Red Wanting Blue

Song: "Where You Wanna Go"
Artist: Red Wanting Blue
Album: These Magnificent Miles

This band has been touring without the support of a record label for over a decade, and their new album is their best work yet. Great guys, great music, go buy it.

TNT

Song: "Forever Shine On"
Artist: TNT
Album: Intuition

I absolutely played the crap out of this cassette I had in the late '80's! No joke. I don't know what happened to these guys, but this remains one of my favorite hair band albums of all-time, and sadly, one you have probably never heard of. Go find this stuff, it's awesome, especially the guitar work.

Driven To Tears

Song: "Driven To Tears"
Artist: The Police
Album: Zenyatta Mondatta

This is one of my favorite Police songs of all-time. This band really has some great songs in their catalog. It really would be cool if they decided to release something new before hanging it up again.

Angel on My Bike

Song: "Angel on My Bike"
Artist: The Wallflowers
Album: Bringing Down the Horse

Jakob Dylan's band came out of the gates with some good rock songs and some boring pop anthems ("One Headlight") at the same time. But edgy stuff like this was really good, and Dylan seems to have mellowed like his dad and forgotten about this edgy part of his catalog.

Milwaukees

Song: "Save Me"
Artist: The Milwaukees
Album: American Anthems Vol. 1

This album title is appropriate because this band sounds like Springsteen and Tom Petty and all things American. Good ol' American rock.

Everything

Song: "Everything"
Artist: Jody Watley
Album: Best of Jody Watley

This is one of many cheesy pop songs I have in my collection. It's really just good, timeless pop.

This Is It

Song: "This Is It"
Artist: Ryan Adams
Album: Rock N Roll

Ryan Adams just keeps making great music, and this rock album he did a few years ago may be one of the most underrated rock albums of the last decade. Go check it out if you haven't heard it, whether you're a fan or not.

The Insiders

Song: "Scarlet Ribbons"
Artist: The Insiders
Album: Not For Sale

One of the best songs from one of the best bands you probably never heard of. They are not together anymore, but you can still find their music, and when you do, tell them I sent you.

Red Skies

Song: "Red Skies"
Artist: The Fixx
Album: 25th Anniversary Anthology

It is truly mind blowing to think that bands like The Fixx are celebrating 25 or 30 years. When did the decades become like years?

Ten Years Gone

Song: "Ten Years Gone"
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album: Latter Days, Best of Led Zeppelin

This is one of those bands whose music was hard to find digitally until recently, but if you're lucky enough to own a collection like this one as I do, you have had these songs in your play list for a while. I grew up worshipping this band and still love their music today.

Prefab Sprout

Song: "The Golden Calf"
Artist: Prefab Sprout
Album: ?

I don't have an album listed on my iTunes, but I believe this was from a Greatest Hits collection of Prefab Sprout that came out about 5 years ago. I have always loved the song "Appetite" and didn't know of this track until I heard the greatest hits set....and I absolutely love this one. It's in my Top 25 most played.

Raining

Song: "Raining in Baltimore"
Artist: Counting Crows
Album: August and Everything After

This first album of Counting Crows is not only one of my faves of theirs, it's one of my favorites of all-time. It's supposed to rain all day here in Nashville, so this song is the perfect backdrop.

Taking Me Back

Song: "Strange Way"
Artist: Firefall
Album: Rhino Hi-Five Firefall EP

This song takes me back to around 1978, when it came out. I still love this song, and had the great pleasure of representing this band about a year ago for their Beatles tribute album.

Redmond

Song: "Shoulder Of The Road"
Artist: Redmond
Album: Measure of One

My band played some shows with these guys when they were playing the Philly circuit and we were playing the Cleveland circuit. Great guys and very talented, though I'm not sure the band is still making music.

Adult Education

Song: "Adult Education"
Artist: Hall & Oates
Album: Hall & Oates: Greatest Hits

Hall & Oates did a great job of re-inventing themselves...in the '70's, their stuff was pop, but bordering on folk. Then in the '80's, they turned to more bombastic pop/rock like this, and it worked beautifully.

Eric Darius

Song: "Steppin' Up"
Artist: Eric Darius
Album: Just Getting Started

I have a fair amount of smooth jazz in my iTunes, and this is from Eric Darius, a young sax player who literally is "just getting started." Great stuff.

Rock Brigade

Song: "Rock Brigade"
Artist: Def Leppard
Album: On Through The Night

This was the first song on the first album by Def Leppard, and for my money, it's their best. Not that they haven't had huge hits since then and are still rocking after almost 30 years, but this song is raw and awesome.

The Outfield

Song: "Taking My Chances"
Artist: The Outfield
Album: Play Deep

When in Green Bay this past weekend, I heard this band on the radio more than once. That's a sure sign that radio has completely gone the direction of catering to middle age folks like me. Whatever, I love this album!

Wings

Song: "My Love"
Artist: Wings
Album: Wings Over America

If you ever needed proof that Paul McCartney could succeed post-Beatles, this album was it. Really, this music stands up to any Beatles stuff that was ever released. And it's timeless.

Jesse Harris

Song: "You and Me"
Artist: Jesse Harris
Album: Feel

This was the guy who co-wrote the first few big Norah Jones hits....and his solo stuff is not the kind of music that instantly grabs you, but when it does, you won't want to stop listening.

Pearl Jam

Song: "Better Man"
Artist: Pearl Jam
Album: Vitalogy

Okay, so I know there are some Pearl Jam fans who are obsessed with the band. I'm not obsessed, but have an appreciation for grunge and the original sound they bring to the table. And really, Pearl Jam is one of the bands that defined '90's rock.

Warm Ways

Song: "Warm Ways"
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Album: Fleetwood Mac

Before Rumours, Fleetwood Mac put out this self-titled effort that in my mind is even better than their breakout album. This Christine McVie track is one of the prettiest songs in pop music, period.

Missing Joe

Song: "Constellations"
Artist: Missing Joe
Album: Breaking Down the Constellations

I saw these guys open for Nine Days around the year 2000 or 2001 and they were amazing. The band went on to record another album after this and then broke up, re-formed as The Brightwings, and then broke up again. But they are still making music individually. And if you can find this stuff, do it.....it's great pop/rock...modern edged with a classic pop throwback feel.