The Grand Illusion is the seventh studio album by American rock band Styx. Recorded at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, the album was released on July 7, 1977, by A&M Records, intentionally choosing the combination 7th on 7-7-77 for luck. The release was a smash worldwide, selling three million copies in the US (Triple Platinum) alone. Some estimates have the album at over 6 million copies sold. The album launched the band to stardom and spawned the hit singles "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling Yourself." The title track also received substantial FM airplay and continues to be a mainstay on classic rock radio, but was never released as an official single. The album cover art is based on Rene Magritte's 1965 painting, "The Blank Signature."

Eric Clapton's musical output across a career spanning 55 years and counting, has been nothing short of extraordinary. But added to this, that the lion's share of his work has been of a quite staggering quality, with more than occasional brilliance displayed, has made Clapton one of a handful of musicians, composers and performers from the rock age who patently deserve their place at the top table of the industry. This 3 X CD set celebrates and champions the contribution Eric has made to the pantheon of intelligent rock music as it contains three broadcast recordings of live shows from the 1960s, the 1970s and the 1990s. Kicking off with a superb concert the great man gave as part of Cream, the super-group which also of course featured the talents of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, recorded at the LA Forum in October 1968. Next up on disc two is a unique gig Clapton gave at Dallas's Convention Center in Texas towards the end of 1976, hot on the heels of his No Reason To Cry album. Concluding the collection, disc 3 takes EC forward more than 20 years, to his astonishing show at the Edmonton Coliseum in Alberta, Canada in September of 1998.

Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81 is a live album released by Pink Floyd in 2000. It is a live rendition of The Wall, produced and engineered by James Guthrie, with tracks selected from the August 1980 and June 1981 performances at Earls Court in London. The album was first released in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2000, and a US/Canadian release by Columbia Records on 18 April. The shows involved the construction of a wall on stage throughout the first half of the show. Once complete, members of the band performed in small openings in, atop, in front of, or even behind the wall. The album artwork featured the life-masks of the four band members in front of a black wall; the masks were worn by the "surrogate band" during the song "In the Flesh". "Goodbye Blue Sky" and parts of "Run Like Hell" were taken from the 17 June 1981 show, the very last performance by the four-man Pink Floyd until the 2005 Live 8 concert.

Trilogy is a box set by the German musical project Enigma. This set includes the first three studio albums by Enigma, MCMXC a.D., The Cross of Changes, and Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!, which comprises their artistic output from 1990–1996. A worldbeat dance fixture of the late 20th century and beyond, having sold tens of millions of albums worldwide, Enigma was formed in 1990 by Bucharest native Michael Cretu. The project is based in Ibiza, Spain, where Cretu has lived and recorded since the early '90s. With its 1991 hit "Sadeness," Enigma brought the new age fascination with Gregorian chants and old-world culture to the clubs; the resulting single was both unique and irresistible.

Camel is the first studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in 1973. The bonus track "Homage to the God of Light" was originally released in Peter Bardens's solo album The Answer in 1970. By August 1972, Camel were signed to MCA Records. They quickly entered the studio to record their first self-titled album, Camel. A collection of individual songs, chiefly from Andrew Latimer and Peter Bardens, the album was greeted with muted success and MCA did not take an option for a second album. By then, the group had acquired the management team of Geoff Jukes and Max Hole of Gemini Artists (later to become GAMA Records) and had moved to Decca Records, where they would remain for the next 10 years.

…Nothing Like the Sun is the second solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Sting. The album was originally released on 13 October 1987 on A&M. The album explores the genres of pop rock, soft rock, jazz, reggae, world, acoustic rock, dance-rock, and funk rock. It features a number of high profile guest guitarists, including former Police member Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Hiram Bullock, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Sting's early work. On release, the album was received favorably by the majority of music critics and in 1989, the album was ranked #90 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties".

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released worldwide on 26 October 1981. The album consisted of Queen's best-selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye", up to their 1980 hit "Flash" (though in some countries "Under Pressure", the band's 1981 chart-topper with David Bowie, was included). There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful.

Malmsteen's playing on the follow-up to the epochal Rising Force is slightly more raw and aggressive, but the most notable difference is the addition of lyrics on many of the songs. By his own admission, Malmsteen isn't much of a lyricist, and his frequent use of occult and pagan imagery (demons, Vikings, and so on) isn't as effective at producing a dark, gothic mood as his compositions and guitar playing are. Still, those aspects of the album are vital and stimulating, making Marching Out a worthwhile listen.

