Favorite CDs of the '90s -- NUMBER ONE!

#1. THE CONNELLS - "Ring"
(TVT, 1993)

Based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, The Connells have never had more than a cult following in the United States. This, their sixth album, should have been the one to correct that grave injustice; although it was their most popular (and its single "'74-'75" was a smash hit in Europe), its radio-ready rock recipe still fell short of giving them the mainstream recognition they were aiming for in their homeland. The Connells are most frequently compared to R.E.M. in terms of their "jangle-rock" sound, and though it's an apt comparison, I've just never managed to grow fond of Michael Stipe and company, let alone have the deep fondness for them and their music that stretches back twenty years, as I have with The Connells. Minor U.S. single "Slackjawed", the whimsically acerbic "Doin' You", sprawling ballad "Disappointed", the frantic "Hey You", the elaborate and ear-catching drumming on "Burden", and my all-time favorite Connells song, "New Boy" (with its fantastic guitar hook), all make this album well worth picking up and listening to. I vividly remember first holding this album in my hands -- my mother had been nice enough to pick it up for me at a Tower Records store when I wasn't able to go along on the 90-minute drive into the city. It was a small, boring town that we had just recently moved to, and this CD helped make the two years we lived there pass a little more quickly.

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #3 and #2

3. BACKSTREET BOYS - "Millennium"
(Jive, 1999)

There are two kinds of music listeners: those who admit this was a good album, and those who refuse to admit it. This is the album for which the Backstreet Boys will forever be remembered, and rightfully so. Not only was it a phenomenal commercial success, but also a critical one, garnering five Grammy nominations including Album of the Year, as well as Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the outstanding centerpiece single "I Want It That Way". The pop perfection is definitely not limited to the chart-topping singles, as Max Martin and the other producers and songwriters seemed to take painstaking care to make every track worth listening to over and over again ... particularly "Don't Want You Back", "Spanish Eyes", and a major favorite of mine, "It's Gotta Be You". Their glory days may be behind them now, but this is a peak they can and should always be proud of.

2. ONE 2 ONE - "Imagine It"
(A&M, 1992)

Here's the pitfall to doing a "favorites" countdown that isn't based on tangible criteria: when you love two albums so much, for different reasons, that you keep teeter-tottering them back and forth between the #1 and #2 spots, as I did in this case. Sure, you can make it a two-way tie, but that's cheating. But calling this my #1 favorite pop album of the '90s is good enough for me. How can I possibly put into words how much I love this album? I'll give it my best effort. Louise Reny's voice is as warm and comfy as your favorite sweater, and every one of the songs is a different sublime slice of pop heaven. I know every track almost note-for-note, and I'm still pissed to this day that they never made a follow-up album. And the icing on the cake: they thanked the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in the liner notes ... how can I not love this album with all my heart?

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #5 and #4

5. THE ORIGIN - "The Origin"
(Virgin, 1990)

I love this album almost as much for the way I discovered it as for its content. It was the end of the decade, and a good friend of mine from San Diego was in town for a visit. We were in a long-since-gone record shop, and I saw this title in a basket of cassettes that were priced at 50 cents each. So, for curiosity more than anything else, I bought it. The next day we took it along on a day-long drive through the countryside, popped it into the tape deck ... and it was like the album was made just for that occasion. My friend and I loved each and every one of these breezy, folk-tinged rock-pop tunes as they played, and we just let the tape replay over and over again for the whole drive, never getting tired of it. Shortly after he went home a few days later, he succeeded in finding two copies of it on CD -- one for him and one for me. It's been in our list of favorites ever since.

4. OWSLEY - "Owsley"
(Giant, 1999)

Power-pop doesn't get much better than this. Will Owsley, a regular member of Amy Grant's touring band, and busy session musician with a variety of artists (he can be heard most recently on the Jonas Brothers' latest album), struck out on his own in a big way with this self-titled batch of lively tunes, brimming with hummable melodies, packed with clever lyrics, and dressed with plenty of crunchy guitars. The music lover can identify with "Oh No The Radio", sincere sentimentality abounds on "Good Old Days", a mysterious and spooky time is had on "Zavelow House", and quirky paranoia is the order of the day on "The Sky Is Falling". Those are the fantastic songs; the rest of them are only excellent. This is yet another example of a superb album that everyone should know, instead going unnoticed and failing to catapult the artist into stardom the way they should have been.

