big 4

The term curries both favor and foreboding.

When you're this prolific, you're bound to have some duds.

These four groups broadened the sonic terrain of rock for generations to come.

Out of all 13 studios LPs, these are the essentials.

He's had so much post-Beatles success that this list doesn't include six other platinum-sellers.

Four different albums, four entirely different Dylans, one great listening experience.

It's not always easy to be a fan of the hottest band in the land.

These are the albums that best define Rush, usually by taking their music in bold new directions.

As in most things with this pop-rock juggernaut of a band, Steve Perry looms large.

Rock star sex tapes generated big business, salacious headlines and numerous court battles in the '90s.

Here are the essentials from a brief but record-smashing run of seven studio projects.

The cream of the crop from rock's golden age.

Musicianship and technique matter, of course - but so does attitude.

The absolute essentials pulled from nearly 20 studio albums.

We're talking both solo and with the Heartbreakers here.

These bands are loud, anthemic and can electrify the masses.

There's over 30 albums to choose from, but these are the essentials as far as we're concerned.

These artists rock your world and haunt your dreams.

The territory south of the Mason-Dixon Line has always been musically fertile.

The genre completely transformed what rock and roll looked like.