Music Year 1990

This list was put together retrospectively from database hints in 2011, basically as research for a half-hearted poll. It is done virtually all from memory, which 21 years later may not be such a good idea.

& indicates a record rated based on streaming from Rhapsody (or some other source). [*, **, ***] indicates a B+ record given 1-3 stars, meaning that it was rated much later than most of these records. In many cases the rating was done on the basis of a later reissue, reflected in label with the reissue date in brackets. Not all of these reissues are properly noted, especially where they differ in no significant way (other than that they're on CD).

Note: An earlier draft, probably from 2000, is here.

New Records

The Beautiful South: Welcome to the Beautiful South (Go! Discs)
Pet Shop Boys: Behavior (EMI America)
Pharoah Sanders: Welcome to Love (Timeless)

Carlene Carter: I Fell in Love (Reprise)
L.L. Cool J: Mama Said Knock You Out (Def Jam)
The Chills: Submarine Bells (Slash)
Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam)
Beats International: Let Them Eat Bingo (Elektra)
K.T. Oslin: Love in a Small Town (RCA)
David Murray/George Arvanitas: Tea for Two (Fresh Sound)
Marcia Ball/Angela Strehli/Lou Ann Barton: Dreams Come True (Antone's)
Salt-N-Pepa: Black's Magic (London)
Madonna: I'm Breathless (Sire)
David Murray: Ballads (DIW)
Eyuphuro: Mama Mosambiki (Real World)
Eddie Harris: There Was a Time (Echo of Harlem) (Enja)
Rosanne Cash: Interiors (Columbia)
Marian McPartland: Plays the Benny Carter Songbook (Concord)
Was (Not Was): Are You Okay? (Chrysalis)

Sonny Sharrock: Highlife (Enemy)
Neil Young: Ragged Glory (Reprise)
Betty Boo: Boomania (Warner Brothers)
Don Pullen: Random Thoughts (Blue Note)
Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter (Chrysalis)
Brian Eno/John Cale: Wrong Way Up (Opal)
David Murray: Spirituals (DIW)
Macka-B: Natural Suntan (RAS)
Brand Nubian: One for All (Elektra)
Loketo: Soukous Trouble (Shanachie)
Herb Geller: Birdland Stomp (Fresh Sound)
Macka-B: Looks Are Deceiving (RAS)
Marty Grosz/Keith Ingham: Unsaturated Fats (Stomp Off)
The Deighton Family: Mama Was Right (Philo)
L7: Smell the Magic (Sub Pop)
Bud Shank: Lost in the Stars (Fresh Sound)
Art Blakey/Dr. John/David "Fathead" Newman: Bluesiana Triangle (Windham Hill)
Sonic Youth: Goo (DGC)
Soul II Soul: Vol. II A New Decade (Virgin)
Michael Hashim: Lotus Blossom (Stash)
Michael Formanek: Wide Open Spaces (Enja)
Digital Underground: Sex Packets (Tommy Boy)
Lisa Stansfield: Affection (Arista)
The La's: The La's (London)
Sheila Jordan: Lost and Found (Muse)
Wynton Marsalis: Tune In Tomorrow (Columbia)
: The River (Mango)
Either/Orchestra: The Calculus of Pleasure (Accurate)
Nick Lowe: Party of One (Reprise)
Jan Garbarek/Ustad Fateh Ali Khan: Ragas and Sagas (ECM)
C+C Music Factory: Gonna Make You Sweat (Columbia)
Digital Underground: This Is an E.P. Release (Tommy Boy)
Jackie McLean: Dynasty (Triloka)
Simon Shaheen: The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab (Axiom)
Archie Shepp: I Didn't Know About You (Timeless)
Lester Bowie: My Way (DIW)
Cecil Taylor: Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio (FMP)
Victoria Williams: Swing the Statue! (Rough Trade)
Blake Babies: Sunburn (Mammoth)
Dick Berk: Bouncin' With Berk (Nine Winds)