My Top 15 Favorite Albums of 2009!

Well, folks, I have some bad news: my podcast appears to have died a sudden and tragic death, in the form of my Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio software not wanting to save my recordings anymore. Maybe it's for the better -- for some weird reason, I had started growing apprehensive before doing podcasts recently (one reason that you hadn't been seeing them every month or two for most of the last year); even though I had really been enjoying doing them before then, they had inexplicably turned from a "labor of love" to just plain "laborious". I don't know ... maybe I'll investigate trying to fix the software at some point in the future (usually re-installing it fixes most problems), but I'm just not interested in going through that crap right now. So for this year, at the risk of overloading you with countdowns and lists, I hope a written version of my Favorite Albums of 2009 will do ... and I'll even throw in an extra five for your trouble.

#15 ~ ADAM LAMBERT ~ "For Your Entertainment" (RCA)
Perhaps the ballsiest "American Idol" finalist in the history of the competition, he didn't disappoint with this entertaining album of electro-rock ear-candy ... I just wish I could be as complimentary about the cover art.

#14 ~ WES CARR ~ "The Way The World Looks" (Sony/Australia)
The latest winner of the Aussie "Idol" competition has put out one of the most intriguing and eclectic albums I've ever heard from an "Idol" alum. This totally delightful rock-pop debut is all the evidence one needs to see why he won the competition.

#13 ~ NEWTON FAULKNER ~ "Rebuilt By Humans" (RCA/UK)
The sophomore album by the acoustic folk-rocker is just as good as his first, with enchanting and entertaining songs like "Badman", "Over And Out" and "If This Is It". But will it see a U.S. release, like his debut? It sure deserves one.

#12 ~ BLAKE LEWIS ~ "Heartbreak On Vinyl" (Tommy Boy)
Here's the upside of losing an "Idol" show: you're usually released sooner from your major-label contract, as well as from the artistic restrictions that come with it. The result in Mr. Lewis' case: a delicious pop-tronica album like this!

#11 ~ MIKA ~ "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" (Universal Republic)
No sophomore slump here ... the UK popster's second album is just as chock-full of the technicolor pop goodness that poured forth from his promising debut, but with just a little bit of growth. Can't wait for album number three!

#10 ~ BILLY CRAWFORD ~ "Groove" (Universal/Phillippines)

The fifth album from the Filipino-American R&B singer is a set of delightful renditions of '70s and '80s pop, soul, and R&B tunes, including two Michael Jackson songs. By unfortunate coincidence, this album was released just a couple of weeks before MJ's death in June, but the two songs became what I thought was a fitting tribute to the King of Pop. The whole album is a fun listen for me, as I got to re-discover songs from my music-listening childhood that I had nearly forgotten about. Listen to: "Human Nature"

#9 ~ JONAS BROTHERS ~ "Lines, Vines & Trying Times" (Hollywood)
I didn't have very high expectations for this album, since I'd grown bored with their last two and traded them in. But soon after the first blast of horns in the opening track, I realized that this was an artistic leap forward for the boys, and I'm still enjoying it to this day. If there's any doubt that the Jo Bros, or at the very least Nick Jonas, have a long future in music ahead of them, this album should firmly cast such doubt away. I hope they carry this songwriting maturation forward, and that their audience follows them. Listen to: "Don't Speak"

#8 ~ JAMIE CULLUM ~ "The Pursuit" (Decca/UK)
I'd been waiting for this guy's next album for four years. There's something about the uniqueness of his voice that I totally love, and he's got a style all his own that similar artists like Michael Bublé simply can't touch. This, his third album, is just as wonderful a blend of classic standards ("Just One of Those Things", "Not While I'm Around") and piping-hot originals ("Mixtape", "You And Me Are Gone") as his previous ... oh, and his cover of Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music" cannot be missed! Listen to: "I'm All Over It"

#7 ~ BETTER THAN EZRA ~ "Paper Empire" (Better Than Ezra)
This is another artist whose latest album I'd been anticipating for a few years, and again, an artist with an ear-grabbing voice which, in this case, brings back fond memories of picking up their debut album some 15 years ago and listening to it for hours on end. These guys have had their ups and downs over the years, as far as the quality of their albums goes, but this is definitely one of the ups ... and it makes me proud to have been a casual follower of theirs for all these years. Listen to: "Hell No!"

