RSD Essentials

Without exaggeration, Jason Isbell has become one of the most respected and celebrated songwriters of his generation. He possesses an incredible penchant for identifying and articulating some of the deepest, yet simplest, human emotions, and turning them into beautiful poetry through song. Isbell sings of the everyday human condition with thoughtful, heartfelt, and sometimes brutal honesty, and The Nashville Sound is no exception. The Nashville Sound is the critically acclaimed 6th studio album from Jason Isbell, and the 3rd album alongside his band, The 400 Unit. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 on the Rock, Americana / Folk and Country Albums charts, and earned the band 2 Grammys at the 2018 Grammy Awards: Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for "If We Were Vampires". 

2012 debut album from the Athens, Alabama-based outfit. The band was originally formed when lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard approached bassist Zac Cockrell during a high school psychology class and began meeting after school to write songs. Howard and Cockrell experimented with many different styles of music including roots rock, progressive rock, soul music, country music and classic rock.

Released in December 1965, Bay Area pianist and composer Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack to Charles Schulz's iconic Peanuts special A Charlie Brown Christmas is among the most beloved holiday albums of all time, now certified Triple Plantinum with sales of over three million copies. The session was voted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2007 and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry’s list of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important” American recordings.

After making tsunami level waves in the industry after his 6 track appearance on Dr. Dre’s latest album, Compton–Los Angeles’s Anderson .Paak returns with his brand new LP, Malibu. After a whirlwind of press, accolades, performances and studio sessions with greats, Anderson .Paak took all those experiences and stirred them into his pot to formulate the silky-smooth Malibu album. The follow-up to 2014’s Venice features appearances from The Game, ScHoolboy Q, Talib Kweli, Rapsody, and BJ The Chicago Kid. The sonic backdrop to the album was provided by some of today’s hottest producers from 9th Wonder, Kaytranada, Madlib, Hi-Tek, RobertGlasper, DJ Khalil and more. With the good Dr.’s co-sign, Anderson’s talent, and his captivating live show, Malibu is sure to make Anderson .Paak a household name very soon.

Natalie Mering, known professionally as Weyes Blood, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Mering was raised in a musical family and began writing songs under the moniker Wise Blood at age 15, later changing the spelling to Weyes Blood. She spent some formative years in the underground noise music scene, playing in bands Jackie-O Motherfucker and Nautical Almanac. Mering released her debut album, The Outside Room, in 2011.  With the release of 2019’s strikingly beautiful and critically-acclaimed Titanic Rising, she received high placements on year-end and decade-end lists from publications such as Pitchfork, Uproxx, Paste, Uncut, Dazed, The Guardian, and NPR. Live performance highlights include sold-out tours in the US and Europe, as well as opening for Kacey Musgraves in the fall and singing with Lana Del Rey at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Classic 1959 collection featuring Nina Simone, Carmen McRae and Chris Connors. Features a brand new stereo mastering by Kevin Gray and a new essay by author of Liner Notes For the Revolution, Daphne A. Brooks.

Gil Evans to Miles Davis, Holger Czukay to the ensemble known as Can, Jean Claude Vannier to Serge Gainsbourg on Histoire de Melody Nelson. That's the only way to explain the specificity of Four Tet and Madlib's collaboration, in this special album that showcases a two-decade-long friendship that has resulted in what follows Madlib's classics like Quasimoto's The Unseen, Madvillainy and his Pinata and Bandana albums with Freddie Gibbs.