: Overlapping Hands: Eight Segments (FMP)
Carmen McRae: Sarah: Dedicated to You (Novus)
Rabih Abou-Khalil: Al-Jadida (Enja)

Alexander von Schlippenbach: Elf Bagatellen (FMP)
Nat Adderley: Work Song (Sweet Basil)

: Aromates (Elektra/Nonesuch)
The Beautiful South: Choke (Go! Discs)
Norman Blake: Far Away, Down on a Georgia Farm (Shanachie)
Boogie Down Productions: Edutainment (Jive)
Garth Brooks: No Fences (Liberty)
Charles Brown: All My Life (Bullseye)
Sonny Burgess: We Wanna Boogie (Rounder)
Betty Carter: Droppin' Things (Verve)
Thomas Chapin: Radius (MU)
Don Cherry: Multi Kulti (A&M)
The Clean: Vehicle (Rough Trade)
Deee-Lite: World Clique (Elektra)
: Girls of Guinea (Shanachie)
Jali Musa Jawara: Yasimika (Hannibal)
Ani DiFranco: Ani DiFranco (Righteous Babe)
Bob Dylan: Under the Red Sky (Columbia)
The Embarrassment: God Help Us (Bar/None)
Chaba Fadela/Cheb Sahraoui: Hana Hana (Mango)
Ricky Ford: Ebony Rhapsody (Candid)
Benny Golson: Benny Golson Quartet (Laserlight)
Guo Brothers and Shung Tian: Yuan (RealWorld)
Vincent Herring: American Experience (Musicmasters)
Vincent Herring: Evidence (Landmark)
Joe Higgs: Blackman Know Yourself (Shanachie)
Tish Hinojosa: Culture Swing (A&M)
Dave Holland: Extensions (ECM)
Keith Jarrett: The Cure (ECM)
The Jazz Passengers: Implement Yourself (New World/Countercurrents)
Kid 'n Play: Kid 'n Play's Funhouse (Select)
Ousmane Kouyate: Domba (Mango)
Marty Krystall: Seeing Unknown Colors (MA)
: Let's Be Generous (CMP)
Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Odoo (Shanachie)
Steve Lacy/Mal Waldron: Hot House (Novus)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Two Worlds One Heart (Warner Brothers)
Don Lanphere/Larry Coryell: Don Lanphere/Larry Coryell (Hep)
Linda Gail Lewis: International Affair (New Rose)
Allen Lowe: At the Moment of Impact (Fairhaven)
Evan Lurie: Selling Water by the Side of the River (Antilles)
Macka-B: Buppie Culture (RAS)
Branford Marsalis: Crazy People Music (Columbia)
Meat Beat Manifesto: 99% (Mute)
Meat Puppets: No Strings Attached (SST)
Myra Melford: Jump (Enemy)
Ministry: In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (Live) (Sire)
Van Morrison: Enlightenment (Mercury)
Morrissey: Bona Drag (Sire)
Paul Motian: Bill Evans (JMT)
Youssou N'Dour: Set (Virgin)
Buell Neidlinger: Big Drum (K2B2)
Old and New Dreams: One for Blackwell (Soul Note)
Carlos Paredes: Guitarra Portuguesa (Elektra/Nonesuch)
Maceo Parker: Roots Revisited (Minor Music)
Ken Peplowski: Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool (Concord)
Houston Person: Why Not! (Muse)
Peter and the Test Tube Babies: The $hit Factory (Triple X)
The Pixies: Bossanova (4AD/Elektra)
The Pooh Sticks: Formula One Generation (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Pretenders: Packed! (Sire)
Prince: Graffiti Bridge (Paisley Park)
Pylon: Chain (Sky)
Shabba Ranks: Rappin' With the Ladies (Greensleeves)
Jean Redpath: Leaving the Land (Philo)
Lou Reed/John Cale: Songs for Drella (Sire)
Saffire: The Uppity Blues Women (Alligator)
Loren Schoenberg: Just a Settin' and a Rockin' (Musicmasters)
John Scofield: Meant to Be (Blue Note)
Ronnie Scott: Never Pat a Burning Dog (Jazz House)
Doug Sertl: Joy Spring (Stash)
Shinehead: The Real Rock (Elektra)
Matthew Shipp: Circular Temple (Infinite Zero/American)
Snap: World Power (Arista)
Gary Stewart: Battleground (Hightone)
String Trio of New York: Ascendant (Stash)
John Surman: Road to Saint Ives (ECM)
Koko Taylor: Jump for Joy (Alligator)
Teenage Fanclub: God Knows It's True (Matador)
Texas Tornados: Texas Tornados (Reprise)
Barbara Thompson: Breathless (Intuition)
Traveling Wilburys: Volume 3 (Warner Brothers)
Two Nice Girls: Like a Version (Rough Trade)
Uncle Tupelo: No Depression (Columbia)
Michal Urbaniak: Songbird (Steeplechase)
Jack Walrath: Out of the Tradition (Muse)
Robert Ward: Fear No Evil (Black Top)
Frank Wess: Live at the 1990 Concord Jazz Festival: Second Set (Concord)
Kenny Wheeler: The Widow in the Window (ECM)
Barney Wilen: Movie Themes From France (Timeless)
Kelly Willis: Well Traveled Love (MCA)
Dwight Yoakam: If There Was a Way (Reprise)
Geri Allen: The Nurturer (Blue Note)

