Best Trance
Maintaining the traditions of previous Northern Exposure sets, there are two different discs for slightly different moods--the first more of a late-night soundtrack, the latter a blue-sky marathon--but both work equally well sequentially or separately.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Better than a double shot of espresso for cardio workouts .Just the right beat and seamless throughout."
"I find their stuff to be overblown, junked out new age pap. I've listened to it countless times and I still shiver and shimmy."
"This is simply stated the best trance CD or record released since the New Age of dance music has arisen."
"Just got after Bedrock; I think I like this even better."
"Just got after Bedrock; I think I like this even better."
Starting with the early-morning stretch of Keiichi Suzuki's delightfully sunny "Satellite Serenade," the duo swiftly build the tempo up to the breezy ambient plateau of Morgan King's "Free" before heading into harder house territories. Being a condensed version of the European release, the closing salvo from Banco de Gaia 's "Last Train to Lhasa" confirms the since-validated fact that these Exposure journeys have infinite potential; Sasha and Digweed are among the first DJs to create mix sets that tap into earthy, human emotions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"John Digweed and Sasha's Northern Exposure 1."
"A nice heavy duty coiled hose."
"What can I say, this CD arrived to me in a quick and timely manner."
"This album is soooo good - I had to take a moment and recommend it."
"With its moments of tribal drums and chants set to nice beats verging slightly on the epic side. really hits the spot on a sunday afternoon in the sun. 's I'd say are worth looking into, Paul Oakenfold- Tranceport, Orb- Orblivion, Dieselboy- 97 Octane, The Streets- Original Pirate Material, Adam Freeland- Tectonics, Tiesto- magik 3, Royksopp- Melody A.M., Ils- Bohemia..."
"Bought this CD when it first came out and was played all the time."
"Just so you know...do not expect anything trance-like from late work from sasha, this is pure ambient trance, very slow, not very enthusiastic."
Having honed his style and established a trademark sound, the East German DJ brings it all together on this, an album the overzealous are calling the first great dance record of the century.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For me personally I would recommend the global album it is a more well rounded album that I can listen to the whole way through."
"Out there and back is a classic, it's one of his best albums made, to date."
"Some of his best work is on this album."
"This is probably his Best album, the 2nd trance album I have heard, and is number 2 on my best list, only topped by Oakenfold's tranceport, though I highly recommend both albums :)."
"... because I haven't taken it out of the CD player -- except to put it into another CD player."
"Paul Van Dyk is one of the worlds greatest DJ's."
"Perhaps the nicest treat is the fact that PVD newly remixed his three previosuly released singles, 'Another Way', 'Avenue', and "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)' espescially for the LP. From there on in, get ready for the true PVD experience as he unleashes the prime time, soon-to-be anthems, four-on-the-floorfillers that anyone who has witnessed Paul live will truly enjoy and want to repeat ASAP. And as if that wasn't enough, the album ends with 'Alive', a song PVD has been playing on his US/UK tour lately and sounds like an anthem you've heard a thousand times while still seeming like it came from a daydream from 3012. Instead, it just makes plain that Paul Van Dyk is working at the peak of his powers and that is something we can be thankful for from the dancefloor to the freeways, out there and back."
"However, if someone had played it for me without my having heard it before, and then asked me to guess who made the album and when, I would say it was a Jean-Michel Jarre album from the 1970's."
Best Dance Pop
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a 2 disc set that hasn't always been available."
"Pretty good great songs love listening to it."
"The cd is Fabolous , like got it from a CD Store."
"Shipped on time and as described."
"boy this baby hits hard, all the death row artists on a 4 vinyl set....im in!"
"great cd play it everyday."
Best Trip-Hop
Washington, D.C.'s Thievery Corporation purvey a very mellow, deliberately international mixture of sounds that might be called "lounge music"--not in the kitschy sense, but in the sense of a laid-back local bar (much like the one the duo happens to run) with no dance floor. Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are professed admirers of Brazilian music, and they're determined to inject as much warmth into electronic music as possible.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The title track Mirror Conspiracy is probably the best song on the album, followed by Shadows of Ourselves and Hong Kong Triad."
"If you're a fan of Acid Jazz, you will like this. If youre a fan of electronica, but are looking for something a little different, you'll like this."
"The most apparent use of nonlocal music is the heavy presence of bossa nova in "Air Batucada," "So Com Voce," and "Samba Tranquille." "Indra" also uses a sitar opening and it sounds like "Mirror Conspiracy" has bits of sitar sprinkled throughout (I definitely could be wrong about that). One aspect of this album I really love is the use of vocals with an ethereal feel. Thievery Corporation is an example of an artist using technology alongside traditional instruments to create art for a modern society."
