Released to coincide with what would have been Freddie Mercury's 70th birthday, the excellent 2016 double-disc anthology Messenger of the Gods: The Singles brings together all of the legendary Queen vocalist's solo A-side and B-side singles. Originating from a variety of projects, including Mercury's one and only proper solo album, 1985's Mr. Bad, these are all the songs released under Mercury's name and not as Queen singles. Nonetheless, there was some cross-pollination and several of these songs were later reworked as Queen tracks. While Queen were primarily known for their muscular, guitar-oriented rock, they were also innovators who experimented with funk and dance grooves.

With the appearance of Lighthouse, singer/songwriter David Crosby, age 75, continues a late career renaissance that began with 2014's Croz – his proper studio follow-up to 1971's classic If I Could Only Remember My Name. This set was produced by Snarky Puppy boss Michael League, who co-wrote five of these nine tunes with Crosby. The producer, a lifelong fan of the 1971 album, approached Crosby about recording something quick and dirty over a couple of weeks. He was met with incredulousness. The artist was used to working on albums for months, even years. After three days, they completed three new songs, and Crosby was all in.

Launching a new thematic era after closing his five-part Mathematics series, English singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran presses the titular button on his vibrant eighth set, Play. A blend of his heartfelt busker material and his big pop anthems, the set adds more of the same to his hit-packed catalog, which is just fine for his fans. Kicking things off with the aptly titled "Opening," the noted rap fan spits verse after verse of impressive, head-spinning bars, admitting, "I'm still looking for shit to say/Deluding myself that they'll still relate."