Franck Amsallem/Gary Peacock/Bill Stewart: Another Time (A)
Robert Ashley: Yellow Man With Heart With Wings (Lovely Music)
Aztec Camera: Stray (Sire)
Gary Bartz: West 42nd Street (Candid)
Richie Beirach: Convergence (Triloka)
Bell Biv Devoe: Poison (MCA)
Karl Berger: Around (Black Saint)
Art Blakey: Chippin' In (Timeless)
Ruby Braff: Bravura Eloquence (Concord)
Alex Bugnon: Head Over Heels (Orpheus)
Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey (Columbia)
Boozoo Chavis: The Lake Charles Atomic Bomb (Rounder)
Nels Cline: Silencer (Enja)
Steve Coleman: Rhythm People (The Resurrection of Creative Black Civilization) (Novus)
Bootsy Collins: Jungle Bass (4th & Broadway)
Larry Coryell: Shining Hour (Muse)
Stanley Cowell: Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume 5 (Concord)
Joey DeFrancesco: Where Were You? (Columbia)
Defunkt: Heroes (DIW)
Barbara Dennerlein: Hot Stuff (Enja)
Steve Earle: The Hard Way (MCA)
Khalifa Ould Eide and Dimi Mint Abba: Moorish Music From Mauritania (World Circuit)
808 State: Utd. State 90 (Tommy Boy)
Marianne Faithfull: Blazing Away (Island)
The Forester Sisters: Come Hold Me (Warner Brothers)
Fugazi: Repeater (Dischord)
The Fugs: Songs From a Portable Forest (Gazell)
Johnny Gill: Johnny Gill (Motown)
Tom Harrell: Visions (Contemporary)
John Hiatt: Stolen Moments (A&M)
Buck Hill: The Buck Stops Here (Muse)
Ice Cube: Kill at Will (Priority)
Billy Idol: Charmed Life (Chrysalis)
Ronald Shannon Jackson: Taboo (Venture)
Jane's Addiction: Ritual de lo Habitual (Warner Brothers)
: Gigantafrique (Globestyle)
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Mustt Mustt (RealWorld)
Kid Creole and the Coconuts: Private Waters in the Great Divide (Columbia)
B.B. King: Live at the Apollo (Verve)
Franz Koglmann: The Use of Memory (Hat Art)
John Lewis: Private Concert (Emarcy)
Abbey Lincoln: The World Is Falling Down (Verve)
Living Colour: Time's Up (Epic)
Patty Loveless: On Down the Line (MCA)
Wynton Marsalis: Standard Time: Volume 3 -- The Resolution of Romance (Columbia)
Susannah McCorkle: Sabia (Concord)
Margareth Menezes: Elegibo (Mango)
Michael Martin Murphey: Cowboy Songs (Warner Brothers)
Pauline Oliveros: Crone Music (Lovely Music)
Perfect Disaster: Heaven Scent (Fire)
Terry Riley: Shri Camel (Columbia)
Harvie S: In a Different Light (Blue Moon)
Scrawl: Smallmouth (Rough Trade)
Shazzy: Attitude: A Hip Hop Rhapsody (Elektra)
Sun Ra: Purple Night (A&M)
Sun Ra: Mayan Temples (Black Saint)
Cecil Taylor: Dark to Themselves (1976, Enja)
Clark Terry: Live at the Village Gate (Chesky)
They Might Be Giants: Flood (Elektra)
A Tribe Called Quest: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (Jive)
Blue Gene Tyranny: Free Delivery (Lovely Music)
Bobby Watson: Post-Motown Bop (Blue Note)
Kenny Wheeler: Music for Large and Small Ensembles (ECM)

