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With an innovative repertoire and creative musical arrangements, the five brass players of the Meridian Arts Ensemble — and the group's new percussionist — have redefined the boundaries of the traditionally stodgy brass quintet in music that ranges from J.S. Bach to Frank Zappa.

The city of Chicago has one more thing to boast about: Its hometown orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, has been named America's top orchestra in a new critics' poll published in the venerable British magazine Gramophone.

The Chicago rapper's new album, 808s and Heartbreak features him singing instead of rapping, but he's filtered his vocals through the voice processing system known as Auto-Tune, an increasingly popular trend among pop artists. The result is a melancholy, intimate and decidedly quirky effort.

Placido Domingo is the most durable, thoughtful opera singer in recent history. Andrea Bocelli has sold more than 60 million albums. The two icons discuss their first performance together and describe what makes opera relevant today.

The making of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy took more than a decade, during which time the hard-rock band spent many millions of dollars and experienced the departure of every prominent band member except reclusive singer Axl Rose. Now that the album is finally in stores, does it live up to expectations?

On Dec. 28, 1958, the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts played a game that turned pro football into America's sport, and even a metaphor for the country. Frank Gifford was a Giants running back in that game, and he's looked up all his old teammates on both sides of the line to write a new book.

Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff helped pioneer the sound of Philadelphia soul. Their renowned record label, Philadelphia International, produced the hits "Love Train," "Backstabbers" and "The Love I Lost."

Randy Owen of the popular country band Alabama has just released his first solo CD, One on One. He's also the co-author of the memoir Born Country: How Faith, Family, and Music Brought Me Home. He talks about his new album, his home state and working with Dolly Parton.

On her latest album, Back to the River, singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi uses her hard blues style to tell stories of family life. Her own day-to-day existence with husband Derek Trucks (a guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band) and their two children may not be average, but Tedeschi's songs have universal appeal.

Covering music from Marian Anderson to ZZ Top, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List covers all genres in its more than 900 pages. It's driven by the notion that "the more you love music, the more music you love." Author Tom Moon submits his picks for the best summer recordings.