Any doubts as to the continuing relevance of Sonic Youth upon their jump to major-label status were quickly laid to rest by Goo, their follow-up to the monumental Daydream Nation. While paling in the shadow of its predecessor, the record is nevertheless a defiant call to arms against mainstream musical values; the Geffen logo adorning the disc is a moot point – Goo is, if anything, a portrait of Sonic Youth at their most self-indulgently noisy and contentious, covering topics ranging from Karen Carpenter ("Tunic") to UFOs ("Disappearer") to dating Jesus' mom ("Mary-Christ"). Even Public Enemy's Chuck D joins the fracas on the single "Kool Thing," which teeters on the brink of a cultural breakthrough but falls just shy of the mark; the same could be said of Goo itself – by no means a sellout, it nevertheless lacks the coherence and force of the group's finest work, and the opportunity to violently rattle the mainstream cage slips by.

For those keeping score, Universal's 2008 Deluxe Edition of This Year's Model is the third expanded reissue of Elvis Costello's classic 1978 album. Like its 2002 predecessor from Rhino, Universal's expanded edition is a double-disc set, sharing many, but not all, of the same bonus material from that previously released package. Rhino shuffled off all the bonus tracks to a separate second disc running 12 tracks, whereas Universal adds ten tracks to the 13-track album on the first disc, then presents a full concert – recorded on February 28, 1978, at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. – on the second disc. Of those 12 tracks from the 2002 edition, three of them have been excised – excellent Capital Radio versions of "You Belong to Me" and "Radio, Radio" plus a BBC version of "Stranger in the House" – while "Tiny Steps," which was included on the 2002 Rhino expansion of Armed Forces, was added.

The Pretenders' 1987 collection, The Singles, did a fine job of assembling most of the group's finest tracks up to that point in their career, so after another decade passed, their record company felt it was necessary to compile a more "updated" collection, 2000's Euro-only release Greatest Hits. Although it contains a total of 20 tracks, Greatest Hits ultimately fails to improve over its predecessor, for the simple fact that the early '80s was the Pretenders' artistic and commercial peak, and Greatest Hits contains too much latter-day material. Whereas it would have been a wise move to showcase such oft-overlooked classics as "Tattooed Love Boys," "Mystery Achievement," "Precious," "My City Was Gone," or "Birds of Paradise" (all of which weren't included on The Singles), Greatest Hits includes such not-as-strong selections as "Night in My Veins," "Breakfast in Bed," and "Human" instead. Although there are quite a few gems included ("Brass in Pocket," "Message of Love," "Talk of the Town," "Kid," "Back on the Chain Gang," etc.), Greatest Hits leaves out far too many prime selections to be considered truly definitive.

The Pretenders Greatest Hits is a selection of 20 songs and their variously successful videos. Chrissie Hynde arrived in the UK in 1973, and after a period as the "Loud Yank" NME journalist, she realised her dream of putting a band together. "Stop Your Sobbing" was a terrific first single for The Pretenders, debuting a voice that defied comparison or description. Naturally it's included here. Chrissie hated the early videos for her songs, especially "Brass in Pocket", which was one of the very first shown on MTV. She relays this sort of information to camera in the terrific documentary, "No Turn Left Unstoned", featured on this DVD. Comments come in from Rosanna Arquette, ex-managers, Elvis Costello, Bono, and her oldest friend.

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ramones. This collection includes their earliest known studio recordings for Sire Records, many of which would be included in their paradigm-shifting 1976 debut, including "53rd and 3rd,' "Loudmouth," and "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You" as well as handfuls of rare tracks. All tracks were, of course, produced by Tommy Ramone.