Sure, we all go to thrift stores digging around for buried treasure from time to time. Occasionally, you'll even leave with some. That rare Kraftwerk 12" or a curiously mint copy of The Zombies' Odyssey & Oracle that had been stored away in some guy's boot locker before he was deployed to Vietnam—those are the records you brag about to your friends; the ones you put up on the top shelf and only bring out when company comes over.

But what about the ones you're thumbing right past every single time you bend down over those boxes and stacks of unwanted music in the back corner of the Goodwill? You see them every time you go, in every store you go to. You know exactly which ones I'm talking about, too. But, for the sake of this exercise, let me go on and list them anyway. And the next time you have ten bucks burning a hole in your pocket, you'll know exactly what to do with it.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
So Far...
(Atlantic/1974)

Why spend $2.00 on the couple of CSN&Y albums that supply the majority of the material found here when you can cut corners and get the cream of the crop for half that price? Furthermore, you're not going to find Neil Young's stunning ode to the Kent State killings, "Ohio," on either of them.

Prince & the Revolution
Around the World in a Day
(Paisley Park/1985)

It was on this record that Prince began to turn. After the successes of both 1999 and Purple Rain, he allowed himself to dig deep and really almost dare recently converted legions of fans to follow wherever he may lead them. "Raspberry Beret," with its innocuous psychedelic overtones, was used as the entry point for most (regardless of the fact that "Pop Life" was the superior single). But once he'd lured them inside, no one really knew what to make of what they were hearing. Hell, most of us still don't. But it's a fascinating study all the same.

Bee Gees
Horizontal
(Atco/1968)

I'd stake money on the idea that most people under the age of thirty have no idea the Bee Gees even recorded anything before "Jive Talkin'" in 1975, or possibly even "Stayin' Alive" in 1977. But the Bee Gees of the late '60s are truly something with which everybody should be acquainted. While not quite up to the standard set by bizarre psych-pop beauty of their 1967 debut Bee Gees' 1st, Horizontal was actually more popular at the time and still stands up tall on the backs of songs like "Massachusetts" and "The Earnest of Being George."

Chicago
Chicago II
(Columbia/1970)

Fifteen albums before Peter Cetera discovered styling mousse and the Linn drum became Danny Seraphine's stunt double, Chicago was actually a monster of a pop/rock/jazz band. The schmaltz is minimal on Chicago II, and guitarist Terry Kath (one of the best players no one ever talks about) stampedes through four vinyl sides of material you'd never once consider using to get your girlfriend into the mood. I mean, c'mon... the extended album version of "25 or 6 to 4" is worth $1.00 all by itself.

Joe Jackson
Look Sharp!
(A&M/1979)

Joe Jackson has always been a square peg, but his debut album holds its own alongside the best post-punk/pre-new wave singer/songwriter offerings of its day. His artistic voice and attitude weren't as brash as early Elvis Costello, nor his everyman credibility as well defined as Graham Parker. His oddball, constantly-in-limbo persona, however, makes songs like "Sunday Papers" and "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" still lyrically relatable on a personal level and motivationally electrified on a musical one.

Find "Part Two" here.