Chester Burnett's ferocious growl was a staple of Chicago's electric-blues heyday. This 20-song compilation ranges from his 1951 debut "Moanin' at Midnight" with Willie Johnson on guitar to 1964's "Killing Floor" with Buddy Guy on guitar. His scratchy, sawed-off vocal approach and his energetic harmonica grace original classics such as "How Many More Years" and "Smokestack Lightnin'". By 1960, he became, along with Muddy Waters, the foremost interpreter of Willie Dixon's songs, lending his coarse voice to legendary Dixon cuts such as "Wang Dang Doodle", "Back Door Man", "Spoonful", "The Red Rooster", and "I Ain't Superstitious". Wolf's style was based on primal raw power, and he ranks among the genre's most distinctive performers. -Marc Greilsamer.

The album that launched Clapton's solo career takes most of its cues from his then-recent collaboration with Delaney and Bonnie. In fact, Delaney produced the album, which explains its loose, jam-session feel that sometimes finds Clapton battling against a cast that includes guest stars Stephen Stills, Sonny Curtis, Rita Coolidge, Leon Russell, and Delaney and Bonnie. Yet this is the album on which Clapton established himself as a forceful singer, and it also produced some of his most enduring classics, including "Blues Power", "After Midnight", and "Let It Rain". -Daniel Durchholz.

Jokingly referred to as the White Stripes' "British" album, Elephant is scattered with little cultural references that give away the fact it was recorded far from home-just listen to the lyrics on "Seven Nation Army" (". from the Queen of England to the hounds of Hell") or the album outro where someone chips in "jolly good, cup of tea?". But although there are some new twists here, from Meg discovering her voice to a tongue-in-cheek threesome with Holly Golightly, Elephant is no great departure; more a culmination of their preceding albums. Meg and Jack push their creativity (and the boundaries of their eight track) to new heights for the startling, Queen inspired "There's No Home For You Here" while the (pedal induced) deep bassline on "Seven Nation Army" is a classic indie dance floor filler. But although some songs fly off into new realms there's plenty of that straight-up bluesy rock that make them such an amazing prospect live-just listen to the sweat dripping off the overtly sexual "Ball and Biscuit". And amid all this there's that plaintiff, resolutely un-egotistical and yet deeply theatrical voice that makes them so unique; when Jack cries out on "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" there's a dark desperation Bacharach and David certainly didn't put there. -Caroline Butler.