Straight to The Heart of Zen

Paris's glitzy nightspot Buddha Bar is best known for its signature ambient environments, which are available in elaborately packaged, pricey, and popular CD compilations. This offering consists of two sections: "Buddha's Dinner," which is designed to accompany a deluxe dining experience, and "Buddha's Party," which is more groove-oriented. Although the selections are inspired by and built upon traditional music, mostly from Asia and South America, fans of club-oriented world music are advised to check out edgier electronica by Cheb I Sabbah, TransGlobal Underground, and Aisha Kandisha. But those who adore the likes of Deep Forest and Enigma will contentedly chill to these tracks.

This Rhino U.K. 2012 budget-priced box set rounds up the prime of the Replacements: five albums, beginning with their debut Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, continuing with the Twin/Tone landmarks Hootenanny and Let It Be, then concluding with their major-label debut Tim and their first post-Bob Stinson album Pleased to Meet Me. These aren't the expanded versions Rhino put out in the 2000s; they're just the albums, but that's enough to make this a worthwhile purchase, particularly at this price. The Replacements were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979. Initially a punk rock band, they are considered one of the pioneers of alternative rock.