Various

As noted in its title, Dirty Water 2 is a double-CD exercise in pinning down the origins of punk rock. While many would imagine such an effort would embrace the likes of liberty-spiked goons circa 1976 to 1978, the people at Year Zero actually take their job seriously. They grab tunes from way before punk had a name, let alone a look, packing on an amazing array of talent and influences, ranging from Bo Diddley to Captain Beefheart, Dizzy Gillespie and Mott the Hoople. Not to mention formative Blondie, Woody Guthrie, Blue Cheer and a host of who-the-hell-are-they? garage bands that we might not know but can instantly tell helped shape the tastes of genre stalwarts in the scene's magic era. This 39-track affair is as informative as it is stunning, diverse and fun. One hesitates to use the word "vital" when referring to music as of late. However, in regards to this ample collection, which pulls from both high profile and underground artists that helped shape a musical movement, it's the only applicable term.