(FORTUNE Magazine) – James Chance Irresistible Impulse Tiger Style

In the late '70s there was a whole lot more than a letter separating punk and funk. James Chance was the sax machine who managed to bring the sound of the JBs to CBGB, blending the two styles with chocolate-and-peanut-butter results. Now much of his hard-to-find music is back in print, courtesy of this 49-track boxed set.

The Libertines Up the Bracket Rough Trade

Getting the Clash's Mick Jones to produce your album is sort of like persuading Michael Jordan to join your basketball team. Except in this case, the result is a winner: The pulse-racing debut from London's latest tuneful rowdies is a throwback to the Jam and, yes, the Clash.

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage Columbia/Legacy

In 1970 the Grateful Dead dropped two country-rock classics, Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The next year, the debut from Jerry Garcia's NRPS side project completed the trilogy. Less well known, it's a similarly appealing fusion of bluegrass and psychedelic rock.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Pig Lib Matador

The former Pavement frontman is back with the strangest album of his weird career. But despite the subdued tone and disorienting genre hopping--indie-rock! prog-rock! hippie-rock!--it's packed with memorable songs. Could anyone else write a moving tune called "(Do Not Feed the) Oyster"?

King Sunny Ade The Best of the Classic Years Shanachie

An 18-minute track built around laid-back African drums and a gentle guitar line might not sound like your cup of juju. But in the hands of Nigerian master Ade, it's sublime stuff. Recorded between 1967 and 1974, these ten grooves are quiet but compelling.