Fiona Apple: When the Pawn...  Other than the fact that Fiona Apple is an emaciated 22-year-old and I am, well, not, I think we were separated at birth, or are at least sharing a brain. These songs hit WAY too close to home, but in a good way. Misery loves company, you know. (go back to the list)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes   I'm probably missing something (psychosis, perhaps?), but this is the only Tori Amos album on which the lyrics actually make some sense to me. I'm nonetheless awestruck by her talent, and her unfettered ability to be just as wacky as she wants to be. (go back to the list)

Badfinger: Straight Up   Back in Seattle, I listened to this on the bus ride home from work nearly every day. That was such a happy, carefree and creative time in my life. Too bad the band members weren't so content, nearly all of them killed themselves. What a waste. (go back to the list)

The Beatles: The White Album   I used to be crazy-obsessed with the Beatles, even by my own standards of obsession, and picking a favorite Beatles album would be like picking a favorite breath for me -- they're all good. But I always preferred this one because there's something for everyone on it, and because "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is my favorite Beatles track ever. (go back to the list)

Ben Folds Five: Whatever and Ever Amen   I heard a snippet of "The Battle of Who Could Care Less" about 2 months before this album came out and knew I just had to have it. I wasn't disappointed. "Brick" gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. The rest of the album is just as transcendent, and I'm thrilled the public picked up on it. (go back to the list)

Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts: Lonely Avenue   I discovered this band when I lived in Bellingham, Washington, and if you're not from Bellingham or Canada you will probably be clueless. They're kind of like a Canadian Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. By now my cassette is nearly worn out and I'd die for a CD to replace it, just so I can somehow work "Dark Night/Dark Road" onto yet another mix tape. (go back to the list)

Big Head Todd and the Monsters: Sister Sweetly   This seemed to be a bigger hit in Des Moines than elsewhere. The odds of something like that happening again are probably a billion to one. If you missed it, you missed out. (go back to the list)

Edie Brickell and New Bohemians: Ghost of a Dog  Forget "What I Am", THIS is the best of Edie Brickell. This album just makes me happy. Even the dippier songs are dippy in a good way. (go back to the list)

Jeff Buckley: Grace   The fact that Jeff Buckley accidentally drowned at 28 seems like a crime against humanity. This album is so gorgeous it could make a grown man weep. (go back to the list)

Mary-Chapin Carpenter: Come On Come On   If I've gotta listen to country, I go for something like this, or Lyle Lovett. Best concert I ever saw was Lyle Lovett in Davenport, Iowa. Don't know why he's not on this list, I'll have to do some soul-searching on that one. (go back to the list)

Coldplay: Parachutes   I don't know what it is about this album. There is nothing new about sappy Brits crooning about unrequited love under a wash of guitars. When I first heard "Trouble", I thought it was Dave Matthews, and "Shiver" reminds me of Jeff Buckley. This is not a bad thing...actually it's a very good thing. This disc is like a valentine for my ears. (go back to the list)

Elvis Costello and The Attractions: My Aim Is True  Elvis Costello is the REAL King, in my opinion. He's a personal songwriting hero, and this is my favorite of his albums, and NOT because it contains "Allison" (please, how cliche!). (go back to the list)

The Eagles: Hotel California   Sometime after the Beatles obsession came the Don Henley obsession...this has "New Kid In Town" (a personal theme song), and it's just a classic all-around. (go back to the list)

Electric Light Orchestra: A New World Record   Beatlemania is an addiction. Once you're afflicted, you just can't get enough. Pretty soon you're freebasing Monkees records and panhandling for a little Badfinger. ELO makes for a good fix, Beatlemaniac or not. (go back to the list)

Garbage: Garbage and Version 2.0   These people make great records with even better lyrics, and any band that can generate three of my personal theme songs is OK with me. (go back to the list)

Rickie Lee Jones: Rickie Lee Jones   When I moved back to Des Moines in '91, I discovered a radio station (I think it was KFMG) that kept me from running screaming away. They were a welcome break from the Top-40/Classic Rock/Country offerings and they played cool stuff like "Last Chance Texaco" from this album. Man, I loved that radio station, which has since vanished. I still judge potential suitors by their fond remembrance of that station...not necessarily accurately, but I do it nonetheless. (go back to the list)

Daniel Lanois: For the Beauty of Wynnona   Back in the KFMG glory days, I discovered all kinds of wonderful artists, and Daniel Lanois was one of them. He produced U2's The Joshua Tree, and this has that same kind of ambient soundscape. Plus he's French, which is tres cool. (go back to the list)