Eliane Elias: Plays Jobim (Blue Note)
Majek Fashek: Prisoner of Conscience (Mango)
Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority)
Monie Love: Down to Earth (Warner Brothers)
Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Heartbeats Accelerating (Private)
Misha Mengelberg: Impromptus (FMP)
Les Miserables Brass Band: Manic Traditions (Northeastern)
Mark Murphy: Bop for Miles (Highnote)
My Bloody Valentine: Glider (Sire)
Neville Brothers: Brother's Keeper (A&M)
Paul Simon: The Rhythm of the Saints (Warner Brothers)
: Hot Heads (Shanachie)
Your Neighbourhood Saxophone Quartet: Plutonian Nights: The Music of Sun Ra (Coppens)

Pending

Dee Bell: Sagacious Grace (Laser)
Black Uhuru: Now (Mesa)
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: The New Orleans Album (Columbia)
Dorothy Donegan: Live at the 1990 Floating Jazz Festival (Chiaroscuro)
Stefan Grossman: Guitar Landscapes (Shanachie)
Guy: The Future (MCA)
Chico Hamilton: Arroyo (Soul Note)
Barry Harris: Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Vol. 12 (Concord)
Robin Holcomb: Robin Holcomb (Elektra)
Shirley Horn: You Won't Forget Me (Verve)
: Dynamics (CMP)
Urs Leimgruber/Adelhard Roidinger/Fritz Hauser: Lines (Hat Art)
Wolfgang Muthspiel: Timezones (Amadeo)
Bobby Previte: Empty Suits (Gramavision)
Hal Russell: The Finnish/Swiss Tour (ECM)
Loren Schoenberg: S'posin' (Musicmasters)
The Three Johns: Eat Your Sons (Tupelo)
Glen Velez: Doctrine of Signatures (CMP)
Steve Williamson: A Waltz for Grace (Verve)
Yo La Tengo: Fakebook (Bar/None)

Candidates

These are records that show up on other lists that maybe should be considered.