#6 ~ THE SCRIPT ~ "The Script" (RCA)
As I've mentioned before, I might never have checked these guys out if it hadn't been for the intriguing fact that they rose out of the ashes of a (really sucky) boyband from the beginning of the decade ... but then it turns out I probably wouldn't have been able to avoid the cyber-buzz about them anyway. I'm glad I gave these guys a chance, 'cause they sure do the rock thing infinitely better than they did boyband pop. I'll be quite interested to check out their second album! Listen to: "Fall For Anything"

#5 ~ BASIA ~ "It's That Girl Again" (Koch)
Of all the artists on this list, Basia is the one of whom I've been a fan for the longest. It's too bad we had to wait a decade and a half for her next studio album of Latin-inflected jazz-vocal pop, but it turns out it was well worth the wait. After all this time, she's still got the same magic in her voice that enchanted me when I first heard it twenty years ago. Just take a listen, and you'll be under her spell too. Listen to: "A Gift"


#4 ~ BEN LEE ~ "The Rebirth of Venus" (New West)
As I said in my 2007 countdown, this guy is all but guaranteed a slot in my top five every year that he puts out an album. I'm just a bit surprised he didn't rank higher this year than he does. This is his seventh album, and this time he's embraced his feminine side by dedicating it to the goddess of love and beauty, and to the fairer sex in general. I know Ben Lee may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I can't imagine what my music listening would be like if he weren't mine. Listen to: "Blue Denim"

#3 ~ TYRONE WELLS ~ "Remain" (Universal Republic)
This one seemed to come out of nowhere and win me over in a big way, 'cause I just didn't expect it to end up this high on my list this year. It's his second major-label album, and though he's the son of a preacher man and some of his songs have vaguely spiritual undertones, I don't seem to mind all that much (surprisingly, given my general dislike of spiritual music) ... mostly 'cause each and every one of the songs are just so darn good. Listen to: "Along The Way"


#2 ~ SAM & RUBY ~ "The Here And The Now" (Rykodisc)
Here's another album that sneaked up on me and ended up becoming far more of a favorite than I ever expected. (Don't you just love it when an album hits you from out-of-the-blue like that?) Sam & Ruby are a male-female duo that have mostly a folk vibe to their music, though it'd be foolish to pigeonhole them so quickly. It's all the more surprising that I love them so much, given my general ambivalence toward folk. I still just can't get over how wonderful their voices sound individually, let alone together. Listen to: "Won't Let You Go"

#1 ~ TINTED WINDOWS ~ "Tinted Windows" (S-Curve)
The beauty of this album is that it doesn't try to be anything more than what it is: a totally scrumptious slice of power-pop goodness. And considering the bands that the members of this supergroup come from -- Fountains of Wayne, Cheap Trick, Smashing Pumpkins and Hanson -- it's no wonder it's so much fun to listen to. It's probably a darn good thing that I didn't find out about this album months before its release, 'cause I would have been chomping at the bit for it all that time. I'm glad to hear that Hanson are working on a new album right now ... but I sure hope that this isn't all we hear from Tinted Windows! Listen to: "Messing With My Head"

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Favorite Albums of 2009 countdown, despite it being in written form instead of podcast. Maybe next year I'll have the technical difficulties figured out and it'll be back in podcast form. I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season, and that you continue to enjoy my decade countdowns. Happy 2010!

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #10 to #6

10. TAL BACHMAN - "Tal Bachman"
(Columbia, 1999)

Everything about this album -- the excellent assortment of radio-ready tunes including the great single "She's So High" (one of the biggest hits of the decade) ... his appealing, lightly husky vocals ... the perfectly scruffy production by hitmaker Bob Rock -- should have made it a huge hit and started Tal Bachman off on a long and successful recording career with Columbia. But instead he disappeared just as quickly, only to quietly put out an independent album five years later. I guess I'll never know why that happens with some of the best artists ... but it does make this one jewel of an album all the more special.

9. BOUNCE THE OCEAN - "Bounce The Ocean"
(Private, 1991)

Hawk Bjorn and John Utter made magic when nobody was looking, and this fluffy white cloud of an album has tragically disappeared into obscurity. The synthesized instrumentation and occasionally (but only after the fact) trite lyrics smack of the early '90s, but they're more than made up for by how the guys managed to distill everything good about pop music into this neat little package. I know nearly every song by heart, and this album brings back nothing but fond memories, making the dull life I was living at the time quite a bit brighter. Why else would I still proudly hang onto it for 18 years and counting?

