Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle

If you know Linda Ronstadt's version of "Heart Like a Wheel," you are duty-bound to seek out the source. These Canadian sister songwriters' original version--the highlight of their self-titled debut--has a fragile elegance that, over the course of three minutes, will break, mend, and break your heart again. But the pain in McGarrigle's quiet songs--piano, banjo, and guitar provide much of the accompaniment--is always sweet. Their double and triple harmonies are the sound of dreams. And their lyrical sensibility is as timeless and effortless as that of a Carter Family song. --Roy Kasten