#855 - Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan

"Another Side of Bob Dylan is a more varied record and it's more successful, too, since it captures Dylan expanding his music, turning in imaginative, poetic performances on love songs and protest tunes alike...Both the lyrics and music have gotten deeper and Dylan's trying more things -- this, in its construction and attitude, is hardly strictly folk, as it encompasses far more than that. The result is one of his very best records, a lovely intimate affair." (allmusic guide)

#854 - Love Is Hell, Ryan Adams

"According to Billboard magazine, Adams says "Love is Hell" is "the work of my life" and indeed, it's a dark, soul-searching work (much more so than the simultaneously-released, "Rock N Roll"). A bleak and confessional gem." (insound) (Blogger's note: Gosh, I had a hard time finding a decent writeup on this album. The reviewer at allmusic takes the opportunity to vent some kind of personal vendetta against the guy. Sheesh.)

#853 - Warehouse: Songs and Stories, Husker Du

"Warehouse doesn't have the single-minded sense of purpose or eccentric sprawl of Zen Arcade, but as a collection of songs, it's of the first order. Furthermore, its stylish production -- which makes pop concessions without abandoning a punk ethos -- pointed the way to the kind of "alternative" rock that dominated the mainstream in the early '90s." (allmusic guide)

#852 - Carly Simon, Carly Simon

""That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be," the leadoff track of Carly Simon's first album and a Top Ten hit, in which the singer expresses reservations about getting married, benefited from a sense of role reversal -- it's such a guy sentiment, but sung by a woman in 1971, it came across as a feminist statement, consistent with the overall disillusionment so prevalent then." (allmusic guide)

#851 - Mr. Fantasy, Traffic

"Fresh from leaving the Spencer Davis Group, vocalist/organist Steve Winwood formed Traffic in 1967. Their debut took a largely fantastical approach, with sitars and woodwinds taking the focus. The group's obvious musical strengths keep everything from falling into psychedelic treacle. The able-bodied blues jamming of "Dear Mr. Fantasy" hints at the band's future." (real music guide)

#850 - The Future, Leonard Cohen

"It's hard to say why this is so great. Cohen's "singing" is almost as scary as the litany of modern woes he recites, and the music is often an intentionally soulless, vaguely evil boogie. But perfectly realized tracks such as "Anthem" convince you Cohen's a prophet with some genuinely mysterious truths to reveal." (real music guide)