Muhal Richard Abrams: Duets and Solos (Black Saint)
Jewel Ackah: Me Dear (Highlife World)
Geri Allen: Live at the Village Vanguard (DIW)
Ass Ponys: Mr. Superlove (OKra)
Eric B. and Rakim: Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em (MCA)
Black Box: Dreamland (RCA)
The Breeders: Pod (4AD/Elektra, EP)
The Robert Cray Band: Midnight Stroll (Mercury)
Dramarama: Live at China Club (Chameleon)
Joe Ely: Live at Liberty Lunch (MCA)
The Fall: Extricate (Fontana)
Fellow Travellers: No Easy Way (OKra)
Happy Mondays: Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (Elektra)
Ronald Shannon Jackson: Red Warrior (Axiom)
Freedy Johnston: The Trouble Tree (Bar/None)
Kid Frost: Hispanic Causing Panic (Virgin)
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo: Wanted: Dead or Alive (Cold Chillin')
Kotch: Kotch (Mango)
Alison Krauss: I've Got That Old Feeling (Rounder)
Los Lobos: The Neighborhood (Slash/Warner Brothers)
Mahlathini/Amaswazi Emvelo: You're Telling Tales (Shanachie)
Mazzy Star: She Hangs Brightly (Capitol)
Mekons: F.U.N. '90 (A&M)
: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Chrysalis)
Koffi Olomide: Tcha Tcho (Sterns)
Pavement: Demolition Plot J-7 (Drag City)
Lee Scratch Perry: From the Secret Laboratory (Mango)
Poor Righteous Teachers: Holy Intellect (Profile)
Ride: Nowhere (Sire)
Sisters of Mercy: Vision Thing (Elektra)
Social Distortion: Social Distortion (Epic)
Superchunk: Superchunk (Matador)
Vaughan Brothers: Family Style (Epic)
World Party: Goodbye Jumbo (Papillon)

Compilations

Madonna: The Immaculate Collection (1983-90, Sire)
Johnny Cash: The Sun Years (1955-58, Rhino)
Bo Diddley: The Chess Box (1955-74, Chess, 2CD)
Fats Domino: My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino (1949-61, EMI)
Willie Nelson: Nite Life: Greatest Hits and Rare Tracks (1959-71, Rhino)
Dr. Sir Warrior and the Oriental Brothers International: Heavy on the Highlife! (Original Music)
Art Tatum/Ben Webster/Red Callender/Bill Douglas: The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 8 (1956, Pablo)
Hank Williams: The Original Singles Collection (1942-52, Polydor, 3CD)

The Animals: The Complete Animals (1964-65, EMI, 2CD)
Louis Armstrong/Duke Ellington: The Complete Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington Sessions (1961, Roulette)
Sidney Bechet: The Victor Sessions: Master Takes (1932-43, RCA)
Alpha Blondy: The Best of Alpha Blondy (1984-89, Shanachie)
David Bowie: Changesbowie (1969-90, Rykodisc)
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen: Too Much Fun: The Best of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (MCA)
Delaney and Bonnie: The Best of Delaney and Bonnie (1969-72, Rhino)
Duke Ellington: Fargo, North Dakota, November 7, 1940 (1940, Vintage Jazz Classics, 2CD)
Duke Ellington: Latin American Suite (1967-70, Fantasy OJC)
The Fall: 458489 A-Sides (1984-89, Beggars Banquet)
Gang of Four: A Brief History of the 20th Century (1979-83, Warner Brothers)
Don Gibson: All-Time Greatest Hits (RCA)
The Go-Betweens: 1978-1990 (1978-90, Beggars Banquet)
Merle Haggard: More of the Best (1963-81, Rhino)
Merle Haggard: The Capitol Collector's Series (Capitol)
Lionel Hampton: Flying Home (1942-45, Decca)
John Lee Hooker: The Ultimate Collection (1948-1990) (1948-90, Rhino, 2CD)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Classic Tracks (Shanachie)
Little Walter: Hate to See You Go (1952-60, Chess/MCA)
Jimmy Martin: You Don't Know My Mind (1956-66, Rounder)
Van Morrison: The Best of Van Morrison (Polydor)
Rick Nelson: The Legendary Masters Series, Volume 1 (1957-60, EMI America)
Art Pepper: Straight Life (1979, Galaxy OJC)
Hank Snow: I'm Movin' On and Other Great Country Hits (RCA)
Gary Stewart: Gary's Greatest (1973-90, Hightone)
Art Tatum/Roy Eldridge/Larry Simmons/Alvin Stoller: The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 2 (1955, Pablo)
Merle Travis: The Best of Merle Travis (1946-68, Rhino)
Guitar Player Presents Legends of Guitar: Electric Blues, Vol. 1 (Rhino)
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection, Volume 1 (Smithsonian)
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection, Volume 2 (Smithsonian)
Columbia Country Classics, Vol. 2: Honky Tonk Heroes (Columbia)
The Best of Excello Records, Vol. 2: Southern Rhythm 'n' Rock (1954-66, Rhino)
The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 1 (Rhino)
The Disco Years, Vol. 1: Turn the Beat Around (1974-78, Rhino)