8. WILSON PHILLIPS - "Wilson Phillips"
(SBK, 1990)

Given that their parents include '60s vocal-harmony royalty -- members of The Beach Boys and The Mamas & The Papas -- then it shouldn't surprise anyone that this trio of ladies would sound pretty when they sing. But that's a massive understatement ... the indescribable harmonic bliss that results when Wilson Phillips sing together is nothing short of breathtaking. As good as the songs are, it's highly doubtful that this album would have hit the heights that it did (three of its singles hit #1 on the charts and two others reached well into the top 20) without these soaring voices to carry it there. Who can blame Harold and Kumar for singing along?

7. THE MOFFATTS - "Chapter I: A New Beginning"
(Capitol, 1998)

As soon as they hit their teens, Canadian brothers The Moffatts abandoned their "kiddie-country" singing, picked up instruments of their own, and broke out into pop-rock territory ... almost suspiciously soon after Hanson hit the scene. This album and "Middle of Nowhere" cover mostly the same territory, but I've always thought this one was the stronger of the two, with the lads showing impressive songwriting skills and grown-up rock stylings right out of the gate. Unfortunately, despite cross-pollination of their songs to movie soundtracks, The Moffatts failed to make the splash in the States that they'd hoped.

6. ELEVEN - "Awake In a Dream"
(Morgan Creek, 1991)

If there's such a thing as "hard-roots-funk-rock", Eleven (Alain Johannes, Jack Irons, and the late Natasha Shneider) are masters at it. They didn't really get into the "hard" part until later, but this debut album is packed from end to end with rollicking drum beats, thick and fuzzy guitars, and two of the most unique voices in rock. This is another one of those albums that I know almost by heart. They've only released five albums over the past 18 years (frequent production work kept Johannes and Shneider busy in between), which only means that each of their albums was relished all the more when it was finally released.

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #15 to #11

15. "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION" VOLUME 2: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS - soundtrack
(GNP Crescendo, 1991)

There's pretty-much never been a better episode of any "Star Trek" series, nor has there been a better score for one. Bombastic action cues that a TV screen could barely contain, the eerie electronic chorus that went a long way toward making the Borg as scary as they were, and of course the majestic main title theme by Alexander Courage and Jerry Goldsmith. Too bad that these great scores of his eventually made Ron Jones lose his job ... it figures, doesn't it?

14. ESPEN LIND - "Red"
(Universal/Norway, 1997)

One of the first items that "Bop Boys!" made me buy -- and that made me fall in love with Norwegian singer/songwriters -- was this second (but in some respects the first) album by the award-winning singer/songwriter/producer. It may have spawned the international hit single "When Susannah Cries", but the great tunes hardly stop there: "Lucky For You", "All I Want Is An Angel", "American Love" ... heck, I never skip a single track on this album whenever I listen to it.

13. BARENAKED LADIES - "Born On a Pirate Ship"
(Reprise, 1996)

This has gotta be my favorite BNL album ever. When I look over the track listing and am reminded of how eclectic the song stylings are -- the quasi-bluegrass of "Straw Hat And Old Dirty Hank", the inspired inclusion of Native American tribal rhythms on "Spider In My Room", the flat-out stunning ballad "Break Your Heart", the stompy rock of "The Old Apartment" -- I say forget "Stunt" ... this is the album that should have made BNL international superstars.

12. "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC - "Off The Deep End"
(Scotti Bros., 1992)

Bookended by the parody "Smells Like Nirvana" (his biggest hit in years) and his popular original "You Don't Love Me Anymore", Al's seventh outing has a lot to like in between, as "The White Stuff" (an ode to the filling in Oreo cookies) almost subliminally suggests. Sure, the Milli Vanilli and New Kids On The Block parodies date it considerably, but only from a pop-culture standpoint. A big favorite of mine, "When I Was Your Age", is timeless.

11. HANSON - "Middle Of Nowhere"
(Mercury, 1997)

Laugh, cringe, or throw up if you will at the thought of "MMMBop", but if you took the time to look beyond its (arguably undeserved) radio ubiquity, you could see an album full of musical talent that belied their cherub-cheeked youth. The pop-funk of "Speechless", the wistful bounce of "Madeline", the blues-rocker "Look At You", and the heart-wrenching ballad "Yearbook" were proof enough that these boys were planning on settling in for a long career in music.

