Antonio Carlos Jobim · 1970 · Creed Taylor took Jobim to New York and got a stoned masterpiece out of him.

Antonio Carlos Jobim · 1967 · Claus Ogerman’s strings don’t just accompany Jobim’s piano — they complete thoughts he could only hint at.

Bettye Swann · 1969 · She sang like she'd already lived the song twice.

Steve Goodman · 1971 · He wrote 'City of New Orleans' on a napkin during an Amtrak ride. The version on this record is the one nobody made for radio.

Kris Kristofferson · 1970 · A man who flew helicopters and swept floors before writing songs that feel like confessions.

John Prine · 1971 · The mailman who wrote 'Sam Stone' and 'Angel from Montgomery' before anyone knew his name.

Adrianne Lenker · 2020 · She set up two microphones in a rented cabin and didn't let herself fix anything.

Ella Fitzgerald · 1959 · Few singers could handle both the comedy and the heartbreak of a single Gershwin clause like Ella could, and Riddle gave her a ballroom to prove it.

Debussy · 1961 · This Swiss mathematician turned conductor did not get lost in Debussy's mist — he teleported through it with a surveyor's sextant.

Cleo Sol · 2021 Spin it Again - Seven songs, no filler, recorded live with a single microphone in a room that you can almost smell.

Little Simz · 2021 Spin it Again - A rapper who could have taken the easy route instead hired the London Symphony Orchestra and made an album about anxiety.

Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans · 1961 Spin it Again - This is what happens when a hard bop saxophonist and a modal pianist meet in a room with a bassist and drummer who know when to get out of the way.

Bill Evans · 1962 Spin it Again - This is what happens when two masters decide to stop competing and listen.

Erykah Badu · 2000 Spin it Again - She followed up Baduizm with something weirder, warmer, and braver.

The Roots · 1999 Spin it Again - Questlove's drums sound like they were recorded in a room with no parallel walls and a thousand ghosts.

Daft Punk · 2013 Spin it Again - Two French robots and a live band proved the human touch still beats a laptop.

The Head and the Heart · 2011 Spin it Again - They recorded this on a shoestring, but the room was full of heart.

Grizzly Bear · 2009 Spin it Again - Four guys in a stone monastery, refusing to use a click track, and making the most airtight folk-rock of the decade.

Fleet Foxes · 2008 Spin it Again - The debut that made harmonies sound like they were growing out of the forest floor.

Little Feat · 1972 Spin it Again - A 1972 record from Little Feat that rewards close listening.