Following her first three albums, all of which were wildly eclectic affairs, Bonnie Raitt was poised for a mainstream move, and 1974's Streetlights is it. There's no blues edge here whatsoever, and Raitt's guitar playing is subdued–both detractions–but the album also introduces "Angel from Montgomery," the definitive version of John Prine's piercing ballad. Raitt dips further into contemporary singer-songwriter fare with Joni Mitchell's "That Song About the Midway" and James Taylor's "Rainy Day Man," but the album peaks with Allen Toussaint's thoughtful (and funky) "What Is Success."

This album is an overlooked gem in the catalog of Bonnie Raitt. On Takin' My Time, she wears her influences proudly in an eclectic musical mix containing blues, jazz, folk, New Orleans R&B, and calypso. Although she did not write her own material for this album, she demonstrates an excellent ear for songs and chooses material from some of the best songwriters of the day.

CrimsonWind are formed in Palermo in December 2008 and propose a genre referable to Power Metal, but provided with sonority coming from the most disparate genres, thanks mainly to the different influences and musical experiences of the members. “The Wings of Salvation”, the first album of CrimsonWind, that will be published in the first months of 2011 by IceWarrior

During 1967-69 avant-garde innovator Albert Ayler recorded a series of albums for Impulse that started on a high level and gradually declined in quality. This LP, Ayler's first Impulse set, was probably his best for that label. There are two selections apiece from a pair of live appearances with Ayler having a rare outing on alto on the emotional "For John Coltrane" and the more violent "Change Has Come" while backed by cellist Joel Friedman, both Alan Silva and Bill Folwell on basses and drummer Beaver Harris. ~ AllMusic

They weren't joined at the hip, yet Chet Atkins and Les Paul were far closer than many realize. Chet's half-brother Jimmy Atkins played rhythm guitar in the Les Paul Trio in the '40s. Both Chet and Les's playing reflected Belgian Gypsy jazz virtuoso Django Reinhardt's influence. They not only created records of monumental importance to guitarists in all genres, but their signature model electric instruments advanced guitar technology. ~ Amazon

Ned's Atomic Dustbin may be one of Britain's most overlooked bands, which is surprising, considering that while their releases may not be groundbreaking, each one is certainly solid. The band emerged in the early '90s, and was quickly grouped (along with bands like Pop Will Eat Itself and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine) into the English "grebo" scene: punk-influenced, electronica-informed, hyper, light-hearted rock.