VARIOUS ARTISTS / Natural Born Killers (1994)

As you'd expect, NBK is a collection of songs from different artists. But unlike most film soundtracks, there's been some actual thought and care put into structuring them. Custom edits and audio clips from the film itself are used often to connect tracks into a more story-style structure than is usually the case.
It was compiled by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who referred to it as a "collage of sound," which I guess is as good a description as any. It's the kind of thing many of us used to do back when all we had was a double tapedeck and a VHS collection.
Don't judge it solely on my choice of songs (below), there are a variety of styles on offer from many different musical eras.

Songs of Note: Cowboy Junkies / Sweet Jane (Edit); Nine Inch Nails / Something I Can Never Have (Edited and Extended)

4½ warm, violent places out of 5

LEONARD COHEN / Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)

Leonard sings the things we all want to be able to feel. Folk songs that initially appear to function as snippets of a life mundane are really poems filled with simplistic beauty and a humble longing for truth. His voice leads, the soft guitar reinforces and the melody soars. If you're old enough (even in spirit, if not in years) to appreciate the work, then you'll know that it's one of the finest début albums ever made. It captured everything that he was and would become. His voice is calming but his words are stirring. It's perfection.

Songs of Note: Suzanne; Sisters of Mercy

5 among the garbage and flowers out of 5

LEONARD COHEN / Old Ideas (2012)

Leonard the poet. He's 77 y/o and his soul is still a thing of beauty that shines through in every word he speaks. Expect simple guitars in support of his voice like the early days, heartfelt piano, lazy-day drums, dreamy female backing vocals and a feeling of drifting through redemptive waters on every track. There are no surprises, it's Leonard by numbers, but they're numbers we like. There's a little piece of Leonard's life in each of us and we're all the better for it.

Songs of Note: Going Home; Show Me the Place

3½ manuals for living out of 5