The Library has a wide range of popular and classical music on compact disc. Categories include operas, general orchestral, concertos, symphonies, chamber music, solo instrumental, soundtracks, rock, blues, country, contemporary Christian, jazz, new age, pop world music, folk, and many others. You can search the Library catalog by title, author (the performer, musical group, or composer), or subject. All of our musical recordings are organized (assigned call numbers) using the ANSCR classification system.
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Staff Recommendations
Annual Staff Music Picks
Skokie Public Library staff listened to a lot of music in 2007 and have compiled this list of their favorites. And it's never too late! Check out favorite staff musical recordings listened to in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Music Lists
Skokie Public Library staff have compiled several thematic music lists. From lists such as "Brazilian Music" or "Tasty Music" you're sure to find some new musicial selections.
Our Favorite
Musical Artists
Skokie Public Library staff were asked to name their favorite musical artists or groups. See if their choices match your own.
Award-Winning Music
Academy of Country
Music Awards
Founded in the mid-60s "to support, promote and enhance the advancement of country music worldwide," the Academy of Country Music Awards presents annual awards to noteworthy country musicians. The site includes a list of award nominees, past winners, as well as country music news. A scrapbook of past award shows includes photos of some of the winners.
Blues Awards
The Handy Blues Awards are presented each year by the Blues Foundation and includes categories such as Blues Entertainer of the Year, Blues Band of the Year, and Artist of the Year for Contemporary Blues, Traditional Blues, and Soul/Blues. Past award winners are searchable by award name or artist name in the "Handy Awards Database."
Dove Awards
The Dove Awards are presented annually by the Gospel Music Association. A database of past winners can be browsed by category or year, or searched by the name of an artist. Current nominees are also listed. The site includes a list of links to record companies that publish gospel music.
Grammy Awards
According to the Recording Academy, "The GRAMMYs are the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position." The Grammy site is very comprehensive and includes photos and videos of past winners, industry news bits, and a database of past winners that is searchable by artist name, genre, category, and year.
Gramophone Awards
The Gramophone Awards are "often called the Oscars of the classical music world" and "are the most significant honours bestowed on the classical record industry." They are awarded each fall in categories such as Record of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Debut Recording.
Classical Music
Classical Music Library
More than 12,000 pieces of classical music are available in the Classical Music Library for patrons to listen to on computers throughout the Library. Music is searchable by multiple fields including work, genre, composer, and instrument, as well as by keyword. Background information is available on the composer, genre, and piece. Headphones are available for purchase for one dollar at the Reference Desk on the second floor, and in the Youth Computer Lab on the first floor.
Classical Music Navigator
Classical Music Navigator provides information on 444 classical composers, arranged in ways that help the user identify musical works with characteristics allied to his or her already-existing likes. Other features include a "Basic Library of Notable Works," a "Geographical Roster," and an "Index of Forms & Styles of Music."
Classical.Net
Classical.Net offers a variety of resources for classical music enthusiasts including a basic repertoire list, a classical CD buying guide, and a list of recommended classical CDs. The composer index offers information about a composer's works and the Review area of the site provides a number of reviews of classical music recordings, DVDs, videos and books.
Classics Today
Classics Today is "your online guide to classical music." The site offers a constantly updated list of reviews of classical recordings and performances, as well as news from the world of classical music. Reviews are searchable by title, genre, composer and label and short biographies of the reviewers are provided.
Dr.
Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
This site contains detailed information about hundreds of composers, many relatively obscure, with indexes by death date and historical period. The timelines provide a good overview of different musical periods.
Gramophone
The online version of the classical music magazine, this site contains over 25,000 reviews of classical music recordings. The site also includes interviews with classical musicians and a list of Gramophone Award winners.
Lyric Opera of Chicago
The Lyric Opera of Chicago 's website lists upcoming performances, dates for radio broadcasts of performances, and a history of the opera company and the Opera House. Tickets to performances may be purchased online. Skokie Public Library owns all of Lyric's available commentaries and recordings. Search for these items in the library catalog by title or by keyword search for Lyric and Opera. Look for a display of Lyric Opera materials in the Library from September through April.
Naxos
Naxos contains a wealth of information about classical music. Biographies of artists and composers are provided as well as information about upcoming performances. The "Education" section gives advice on building a classical music collection, tips for enjoying live performances, an overview of musical categories and instruments, and a guide to classical music used in films.
Jazz Music
African American Song
African American Song contains more than 50,000 tracks of music representing jazz, blues, gospel, and other forms of African American musical expression. The collection contains recordings by the top names in the history of black American music. Premier artists such as Ma Rainey, Lead Belly, Mahalia Jackson, Alberta Hunter, Tampa Red, and William “Bunk” Johnson are showcased within the database, and at least 5,000 of the tracks are rare or never-before-published. The other 45,000 tracks are in-copyright and licensed from various labels. African American Song is the first online resource to document the history of African American music in an online music listening service. The collection contains a diverse range of genres such as jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, and narratives, among others.
ChicagoJazz.com
ChicagoJazz.com is the site to visit if you want to find listings of upcoming jazz performances in the Chicago area. Articles, interviews and links to other jazz websites provide some background information on artists and on jazz music in general.
Jazz Online
Jazz Online was the first commercial jazz website and has a wealth of information about the history of jazz, different styles of jazz and jazz artists. Features include an artist Q&A, reviews, and video clips of jazz performances.
