Playlist
By Chris Nashawaty

(FORTUNE Magazine) – Acetone York Blvd. Vapor Records

It's only taken them eight years to cough up the record we suspected they had in them all along, but why bellyache when the product's this stunning? Acetone's moody, must-own disk alternates between the trippy sunstroke-pop of the Meat Puppets, the funky twang of '70s Clapton, and the shambling guitar narcolepsy of Neil Young.

Charles Mingus The Very Best of Charles Mingus Rhino/Atlantic

Watching Ken Burns' Jazz-a-palooza, you might get the impression that Duke Ellington was the alpha and omega of big-band composers. But Mingus--a thunderous bassist who tagged his gorgeous byzantine suites with far-out titles like "Don't Be Afraid, the Clown's Afraid, Too"--was Ellington's creative equal. A smart introduction to an overlooked genius.

Finley Quaye Vanguard Epic

Jackknifing 180 degrees from the sleek, stripped-down dub reggae of his previous album, Maverick A Strike, Quaye tarts up his latest batch of mellow island-inspired soul with lush Liberace strings, Vegas-floorshow horns, and strange studio bleeps and blurps. Even stranger, it works.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Mercury Nashville

Say what you will about the film, the soundtrack's a peach. Taking a cue from the Depression-era snap, crackle, and pop of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, the Coens send a roster of current country artists into the archives to channel the Dust Bowl. Worth buying alone for the Soggy Bottom Boys' "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow."

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Malkmus Matador

Proving that if it ain't broke... Malkmus, the erstwhile front man of the brainiac rock outfit Pavement, goes solo and serves up--whaddya know?--a great Pavement record. Nonsensical Dada lyrics: check. Crazy Zappa-esque chord changes: check. The only thing missing is the rest of the band. Holding patterns rarely sound this good.