Counting Crows

In large part a glorious throwback outfit, Counting Crows unpick the thread of solid, jangling rock 'n' roll — the sort of stuff that set people dreaming at the end of the '60s — and re-stitch it into a beautifully tailored modern jacket. "Mr. Jones" set an agenda that would lead to "Accidentally in Love" on the Shrek 2 soundtrack.

Everything great about Counting Crows coalesces like a dream on 2002's Hard Candy: this band carries less flab than a welterweight boxer's solar plexus, as every track proves to be a seamless combination of melody, lyric, and timing. On the rockin' title track, and the more melancholy "Time and Time Again", there's not a single wasted note.

The best of rock's genuinely uplifting bands tend to root their sound in dark emotional territory so that a cathartic sweet side can emerge from the bitterness.

They can crank it up or melt it down with an affecting ballad tender enough to coax tears from the eyes of tough guys — either way, the rock-solid Counting Crows are held together by the irresistible vocal powerhouse that is Adam Duritz. That's not to say he overshadows his compadres. Far from it: back in '93, these musicians won the approval of the legendary Robbie Robertson (from the Band), who surely knows a tight outfit when he hears one. Outstanding.