Top 5 On Friday - Week 117

From the ladies @

Top 5 albums that you can't live without. (And tell us why you can't live without them)

1. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Blood & Chocolate



Anytime I feel angsty about something I listen to this album. It wasn't my first Elvis Costello album, that was Spike, but this is probably the one I can label my very favorite of all of them. It always makes me feel better to listen to the songs on this one. If you own one Elvis Costello CD, this one should be it. But then again, why would you only own one?

The Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager



This is another one of my most played albums. I can't find a bad song on this album. A few of the songs on this album have been inspiring to me, back in the day when I could actually write. Someday I may be that inspired again.

I just wish oldies stations would take up playing tracks from this CD. I would love to here Gemeni Dream or The Voice on the radio, but if I did, I'd probably collapse, so it's best this way.

3. The Beatles - Rubber Soul



Did you think The Beatles wouldn't make the list? And why this one? 2 words: Nowhere Man. Most of my favorite Beatles tunes are on this album. I love this disc. It's still got a bit of the innocence of the first records, while pointing to the direction that they were about to take.

4. Oingo Boingo - Dark At The End Of The Tunnel



When the going is rough, I turn to Boingo and usually it's this disc. Since I discovered the band in the early 90's, this one has been my favorite. Danny Elfman's voice is damn near perfect here. Yes, the album is a bit dark, but not so dark as to be scary and the songs are beautiful.

5. Gordon Lightfoot - Gord's Gold 2



My Gordon Lightfoot collection is hardly complete, but this disc has most of my favorites on it; The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerarld, High & Dry, Alberta Bound, & Hangdog Hotel Room.

I picked Gordon, because most of the artists I listed before were favorites of mine from ages past. Gordon is a new obsession of mine, and I find myself listening to him at least once a day if I can. (That's assuming my car CD player cooperates)