Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely top
Review: This book is pretty much the best music guide out there. Detailed entries on truly classic albums are fantastic and you could do a lot worse than purchase many of these albums. Perfect for building up knowledge to wade through second-hand vinyl, and also perfect when you have heard of a classic band and want to know what to purchase. Also, not only obvious choices are picked - some of these albums have faded from memory, but MOJO revives them. This is what I love about MOJO as a magazine - it deals with all kinds of music from all eras, going back really far. Many other magazines only pick really famous bands once you've gone back a distance, but here we get loads of now-obscure 60s bands to look into, and music across a huge range of genres. Really top stuff - the perfect guide for what it is, essentially. Any self-respecting music fan should get it - it'll be invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely essential
Review: This collection is indispensible, overkill and then some for list freaks and music junkies on both sides of the Atlantic. If you care about music enough to know the crucial stuff from the crucial bands by heart, this will instantly complete the necessary remainder of your soon-to-be vast musical knowledge. Now, mind you, this book is not without its blunders. Too many of these records are out of print, or only available on vinyl, although the trend of reissuing many of these albums seems to be suspiciously coming about (perhaps that Gilmore Girls Episode did the trick...). Meanwhile, sections at the end about compilations, soundtracks, obscure reggae collections and a structureless easy listening essay only serve to make things more confusing--stick with the main section, as the book's introduction reccomends. Finally, a few guilty pleasures and obscurities, such as Toto IV and Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Jajouka, are included over such classics as Let it Bleed & Beggars Banquet, Rubber Soul & With The Beatles, Led Zeppelin I & II, This Year's Model & Armed Forces, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, In Utero, 69 Love Songs, and anything by Squeeze, Janis Joplin, Joe Jackson, the Pet Shop Boys, Post-Eno Roxy Music, non-liveatfolsomprison Johnny Cash, the Housemartins/Beautiful South, the Wu-Tang Clan, or non-Aja/Can't Buy A Thrill Steely Dan. But since you're a music fan who's willing to pick this up, chances are you've already heard all those, and thus your problems are all solved. A note--there are 592 albums in the book's main body, not 600. If I'm wrong, somebody PLEASE post a correction on this page.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Place to Explore Rock n Roll
Review: This is an amazing guide to some of the best albums ever made. Sure, it's easy to criticize, a lot of amazing albums are left out, some are included that will make you cringe, but on the whole, this book is probably the best of the "best of" books out there. Page long reviews are wonderful to have, rather than short one-paragraph reviews, and my favorite feature is how they point you to new music. For example, let's say you like "Sea Change" by Beck. Well, the book then suggests you try "Cold Fact" by Rodriguez, an album released in 1970. If you try that and like it, well, then the book says to go next to "It's a Shame About Ray" by the Lemonheads, and so on and so forth. This is a great feature. Go get this book and spend hours reading and exploring.
| 