Wishbone Four is the fourth studio album by British rock band Wishbone Ash, released in 1973. It was a departure from their previous album, Argus, in that it lacked that recording's overall cohesion and atmosphere and the loose conceptual framework of a stately, pastoral and warring medieval England. Containing only hints of the extended twin-lead guitar harmonies, Wishbone Four's stylistic variety found its footing in acoustic folk elements in half of the eight-song set ("Ballad of the Beacon", "Everybody Needs a Friend", "Sorrel" and "Sing Out the Song"), two aggressive and melodic starters on each side of the vinyl release (Side 1: So Many Things to Say" and Side 2: "Doctor"), and the band's first use of horns on the semi-autobiographical "rave-up" touring song "No Easy Road".

Months after the release of the harrowing The Holy Bible, Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey James disappeared, leaving no trace of his whereabouts or his well-being. Ultimately, the remaining trio decided to carry on, releasing their fourth album, Everything Must Go, in 1996. Considering the tragic circumstances that surrounded it, Everything Must Go is the strongest, most focused, and certainly the most optimistic album the Manics ever released. Five of the songs feature lyrics Richey left behind before his disappearance, and while offering no motivation for his actions, they do hint at the depths of his despair.

Like 2005's Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection, 2018's The Story So Far: The Best of Def Leppard spans 35 songs spread over two discs. Since this is a basic hits collection, that means there is considerable overlap between the two compilations: a grand total of 20 tracks, with the remaining 15 largely dedicated to deep cuts, along with a new cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." On the whole, The Story So Far doesn't necessarily best Rock of Ages, but it's not worse, either. The difference between the two compilations is on the margins, with the album cuts on both proving that Def Leppard delivered plenty of excellent music that wasn't always hits.

Arguably, there is no better time to look at human existence on the planet and in the universe in the 21st century. In one way or another, Great Britain's Hawkwind have been doing this since the releasing their eponymous debut album in 1970. That said, their recordings for Cherry Red offer creative renaissance. They continue to wind cosmic consciousness, metaphysical and occult philosophies, and existential dread in sonically inventive sounds that juxtapose psychedelia, prog rock, jazz fusion, and electronica in a cornucopia of dystopian futurism but maintain a wry, Samuel Beckett-esque glimmer of hope. There Is No Space for Us extends the concepts explored on 2023's The Future Never Waits and 2024's Stories from Time and Space; together, they account for a keyboard-focused trilogy.

It's a beautiful thing when a jazz group stays together for as long as drummer Billy Hart's Quartet has. Since debuting in 2006, the quartet, featuring tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street, has only grown more entwined; a sentiment they further underscore on their fourth album, 2025's Just. An icon at 83 years old who has played with such luminaries as Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, Hart's reputation precedes his quartet. Yet, his bandmates (who are all under 60) are also stars in their own right; something that could describe them as a kind of supergroup, if not for their deeply ego-less and generous playing; this is a band in the truest sense.

Something Beautiful is the ninth studio album by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was released on May 30, 2025, through Columbia Records and was accompanied by a musical film of the same name on June 6, 2025. It is a visual album with existential themes, centered around healing from trauma and finding beauty in the darkest moments of life. Cyrus executively produced the album with Shawn Everett and collaborated with various musicians, including Molly Rankin and Alec O'Henley of Alvvays, Cole Haden of Model/Actriz, Danielle Haim, Flea, Pino Palladino, and Adam Granduciel of the War on Drugs. Naomi Campbell and Brittany Howard appear as guest artists. Upon its release, Something Beautiful was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. The album has charted within the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Paul McCartney retreated from the spotlight of the Beatles by recording his first solo album at his home studio, performing nearly all of the instruments himself. Appropriately, McCartney has an endearingly ragged, homemade quality that makes even its filler – and there is quite a bit of filler – rather ingratiating. Only a handful of songs rank as full-fledged McCartney classics, but those songs – the light folk-pop of "That Would Be Something," the sweet, gentle "Every Night," the ramshackle Beatles leftover "Teddy Boy," and the staggering "Maybe I'm Amazed" (not coincidentally the only rocker on the album) – are full of all the easy melodic charm that is McCartney's trademark.