Mark Selby

Song: "If the World Was Mine"
Artist: Mark Selby
Album: Dirt

This guy is a hit songwriter in Nashville but this solo album he released is just awesome...not just the songs but his smoky, countrified-but-not-too-countrified vocal.

Day After Day

Song: "Day After Day"
Artist: Badfinger
Album: Choice Rock Cuts: Badfinger

This is one of those classic '70's melodic pop/rock songs that I never get sick of. But just what is a Badfinger, anyway?

Never Can Say Goodbye

Song: "Never Can Say Goodbye"
Artist: Jackson 5
Album: Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection

But I guess we do have to say goodbye to Michael Jackson, RIP. This was one of the first songs by his boy pop group that I loved, and later I was one of the 25 million who bought the Thriller album. Long live the king of pop.

Can't Get It Out of My Head

Song: "Can't Get it Out of My Head"
Artist: Jody Raffoul
Album: Like a Star

I grew up with 70's pop, and loved ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). Here, Canadian artist Jody Raffoul does an awesome cover of this hit song. But Raffoul can write great songs too, and there are lots of good ones on this record.

With a Little Luck

Song: "With a Little Luck"
Artist: Wings
Album: London Town

As a kid, I pretty much worshipped Paul McCartney and Elton John. I went on to worship Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but my roots in musical taste were of the melodic pop variety. So I had this album by Wings when it came out and played the crap out of it.

Eric Darius

Song: "Lover's Paradise"
Artist: Eric Darius
Album: Just Getting Started

Eric Darius is a young, extremely talented sax player, and I reviewed his album a few years back. This is great Sunday morning music.

Teach Thy Children the Classics

Song: "Let's Stay Together"
Artist: Al Green
Album: Al Green: Greatest Hits

My wife and I decided that we were getting sick of playing Sesame Street, Teletubbies, and Handy Manny stuff for our almost-two-year-old son, and so we put together two CDs of classic music that he should start learning about....one of the first tracks is this timeless beauty by Al Green....one of my favorite songs of all-time.

While You See a Chance

Song: "While You See a Chance"
Artist: Steve Winwood
Album: Arc of a Diver

This song reminds me of graduating high school, in (yikes) 1981. This song was popular on the radio at the time, and its familiar keyboard riffs and cheesy drum beats bring back memories.

Broadripple

Song: "Broadripple Is Burning"
Artist: Margot & The Nuclear So and So's
Album: Not Animal

This is a really cool band but I liked their debut album much more than the more recent one. It's brooding, melodic alt-rock at its finest.

Zero 7

Song: "Home"
Artist: Zero 7
Album: When it Falls

My brother-in-law turned me on to this trippy, lo-fi, pseudo-electronic act.....their songs are just mesmerizing...and while they have a new album coming out soon, I have lots of their earlier material in my database of songs.

Chickenfoot

Song: "Oh Yeah"
Artist: Chickenfoot
Album: Chickenfoot

What could suck about a Sammy Hagar-fronted band? Add in former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers. This one just came out, and I can't stop listening to it....great summer rock!

Four in the Morning

Song: "Four in the Morning"
Artist: Night Ranger
Album: 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection

I remember two decades ago when I had a one-hour car commute to work and would listen to cassette tapes of my favorite bands. This was one of them and one of my favorite songs from that summer.

Marvelous 3

Song: "Until You See"
Artist: Marvelous 3
Album: Hey! Album

Before the brilliant Butch Walker had a solo career and a great career as a producer and songwriter, he fronted this band Marvelous 3. This was an amazing rock band, that, had they come around 10 or 20 years earlier, would have been as big as Aerosmith...I am convinced of it.

Amanda

Song: "Amanda"
Artist: Boston
Album: Third Stage

It was 8 years between albums for Boston, but their 1986 release was pretty damn good, and while many folks would consider this single as cheesy, it was catchy as hell and still generates airplay on classic rock stations.

O Girlfriend

Song: "O Girlfriend"
Artist: Weezer
Album: Green Album

There is something about Weezer's green album that sucks you in....aside from the two singles, "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun," this album has a bunch of ultra-catchy pop tunes that may sound alike, but will suck you in nonetheless.

We Just Disagree

Song: "We Just Disagree"
Artist: Dave Mason
Album: Let It Flow

I remember when this song came out from former Traffic member Dave Mason, and the harmonies were just magical. They still are magical today, 30 or so years later. And dude is still making music today.

Way Away

Song: "Way Away"
Artist: Yellowcard
Album: Ocean Avenue

This Florida rock band does pop/rock that is absolutely blistering, the kind of music that is great for working out to, or driving really fast with the windows rolled down.

In the Summertime

Song: "In the Summertime"
Artist: Mungo Jerry
Album: Barry Williams Presents '70's Music Explosion

Yeah, this song is pretty cheesy, but dammit if it doesn't bring me back to the '70's and summers when nothing mattered but playing wiffle ball in the driveway and eating ice cream.

Let it Rain

Song: "Let It Rain"
Artist: Amanda Marshall
Album: Amanda Marshall

This Canadian artist could really wail.....does anyone know what she's up to these days? This album came out in the mid '90's and I listened to it like a million times.

Wanna Be

Song: "Wanna Be"
Artist: Nine Days
Album: The Madding Crowd

This band kind of came and went after their big hit, "Story of a Girl," from this debut album. For my money though, this is the best track on the album, and I'll go as far as to say it's one of my favorite songs ever. Slow, pulsing, and brimming with emotion, it's positively gut-wrenching and has a haunting melody.

Life in a Northern Town

Song: "Life in a Northern Town"
Artist: The Dream Academy
Album: The Dream Academy

Some songs are just soundtrack bits to our lives, and this one was one of those songs for me in the mid '80's. Listening to WLIR on Long Island, I was falling in love with all of the great "new" music that was coming from the UK and everywhere else.

Matchbox Twenty

Song: "Unwell"
Artist: Matchbox Twenty
Album: More Than You Think You Are

It's funny how critics like to bust on bands like this who write sugary pop hits while the artist laughs all the way to the bank. Matchbox has never been a cutting edge or critic's darling type band, and I am willing to bet they don't care one bit. Good for them.