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #20 to #16

20. JOHN WILLIAMS - "Greatest Hits 1969-1999"
(Sony, 1999)

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- John Williams was the king of movie scores for the second half of the 20th Century. If you don't believe me, just look at the track listing on this phenomenal two-disc collection: "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", "E.T.", "Jaws", "Close Encounters", "Superman", "Jurassic Park", "Home Alone" ... if it didn't have John Williams' name on it, one could easily confuse it for a general best-of movie music compilation.

19. "INTERNATIONAL MUSIC: SONY MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD" - compilation
(Sony, 1999)

This is a natural progression of sorts from "Bop Boys!", though I didn't happen upon it until a number of years later. Rather than the traditional ethnic folk rhythms of faraway lands, this is my kind of "world music": contemporary, radio-groomed pop and rock tunes from every corner of the globe, from superstars like Shakira and Ricky Martin to the best-kept secrets of smaller nations. If you like Top-40 fare with an international flavor, don't pass this one up!

18. COLIN HAY - "Transcendental Highway"
(Lazy Eye, 1998)

Until I picked up this unassuming little album one day (purely on a whim, I might add), my appreciation for Colin Hay was limited to his '80s days as frontman for Men At Work. Oh, how short-sighted I was! Needless to say, this disc opened me up to a whole different side of the master singer-songwriter, and has made me (so far) a lifelong fan -- not to mention that it contains what's probably my favorite Colin Hay song ever, "Don't Believe You Anymore".

17. BEN LEE - "Breathing Tornados"
(Capitol, 1999)

This was the album that introduced me to a guy who'd turn out to be one of my absolute favorite artists. A real change-up (I would later find out) from his previous, primarily acoustic works, this album's tracks were full of samples, loops and other programming tricks, and made for a very unique listen -- probably too unique for a major label to know what to do with him. I'm just really glad that I gave him a fair chance ... and that there were some independent labels willing to do the same.

16. DURAN DURAN - "Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)"
(Capitol, 1993)

In the first of what would be two (and counting...?) comebacks for the seminal '80s pop-rockers, Duran Duran had an unexpected smash hit on their hands, and deservedly so. Crowned by the supremely gorgeous singles "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" (perhaps the two best songs that the band have ever written), this is the album that made Duran Duran relevant again, after nearly fading into the footnotes of pop culture at the end of the '80s.

Have a Creepy, Freaky Christmas

Before I go any further, this is all my friend Mark's fault. He brought this "Fred Figglehorn" character to my attention last week (probably making me the last person owning an internet-enabled computer to have heard of him), so I went to see what all the fuss is about. And I don't know what it is about him -- I should find it really annoying and stupid, but I don't ... instead, I think it's totally adorable! If you haven't seen it yet, here's what I'm talking about:



And you know, he's got a point: all those silly tales we're told as kids about Christmas now sound bizarre and creepy to us as adults. Hey, what would you do if you were told that a fat old guy in a red suit entered your house in the middle of the night through the chimney, left packages under your Christmas tree, and expected milk and cookies in return? And all those vintage Christmas specials on TV conjure disturbing images of talking snowmen, elves, and reindeer.

If you like Fred enough (and who wouldn't?), you can find his stuff on iTunes and Amazon. But anyway, I've been going on longer than I should. Besides, if you're anything like me, you probably find plenty of things that are disturbing enough about the holiday season without adding the above mentioned stuff to the list, right? Okay, now we can get back to my '90s countdown. Happy Holidays!!

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #25 to #21

25. "SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT" - soundtrack
(Atlantic, 1999)

Like a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical written by George Carlin and Frank Zappa, the "South Park" movie was a tour-de-force that -- regardless of how low-tech the animation was -- simply needed to be shown on the big screen. The award-winning songs from the film (occupying the infinitely better first half of the album), featuring music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Trey Parker, were every bit as memorable if not more so ... irrepressibly melodic, scathingly witty, and unbelievably hilarious.

24. VOICE FARM - "Bigger, Cooler, Weirder"
(Morgan Creek, 1991)

Almost like a hybrid of Devo, They Might Be Giants, and Savage Garden, the duo known as Voice Farm (Myke Reilly and Charly Brown) are apparently still together, producing quirky, avant-garde synth-pop that must be heard to be appreciated. This now out-of-print album, on the short-lived semi-major Morgan Creek label, was tuneful, memorable, and quite ahead of its time in many respects. Good thing that it's also the most easily obtainable of their recordings.

