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Between the Grooves examines Led Zeppelin's awe-inspiring fourth LP. Nowhere is the band's carefully balanced blend of eardrum-bursting heavy rock and delicate folk strains better realized than on Led Zeppelin IV.

Hawkwind's 1970 debut opened the door to rock's collective sonic possibilities, something that connected them tenuously to punk, dance, metal, and noise.

Before you slip into unconsciousness, Counterbalance has put together a few thoughts on the Doors' 1967 debut album. It's number 24 on the Big List.

Before Jimi Hendrix, face-melting guitar solos were all too rare. His 1967 debut album Are You Experienced? blew the lid off the unmelted face market and rock was never the same.

The Doors' fourth album was a deeply polarizing work and perhaps their most difficult to love. But the 50th anniversary deluxe edition goes a long way in spotlighting its many highlights.

Although created in the midst of personal and global turmoil, the Rolling Stones' 1969 studio album is routinely considered one of their best. A 50th anniversary deluxe edition is now out and celebrates this masterpiece.

Easter Is Cancelled is the Darkness' best album since their 2003 breakthrough Permission to Land.

This 1968 concert from the Who vaults reveals both a devastating live show and a revealing bit of history.

The 50th anniversary reissue of the Doors' second album, Strange Days, offers a direct, no frills edition that emphasizes the dynamic, solid music.

When that last guitar's been packed away: Forty years ago, Jackson Browne introduced a new kind of concept album.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the outside pressures the Rolling Stones faced in recording Satanic Majesties, it stands 50 years later as arguably the most experimental, tongue-in-cheek, and underappreciated album of their long history.

40 is a well-rounded overview of hits that would make even the most jaded indie music fan admit that Foreigner songs have an ability to really sink in their hooks.

Nearly anyone who picks up An Illustrated Life will have a predefined idea of Freddie Mercury; Blake's book is a marvelous document of how we came to accept that idea as truth.

Van Morrison's Bang sessions have been bootlegged and shamelessly repackaged for 50 years. This collection brings it all together the right way.

Hard Drivin’ Man: J. Geils brought blues, jazz, soul -- and his name -- to one of rock’s great bands

Irish rockers return with a varied, resolute record meant to carry us out of the darkness and into the light.

Jacuzzi Boys' new album, Ping Pong, enters swinging. This little garage rock band of boys might have matured a bit.

Michael Collins & Co. reference musical views of both past and present on The End of Comedy, and in doing so provide listeners a sonic smile.

Young Mister's readiness to draw so authentically on a wealth of different styles make you think that this outfit really aren't as young as they claim to be.

Earl Burrows is an intriguing, polychromatic, rock and roll entity. No Love for the Drowning, the band's debut, sports an astute, introspective nature, and an adventurous, exploratory urge.

A sometimes eerie and often revealing examination of Lynyrd Skynyrd's initial run and the unfortunate events that sealed the band's place in history forever.

From this rare live recording, listen to the MK II lineup of Deep Purple blaze and jam through 70 minutes of their now-classic tunes on Long Beach 1971.

One pill makes you larger, one pill makes you small, and the 179th most acclaimed album is this week's Counterbalance. Remember what the dormouse said: Feed your head with a 1967 psychedelic classic.

Former KISS guitarist breaks no new ground with latest release. Although he can still solo, he still lacks ace material.

If you don’t have these two albums, your record collection has a massive hole.

The Who, however it survives, repeats that that youthful concerns and ideals matter, no matter how long the band or we endure.

Some might be enamoured by the nods to classic rock, and some might not, but what you get in the end is an album of little significance.

When he tenses up for hard rock, he sounds gawky, but relaxation turns him intense.

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On this, Bruce Springsteen's most unsteady album, Tom Morello demonstrates how a backing player can nearly ruin the proceedings.

There's some great, if hokey, material to be had on I Robot, and yet it is also hugely entertaining and a must have for geeks interested in the late '70s sci-fi landscape

Jethro Tull have always confounded critics, and despite albums sales, hit songs, influence and longevity, it is above all the brain of frontman Ian Anderson that ensures they will remain forever on the outside, looking in.

If nothing else, Old Sock proves that Eric Clapton is comfortable being Eric Clapton.

So, sure, young people really don’t get or know the real Blue Öyster Cult it seems. Which is a bit of a shame, as the band delivered a number of solid, consistent albums that rank up there in the metal and hard rock/classic rock pantheon.

"D'Yer Mak'er" concludes the controversial middle section of Houses of the Holy in an uproarious fashion. With this song Led Zeppelin proves that for every Tolkien reference, there's a corresponding joke—and a pretty damn good one at that.

In the storied halls of rock and roll, Aerosmith's Music from Another Dimension! resides in the geriatric wing.

The Doors' fourth album was a deeply polarizing work and perhaps their most difficult to love. But the 50^th anniversary deluxe edition goes a long way in spotlighting its many highlights.

The 50^th anniversary reissue of the Doors' second album, Strange Days, offers a direct, no frills edition that emphasizes the dynamic, solid music.