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Craig and Kevin land in 2020, a year like no other. Craig spotlights Summerlong, the sophomore album from Rose City Band, a sunny, easygoing psych-folk record from a band Kevin introduced him to. Kevin showcases Sad Hunk by Bahamas, a warm, smooth collection from Afie Jurvanen, full of soulful guitar and wry charm.

From there, the guys dig into the year that was: the sudden halt of live music, the albums born from (or shaped by) the pandemic, and the icons we lost along the way. They also make a point of finding the bright side, from the great music made during isolation to the sense of unity and connection it created when everyone needed it most.

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Craig and Kevin set the dial to 1996 for this week's picks. Craig spotlights Fantastic Planet by Failure, a sprawling, hypnotic space-rock record that slipped past the mainstream at the time and has since become a touchstone for fans of heavy, atmospheric alt-rock. Kevin counters with R.L. Burnside's A Ass Pocket of Whiskey, a gritty, hypnotic slab of Mississippi hill country blues, rough around the edges and all the better for it.

From there, the guys dig through their own collections for more overlooked 1996 gems that deserved a bigger audience.

They close by talking about the role radio played in making (and missing) music back then, and the challenges of collecting in the digital era, where cloud libraries and streaming have changed what it means to "own" an album.

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Craig and Kevin dig deep into 1970 for this week's picks. Craig spotlights the self-titled solo debut from Emitt Rhodes — a home-recorded, one-man-band pop masterpiece so Beatles/McCartney-adjacent in sound and timing that it remains one of the era's great lost gems. Kevin counters with Cactus, the self-titled debut from the blues-rock supergroup built out of Vanilla Fudge's rhythm section, Amboy Dukes' Rusty Day, and Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty — a heavy, hard-charging record often cited as a missing link between Cream and early Zeppelin.

From there, the guys widen the lens, running through other notable 1970 releases — a year stacked with albums now considered absolute classics.

They wrap things up with an improvised round of Either/Or from Kevin, starting with some off-the-cuff topics before diving into a run of classic-album matchups.

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Craig and Kevin head back to 2007 for this week's picks. Craig spotlights Civilians, Joe Henry's tenth studio album — a stripped-back, politically tinged folk-and-jazz record cut in his home studio with an all-star cast including Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Frisell, and Van Dyke Parks. Kevin counters with From the Corner to the Block, Galactic's genre-bending detour into hip-hop, teaming the New Orleans funk outfit with a stacked lineup of guest MCs including Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab, Chali 2na, and Boots Riley.

From there, Craig throws Kevin a curveball with an improvised round of Over/Under — ten albums, a number attached to each, and Kevin has to call it: over, under, or push.

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Craig and Kevin bring things into the present with a look at 2025. Kevin spotlights Sweet Misery, Will Hoge's 15th studio album — a loud, hooky return to his rock 'n' roll roots after the quieter, solo-recorded Tenderhearted Boys, built for cranking the windows down and playing it loud. Craig counters with Unpopular Music, the sixth album from Nashville's Tristen — a playful, sharply observed indie-pop record featuring guest turns from Vanessa Carlton, Wilco's Pat Sansone, Becca Mancari, Erin Rae, and Natalie Prass.

From there, the conversation opens up into the long, complicated relationship between artists and record labels — how it's shifted over the decades, and what independence really costs (and buys) an artist today. That leads naturally into a chat about live shows, and the guys dig into a simple but surprisingly loaded question: how many times is too many, or not enough, to see the same artist or band live?

It's a meandering one this week — but they hope you'll enjoy the ride.

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Craig and Kevin dig into 1989 for this week's picks. Craig leads off with Surprise Attack, the debut from Memphis hard rockers Tora Tora — a hooky, blues-tinged slice of late-'80s rock built around the hit "Walkin' Shoes." Kevin answers with No One Can Do It Better, The D.O.C.'s classic solo debut produced top to bottom by Dr. Dre — a West Coast hip-hop landmark recorded alongside Straight Outta Compton and packed with staples like "It's Funky Enough" and "The Formula."

Craig then Kevin through the wringer with a round of Either/Or, 1989 edition, forcing some tough head-to-head calls from the year's catalog.

From there, the conversation opens up into something more personal, as the guys trace their own musical evolution from the late '80s into the early '90s — a stretch of nostalgia built around one of the most stylistically all-over-the-map eras music has ever seen.