23. HENRY MANCINI - "The Cop Show Themes"
(BMG/Spain, 1999)

A sentimental favorite if ever there was one, my brother and I literally wore out this LP (originally released in 1976) of themes from shows like "Baretta", "SWAT", and "The Rockford Files", we listened to it so much when we were kids. So you can just imagine my ecstatic delight when I unexpectedly stumbled upon a CD release of it several years ago! Oh, and here's a fun fact: buried in the list of backing musicians for this recording is a young guitarist named Lee Ritenour.

22. KAVANA - "Instinct"
(Virgin/UK, 1998)

From the moment I heard Kavana's lusciously smooth voice (see #39 in this countdown), I couldn't get enough of it. This, his second helping of upbeat pop and seductive blue-eyed-soul jams, is my favorite of his albums ... the songs themselves are good enough, but sung by his voice they're taken to a whole different level. It's a terrible shame that we only got a precious two albums and a smattering of B-sides to enjoy from him before he disappeared.

21. ANNIE LENNOX - "Diva"
(Arista, 1992)

This is such an undeniably classic pop album that it really doesn't need any introduction. The simple fact that "Walking On Broken Glass" is probably one of my top 12 favorite songs of all time, and that "Why" is just as amazing a song, should have landed this album in the top 20 of this list, but alas it got edged out. I'm just baffled as to why it hasn't gotten the expanded-and-remastered-two-disc-deluxe-edition treatment by now.

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #30 to #26

30. TANGERINE DREAM - "Lily On The Beach"
(Private, 1989)

I'd imagine that it's the last album they'd care to be remembered for, since it bears no traces of the expansive electronic soundscapes that are their trademark. But I personally adore this digestible assortment of instrumental nuggets, my favorites being the funky opener "Too Hot For My Chinchilla" (gotta love the title!) and the gorgeous solo piano number "Twenty-Nine Palms", which just might be my absolute favorite (non-soundtrack) instrumental of all time.

29. GIL - "Here I Am"
(BMG/Germany, 1998)

Thanks to the record labels' crafty cross-promotion stunt between him and The Moffatts, it didn't take long for me to fall under the near-saccharine spell of German pop singer Gil Ofarim. The candy coating of "Round 'n' Round" and "Bang Bang Bang" are so thick that it's almost enough to repel me anymore, but it's evened out by more mature fare like "For Heaven's Sake", "I Need You", and "Never Giving Up Now" -- the English-as-a-second-language idiosyncrasies notwithstanding.

28. CHESNEY HAWKES - "The One And Only"
(Chrysalis, 1991)

The title track is a one-hit wonder if ever there was one (at least as far as the United States is concerned), but there were several other songs on this album that were just as worthy of success. And, like quite a few of the CDs on this list, just hearing the first track or two sends me on a nostalgia trip for the rest of the album. "I'm a Man Not a Boy", "Feel So Alive", "Nothing Serious", "One World" ... nope, not really any clunkers on here at all.

27. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - "Rufus Wainwright"
(Dreamworks, 1998)

As difficult as it is to describe Rufus Wainwright's music, it's even more difficult to explain why I like it. He's not my favorite artist, and chamber-pop (not that he totally sticks to it) is far from my favorite genre, yet I continue to buy his CDs ... maybe just so I can hear what sounds he might come up with next? His first album might not be his best, but it was certainly unlike anything else out there at the time ... totally captivating, endlessly inventive, and forever ageless.

26. "QUANTUM LEAP" - soundtrack
(GNP Crescendo, 1993)

Not only do the vocal contributions by series star Scott Bakula range from Broadway to hair metal, but the instrumental scores take us everywhere from heartland America to a vampire's lair. The unquestionable highlight (besides arguably the best TV theme that Mike Post has ever composed) is the feature-film-caliber orchestral suite from the episode "Lee Harvey Oswald". Just as adventurous to listen to as Dr. Sam Beckett's time-hopping odyssey was to watch.

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #35 to #31

35. BOYZONE - "A Different Beat"
(Polygram/Ireland, 1996)

Boyzone were a few years ahead of the boyband craze that swept the world at the end of the decade, and while nearly all young male singing groups before and after have sung about nothing but love (looking for it, falling in it, or getting hurt by it), this Irish group's sophomore album explored more philosophical ground, such as embracing our differences ("Melting Pot"), trying to get along with each other ("A Different Beat"), and just figuring out what life in general means ("Isn't It a Wonder"). Definitely a breath of fresh air in boyband pop.

