Mountain Best of

One of the first of the blissed-out rave acts to storm the charts, and also one of the longest lasting, the Future Sound of London deserved a good singles compilation, and fortunately they get one with the Virgin retrospective Teachings from the Electronic Brain. Their highest moments were virtually always their singles, and short-form tracks offer a much easier path to understanding the music of Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain than their occasionally bloated LPs. Teachings from the Electronic Brain neglects nothing of real value, beginning with their first chart hit ("Papua New Guinea") and grabbing the best tracks from their albums Accelerator ("Expander"), Lifeforms (the title track), the live-in-the-studio ISDN ("Far-Out Son of Lung and the Ramblings of a Madman," "Smokin' Japanese Babe"), and Dead Cities ("We Have Explosive"). Best of all, licensing requirements prevented the addition of material from 2002's half-baked The Isness.

The Gang's classic Funk #49 plus Take a Look Around; Tend My Garden; Collage; Ashes, the Rain and I; Walk Away; Midnight Man; Mother Says; Rocky Mountain Way; Meadows; Turn to Stone, and more. 18 tracks!

It only seems like there has been an endless stream of Grateful Dead compilations. In reality, there has only been a handful, and the most notable of those were released while the band was still an active recording and touring unit in the '70s – and before they had belated chart success in the late '80s, 20 years after their debut album. So, Warner/Rhino's 2003 collection The Very Best of Grateful Dead marks the first attempt to do a thorough single-disc overview of the group's career, encompassing not just their classic Warner albums but also the records they cut for their own Grateful Dead/UA and Arista.

It only seems like there has been an endless stream of Grateful Dead compilations. In reality, there has only been a handful, and the most notable of those were released while the band was still an active recording and touring unit in the '70s – and before they had belated chart success in the late '80s, 20 years after their debut album.

With an impressive run of hits in the '80s – thanks to a country sound washed in a sleek, pop sheen and with enough rock dynamics to put it all over – Alabama built an early template for how to be a country group in the 21st century. They had chart hits in three different decades, a pretty impressive lesson in longevity in a business that hardly encourages it. This well-sequenced set features some of the group’s most enduring songs, including “I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why),” “Song of the South,” and “Mountain Music,” among others, and makes it easy to hear why Alabama was so ubiquitous in the genre.

Mountain's meteoric ride through the early '70s was as memorable as it was brief – so much so that this excellent greatest-hits set was released less than four years after the band had inaugurated their career at Woodstock…

Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Denver's first album release on RCA, this two-disc, 25-track overview of the country-pop singer's storied career is the most concise and nuanced yet. Digitally remastered from the original master tapes, road-trip classics like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High," and "Back Home Again" are as warm as the singer's lauded tenor. There are no gimmicky re-recorded cuts or disappointing live tracks – "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" spent its time on the charts in its live incarnation – and his spotty '80s material is only briefly covered ("Perhaps Love" and "Shanghai Breezes"). For those unwilling to sift through the exhaustive four-CD Country Roads Collection, Song's Best Friend: The Very Best of John Denver is a good buy and a rewarding visit with an old friend.

12 of the biggest '70s hits and most memorable duets that Donny and Marie Osmond recorded before taking their superstar act to TV! Includes their smooth pop hits I'm Leaving It (All) Up to You; Morning Side of the Mountain; Deep Purple; Make the World Go Away; Paper Roses and more.