"Each of the fifty-seven albums discussed here captures the artist at a high point, if not at the expected moment, of her or his career. The individual cuts are evaluated, the sequencing explicated, the songs and songwriters heralded; anecdotes abound of how songs were born and how artists and producers collaborated. And in appraising each album, Friedwald balances his own opinions with those of musicians, listeners, and critics."--Dust jacket flap....

"Established in 1976 at the fore of London's punk rock insurgence, The Clash would outlast their peers while creating some of the most influential albums in rock 'n' roll history. Author Martin Popoff dissects each of the Clash's ninety-one studio tracks, examining the circumstances that led to their creation, the recording processes, the historical contexts, and more. In addition, introductory essays set the scene for the band's six studio releases...

"This new revised and enlarged third edition includes: updated information of the most successful rock, jazz, comedy, country, classical, Christmas, Broadway, and film soundtrack albums ever to reach the top of Billboard magazine's album charts ... facts, biographies, and trivia for every artist; the chart positions, number of weeks on the chart, and label and catalog number for every album listed; 150 photographs of Top 40 album jackets"--Back cover....

Covers "jazz, opera, hip-hop, rock, gospel, musicals, country, classical, blues, world, heavy metal, vocals, swing, Celtic, samba, pop, songbook, folk, R & B, dance, punk, doo-wop, psychedelia, fado, bluegrass, zydeco, new wave, juju, electronica, bossa nova, reggae, soul, rap, rockabilly, dub, techno, ska, funk, salsa"--Cover.

Recommends the best recordings of the three hundred most important classical works, and provides background information on each composer.

"From underground roots to mainstream popularity, hip-hop's influence on music and entertainment around the world has been nothing short of extraordinary. Ode to Hip-Hop chronicles the journey with profiles of fifty albums that have defined, expanded, and ultimately transformed the genre into what it is today. From 2 Live Crew's groundbreaking As Nasty As They Wanna Be in 1989 to Cardi B's similarly provocative Invasion of Privacy almost thirty years...

Lists top-recommended works by master composers from the past and present, providing a critical assessment of specific recordings and performances as identified by a team of leading music experts.