Oliver Wang

Salsa is most commonly linked to New York and Miami, but a neighborhood in northwest Chicago boasted a vibrant salsa scene in the 1970s. A new compilation explores this hidden era in the city's music history.

Terrell was perhaps best known for her duet work with Marvin Gaye, but the young singer released solo recordings before they'd ever collaborated. These solo recordings have been collected on a new anthology called Come On and See Me.

Unlike Marvin Gaye or James Brown, Johnson never had massive success, in spite of a prolific career. A new box set, Syl Johnson: The Complete Mythology, compiles more than 80 recordings from the late 1950s through early 1970s.

Maya is the third full-length album by M.I.A., and it rattles with hard-edged and well-produced beats and electronica. Reviewer Oliver Wang says that even if it's not her best work, the record still offers reminders of why M.I.A. is one of the most compelling and unusual artists in pop today.

Throughout his career, Guru was a unique figure: a veteran who thrived when others faltered and an innovator who never followed a style he didn't help invent. His group, Gang Starr, led a vanguard of other artists who bridged jazz and hip-hop. The rapper died Monday at 47.

Times have not been kind to the hip-hop industry. Philadelphia rapper Freeway and Seattle producer Jake One have come up with a novel response, especially in the era of digital music. Their new collaboration, The Stimulus Package, comes with some of the most elaborate packaging ever designed for a hip-hop album.

Two new collections, ranging from scratchy field recordings to intricate vocal harmonies to snappy adaptations of rock 'n' roll rhythms, prove divine inspiration takes on many forms.

The Blueprint 3 is the latest release by rapper Jay-Z; it's the second sequel to one of his best-known releases, 2001's The Blueprint. It's also Jay-Z's 11th solo album in 13 years, making him one of hip-hop's most prolific artists. Reviewer Oliver Wang suggests that, even this far into his career, the rapper is still finding ways to stay on top.

In a curious case of musical evolution, the older Lee Fields becomes, the closer he gets to perfecting the sound of soul that he grew up with. His latest release, My World, finds an ideal middle ground between the slow grind of Southern blues and the faster, funkier stylings of retro-soul.

In the mid-1960s, an electrician converted his basement into a jerry-built, custom studio he dubbed Double U Sound. Between 1967 and 1981, Felton Williams recorded more than 300 reels of tape. Downriver Revival is the first in a series of compilations focusing on the recordings of these local studios.