Led Zeppelin: IV and In Through the Out Door  My favorite Led Zep songs are actually Dancing Days and Since I've Been Loving You, but neither associated album makes the grade for me, while these two are just chock full of Zeppy goodness. IV is such a trite selection, but so what, it's great! And now that I think about it, When The Levee Breaks is really my favorite Zep tune anyway.(go back to the list)

Shelby Lynne: I Am Shelby Lynne  This is a newer edition to my list. When I was staying at the Hotel Diva in San Francisco, there was a sampler CD in the room. "Your Lies" from this album and "Charm Attack" by Leona Naess were on it. Back in Des Moines, I bought the respective albums and bring a little piece of my latest vacation home every time I listen to them. It's good stuff, Maynard. (go back to the list)

Paul McCartney/Wings: Band on the Run and Tug of War  I'm supposed to be a complex intellectual type, so it's pretty damn embarrassing that my favorite Beatle is the "cute" one, whose lyrics are often downright insipid. These offerings are a cut above, though. Look, people, I'm not made of stone, ok? Even I need a bit ear and eye candy from time to time! (go back to the list)

Marvelous 3: Hey! Album  On the surface, this is just another throwaway pop album from one of the ubiquitous modern "number" bands, but I'm a sucker for hook-laden songs with cuttingly clever lyrics. Listen to this after you've been jacked over by your latest flame, and you'll feel simultaneously vindicated and cheered. (go back to the list)

Dave Matthews Band: Crash  I almost didn't include this one because it reminds me of my most recent failed romance, but someday my heart will mend, and this will still be a keeper. Meanwhile I'll ponder Dave's apparent fetish for words like "Crash", "Crush" and "Much". (go back to the list)

Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark   Can't have Fiona and Tori and Mary and all the rest without Joni. (go back to the list)

Leona Naess: Comatised  I know it's wrong to say this, but there's something so irritating about people who are really attractive, advantaged, and super-talented to boot. It just doesn't seem fair. Leona Naess is one of those people. But this album goes down easy, real easy -- in fact I listen to it when I'm already irritated and want to feel serene. So I guess I can forgive Leona for her lucky lot in life, it's not like she can help it anyway. (go back to the list)

Graham Parker: The Mona Lisa's Sister   My dad turned me onto this one. No way did I expect to see it floating in my then-boyfriend's CD collection. I really should stop choosing lovers based on their taste in music, but it's like a religious preference with me. (go back to the list)

Poe: Haunted   "Haunted" is a good title for this one, as it's rather bewitching. I haven't been able to get the little "pa-da ba ba" refrain out of my head since I picked this one up. I love the whole concept behind it, it's like intimate X-Files pop. (go back to the list)

The Police: Synchronicity   I listened to this practically non-stop at the beginning of 8th grade. An indisputable classic. (go back to the list)

Posies: Dear 23   These guys are from Bellingham, Washington, although I never heard of them until I moved away. This is a beautiful suite of songs about bitterness and recrimination spun in a cotton candy of pop harmonies. I love the irony. (go back to the list)

Suzanne Rhatigan: To Hell With Love  This chick should have been a huge hit just from the title track alone. She has this great sexy voice to match these great sexy songs. I also think she'd make a great duet with... (go back to the list)

Robbie Robertson: Robbie Robertson   The voice on this man is so damn hot, he could read the obituaries and I'd swoon. You would never guess this guy was ever a member of The Band, and if you've never heard of The Band, you need to get yourself some musical education, my friend! This is another Daniel Lanois production so it has that same wide-open-spaces feel to it. (go back to the list)

Sting: Ten Summoner's Tales   Sting's a man who endures, and his music's pretty good too. Fellas, impress the ladies: take up tantric yoga and listen to this disc. (go back to the list)

Matthew Sweet: Girlfriend   I always associate this one with strep throat and the former love of my life. It was playing in the car while we were on a date the evening I fell ill. Later I fell for said former LOML partly because of the way he adoringly tended to me even while I looked like I'd been hit by a Mack Truck and was completely wacked out on codeine-laced cough syrup. So except for the being sick part, it's a pretty good association. (go back to the list)

Toy Matinee: Toy Matinee  Another KFMG discovery that unfortunately went straight to the record store bargain bins. Then again, I didn't have to pay full price for the cassette I wore down to bits or the CD I found in a second-hand store, so I guess there was some good to the failed fate of this great, fun album. (go back to the list)

The Truth About Cats and Dogs: Soundtrack   Despite the fact that I suspect I am in immediate danger of turning into Janeane Garofolo (not that that's a bad thing, although I don't how she might feel about it), I have to say the soundtrack is better than the movie. It's full of smooth groovy love songs that don't suck. (go back to the list)

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