34. METALLICA - "S&M"
(Elektra, 1999)

"They think it was my idea; I think it was theirs!" wrote composer/conductor Michael Kamen in the liner notes. But whoever it was that thought to combine the furious thrash of Metallica with the sweeping grandeur of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the end product -- two bombastic worlds of music that couldn't be more different, being ingenously woven together and continuously building on the power they seem to draw from one another -- is nothing less than a force of nature.

33. DEADEYE DICK - "A Different Story"
(Ichiban, 1994)

They may be a one-hit wonder for their popular single "New Age Girl", but I found plenty more to like on their debut album ... "Perfect Family", "Marguerite", "Sentimental Crap", and seven other tracks percolating with ridiculously catchy melodies and wonderfully witty lyrics. I am honestly at a total loss as to why this album wasn't a huge hit, but at least I have it, plus one other album from them, that I'm happy to say I've enjoyed listening to for many years.

32. BETTER THAN EZRA - "Deluxe"
(Elektra, 1995)

This alt-rock band from Louisiana sprang onto the scene with their smash-hit single "Good", and are still together. Propelled by Kevin Griffin's hearty vocals, this album is packed with great songs -- the upbeat "Rosealia", "Cry In The Sun", the exquisite ballad "Porcelain", and the briskly gliding closer "Coyote". Most of their subsequent albums have had a hard time stacking up to this one, but I've been a listener of theirs ever since.

31. THE RIPPINGTONS - "The Best of the Rippingtons"
(GRP, 1997)

In my opinion their glory days are gone, but for over ten years Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons put out some of the absolute best instrumental songs that I've ever heard before or since. I've tried to find another contemporary-jazz group that I like as much as these guys, but keep coming up disappointed. I had such a hard time deciding which album of theirs I liked more, that I just threw up my hands and put in this compilation. A cop-out maybe, but you can't go wrong with the hits.

Favorite CDs of the '90s -- #40 to #36

40. DIDO - "No Angel"
(Arista, 1999)

Like most people probably did, I discovered Dido when her song "Here With Me" gained prominence in its use as the theme for the fantastic TV series "Roswell" ... and then I discovered a whole album full of dreamy, ethereal pop songs, all graced with her captivatingly beautiful voice. "Don't Think Of Me" and the (thankfully) Eminem-less original version of "Thank You'" are just two of the other highlights on this stellar debut album.

39. "BOP BOYS!" - compilation
(Interhit, 1998)

As I explained a while ago in a full-sized post, this is the album that essentially opened up my ears to the world of international pop music ... and I haven't been able to shut those wonderful sounds out since (not that I'd ever want to try). Boyzone, 911, Peter Andre, and of course two of my bigger favorites, Kavana and Espen Lind, are just some of the artists I've discovered thanks to this one CD, and the ongoing import-pop hunt that it inspired.

38. BARENAKED LADIES - "Gordon"
(Reprise, 1991)

I don't remember just what TV show it was on which I first heard Barenaked Ladies performing, but I do remember that the song I heard was "If I Had $1000000", and I remember that it made me march right out and buy this debut album of theirs. It took another three albums for the rest of America to discover their charms, but "What a Good Boy", "Grade 9", "King of Bedside Manor", and "New Kid (On The Block)" won me over immediately.

37. OCTOBER PROJECT - "October Project"
(Epic, 1993)

Fitting in somewhere between the new-age serenity of Enya and the techno-tinged trippiness of Enigma, October Project put out hauntingly beautiful melodies in tidy pop packages -- almost like arias written for Top-40 radio. Mary Fahl's soaring voice could barely contain these songs which, in a more perfect world, would have launched this group on a successful, decades-long career, rather than cutting it short after just one more album.

36. SCOTT GRIMES - "Scott Grimes"
(A&M, 1989)

A few years into his acting career, a 17-year-old Scott Grimes got the chance to record an album under producer Richard Carpenter, and as far as singing actors go, the results are pretty good. Being from the synthesized-instrument-happy turn of the decade, it can't help but sound dated and a bit cheesy, but the songs were nice, and so was his voice. We may have had to wait sixteen years for his next album, but it was worth the wait; both he and his music matured nicely.