Samba Mapangala/Orchestra Virunga: Virunga Volcano (Earthworks)
Big Bill Broonzy: Good Time Tonight (1930-40, Columbia)
Daniel Owino Misiani: Benga Blast! (Earthworks)
Bix Beiderbecke: Volume 1: Singin' the Blues (1927, Columbia)
The Beach Boys: Today/Summer Days and Summer Nights (1965, Capitol)
The Chairmen of the Board: Greatest Hits (HDH)
Kevin Ayers: The Kevin Ayers Collection (See For Miles)
Robert Ashley: Private Parts (The Record) (1977, Lovely Music)
The Chantels: The Best of the Chantels (Rhino)
Nat King Cole: Jumpin' at Capitol: The Best of the Nat King Cole Trio (1939-51, Rhino)
Miles Davis: Nefertiti (1967, Columbia)
Devo: Greatest Hits (Warner Brothers)
Johnny Dodds: Blue Clarinet Stomp (1926-29, RCA)
K.C. Douglas: K.C.'s Blues (1961, Bluesville OBC)
The Flatlanders: More a Legend Than a Band (1972, Rounder)
Franco: (1956-59, RetroAfric)
Stan Getz: At Storyville, Vol 1 and 2 (1951-53, Roulette)
Gregory Isaacs: My Number One (Heartbeat)
Wanda Jackson: Rockin' in the Country: Best of Wanda Jackson (1956-70, Rhino)
Blind Willie Johnson: Sweeter as the Years Go By (Yazoo)
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings (1936-37, Columbia, 2CD)
Ernie K-Doe: Burn, K-Doe, Burn! (1959-63, Charly)
Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Black Man's Cry (1973-75, Eurobond)
Jimmy Liggins: Jimmy Liggins and His Drops of Joy (1947-53, Specialty)
Julie London: Time for Love: The Best of Julie London (1955-65, Rhino)
The Lovin' Spoonful: Anthology (1965-68, Rhino)
Roy Milton: Roy Milton and His Solid Senders (Specialty)
Charles Mingus: Town Hall Concert (1964, Jazz Workshop/OJC)
Jean Ritchie/Doc Watson: Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson at Folk City (1963, Smithsonian/Folkways)
Sonny Rollins: Newk's Time (1957, Blue Note)
Art Tatum/Benny Carter/Louis Bellson: The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 1 (1954, Pablo)
Gene Vincent: The Capitol Collector's Series (1956-63, Capitol)
The Waitresses: The Best of the Waitresses (1982-83, Polydor)
Lucinda Williams: Happy Woman Blues (1980, Folkways)
Sonny Boy Williamson: Keep It to Ourselves (1963, Alligator)
Wire: Wire 1985-1990: The A List (1985-90, Elektra)
Hi-Jivin' (Kijima)
Zimbabwe Frontline Vol. 2: Spirit of the Eagle (Earthworks)
(Luaka Bop)
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection, Volume 3 (Smithsonian)
Columbia Country Classics, Vol. 1: The Golden Age (Columbia)
Something Got a Hold of Me: A Treasury of Sacred Music (RCA)
Fire Down Below: Scorchers From Studio One (Heartbeat)
The Best of Excello Records, Vol. 1: Sound of the Swamp (1956-65, Rhino)
Groove 'n' Grind: '50s and '60s Dance Hits (Rhino)
The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 2 (Rhino)
The Disco Years, Vol. 2: On the Beat (1978-81, Rhino)
Henry "Red" Allen/Coleman Hawkins: 1933 (1933, Hep)

