The very act of paring down your favorite albums will always have value. There’s something warm and cozy about imagining those albums existing as discrete milestones in music history, having reached so many ears in their compact form, entertaining outside of the framework of infinite availability and almost too-comfortable omni-selection that streaming has produced. With that in mind, here are my picks.

For nearly 27 years, the Reader has provided the Quad Cities with alternative news and perspectives. By “alternative,” I mean alternative to the mainstream media, and this unyielding mission has served the community well. This policy as it applies to COVID-19 is no different, especially due to the vast volumes of information that are being withheld, even censored, from the American public.

It is not necessary for agreement to appreciate information that makes us look at the issues of our time more closely, or differently. The more information, the better, for informed decisions and opinions. The only non-negotiable requirement should be evidence-based reporting, well-sourced and verified, then linked for readers to investigate for themselves. Our mission statement has always been “to make you think, not tell you what to think.”

Appearing in a virtual July 16 Curator Talk hosted by Davenport's Figge Art Museum, Dr. Jennifer Jankauskas, Curator of Art at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, discusses works in the venue's current exhibition About Face: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture – a celebration of the beauty of hand-crafted objects on view through August 30.

Interactive exhibits don't get any more interactive than Remote Control, the new, community-created exhibition at Davenport's Figge Art Museum. On display from July 10 through August 30, this response-driven collection is part game, part art showcase, and all celebration of our local collective imagination – the rare exhibit that literally doesn't exist without the participation of its viewers.

Ryan Lounsbury, Marketing Director for the Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport, discusses the venue's operations during this period of social distancing. We spoke on Thursday, July 2.

Tyson Danner, Executive Director of the River Music Experience (RME) in Davenport, discusses the live-music and music-education venue's operations during this period of social distancing. We spoke on Thursday, July 2.

Months after the nation's economy crashed and millions were (and continue to be) put out of work, a large group of Illinois House Democrats is still quite upset at the way Governor JB Pritzker's administration is handling unemployment insurance-claims.

But the Pritzker administration is refusing to bend on their most important demands, saying the governor will not move selected constituents to the “front of the line” ahead of others, which created a backlash within his own party.

As a record of filmed theatre – especially considering Lin-Manuel Miranda's achievement is probably the greatest musical-theatre offering of the last 20 years – this Hamilton might have exactly zero peers.