On the Down-Low

9. King Britt, On the Seventh: Park Hyatt Chicago (Milan); GB, Soundtrack for Sunrise (Sound in Color). King Britts On the Seventh is a lush compilation featuring cool, euphoric music from the likes of Vikter Duplaix, Spacek frontman Steve Spacek, Clara Hill and the masterful Britt himself. Spacek also finds his way onto GBs debut mix, a tight collection of sounds that includes guest work from Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, Joy Jones and A Race of Angels. When it comes to mix CDs from master DJs, it isnt about the person mixing; its about the music they mix.

10. Various Artists, Giant Step Presents Simply Good Music, Volume One (Giant Step); Various Artists, True Notes, Vol. 1 (Okayplayer). Prefer to sample the aforementioned artists before plunking down for full albums? These two compilations are a good place to start. Aya and Amp Fiddler appear on the Giant Step collection, which also features downright decent tracks from Esthero, Jiva, Sara Devine and Zap Mama. Jean Grae, Gift of Gab, Nicolay and Little Brother contribute tunes to Okayplayers True Notes volume, which also features cuts from the Roots, Skillz, Dilated Peoples and RJD2. Go ahead and get your feet wet with these kiddie-pool discs, but dont be afraid to take the plunge into the deep end. On the Down-Low