If your iTunes playlist or Netflix queue needs new blood, check out two vast, addictive guides arriving this month: Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (Workman) and David Thomson's Have You Seen …? A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films (Knopf). Here's a quick take.
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die
By Tom Moon
The A to Z
ABBA's Gold to ZZ Top's Tres Hombres.
The Usual Suspects
Bach gets the most mentions (eight recordings made the cut); the Beatles and Beethoven are next (six each); then Brahms and Miles Davis (five each).
The Unusual Suspects
Forgotten folk singer Karen Dalton (whose fans include Bob Dylan) gets a shout-out for her wistfully titled It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best (1969).
Have You Seen …? A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films
By David Thomson
The A to Z
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein to Zabriskie Point.
The Usual Suspects
Alfred Hitchcock leaves the pack in the dust with 20 films; George Cukor (The Philadelphia Story, Gaslight) is the runner-up, with 17.
The Unusual Suspects
Recent overlooked gems include the elliptical character study The Intruder (2004) and the Italian family saga The Best of Youth (2003).
Double Dippers
Making star appearances in both books: singer-actors Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Mick Jagger, and Tom Waits.
Printed from Oprah.com on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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