The original 'Some Girls' cover artFew Rolling Stones albums have held up as sonically, and still sound as gritty and urban and sexy and just downright cool, as their 1978 disco/punk/country/blues masterwork, Some Girls. (Seriously, is there anything as deliciously and decadently sleazy-sounding as Mick totally going OFF at the end of "Shattered," or Keef slurring his way though his bloozy rebel anthem "Before They Make Me Run"?) The album is finally getting a major reissue treatment this month, with a Super Deluxe boxed set that includes two CDs (one consisting of entirely unreleased tracks), a 7-inch vinyl single, a hardback book, a set of postcards, Helmut Newton prints, and a poster. And this is entirely appropriate repackaging for an album known for being as cool on the outside as it was on the inside, with one of the most celebrated and controversial covers of all time.

Among the year's most highly anticipated releases are the new reissues of Pink Floyd's majestic album catalog--which, from the standpoint of packaging, sound quality, and audio and video extras, rank among the most deluxe treatment any rock 'n' roll band has ever received.

That the band has sold over 200 million records worldwide since releasing their first album in 1967 may have something to do with that.

Still, the depth of the band's deep catalog--which ranges from enormously popular albums like The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), The Wall (1979) and Wish You Were Here(1975), lesser-heard gems like the soundtracks to More (1969) and La Vallée  (Obscured By Clouds) (1972), to their classic 1967 debut The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn--means that very few Floyd albums sound ­alike, and all are worthwhile investments.

And if one cares to invest in a newly remastered version of Dark Side Of The Moon, they now can buy it as a CD, as a digital download, as a vinyl LP, in a 2-disc "Experience"

There aren't too many genuine rock stars left in this rock-god-forsaken world of faceless ProTooled popbots. Sure, plenty of aspiring Next Big Things cop the right poses, wear the requisite stylists-supplied hipster threads, or sing about the right clichéd topics. But pitifully few of them have "it"--that elusive, intangible, magical mix of sex, sizzle, style, and substance.

Australia's You Am I have "it," and they've had it for years. It is in fact one of the rock 'n' roll's great all-time injustices that YAI aren't rocking sold-out stadiums in every country on the map on both sides of the equator. While the band has long been an institution since the mid-'90s Down Under--where they've won ARIA Awards (Aussie Grammys), headlined festivals, topped charts, and inspired bands like Silverchair and Jet--worldwide success has frustratingly remained elusive for them. But those in know, including esteemed past tourmates like Oasis, the Strokes, Sloan, Goo Goo Dolls, and Soundgarden, can tell