Marcia Ball, Let Me Play With Your Poodle, Rounder:
My favorite blend of soul and blues from this Louisiana/Texas hybrid. I'm not sure why my library owns everything she's done, but her body of work's quite impressive. Sing It, her album with Tracey Nelson and Irma Thomas, is another immediate classic.

Radiohead, Kid A, Capitol:
Depending on who you ask, this album either sucks or is brilliant. Whenever an album prompts such a wide range of opinions, it generally means the CD is interesting. I don't enjoy it as much as their singles (which are so good they're actually worth buying), but you're silly not to hear it at least once.

Charlie Parker, The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve, Verve:
As I cannot read music or play an instrument, and don't have a thorough history of jazz, my appreciation of Parker will be confined to a certain level...but he's truly a joy to hear. While false takes turn out to be filler on many box sets, these help further one's appreciation of Bird and make it easier to see his unique genius.

Richard Wagner, The Ring Cycle, Uni/Deutsche Grammophon:
Yes, Wagner was an anti-semite, and his music was played in concentration camps. He's also a musical genius, and you may not want to limit yourself to artists who share your beliefs. I recommend the version conducted by Karajan; it's less over-the-top than Solti's, and makes better background music.

Jimmy C Newman, Bop A Hula, Bear Family:
The Bear Family releases are so damn expensive, but all of them are worth checking out. My library also owns the Barbara Lynn and Webb Pierce collections, but this one's the most interesting. It's a blend of Cajun, country and early rock-n-roll, with some Elvis imitations thrown in for good measure.

Scarce, Red, Big Cat:
This is a wonderful, hard-to-find-new CD from Tanya Donnely's former fiancé, Chick Graning. He and his band made great edgy-but-accessible rock; were it not for Chick's near-fatal brain hemorrhage, they would probably have been a hit the size of the Breeders.

The Monochrome Set, Tomorrow Will Be Too Long: The Best of the Monochrome Set, Caroline:
A punk band called the B-Sides begat two terrific new wave groups: Adam and the Ants and the Monochrome Set. The latter group is artier, more interesting and easy to find for gum money in DC. I believe I got this after reading an interview in which Momus praised them.

The Kitchens of Distinction, Death of Cool, A&M:
One day after reading Tim DiGravina's Splendid essential album review of this, I saw it for a dollar in my local CD store. Suffice to say, it's now worth more than a dollar in my heart.

Britney Spears, Baby One More Time, Jive:
One song here, "Soda Pop", is quite brilliant, which makes this cultural artifact worth the embarrassment one feels as one checks it out from the library.

Miles Davis and John Coltrane, The Complete Columbia Recordings 1955-1961, Columbia:
I live in a rich county, admittedly, but you ought to see if your library owns some fantastic jazz box sets. I don't like this one as much as the Miles Davis Quintets box, which my library also owns, but I mention it to plug the new Kind of Blue book, which documents that record's sessions. It's great reading about a great record I sold shortly before joining the Splendid staff.

Ultra Vivid Scene, Joy 1967-1990, 4AD:
I hope great artists can make money from their product, but am never depressed when I find great stuff cheap. All the Ultra Vivid Scene stuff is worth getting, and I've found everything Kurt Ralske ever did for a dollar or less. This comp holds a special place in my heart, as I bought it in mint condition for a quarter.

The Good Life, Novena on a Nocturn, Better Looking:
If an album has a classy cover, it can generally ensure being sold for a few dollars. Not so with Tim Kasher's great, harrowing solo release from last year. I'm not crazy about the album title, but why quibble? Worth the donut I did not purchase.

Paul McCartney, His "Post-Beatles Garbage", Mostly Capitol:
Despite my above phrasing, this is actually a defense of McCartney's solo work. Those who can't stand him simply have not heard enough bad melodies or bad singers. McCartney has true talent and is unable to ever completely waste it, though his latest with the Super Furry Animals (Liverpool Sound Collage) sadly comes close. I recently checked out Press to Play, which is a minor gem, and have even found his classical projects enjoyable. Working Classical is the best of this lot.

Patsy Cline, The Patsy Cline Collection, MCA:
Her voice is unbelievable, with this boxed set the proof that everything Patsy did seems essential. I once dated a punk rock girl in Patsy's hometown who, interestingly enough, kept on bringing "cool lesbians" into any discussion. But I digress.

The Other Two, The Other Two and You, Qwest:
A fun synth-pop work from the New Order duo no one talks about. In fact, it's so enjoyable that I'm tempted to pay full import price on their followup, Superhighways.

Catie Curtis, Crash Course in Roses, Rykodisc:
I sometimes worry that I'm too hard on many of the indie folk artists I review, but it would be great if they could always sing as beautifully as this. I frankly worry about the sod who must have sold his Catie Curtis promo to the used CD store for a dime.

Henry Rollins, The Boxed Life, Imago:
I can't get into the Rollins Band, and depressingly recall Joe Piscopo when I see Henry's muscles, but Rollins remains the funny guy I remember fronting Black Flag. In addition, his taste in music is wonderful -- I'd pay attention to any list of his "personal favorites" -- and he writes well. (The Black Flag memoir, I mean, not the poetry.) Kudos to all libraries like mine who give him his due.

The Apples in Stereo, Discovery of the World Inside the Moone, SpinArt:
Prior to finding it in the library, I bought this, but just had to mention the fact that my library catalogs the band under "vocal groups", so they appear side by side with Tony Bennett's latest offerings.

Various Artists, Classic Jazz, Smithsonian:
5 CDs that cover jazz far better than the needless Ken Burns box. Personally, I think this is the best box set Smithsonian has ever put together, with the Alan Lomax anthologies bogged down by many historically important but unenjoyable songs. I like the Jazz Piano set too, and am right now listening to their Anthology of Country Music. This latter box, sadly, tries to cover too much, so I'll be getting "9 to 5" and the Judds too...but what the hell. It's at my library and it's free.

John Entwistle, Whistle Rhymes, Sundazed:
Of all the Who, John's solo work stands out as the oddest -- and, if DC stores are an adequate judge, the most underappreciated. I highly recommend all his early CDs, but it's pointless to pay more than a buck. If it's not in the bin yet, just hold your horses; I've learned it'll always get there.

The Emerson String Quartet, Complete Bartok's Quartets (1987), Some Fancy Pants Label:
If you like some of Miles Davis' or Bill Evans' experiments with modality, etc., you really must check out some Bartok. A 20th century composer, Bela is probably the most influential force on jazz from the world of classical music. Bluebeard's Castle is a great opera too.

Donna Summer, I'm a Rainbow, Polygram:
The disco revival can argue the cause of her hits, but this little-known album, shelved for fifteen years, asserts Donna Summer's artistry more powerfully than any "Bad Girls" could. Beautifully sung, and almost oddly introspective.

Charles Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Impulse! :
A classic CD, heard for free, can beget the purchase of many other records by the same performer. After checking this out of my library, I've ultimately ended up purchasing Mingus box sets from both Columbia and Atlantic (which is the one I prefer). I've also read his autobiography (interesting, but not that factual), an Al Young memoir on him and a great new biography called Myself When I am Real. This latter book paints the best picture of Mingus, and has inspired me to order his concert, Revenge.