Son of the Great Ipod Shuffle.

Came back from the local thrift store with a few discounted treasures:

Led Zeppelin IV – There’s not much to say about this album.  It’s probably their best and a watershed album for Led Zeppelin and rock music in general.  It contains Stairway to Heaven, the single most overplayed rock song on the face of the earth.  Back in the day, you couldn’t find a high school yearbook that didn’t quote Stairway to Heaven and at most proms it was the class song.  I downloaded all eight tracks and IMHO When the Levee Breaks is the standout track.

The Best of Blondie – I used to own this as a cassette a long time ago and at one point had a crush on Deborah Harry.  This is a great career sampler.  A few of the older songs were remixed and I recommend checking those albums.  The great thing about Blondie is that when they added a disco beat to their songs (around the time of Paralell Lines, another good album), they were smart enough to be seen as making a wry commentary on the times, as opposed to just cashing in on a trend (See the Electric Light Orchestra, Rod Stewart, etc. etc.). 

Gordon Lightfoot /Gord’s Gold – Gordon Lightfoot is regarded as a poet laureate in his native Canada and these songs I assume were gold records there.  He had a few hits stateside, but was never given much respect by rock critics here in the states.  Rock critic Robert Christgau likened him to Chad of Chad and Jeremy fame. Hey, at least he never recorded a disco song!   There are a few good songs here (Carefree Highway, Sundown, and some of the older re-recorded ABC stuff) and thankfully, the CD does not include The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  That song is a load.