Mozart No. 25, 40, 29 | Performance 8 | Sound 10 | Do you know what scares me away from buying more classical music? It's the fact that I am looking for two tough to find elements in my music. First I am looking for a compelling, if not familiar, melody. A recent class at The University of Southern California has really helped with putting the familiar melodies with the names of the composers however my second criteria of an excellent recording complicates potential classical purchases for me to this day.

"Exit Planet Dust", Caroline Records 1996 | Performance 9 | Sound 8 | Exit Planet Dust is a really stylish techno/pop record by the re-mix producers known as the Chemical Brothers. This CD makes a great road trip soundtrack in that it's powerful driving baseline and sonically compelling samples make for an involving record.

Luck of the Draw, DCC re-master Performance 8 Sound 9 Luck of the Draw is an audiophile standard. Bonnie Raitt performs some of her most famous songs like "Something to Talk About", "I Can't Make You Love Me" and "Tangled and Dark".

Sony-Work Records Performance Quality = 7.5 Sound Quality = 7 Fiona Apple is the latest in a series of sexy female vocalist to capture the media's spotlight. Fiona's music is sultry and song driven. Her voice, unlike the other popular divas on the record shelves, is completely her own. Fiona's production--which is very well done--has her arrangements sounding anywhere from Lyle Lovitt to Tori Amos.

Reasonable Doubt, Priority Records | Performance 7.5 | Sound 6 | Re-issuing this album when they did is probably the smartest thing Priority Records has done in a while. Jay-Z, their former artist who has since "switched factories" to the Def Jam stables, couldn't be much hotter than he is right now. His most recent album Hard Knock Life . . . Vol. 2 is walking off shelves across the country and he has just embarked upon a nationwide tour with Method Man, Redman, and DMX. Who says you can’t make money off an artist after they’ve left your label?