In this example the goal is to select an album, the other two drop-downs are available only to support this task, and filter the amount of entries available inside the album field. This arrangement allows the user to select an album directly, without selecting instrument or artist first

It's also usually the best solution to display existing records that can be edited

Similar to the example 1, just without an "all" option. It defaults to a specific combination of records and never displays all the records at once

Handy for huge amount of records that could otherwise overwhelm the user

This is usually not the most user-friendly combination, its main benefit is that it prevents picking an album without selecting instrument and artist first. It also can handle very large amount of data pretty well

A classic case of related drop-downs. Similar to example 1, just limited to two menus

Same as example 2, just limited to two menus

Same as example 5, just with selected entries. Typically used for updating data

On a search form you prefer to keep the ability to select an empty entry on the second drop-down. This allows the option of searching by artist, without being forced to select an album too