One album stood out for all of us here at Vivoscene as 2013 comes to a close: the monumental, powerful and highly listenable Nobody Knows from Willis Earl Beal.

Elvis Costello And The Roots deliver a classic recording in ‘Wise Up Ghost And Other Songs’ that advances not only their careers but modern rock music itself. A bold statement, perhaps, but this is one hell of a bold record.

We proffer here our selection for the ten essential country albums of all time. While several are established classics, recorded decades ago, there are a few surprises here: some of the greatest country music was performed and recorded by unlikely sources: Ray Charles, Leon Russell, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Gram Parsons, to name a few. And there’s a newish release from 2010 that deserves your attention.

Living Colour came out of nowhere in 1988 with the hard-edged funk of ‘Vivid’. ‘Vivid’ cracked mainstream radio and blew up on MTV. For a while it looked like the black rock barrier had been reduced to rubble. Now, as the band celebrates the 25th anniversary of their debut, Vivoscene writer (and longtime fan) Jason Motz re-visits ‘Vivid’ to see what sets it apart from other hard rock albums of the day.

Clash City Rockers. The Guns of Brixton. “Rock the Casbah.” “Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust.” “No Elvis, Beatles, or the Rolling Stones.” The Only Band That Matters = The Clash.

Kick, by INXS, is an amalgam of disco trash, pop decadence, rock strut and glam visage; it’s also a tightly written, studiously produced product of the decade. And with judicious use of synths and no programmed beats anywhere in its twelve phat slices of funk, Kick glistens with sweat. Its primal nature has not grassed over with time.