#677 - Lay It Down, Cowboy Junkies

"Released in 1996, this CD definitively answers a question that has occasionally plagued the Cowboy Junkies: yes, they sound good, but can they rock? Though still laden with the melancholia that has marked previous efforts, this CD is sonically dense, guitar-drenched, and good at high-volume levels." (allmusic guide)


#676 - The Kick Inside, Kate Bush

"Kate Bush's first album, The Kick Inside, is her most unabashedly romantic, the sound of an impressionable and highly precocious teenage singer/songwriter spreading her wings for the first time. "Wuthering Heights" was a monster hit everywhere in the world except America, and it's still an impressive debut nearly 20 years later, but Bush would do better work than this." (allmusic guide)

#675 - Songs From The Wood, Jethro Tull

"Far and away the prettiest record Jethro Tull released at least since Thick as a Brick and a special treat for anyone with a fondness for the group's more folk-oriented material. Ian Anderson had moved to the countryside sometime earlier, and it showed in his choice of source material. The band's aggressive rock interplay and Anderson's fascination with early British folk melodies produce a particularly appealing collection of songs." (allmusic guide)

#674 - Busted Stuff, Dave Matthews Band

"Since they couldn't run away from the Lillywhite Sessions, they decided to embrace it, albeit on their own terms. They didn't just release the album, as is. They picked nine of the best songs from the sessions, reworked some of them a bit, tinkered with the lyrics, re-recorded the tunes with a different producer, added two new songs, and came up with Busted Stuff." (allmusic guide) (Blogger's note: I cannot believe how much Dave Matthews made the countdown. Seriously, people.)

#673 - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast, Badly Drawn Boy

"This low-key album received a huge amount of critical acclaim when it was released in 2000. The English singer combined a lo-fi approach with some modern studio tweakings and created a fine album of future folk. Tracks like "The Shining" and "Everybody's Stalking" provided a delicate balance between rustic and post-modern." (real music guide)

#672 - Bella Donna, Stevie Nicks

"This No. 1 album of 1981 features the witchiest of witchy women at a major high point in her career. Her first solo album yielded the still-great duets, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "Leather and Lace." Along with the creepy album cover, Bella Donna cemented Nicks' place as the high priestess of music played while going all the way in the back of a van." (real music guide)

#671 - Double Nickels On The Dime, Minutemen

"Double Nickels on the Dime was a quantum leap into greatness, a sprawling 44-song set that was as impressive as it was ambitious. While punk rock was obviously the starting point for the Minutemen's musical journey (which they celebrated on the funny and moving "History Lesson Part II"), by this point the group seemed up for almost anything." (allmusic guide)

#670 - Heavier Things, John Mayer

"The heartthrob singer-songwriter for the Pepsi Generation released this follow-up to Room For Squares in 2003. Featuring the same breathy delivery and cleanly seductive songs about girls that that breakthrough record offered, Heavier Things will appeal to any fan of "Your Body Is A Wonderland."" (real music guide)