Yeah well last night and into the wee hours of this morning I wasn't able to sleep and instead went through my music collection and compiled a list of about 20 25 albums I feel defined my year as a whole. A few were actually released this year and others are from years past, but still played a crucial role in keeping me relatively sane in this whirlwind of a year.

So here's the list in no particular order:

1. Never Cry Another Tear (Bad Lieutenant)
Three Key Songs: Sink or Swim, Summer Days, and This is Home

2. A Book Like This (Angus & Julia Stone)
Three Key Songs: The Beast, Wasted, and Just A Boy

3. Cradlesong (Rob Thomas)
Three Key Songs: Someday, Getting Late, and Mockingbird

4. Overcome by Happiness (Pernice Brothers)
Three Key Songs: Overcome by Happiness, Wait to Stop, and Clear Spot

5. Taller Children (Elizabeth & The Catapult)
Three Key Songs: Taller Children, Everybody Knows, and Momma's Boy

6. Red, Yellow, Blue (Born Ruffians)
Three Key Songs: Hummingbird, Foxes Mate For Life, and Little Garcon

7. Time to Die (the dodos)
Three Key Songs: Fables, Acorn Factory, and Troll Nacht

8. Only Way To Be
Three Key Songs: Just Another Day, That's What's Wrong, and No Time

9. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Phoenix)
Three Key Songs: Lisztomania, Rome, and Lasso

10. Be Set Free (Langhorne Slim)
Three Key Songs: Cinderella, Blown Your Mind, and Sunday By The Sea

11. Bang Bang (Sara Shiralli)
Three Key Songs: Don't Miss What You Never Had, Incomplete, and Roll the Dice

12. A Word in Edgewise (Greg Holden)
Three Key Songs: The Chase, Choking On The Concrete, and I Ask You This

13. Creaturesque (Throw Me the Statue)
Three Key Songs: Cannibal Rays, Waving at the Shore, and Dizzy From The Fall

14. If You Need a Reason EP (Mason Jennings)
Three Key Songs: The Field, To You, and Sacred Place

15. Far (Regina Spektor)
Three Key Songs: Dance Anthem Of The 80's, The Calculation, and Folding Chair

16. Grrr... (Bishop Allen)
Three Key Songs: Oklahoma, Cue The Elephants, and Dimmer

17. We Started Nothing (The Ting Tings)
Three Key Songs: Keep Your Head, Be The One, and Fruit Machine

18. The Very Best Of The Velvet Underground (The Velvet Underground)
Three Key Songs: Sunday Morning, Stephanie Says, and Sweet Jane

19. Save The Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits (The Turtles)
Three Key Songs: Makin' My Mind Up, Can I Get to Know You Better and Outside Chance

20. Day and Age (The Killers)
Three Key Songs: Spaceman, Losing Touch, and This Is Your Life

21. Rumours (Fleetwood Mac)
Three Key Songs: I Don't Want To Know, Go Your Own Way, and Dreams

22. Odessey and Oracle (The Zombies)
Three Key Songs: Care of Cell 44, This Will Be Our Year, and Maybe After He's Gone

23. Everybody (Ingrid Michaelson)
Three Key Songs: Everybody, Locked Up, and Maybe

24. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (Small Faces)
Three Key Songs: Lazy Sunday, Talk To You, and Itchycoo Park

25. The Very Best Of Otis Redding (Otis Redding)
Three Key Songs: Pain In My Heart, These Arms Of Mine, and The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)

and just because R&B/Soul music has made it's way back into my life for the past few months here are some bonus albums you should really checkout...

Bonus Albums:

Best of Loma Records-Rise and Fall of a 1960's Soul Label (Various Artists)
Hard to choose but three key songs: But It's Alright (J.J. Jackson), Can't Win (The Invincibles), and Stay With Me (Lorraine Ellison)

Stand! (Sly & The Family Stone)
You Can Make It If You Try, Sing A Simple Song, I Want To Take You Higher

100 Days, 100 Nights (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings)
Be Easy, Answer Me, and 100 Days, 100 Nights

At Last! (Etta James)
I Just Want To Make Love To You, All I Could Do Is Cry, and Spoonful

20 All Time Greatest Hits! (James Brown)
Think, Please, Please, Please and Try Me!


Well Happy New Year's Folk! Hopefully next year will be better than the last.

Enjoy listening and discovering new sights and sounds.