Shankar looks beatific, sitting on stage before his sitar, a 17-stringed instrument made of two gourds, teak wood, and silver-toned frets. We can almost envision the sultan's courts in Delhi filling with melodious strains. But once Shankar begins to play, his asymmetrical rhythms delicately splinteri

Dreamy, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Indian classical music, Serene, Spiritual

When Beth Orton sings about how far we've come or how far we'll go, something rustles inside. Escape and sudden liberation somehow seem possible. You want to grab you car keys, let your hair go, and "roll away." Orton's voice holds familiar secrets that speak to us individually; she is an old friend,

Dreamy, Ethereal, Serene, Spiritual, Tranquil

The group known as Tortoise crawled through the caverns of Chicago's rock underground during the early 1990s, collecting people who loved odd, oozy noises. The band's own sound gelled when synth-man John Herndon and bassist Doug McCombs collaborated on an experimental project called Mosquito. Soon, J

Ethereal, Euphoric, Post-rock, Rhythmic, Round, Serene, Tranquil

When Bob Marley decided to get up and stand up, championing love and unity from the pulpit of a tumultuous Jamaica, he probably never imagined his rude-boy image and Trenchtown tunes would become festive anthems for suburban American youth some 20 years later. Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer joi

Rebel, Reggae, Serene, Social revolution, Spiritual