Rockford (2006)

After 33 years together, 15 studio records, and Lord knows how many slowly expanding charcoal-gray suits, '70s survivors Cheap Trick have finally gotten around to making a tribute album — to themselves. Rockford's jumbo-size power chords and upper-atmosphere choruses plunder heavily from the group's power-pop heyday, especially on songs like the Linda Perry-assisted ''Perfect Stranger'' and the dreamlike ''If It Takes a Lifetime.'' But the production is crisp and the hooks are bountiful; Cheap Trick haven't sounded this good in years.