Top 10: $5 downloads

The always-wonderful Amazon mp3 digital downloads store has expanded its usual selection of monthly $5 downloads from 100 to 1,000 (yes... 1,000!) for the month of August only. With so much great music to choose from, where to start?

Here's the official Lost Things Found list of top 10 recommendations:

10. Huey Lewis and the News, Greatest Hits - This selection should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, but for those still skeptical, I have one retort:



9. Nikka Costa, Everybody Got Their Something - In 2005, with very little fanfare, Nikka Costa put out this album, one of the best electronic soul albums of the 2000s. The title track found its way into a variety of movies and TV shows, but the whole album is strong. Fun fact: Costa is the god-daughter of Frank Sinatra.



8. Corinne Bailey Rae, Self-Titled - The first time I heard "Put Your Records On," I was in Louisville, KY and it came on an independent radio station and literally stopped me in my tracks. There have been a lot of imitators to Corinne Bailey Rae's sultry jazz, neo-soul sound, but this is still the best.



7. Steve Miller Band, Greatest Hits 1974-1978 - Summer is the perfect time for classic rock, yes, but there's something completely timeless about Steve Miller Band as well. This collection gets you all the big hits, plus my favorite, "Dance, Dance, Dance":



6. Donavon Frankenreiter, Revisited - Frankenreiter's laid-back surf-folk music gets even more laid-back from ukelele-heavy Hawaiian reinterpretation. There is no better music to unwind to - you can practically hear the waves in the background. Here's the original, un-Hawaii version of "Free":



5. Tallest Man on Earth, The Wild Hunt - I wrote about this awesome debut album from the Swedish folky a few months ago. It's reminiscent of my favorite Dylan song - thoughtful, melodic and lovely from start to finish. Listen to the beauty of "Thousand Ways" live:



4. Peter Bradley Adams, Traces - The former half of the folk duo eastmountainsouth struck out on a solo career a few years ago, and this album captures everything that's wonderful about his music. Beautiful harmonies and layers, good songwriting and a sound that's almost wistful. Here's "I Cannot Settle Down" live:



3. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Before we knew the term neo-soul, Lauryn Hill was making amazing neo-soul music, mixing in rap and hip-hop and somehow managing to keep everything perfectly balanced. It's 12 years later, and this album still sounds as fresh as it did the day it dropped. Here's "To Zion" from the 41st Grammy Awards (featuring Carlos Santana):



2. Sondre Lerche, Two Way Monologue - Something about Sondre Lerche's music reminds me of the Beatles circa "Norwegian Wood." It's charming and quirky and melodic and full of interesting layers. It's also damn catchy. Here's the title track:



1. Boston, self-titled debut - Admittedly, I'm on a bit of a Boston kick right now. I feel they are ripe for revival. And is there any purer joy of rock and roll that "Rock and Roll Band"?



And there are so many more! Albums by Stars, Mumford and Sons, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Phoenix, Belle & Sebastian, Spoon, M. Ward, Regina Spektor, Andrew Bird, Paper Tongues, VV Brown, My Morning Jacket, The Bird and the Bee and so, so, so many more! Happy music hunting!

Troubles will be gone

A little over a week ago, I made the fun-but-inadvisable decision to stay out WAY past my bedtime on a schoolnight, and as a result, I missed the Tallest Man on Earth show at Lincoln Hall the next night, which everyone has assured me was one of the best concerts ever performed in public. Of course, it was inevitable that it would be. The modern Bob Dylan-with-a-melodic-bent could not disappoint.

I fell in love with the Swedish folksinger's debut album, The Wild Hunt, a few months ago… and I fell hard. His voice may take some getting used to for those who are not huge Dylan fans. (He definitely affects a Dylanesque gravelly delivery in his own unique tenor.) But the melodies are so instantly beautiful and the ringing guitar tone (punctuated by mandolin and a handful of other acoustic instruments) so clear, this is modern folk at its absolute best, truest, most lovely. (Occasionally, the songs remind me of early Simon and Garfunkel in their simplicity and purity, and Woody Guthrie in their timeless lyrics.)

Listen to the rollicking "King of Spain" on TMOE's MySpace page.

And then check out the two encore numbers from the show I missed last week, both Dylan covers: "I'll Keep it With Mine" and "The Man in Me."





Truly gorgeous. Learn from my mistake, LTF-ers. See him as soon as possible.

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"I simply lost the words to tell you I'm afraid" - From "Troubles Will Be Gone"