NPR
Jazz
National Public Radio has compiled an annotated list of good jazz websites that includes links to general sites, jazz organizations, and jazz photographers. Listings of NPR stations that play jazz are provided along with reviews of jazz CDs and books about jazz.
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries includes the published recordings owned by the non-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label and the archival audio collections of the legendary Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, Paredon and other labels. The collection is an outgrowth of the vision and work of Folkways Records’ founder Moses Asch, who created a veritable encyclopedia of the human experience of sound, releasing more than 2,000 albums between 1948 and 1986, including those by American folk icons such as Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, and countless influential others. The collection also encompasses great performances of traditional music from virtually everywhere in the world.
Music Reviews
ClassicsToday.com
ClassicsToday.com is "the world's first and only classical music DAILY." This user-friendly site offers ratings, reviews, and articles that cover both classical music recordings as well as concerts. All present and past reviews are archived and are searchable. The world news section of the site offers information about the classical music industry from around the world. The site is sponsored by Cedille Records.
JazzReview.com
Reviews at this site are updated daily. Over two thousand reviews are available and searchable by artist, title, record label, and reviewer name. The site also includes book reviews, interviews, news, photos, biographies, a jazz event calendar, and audio clips of jazz music.
Popular Music
African American Song
African American Song contains more than 50,000 tracks of music representing jazz, blues, gospel, and other forms of African American musical expression. The collection contains recordings by the top names in the history of black American music. Premier artists such as Ma Rainey, Lead Belly, Mahalia Jackson, Alberta Hunter, Tampa Red, and William “Bunk” Johnson are showcased within the database, and at least 5,000 of the tracks are rare or never-before-published. The other 45,000 tracks are in-copyright and licensed from various labels. African American Song is the first online resource to document the history of African American music in an online music listening service. The collection contains a diverse range of genres such as jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, and narratives, among others.
All Music
This is a comprehensive guide to all types of music. It is searchable by artist, album, song, and classical work. New releases are featured, as well as spotlights on "hot artists" and editors' picks. Registration is required for advanced searching, music samples, and expanded artist and album information. Registration is free.
Contemporary World Music
Contemporary World Music contains recorded music from every continent from genres such as reggae, worldbeat, neo-traditional, world fusion, Balkanic jazz, African film, Bollywood, Arab swing, and jazz. It also includes other traditional genres such as Indian classical, fado, flamenco, klezmer, zydeco, gospel, gagaku, and more. Music from Contemporary World Music can be listened to on your computer but cannot be downloaded.
MTV
MTV’s site provides artist profiles along with information about tour dates and music videos. The focus is on popular, “buzzworthy” music found on MTV’s playlists and the Billboard charts.
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries includes the published recordings owned by the non-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label and the archival audio collections of the legendary Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, Paredon and other labels. The collection is an outgrowth of the vision and work of Folkways Records’ founder Moses Asch, who created a veritable encyclopedia of the human experience of sound, releasing more than 2,000 albums between 1948 and 1986, including those by American folk icons such as Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, and countless influential others. The collection also encompasses great performances of traditional music from virtually everywhere in the world.
UBL.com
The Ultimate Band List is browseable by artist name and provides detailed biographical information as well as links to other sites that feature the artist. You can also browse through various music genres to view historical information and a list of popular artists by decade.
VH1
VH1’s site provides biographical and background information for popular music artists that are played on VH1 television. Music downloads and video clips are available as well as information about tour dates and upcoming releases.
Sheet Music
8Notes.com
8Notes.com contains over 2,000 free pieces of classical, jazz, and traditional sheet music for voice, piano, and other instruments.
Historic American Sheet Music: 1850-1920
Supported by the Library of Congress, this site contains various protest songs, sentimental songs, patriotic and political songs, plantation songs, spirituals, dance music, "tin pan alley" songs, and songs from World War I. To view the sheet music, click on a type of music (such as Civil War songs and music), or choose the link titled "Historic American Sheet Music Timeline: 1850-1920" located halfway down the page.
MusicViva
This site has over 4,000 classical and traditional pieces of sheet music for musical works no longer in copyright. It also links to over seven hundred other web sites that offer sheet music.
Song Lyrics
Get Lyrics
Get Lyrics is a huge database of lyrics for pop songs that includes over 80,000 songs. The database is searchable by artist, album or song. Artist searches bring up a list of an artist’s albums, but results can also be displayed as an alphabetical list of all the artist’s songs.
Leo's Lyrics
A song lyrics database with over 70,000 titles searchable by artist, title, or words within a song.
Lyrics Connection
Lyrics Connection collects links to song lyric databases available on the Internet. Links are arranged by band or artist, with additional lists for operas and musical shows and other miscellaneous lyrics collections. The "How to Find Lyrics" page outlines a search strategy for finding lyrics.
Lyrics Search Engine
This site was developed by a computer science student and contains thousands of song lyrics that are searchable or browseable. Each song listing indicated the album that the song appeared on.
Lyrics
World
Lyrics World includes lyrics for many top 40 hits from the 1930s to the 1990s. Lyrics can be browsed by artist name or by year or decade of release.
Yahoo! Music: Lyrics
Find the lyrics for thousands of popular songs via Yahoo!. Lyrics are contributed by dozens of music publishers and are authorized versions. Search the site by words in the song lyrics or specific song titles.