"Seriously, this whole album will make you feel like you are smoking hookah in Egypt as you see the smoke ascend into the relaxing lounge."
"As a relative newcomer to the TC fan base, I must say that I like this album very much."
"I played the LP and mp3 versions together and the mp3 sounds much better.I don't know what it is, maybe they used the CD master for the LP."
Best Disco
Fantastic 20 song collection of the best of the late disco star, showcasing all her glorious moments.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"DO YA WANNA FUNK is such a legendary song to me, also YOU MAKE ME FEEL (MIGHTY REAL)."
"It's especially fun to hear Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes (The Weather Girls) featured so heavily on some of the tracks. I have all The Weather Girls (also known as Tons O' Fun) CD's and I'm a huge fan of Martha so I wanted to see where her career began."
"Great, if you love disco!!"
"I was on the waiting list for months with no success from one seller who shall remain nameless."
"Dear Amazon, I recieved your notice and yes iam pleased with the Sylvester CD , it is wat I thought it would be."
"Great CD, All the music on the CD is good."
"Love this product."
Best General
"Digital Love" starts off silly and gets sillier, but the monosyllabic lyrics lull the senses just right, allowing the song's summery groove to grab hold with authority. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a resounding standout amidst the retro/Vocoder deluge that transpired after Cher's Believe turned the kitchy disco device into a worldwide pop music trend, spinning a clever groove around an ever-escalating string of computerized seduction.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I could listen to this forever, And vinyl really does bring out all the nuances, And I will love it more when I get a new needle for me player."
"Absolutely flawless."
"The art work upon opening the LP is interesting and the LP's are finely pressed... Ok, the songs are stellar and sort of flow into one another making for one cohesive listen... STANDOUT TRACKS: Face to Face, Digital Love, Harder Better Faster Stronger, Something About Us & Aerodynamic..."
"Unfortunately, after receiving my copy of this record, I found a rather unpleasant click/pop that occurred at the beginning of Aerodynamic. To clarify, I borrowed my friend's copy of Discovery and the clicking/popping did not occur as in my two copies!"
"Review for the Music: Amazing."
"C and D appear to actually play reasonably well unlike A. I'll be returning this in hopes I can get a slightly better pressed first disk, but seeing the reviews others have given for their side C problems I'm worried."
"Obviously the album itself is gold, but vinyl buyers beware - you're not gonna be happy with how this sounds."
Best IDM
Geogaddi , like Boards of Canada's 1998 debut album, Music Has the Right to Children , drifts its way into consciousness, rolling a fog of dark-hued psychedelia over slow-burning, lullaby melodies. Having led a reclusive existence in their Hexagon Sun studio, shunning interviews and live shows in an effort to escape the shrill, loud praise that accompanied Children 's release, the enigmatic Scottish duo has stayed focused, creating another tour de force in the process.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a fan of most of the similar music that came out around the same time (late 90's/early 00's: such as Mouse on Mars, and the like), this album, along with an obscure, experimental offering by the Korean "group" Byul [dot] org (from their "Monthly Vampire" magazine/music series in 2001), has etched itself into my mind as THE "artsy" electro music of the turn of the 21st century: darkly haunting and melancholic, yet bright and winsome in all the right places."
"The Album art is amazing and beautiful, since it's a 3 record set there are many sleeves and pockets with beautiful art and pictures."
"I got the Special Edition CD because I like the band and will keep buying their CD's until they burn out or get involved with the RIAA. All the songs on this CD are superb, except for one. Well, this is out of 23 tracks, so I will not hold this against them, as most CD's have lots of bad songs."
"Excellent cd."
"As it was told to me, the artists are brothers who grew up in Canada, then later moved to Scotland, and their music consists of sampled, treated "sound boards" from old Canadian nature programming. Music Has the Right... used to be my favorite of their three current, main albums, but I revised that notion to identify Geogaddi as probably their strongest statement."
"There's probably a million other reviews on the intricacies of this particular album, but if you're reading this, all you need to know is that everything Boards has put out is amazing in it's own way."
"This was really a fantastic album."
"I've listen to this album more than anything else, yet I would have a hard timing naming all the tracks."
Best Techno-House
"Digital Love" starts off silly and gets sillier, but the monosyllabic lyrics lull the senses just right, allowing the song's summery groove to grab hold with authority. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a resounding standout amidst the retro/Vocoder deluge that transpired after Cher's Believe turned the kitchy disco device into a worldwide pop music trend, spinning a clever groove around an ever-escalating string of computerized seduction.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I could listen to this forever, And vinyl really does bring out all the nuances, And I will love it more when I get a new needle for me player."
