You can stream the entire catalog for free.

“We made the absolute best record we were capable of making at the time.”

The DCist staff discusses some of their favorite local record labels—from longtime staples to exciting up-and-coming ones.

Ben Taylor grew up attending Dischord shows in D.C., and it was that post-punk atmosphere that helped influence Taylor as he formed JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound in Chicago in 2007. A soul band through and through, their infectious sound and intensely energetic live sets (with a touch of old-school theatrics) have garnered them a growing fan base hungry for something new.

Secret History profiles classic D.C. albums as a way of looking back at the District’s contributions to music over time. This entry focuses on Jawbox’s bulletproof third LP, For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Atlantic, 1994 / Dischord/DeSoto, 2009).

Good news for all those who’ve lamented the unavailability of high quality, unrestricted digital content from D.C.’s most storied independent record label. Dischord Records’ catalog has been available via the iTunes store and some other online sources for a few years now, but those recordings were most often only available at relatively low 128 kbps quality, and contained all the usual DRM restrictions. Not only that, in many of those stores a Dischord track cost…