Five Essential Records To Buy Or Stream With Wireless Internet

Sometimes, people make a big deal out of a piece of art, and the person who hasn't seen it just brushes the hyperbole off. Until that moment, finally, when it's possible to experience for oneself, a face-to-face encounter with something truly grand. And those are the kinds of moments that launch entire careers of other seminal artists (plenty of master contemporary painters can site the second they actually got to glimpse a particular artist's work in person as life-changing).

The same can be said about music, but unlike the requirements for gazing at an original painting, those with wireless internet and a few free moments can buy or stream some of the most important records of the past 100 years. It's so much easier, so infinitely fulfilling, and such an important way to use new technology. For those who aren't quite sure where to begin in their musical knowledge, here are five essential records that are worth buying or streaming, with the help of wireless internet.

#1 - The Velvet Underground's Loaded. They were high on amphetamines when everyone else was still a flower child, but this record shows just how great they were at writing timeless pop songs when they put their minds to it. After listening, use wireless internet to find old concert videos. It will be a revelation.

#2 - Television's Marquee Moon. In a world that's inundated with access, thanks to wireless internet and modern technology, Television have begun to get name-dropped more and more often. While finding a copy of "Marquee Moon" once might have been difficult, now this incredible moment in 1970s punk/rock is available for just about anyone. Flawless pop songs, brilliant guitar arrangements, and the kind of attitude that's just right for a sweaty summer day.

#3 - The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed. Anyone who has never heard a song off of this record needs to immediately use wireless internet and a laptop to change that. It's the record that foreshadows the role that country and blues are going to have influencing "Exile on Main Street," it's a dream collection of lonely pop songs and instant classics, and it's practically flawless from end to end. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and the others at their absolute finest.

#4 - Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark. Joni Mitchell gets a not-entirely-accurate rap for being a waify songstress, but the truth is that this is the record, the one where she tires of supporting cagey artistic men financially and emotionally, where she finally says it's time for her to have a good time and not get sucked back in. She dismisses her typical man-baby on the first track, has a bit of hard times in between, and ends a free woman. It's great mainstream pop, brilliant songwriting, and a strong female lead all in one place.

#5 - Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. With so many seminal Bob Dylan records out there, most people are accustomed to his greatest hits and the big names like "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" or "Blonde on Blonde." This is another major moment in music, a historical document to what happens when good songwriting gets great, and the home of some of the best Bob Dylan songs ever written, including "Idiot Wind." For wireless internet users, finding this to stream or buy in digital form online takes mere seconds, but lives will be changed forever.