Just when you thought you'd never hear "Hey Ya!" again, the once-inescapable OutKast single is back at the top of our 2004 playlist. And you know what? It's still the very definition of a perfect pop s …

First, Dr. Dre gave us the easygoing drawl of Snoop Dogg, then the confrontational and controversial Eminem, and, as of 2003, we can now party like it's your birthday every night alongside 50 Cent, who …

Purists may prefer Ella or Billie over the pop and soul leanings of Norah Jones, but there's no denying the positive impact Jones' Come Away With Me projected onto the jazz world and her label,  …

There's no better starting point to our playlist than T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues," the sophisticated horns only adding to the resigned mourning in his voice and the bitter bite of his guitar. …

The marriage of rap and rock officially took place when Run-DMC and Aerosmith remade "Walk This Way." Three classic novelty tunes show up here: the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian," Falco's "Rock Me Am …

The year in which a former movie star, best known for acting opposite a chimp called Bonzo, became President was destined to be funky: Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" and Lipps, Inc.'s "Funkytown" ga …

Sometimes it's hard to get a handle on exactly what can be described as blues, as opposed to rock; the two genres have grown inextricably intertwined, with an ever-heavier reliance on marathon guitar s …

When T-Bone Walker had the foresight to amplify his guitar during the late '30s, he effected the most crucial stylistic advancement in blues history. T-Bone was the first electric blues guitar hero, an …

From bebop to hard bop and beyond, Blue Note has battered at the boundaries of jazz nonstop throughout its seven-decade saga. It's hard to believe the same label unleashed the "New Thing" left turns of …