Eubie Blake: Memories of You (1915-73, Biograph)
Billy Joel: Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 and 2 (1973-1985) (1973-85, Columbia, 2CD)
Roland Kirk/Jack McDuff: Kirk's Work (1961, Prestige OJC)
Ravi Shankar/Ali Akbar Khan: Ragas (1973, Fantasy)
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson/Otis Spann: Bosses of the Blues, Volume II (1969, Bluebird)
: (1973-75, Luaka Bop)

Nathan Abshire/Mark Savoy/Hector Duhon: Cajun Social Music (1977, Smithsonian/Folkways)

John Anderson: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1982-86, Warner Brothers)
Louis Armstrong: Louis Armstrong of New Orleans (1926-50, Decca)
Art Ensemble of Chicago: With Fontella Bass (1970, Musidisc)
The Bangles: Greatest Hits (1984-88, Columbia)
Blind Blake: Ragtime Guitar's Foremost Fingerpicker (1926-32, Yazoo)
Paul Bley/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian: Memoirs (Soul Note)
Gary U.S. Bonds: The Best of Gary U.S. Bonds (1960-66, Rhino)
Culture: International Herb (1979, Shanachie)
Johnny Dodds: South-Side Chicago Jazz (1927-29, Decca)
Roy Eldridge/Gene Krupa/Anita O'Day: Uptown (1941-42, Columbia)
Bill Evans: Moonbeams (1962, Riverside OJC)
Red Garland: Manteca (1958, Prestige OJC)
The Go-Go's: Go-Go's Greatest (IRS)
Woody Guthrie: Struggle (Smithsonian/Folkways)
Helen Humes: 'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do (1959, Contemporary OJC)
: (Gefraco/Sterns Africa)
Kingston Trio: Capitol Collectors Series (1956-64, Capitol)
Steve Lacy: Reflections (1958, Prestige OJC)
George Lewis: With Kid Shots (1944, American Music)
Gary Lewis: The Legendary Masters Series (1965-68, EMI)
E.T. Mensah: All for You (RetroAfric)
Gerry Mulligan: Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster (1959, Verve)
Charlie Parker: Charlie Parker Jam Session (1952, Verve)
Leo Parker: Let Me Tell You 'Bout It (1961, Blue Note)
Elvis Presley: The Million Dollar Quartet (1956, RCA)
Elvis Presley: The Great Performances (RCA)
Tito Puente: Cuban Carnival (1955, BMG)
Bonnie Raitt: The Bonnie Raitt Collection (1971-86, Warner Brothers)
Jimmy Reed: The Best of Jimmy Reed (Telstar)
Max Roach/Archie Shepp: The Long March, Part 1 (1979, Hat Art)
Shirley and Lee: The Legendary Masters Series, Vol. 1 (1952-58, EMI)
Willie Smith/Harry James: Snooty Fruity (1944-54, Columbia)
Billy Stewart: One More Time (1956-69, Chess)
Frank Stokes: Creator of the Memphis Blues (1927-29, Yazoo)
Tarheel Slim/Little Ann: The Red Robin and Fire Years (1954-62, Collectables)
Art Tatum: Solos (1940) (1940, Decca)
Cecil Taylor: It Is in the Brewing Luminous (1980, Hat Art)
Clark Terry: Duke With a Difference (1957, Riverside OJC)
Sonny Terry: Sonny Is King (1960, Prestige/Bluesville OBC)
Henry Threadgill: Spirit of Nuff . . . Nuff (Black Saint)
Sarah Vaughan: Sarah Vaughan (1954, Emarcy)
Keith Whitley: Greatest Hits (RCA)
Hank Williams: Rare Demos: First to Last (Country Music Foundation)
The Indestructible Beat of Soweto Vol. 3: Freedom Fire (Earthworks)
American Banjo: Three Finger and Scruggs Style (1956, Smithsonian/Folkways)
Columbia Country Classics, Vol. 3: Americana (1954-84, Columbia)
Columbia Country Classics, Vol. 4: The Nashville Sound (1953-73, Columbia)
Under the Double Eagle: Great Western Swing Bands of the 1930's, Vol. 1 (RCA)
Songs That Got Us Through WWII (1941-45, Rhino)
Yalla: Hit List Egypt (Mango)
Hip Hop Greats: Classic Raps (Rhino)
The Civil War (Elektra/Nonesuch)