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This episode opens on a somber note as Craig and Kevin pay tribute to Dolly Parton, who passed away in Nashville after a brief battle with cancer. A songwriter, performer, and philanthropist whose reach went far beyond country music, Dolly was — and always will be — a national treasure, and the guys take a moment to reflect on what she meant to them and to American music as a whole.

From there, they shift into travel talk. Craig recaps an impromptu beach trip, but the real story belongs to Kevin, who spent time exploring the Mississippi Delta blues trail. He walks through several iconic stops along the way, including a stop at Jimmy "Duck" Holmes' legendary Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia — where he got to meet Holmes in person and even received an impromptu lesson and performance from the Bentonia blues master himself.

They close out the episode back on record, digging into 1977. Craig spotlights Yuh Learn!, Dennis Bovell's dub classic released under the name The 4th Street Orchestra — a deep, roots-driven UK dub set built for the sound system scene. Kevin highlights Ngozi Family's 45,000 Volts, a raw, fuzzed-out peak of the Zamrock movement from Zambia's Paul Ngozi and company.

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Craig and Kevin travel back to 2003 for this week's picks. Craig spotlights 1972 by Josh Rouse — a warm, sunny homage to the AM-radio songwriters of the year Rouse was born, steeped in Laurel Canyon vibes and widely regarded as one of his best. Kevin brings the fire with Unclassified, the studio debut from Robert Randolph and the Family Band — a gospel-tinged, sacred-steel powered blast of blues, funk, and rock that put Randolph's pedal steel wizardry on the map.

From there, Kevin previews an upcoming trip through the Southeast's historic juke joints, tracing the roots of the roadhouse blues scene one stop at a time. They close out with a live-show themed round of Dig It or Dump It, weighing in on stage banter, extended jams, collecting ticket stubs, and more.

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Craig and Kevin jump forward to 2023 for this week's spotlights. Craig picks Altitude, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives' first new album in five years — a cosmic-country trip through dreamers, drifters, and desert-flavored twang that stakes Stuart's claim as one of country's great living traditionalists. Kevin counters with Stephen Marley's Old Soul, a stripped-down, acoustic-leaning reggae record born out of pandemic-era jam sessions and stacked with guest turns from Eric Clapton, Bob Weir, and his own Marley brothers.

From there, the conversation opens up into a bigger question: what happens when an artist gets a second (or fifth) life? The guys talk through acts who've built new audiences around their current work rather than trading on nostalgia for their commercial peak — running the gamut from Pete Yorn and Rodney Crowell to L.A. Guns and Stryper, and what it takes for a band or artist to actually earn that kind of reinvention instead of just coasting on it.

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This week Craig and Kevin head to 1986 for two very different debut albums. Craig opens with the self-titled solo debut from Peter Case — the former Nerves/Plimsouls frontman's pivot from power pop to acoustic-leaning Americana, a record T-Bone Burnett helped shape into what The New York Times called the best album of the year. Kevin swings hard in the opposite direction with Zeno's self-titled debut, the melodic hard rock project fronted by Zeno Roth (younger brother of Uli Jon Roth) — all soaring harmonies, keyboard-driven hooks, and unmistakably German AOR muscle.

From there, the guys dig into whether album reviews actually match the scores critics slap on them — do the words back up the number, or is something getting lost in translation? They close things out with a listening-habits edition of Dig It or Dump It.

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Craig and Kevin roll the clock back to 1974 for this week's overlooked-and-underrated dig. Kevin goes deep into library music territory with Stefano Torossi's Feelings — a cult Italian jazz-funk record cut under pseudonyms for contractual reasons, later prized by crate-diggers for its cinematic grooves and breakbeats. Craig counters with Ronnie Lane's solo debut Anymore for Anymore, the Small Faces/Faces alum's first outing with his band Slim Chance — a loose, rootsy, farmhouse-recorded record that traded arena rock for folk and country warmth.

Then, at the request of Craig's sister-in-law Paulina, the guys step way outside their usual lane for a surprise review: Olivia Rodrigo's new album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. Two guys who live in 1974 take on 2026 pop — results may vary.

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 📩 Have a favorite deep cut from any year 1960–2025, or a request for a future surprise review? We'd love to hear from you, so hit us up at [email protected]!

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