Easily one of the best classic re-releases yet.

No matter how many releases we get from the Davis archives, no matter how familiar you are with his mid-'60s work, LIVE in Europe 1967 will surprise you and remind you that, even in lean times, even when the trends of the genre he championed were moving away from him, even when his country stopped caring, Miles Davis found a way to press forward, to reinvent, and to give us yet another classic sound, and perhaps the final thrilling word on Jazz as he knew it.

In four and a half hours, Wadada Leo Smith writes one of America's defining events in sound, and the story is all of ours.

Every song is an open-and-shut case, a tightly-sealed, end-of-story work of pop-rock perfection. Which means items like discs of live material and outtakes are superfluous at best.

This 2012 Remix/Remaster version of the album, with its rich mastering, is the one to own.... But it is not Massive Attack's masterpiece. Though some would disagree, that honor goes to 1994 follow-up Protection.

This entire collection proves one thing: Paul Simon and Graceland will remain as one of the most relevant pop records of all time.

The most obvious aspect that takes away from Smile's luster however, is an uncomfortable sense that the album has morphed into a quaint piece of nostalgia rather than the masterwork it was expected to be.

The fact that a woman of Lynn's tenure can slide so easily into what is essentially an alt-country environment without losing any of her down-home authenticity simply underscores her versatility and timelessness.

The three discs represent lightning captured in a bottle.

It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to declare Keep an Eye on the Sky an indispensable cornerstone of any serious music fan’s collection, and one of the greatest box sets ever assembled. Finally, Big Star get their due chance to shine.

The bonus CD makes it alarmingly clear that the Pumpkins could have assembled another cracking album from the Siamese Dream castoffs before embarking on the road to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)...The new editions of Gish and Siamese Dream (especially Siamese Dream, which handily outclasses its companion release in all areas) are sumptuous reminders of the heights the group once attained back when it had everything to prove and nothing to lose.

It's heartfelt. It's dark. It's intricate but immediate, rocking but lush. It does all those things at once, and it does them better than most artists could hope to do any one of them.

This is genre-defying music, but anyone with an interest in hearing a blueprint for trip hop or a master class in the depiction of desire in pop music, should be sure to listen to this mysterious, timeless, contradictory album.

This release reorients us around familiar material, but outdoes all previously existing versions in the scope of its execution and comparative completeness.

Exciting and stellar... What a way to show the kids both in 1992 and in 2012 how it's done, Bob.

Cryptic and daunting, "Dopesmoker" is the quintessential stoner metal track. Sixteen years since its birth, it remains unsurpassed.

In their catalog, though, no album stands out more than Satan Is Real, their 1959 masterpiece that outlines and encapsulates the fragile fine lines of good versus evil, and spirituality versus the mundane.

The Promise hits a ceiling just below what you'd call essential listening, but it's still more than just a fan-only release. These 22 songs show a band at the height of their powers stretching out and trying new things, indulging in their musical loves to bright and catchy results.

Whether or not this is the best Kanye West album, this may be the one he's remembered most for, the one that may finally trump the version of him we cringe at on the red carpet.

This final record shows Touré still brimming with vitality. Savane is his wonderful farewell gift.

Icky Mettle might have a reputation for containing a one-trick pony and the band's singular best known moment in the form of "Web in Front," but there's a wealth of material to really dig into and enjoy.

The problem with Madvillainy, if it can even be termed a problem, is that Doom and Madlib just have too many ideas.

Commemorative repackage or not, Lifes Rich Pageant is a must-listen rock record that is too often overshadowed by more chatted-about releases.

Through music, Kuti received redemption and power. The Best of the Black President gathers his best singles in one place. Here are the strongest moments of a musician that never played a single unnecessary note.

This set feels like two complete albums-Some Girls One and Some Girls Two-and the sequel nearly manages to match the original's vital power.

However delayed Live at Reading‘s official release is, thankfully fans can finally rejoice and celebrate its long-awaited arrival. Few live shows are able to communicate a band’s heart and soul the way Nirvana’s is brilliantly encapsulated here.

"Love and Theft" sees Dylan roaring back from Highway 61 at full bore, reminding us -- as he did on Blonde on Blonde, The Basement Tapes, and Blood on the Tracks -- that, like him or not, there isn't anybody else who can do his job.

Upon further reflection, an Achtung Baby shorn of any extras should be more than enough to satisfy you, after all-that's how it's been served for the past two decades. Everything else is mere garnish on top of a flat-out genius work.