Train

At the start of a new millennium that seemed to have little time for rootsy rockers, Train came hurtling out of San Francisco with a soulful sound that sped them to stardom. They set the stage for their success with "Meet Virginia," a catchy character study that comes off like Counting Crows with firecrackers in their beaks, but their golden moment — multi-platinum moment, actually — came with the sweeping orchestral-pop epic "Drops of Jupiter." And after more than a decade on the tracks, Train sounds more inspired than ever on 2009 comeback single "Hey, Soul Sister," with Pat Monahan kicking into a creamy croon above the band's folk-pop-reggae bounce. In Next Steps, Train takes a trip from a whisper to a wail.

One of Train's greatest gifts has always been their ability to jump from a full-throttle blast of rock 'n' roll abandon to the tender whisper of a gentle ballad. The heavens open up when the band leaps into the big, billowing chords of "If I Can't Change Your Mind," but they slip just as easily into the subtle, sensual groove of "Mississippi," Pat Monahan's moody moan floating across some shimmering acoustic-guitar picking. And if you want to hear Train embracing their raw, rockin' roots, listen to them tearing up a live version of the Faces' classic "Stay With Me" right alongside original Faces Rod Stewart and Ron Wood.

While they have an unmistakable musical personality, Train can turn out an unexpected combo-platter of styles, putting them together with seamless sonic mastery. Who ever guessed, for instance, that one of the biggest hits of the early '00s would sound like a mash-up of the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and the Black Crowes' "She Talks To Angels"? Well, anyway, that's the closest we can come to describing Train's blockbuster single "Drops of Jupiter." The Train sound is so timeless that frontman Pat Monahan can write for Tina Turner, sing in a Doors tribute, and still turn out completely fresh-sounding tunes that climb the Pop charts like a fever-heated thermometer shooting up into the red. And now we've ridden all the way down the line with Train, from the soul-soaked ballads to the bold, bigger-than-life rockers, to offer you the crucial cuts from their many rock 'n' roll travels.