This 25-song CD (originally a shorter LP called The Singles Album) is a handy collection of the band's most well-known English tracks from 1963 through 1966, plus their B-sides and some songs off of EPs that charted high in the U.K. Except for the final three songs – "Groovin'," "Can't Believe It," and "Did You Have to Do That?," none of which are that easy to find on compilations – it's all assembled in chronological order from their debut single "Why Should We Not" to 1966's "You Gave Me Somebody to Love." The notes by John Tobler are a bit superficial, and the American EMI Manfred Mann: The Definitive Collection is a little more adventurous. Also, the sound here doesn't match the presence and clarity of more recent 24-bit transfers. Nonetheless, this is a respectable compilation for the novice or the casual fan. The presence of the B-sides, including lost gems like "What Did I Do Wrong" (a killer Chess-style blues number written by Tom McGuinness) and the Goffin/King-authored "Oh No Not My Baby" (one of Paul Jones's greatest R&B-style performances), assures that one gets a truer picture of the band's output and their focus on R&B, jazz, blues, and folk, than the A-sides by themselves would provide.

L7 had the sound, style, and tough-grrrl attitude to hit it big in the aftermath of grunge's mainstream breakthrough, but unfortunately, the band was too often hampered by uneven songwriting. The Best of L7: The Slash Years collects four songs apiece from Bricks Are Heavy, Hungry for Stink, and The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum (although, as the title suggests, there's nothing from the fine Sub Pop album Smell the Magic). It's a pretty good distillation of the cream of those records, even if there are still a few tunes on Bricks Are Heavy that could have made the cut on a less mathematically selected best-of. In fact, as L7's most pop-oriented record, Bricks Are Heavy is still a slightly more accessible introduction, since following that album, the band tended to rely more on sheer power than melody. Nevertheless, The Best of L7: The Slash Years does encapsulate what the group was all about, and it's a great way to dig deeper into their catalog without having to buy all the individual albums.

In the early '70s, Paul Kossoff was a much-heralded young guitarist from a much-heralded young rock band called Free. In a short period of time, Kossoff and his cohorts punched out some classic rock. A brief solo career followed for the inspired axeman, but his untimely death in 1976 from a drug-related heart attack put an end to the potential that his peers and fans were looking forward to seeing fully realized. All one can do is celebrate and enjoy what this stylistically unique and utterly precocious musician left behind, and this 17-track disc, which culls Kossoff's best work from both his days with Free and as a solo performer, is an excellent way to do just that. A player who made his name with unusual phrasings, brazen fills, and an intuitive use of sustained notes – and rarely going for fretboard-smoking speed – Kossoff had a prototypical signature sound. His ability to do the work of two guitarists – Free, for the most part, was a barebones guitar/bass/drums/singer outfit – was one of his greatest strengths and, despite a good deal of studio dubbing, you can hear it in places on this album. The best cuts are definitely the eight Free tracks, which include the raunchy "The Hunter," the good-time rock-blues of "Ride on a Pony," the dramatic "Fire and Water" and "Mr. Big," and the band's all-time classic, "All Right Now".

One of the more curious characters of the new wave movement, singer/guitarist/songwriter Moon Martin issued several critically acclaimed yet commercially underappreciated releases from the late '70s through the early '80s, before reappearing in the mid-'90s.

Released between 1991 and 2005, the selections in The Warner Recordings encapsulate the period when Pierre-Laurent Aimard was signed to Erato and Teldec, performing mostly 20th-century fare and some music from the 19th century. Aimard is famous for his contributions to the modernist catalog, and his performances of works by Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, György Ligeti, and Olivier Messiaen are regarded as scrupulously executed and authoritatively interpreted. Aimard also recorded early 20th century pieces by Charles Ives, Alban Berg, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy, as well as Romantic masterpieces of Beethoven and Liszt. A pianist's pianist, Aimard is well-rounded in his repertoire and a true master of keyboard technique, yet he has received considerably less fanfare than many of his flashier colleagues. Yet connoisseurs of piano recordings know that Aimard is indispensible, especially for his special feeling for French music, and his recordings are important documents that serious students and newcomers should appreciate.