JJ Grey and Mofro started out as a very good band. ‘Georgia Warhorse,’ released on August 24, 2010, catapulted them to greatness.

Sweet and sparkly vocals, supported by swarms of sunny harmonies, make Apples in Stereo songs easy to love.

Chad Bradford’s “Friday Morning Rain” resides in the same rootsy pop orbit of Joe South and B.J. Thomas, striking the heart hard and fast.

Herbcraft’s ‘Wot Oz’ is a saturated-sounding mono four-track recording and, with that self-imposed limitation, it’s pretty intense stuff.

Lizz Wright’s ‘Freedom and Surrender’ is a stirring and eclectic mix of adult contemporary and jazz stylings which is not to be missed.

I’m not one to snap up everything Willie Nelson or Wynton Marsalis puts out. But ‘Two Men With the Blues,’ released in the summer of 2008, was special.

McFadden’s Parachute uses a lo-fi approach similar to Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices – only with a terrific 1960s garage-rock feel.

Hall and Oates’ ‘Along the Red Ledge,’ released on August 21, 1978, produced a track by Daryl Hall that John Oates says is his favorite.

Question Mark and the Mysterians were a cool and tight band, and the set of songs found on this underated 1967 sophomore release ‘Action’ only served to validate their merits.

‘The Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla,’ released on August 20, 2008, found Emerson fully – and finally – embracing his storied past.