Chet Baker/Art Pepper: Playboys (1956, Pacific Jazz)
The Beach Boys: Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A. (1962-63, Capitol)
The Carter Family: Diamonds in the Rough (1941, Copper Creek)
Ray Charles: Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul (1963, Sandstone)
Nat King Cole: The Capitol Collector's Series (1943-64, Capitol)
Elvis Costello: Girls, Girls, Girls (1977-86, Columbia, 2CD)
Eek-A-Mouse: The Very Best of Eek-A-Mouse (Shanachie)
Duke Ellington: Take the "A" Train (1941, Vintage Jazz Classics)
Esquerita: Capitol Collectors Series (1958-59, Capitol)
The Flamingos: The Best of the Flamingos (1953-61, Rhino)
Tennessee Ernie Ford: 16 Tons of Boogie (Rhino)
Panama Francis: All Stars 1949 (1949, Collectables)
Joan Jett: The Hit List (Epic)
Bunk Johnson/Lu Watters: Bunk and Lu (1941, Good Time Jazz)
Lee Konitz: The Lee Konitz Duets (1967, Milestone OJC)
Warne Marsh: Ne Plus Ultra (1969, Hat Art)
Lou Reed: Walk on the Wild Side and Other Hits (1972-75, RCA)
John Scofield: Slo Sco: The Best of Ballads (1984-89, Gramavision)
Jack Teagarden: A Hundred Years From Today (1963, Grudge)
Vienna Art Orchestra: Concerto Piccolo (1980, Hat Art)
Doc Watson: The Doc Watson Family (1963, Smithsonian/Folkways)
Bob Wills: The Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 10: The McKinney Sisters (1946, Rhino)
The Roots of Robert Johnson (1927-37, Yazoo)
Giants of Small Band Swing: Volume 1 (1946, Riverside OJC)
Cry-Baby (MCA)

Cabaret Voltaire: Three Mantras (1980, Restless/Mute)
Bette Midler: Mud Will Be Flung Tonight (1985, Atlantic)
Kenny Rogers: 20 Great Years (1969-80, Reprise)
Cuban Dance Party: Routes of Rhythm, Volume 2 (Rounder)

Mitch Miller: Sing Along With Mitch (1958, Columbia)
2 Nasty 4 Radio (Cold Chillin')

Pending

Cajun, Vol. 1: Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (1929-33, Columbia)
Kansas City Hot Jazz (1926-30, ABC)
Ewan MacColl: Black and White: The Definitive Collection (Green Linnet)

Candidates

The Carl Stalling Project: Music from Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958 (1936-58, Warner Brothers)
Devo: Greatest Misses (Warner Brothers)
The Fall: 458489 B-Sides (1984-89, Beggars Banquet)
KC and the Sunshine Band: The Best of KC and the Sunshine Band (Rhino)
Laura Lee: That's How It Is: Chess Years (Chess)
Thomas Mapfumo: Shumba: Vital Hits of Zimbabwe (Earthworks)
The Romantics: What I Like About You (and Other Romantic Hits) (Nemperor)
Ska Beats, Vol. 1 (ROIR)