Round two includes prog-rock, a contemporary cast recording, a porto-broadway hybrid, Tropicalia, and more.

21. Maria Somerville, “Luster” (2025): Gossamer, 1000-thread count dreampop is exactly what I need right now. Like a soothing rush, it comforts but occasionally startles, gracefully delving into realms one wouldn’t expect from a song’s first note, maintaining that thrill of discovery.

22. Stew, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (2009): Not extensively Shakespeare-skilled so I can’t say how well this suits the material but these generally lovely miniatures (both instrumental and not) are refreshing in light of his more labored post-“Passing Strange” theatrical efforts.

23. Neil Young, “Sleeps With Angels” (1994): “Safeway Cart” well utilized in Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail” & the rest is as good, sometimes better (“Piece of Crap” isn’t one.) Solid for a CD-length era LP which is impressive considering the man’s, well, lack of consistency post-1979.

24. Aztec Camera, “High Land, Hard Rain” (1983): Frame’s fresh-facedness is his greatest asset but also a potential curse if he ever threatens to turn dour (unlike, say, Jens Lekman who can pull this off.) Crisp tunefulness abounds; at worst, it’s samey over the course of a full LP.

25. Al Stewart, “Modern Times” (1975): The closing title track anticipates his two big hits (title tracks of his next two albums) but the whole LP reminds one he has so many gems beyond those hits. Whether quoting Vonnegut or Marvin Gaye, his heart’s always in it which counts a lot.

26. King Crimson, “In The Court Of The Crimson King” (1969): Neither put off nor enchanted by much prog-rock, I appreciate the skill and creativity of this admittedly seminal work although it doesn’t move me much. “Moonchild” gets a bit lost but the rest exudes dynamism; vision, even.

27. Original Broadway Cast Recording, “Hadestown” (2019): Much to digest in this musical adaptation of the Orpheus myth but the momentum rarely flags and it doesn’t lose the plot. Perhaps some cringey musical theatre tropes but Anais Mitchell’s melodic dexterity often overcomes them.

28. Rob Dickinson, “Fresh Wine For The Horses” (2008): Wouldn’t swap any Catherine Wheel LP out for this (except maybe the last one). Still in great voice even if the tempo’s too mid (among other things.) Predictably, he sounds most comfortable when the guitars are loud (“Handsome”).

29. Eddie Gale, “Ghetto Music” (1968): Hypnotic “The Rain” should be a standard if it isn’t considered one already; the rest is a cohesion of rumbling & clanking percussion, horns and soulful vocals. Creates a singular, haunted vibe, as if Coltrane had eschewed cacophony and also lived.

30. Eddie Chacon, “Pleasure, Joy and Happiness” (2020): Low-fi, low-key soul, perhaps recorded in (as opposed to for) someone’s bedroom. Concise & a bit slippery, a single listen plants a seed for another five or ten, not to pick up on something missed but to detect all of its nuance.

31. Hiss Golden Messenger, “Quietly Blowing It” (2021): MC Taylor can’t help it if his voice heavily resembles 1970s Dylan but I wouldn’t call this cosplay, exactly when the arrangements are more Van Morrison-ish. Happily, the melodies are strong enough to serve as the focal points.

32. Ennio Morricone, “Ad Ogni Costo” (1967): The *bonkers* main theme moved me to check out the rest of this score, which isn’t nearly as wild (particularly once it moves into “Black Orpheus” territory); still want to see the film to reconcile it with star Janet Leigh’s (!) presence.

33. Bon Iver, “SABLE, fABLE” (2025): I gave up on him when he could no longer string together comprehensible song titles but the first “disc” is a deliberate reminder of why his debut endures; the rest is a less pretentious Coldplay which is preferable to a less douchey John Mayer.

34. MF DOOM, “Operation: Doomsday” (1999): Wouldn’t it be grand if 100 years from now this is what hip-hop scholars studied rather than Drake? Although I wonder if Gen-Z and beyond will get all the junky old cartoon references: “Hey!” is infinitely funnier if you know what it samples.

35. Gordon Jenkins, “Manhattan Tower/California (The Golden State)” (1946): Broadway-style vignettes strung together in suites resembling proto-LP “sides”. Obviously ancient to modern ears but not without ingenuity or even a little satire which leavens the cornier stylistic touches.

36. Caetano Veloso, “Transa” (1972): Talk about a voice that just commands attention, rendering all else near superfluous. Not devaluing the music, though: lithe and intuitive, it’s somehow intimate *and* expansive. This makes me want to delve much deeper into Tropicalia for sure.

37. They Might Be Giants, “Cast Your Pod To The Wind” (2007): Bonus disc with 12^th LP “The Else”. Clever title, cleverer tunes (as usual). More of a throwback to the earlier stuff which is always welcome. Uneven, but whenever it lands a hook, you marvel at how simple they make it look.

38. A.R. Kane, “69” (1988): Starts as proto trip-hop, then the titles get weird (“Baby Milk Snatcher”) & the music gets weirder: it’s nearly psychedelia but not exactly how you’d usually describe that genre. Not easy on the ears, but not unpleasant; like unearthing a lost corridor.

39. Marvin Gaye, “Here, My Dear” (1978): D-I-V-O-R-C-E rarely sounds this F-U-N-K-Y. The divine “Is That Enough” at almost 8 minutes could even go on longer. Maybe this didn’t need to be a double LP but my attention rarely drifted and “A Funky Space Reincarnation” is all that & more.

40. Mercury Rev, “Deserter’s Songs” (1998): You don’t often hear this much whimsy in rock (if you can even call it that.) Mewling vocals, tricky time signatures, instrumental passages, occasional misdirection—it’s an acquired taste although I feel like applauding the effort anyway.