Funky Little Demons

One of the towering figures of 20th century's music, Alabama-born pianist and organist Herman "Sun Ra" Blount (1914) became the cosmic musician par excellence. Despite dressing in extraterrestrial costumes (but inspired by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt) and despite living inside a self-crafted sci-fi mythology (he always maintained that he was from Saturn, and no biographer conclusively proved his birth date) and despite littering his music with lyrics inspired to a self-penned spiritual philosophy (he never engaged in sexual relationships apparently because he considered himself an angel), Sun Ra created one of the most original styles of music thanks to a chronic disrespect for both established dogmas and trendy movements.

After reaching an international level of success with Demons and Wizards, Uriah Heep continued to build their fan base by knocking out another album of prog-like metal before the year's end. The end result, The Magician's Birthday, is not as consistent or cohesive as Demons and Wizards but still offers plenty of highlights…

This album was the debut of Uriah Heep, an English band that would become one of the Titans of the '70s heavy metal sound. Despite their eventual hard-rocking reputation, Very 'Eavy… Very 'Umble finds the band trying on different stylistic hats as they work towards finding their own sound. At this juncture, their music falls halfway between the crunch of heavy metal and the dramatic arrangements of prog rock…

The cover art of War in My Mind, Beth Hart's first solo album since 2016's Fire on the Floor, finds the singer/songwriter sitting at a piano with a storm cloud looming in the horizon. It's a good visual summation of the record. Working with producer Rob Cavallo, Hart plumbs deep into her soul, coming up with a collection of searching ballads and clear-eyed blues. Hart doesn't avoid good times – "Try a Little Harder" conjures a bit of funky gospel, "Sugar Shack" pulsates to a sensual electronic throb – but this is an album where a title as seemingly lascivious as "Rub Me for Luck" is a roiling bit of minor-key blues. The darkly introspective tone is there from the start.

The cover art of War in My Mind, Beth Hart's first solo album since 2016's Fire on the Floor, finds the singer/songwriter sitting at a piano with a storm cloud looming in the horizon. It's a good visual summation of the record. Working with producer Rob Cavallo, Hart plumbs deep into her soul, coming up with a collection of searching ballads and clear-eyed blues. Hart doesn't avoid good times – "Try a Little Harder" conjures a bit of funky gospel, "Sugar Shack" pulsates to a sensual electronic throb – but this is an album where a title as seemingly lascivious as "Rub Me for Luck" is a roiling bit of minor-key blues. The darkly introspective tone is there from the start.

Any discussion of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums will have to include some grunge, and this one is no different. A defining element of that decade, the genre (and the bands that rose to fame playing it) was given credit for revitalizing rock at a badly needed moment. That said, there's far more to the story. Our list of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums, presented in chronological order, takes in the rich diversity of the period.

By late 1973, Marc Bolan's star was waning fast. No longer gunning out those effortless classics which established him as the most important figure of the decade so far, he embarked instead on a voyage of musical discovery, which cast him so far adrift from the commercial pop mainstream that when his critics said he'd blown it, he didn't even bother answering them back. Or that's the way it appeared at the time, and today, too, it must be acknowledged that 1974's Zinc Alloy & the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow is not classic Bolan, even if one overlooks the transparency of its title.

The greatest New Zealand rock band, they evolved from quirky art rockers into a pop powerhouse thanks to the skills of the brothers Finn. This Australian-only box set covers the period of the band's peak in popularity (1980-1984). Beginning with True Colours and ending with their swan song, See Ya Round, it shows the band in perfect pop form. While this is too ambitious for the casual fan, the devoted will find this essential for considerably improved sound and the bonus disc of previously unreleased tracks.