solo career. Following 2008's triple whammy of Sundown, Emotional Remains, and Duo, a collaboration with Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell, Stories to Tell combines the best of both worlds, with a series of stripped-back reworkings of tracks from eight of his studio albums alongside newly recorded versions of songs he originally penned for other artists…

Stoned Soul Picnic dates from the earlier part of Roy Ayers' career as a leader, before he delved heavily into R&B and funk fusions and instead concentrated more on soul-jazz grooves. Ayers leads a septet including such big names as pianist Herbie Hancock, altoist Gary Bartz, bassist Ron Carter, and flutist Hubert Laws. The Laura Nyro-penned title track foreshadows Ayers' later forays beyond the boundaries of pure jazz, and the group keeps the groove percolating nicely throughout, making Stoned Soul Picnic one of Ayers' better jazz-oriented outings.

Covent Garden’s 2003 production of The Magic Flute , designed by John F. Macfarlane, directed by David McVicar, and conducted by Sir Colin Davis, is magnificent from a strictly musical standpoint. More than that, it’s vastly entertaining. The comedic elements of the story integrate far more comfortably than is often the case with Schikaneder’s high-minded (if vague) theme of a quest for enlightenment, particularly in the second act. Visually, the production is a feast, yet it doesn’t distract from the music.