[Neil Young] & Crazy Horse "Weld" (Reprise). The old hippie takes youngsters like Sonic Youth and Nirvana to school and teaches them the real possibilities of noise. This two-CD live album is washed in guitar feedback and distortion that captures the grinding meanness and frustration of the Reagan-Bush Era better than any other album of the regime's tenure.

Carla Bley "The Very Large Carla Bley Band" (WATT). The bluesy, gospelish spirit of Charles Mingus's "Epitaph" symphony lives on in the five pieces (averaging 10 minutes each) pianist Bley has composed and arranged for her 18-piece international orchestra. An all-star rhythm section of Bley, Steve Swallow, Victor Lewis and Don Alias push the 13 horns hard through intoxicating harmonies and irreverent braying.

Ned's Atomic Dustbin "God Fodder" (Columbia) The canniest hard-core-goes-pop move yet, this debut album applies double-time drums and garage-rock guitar to accessible melodies and such sensible neo-punk imperatives as "Kill Your Television."