"Absolutely flawless."
"The art work upon opening the LP is interesting and the LP's are finely pressed... Ok, the songs are stellar and sort of flow into one another making for one cohesive listen... STANDOUT TRACKS: Face to Face, Digital Love, Harder Better Faster Stronger, Something About Us & Aerodynamic..."
"Unfortunately, after receiving my copy of this record, I found a rather unpleasant click/pop that occurred at the beginning of Aerodynamic. To clarify, I borrowed my friend's copy of Discovery and the clicking/popping did not occur as in my two copies!"
"Review for the Music: Amazing."
"C and D appear to actually play reasonably well unlike A. I'll be returning this in hopes I can get a slightly better pressed first disk, but seeing the reviews others have given for their side C problems I'm worried."
"Obviously the album itself is gold, but vinyl buyers beware - you're not gonna be happy with how this sounds."
Best Freestyle
metropolitan 1.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you've made it to here and haven't bought this yet, don't wait any longer and make the purchase. This may be the best Freestyle mix on Amazon, only Bad Boy Joe may have better."
"If you love freestyle music then this mixed album is one of the best."
"I take it back, I got this in 1992 after Metropolitan had amassed a collection of hits and put them all together on mix compilation. But now I have almost every top freestyle hit on cd and have even compiled my own top 100 freestyle songs; though everything before the so-called death of freestyle(1992)."
"Jeff Romanawski does an excellent job on mixing all the tracks together."
"Great megamix with classic freestyle songs that don't include the same artists we listen to now."
"I have this mix in my collection and is one of my favorites.I like the way that the DJ mixxed one hit with the others.The songs "right on time" and "the night we shared" are my favorites."
"Great CD!"
"The Cd is good but if your not into rock you will not like this."
Best Electronica
Ocean Eyes is the latest from Owl City.Owl City is an electronica/pop project of Adam Young.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For some bizarre reason, his label chose to release these acoustical pieces under a completely different band named "Sky Sailing". PLEASE go buy Adam Young's album named "An Airplane Carried Me to Bed" and prepare to be completely blown away."
"It came with both discs warped on the edge to where the fist songs on each one of the sides was unplayable."
"I'm a HUGE fan of all things Owl City & was really bummed to lose my old copy of Ocean Eyes because it had one of my favorite songs by the artist on it (If My Heart Was A House)."
"I'm in love with the music."
"Do not get just the regular Ocean Eyes recording because you will be missing out on the bonus songs on the Deluxe Edition."
"I bought this CD without listening to it."
"This is a great vinyl!"
"Owl City never disappoints, and Adam proves his talent once more with this album."
Best Ambient
TRIPLE VINYL now OOP.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One of the BEST ambient albums ever!!!"
"This is one of the best ambient albums."
"Not as fabulous as "and Their Refinement of the Decline" but still good."
"Soothing melodious tones of melancholy."
"They use field recordings and found sounds, but much less than Godspeed You Black Emperor!."
"If Michael Mann was struck with a strong satori, and sat looking out over a moss garden, this might be the soundtrack."
"I gave it to my son who is a big fan of bands like Sigur Ros and Godspeed You Black Emperor."
Best Drum & Bass
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Although as utterly brilliant as this, and the majority of the Progression sessions albums are, I have to strongly recommend that those new (or fairly new) to Bukem's work, would be extremely well advised to purchase Bukem's seminal "Logical Progression" album that had such a far reaching audience outside intelligent Drum `n' Bass fans that it is a required purchase for anyone that enjoys this genre of music."
"), listening to this was always an experience - I never grow tired of it and it brings back some memories. Yes, the Voyager and Future Engineers are imense tracks, with immense MCing - Check the lyric at the beginning of Voyager's Apollo "Why get it now, Prince Charles is standing in time" - I was always intrigued- am I hearing it right?"
"top notch production, awesome dj'ing and song selection, and sublime freestyle lyrical madness. after this, buy all the other ones too, they all rule: progression sessions with drs/blame, prog."
"The double MC'ing works a treat from Conrad and DRS, and the quality of the music would rip the roof from any d&b club."
"All the other Progression Session albums are just as good, but this is by far my favorite."
"Another treasure from LTJ Bukem, MC Conrad and, this time, DRS."
"Intenses is a live drum and bass act that has live sax, drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and two MC's."
"Bukem provides a smooth backbeat for the stylings of MC Conrad and Drs."