Dr. L's "Top 10+" Lists

Quick Access to lists:
[Top 10+ Tracks | Top 10+ Beatles Tracks | Top 10+ Albums |
Top 10+ Vocalists (Male)] | Top 10+ Vocalists (Female) | Top 10+ Songs with a Message
Top 10+ Unique Tracks | Top 10+ Albums You May Not Have Heard | Top 10+ Tim Minchin Tracks
The Mother of ALL Lists: Dr. L's "List of Music that Made Me ... well ... Me!"]

[still in-progress: Top 10+ List of Hit Single Perfection
... but here for you to check out "in development"]

A Set of Living Documents ... Never Finished, Always Changing!!
Lists Last Updated: April 25, 2026

Introduction

As a continuation of the "Get to Know Your Prof!" assignment, I provide this set of "Top 10+" lists, revealing my personal, musical preferences developed over my lifetime (I was born in August 1959). In my general education music courses (Music 151: Rock History to 1980 & Music 351: The Beatles), I require all students enrolled to submit a Top 10 list of their favorite rock songs (Music 151) or favorite Beatles songs (Music 351). Over the course of the semester, students submit the list three times: initial (about 1 month into class), revised (near the middle of the semester), & final (at the very end of the semester). When I consider a group of songs in order of preference, those preferences change almost every time I look at the list, so I expect to see some changes from beginning to end of the semester. I will confess that I am also hopeful the music that students listen to in my classes challenges them at times and introduces them to music they would not otherwise have heard. So you will know when the lists were last updated, I include -- near the top of the page -- the date when this page was last updated, saved, and uploaded to this website.

The purpose of this set of Top 10+ lists is to model for students the process of representing their musical preferences in hierarchical order, providing an opportunity for me to "model" that behavior. While the assignments in my classes involve creating a "Top 10" list (a list of 10 songs in order of preference, most-liked to least-liked among the limited set), you will find that the lists below are labeled "10+," allowing me to extend the lists beyond a mere 10 songs. You can consider the songs listed after #10 as "honorable mention" tracks, which are also listed in order of preference. I hope you enjoy perusing these lists ... it was a lot of fun to create them. I'm going to maintain and update them as time goes on.

 

When creating the lists below, I relied solely on my musical preferences. I did not consider what tracks others might have selected or how they would arrange them into a hierarchical order of preference. I was not out to impress anyone with these lists ... they simply represent my musical preferences (at least the last time I had a chance to consider them!) as honestly and transparently as I can present them.

Assembling these lists provided an opportunity for me to get to know myself better. As you will likely pick up, I really enjoy a great variety in my musical listening. While this holds true across the many genres of music I listen to, it is also true within tracks ... I tend to prefer music that contains a lot of changes and even surprises, and those surprises can be a creative turn in the lyrics for an unexpected musical sound or chord change. I just love it when something "tickles my ear." This is where understanding musical elements like meter, beat subdivision, texture, form, and other musical vocabulary you may be learning come in very handy as a means of allowing you to accurately and reliablly communicate with others about your musical preferences. Oh, another thing I learned ... in addition to variety, changes, and surprises, a bit of humor goes a long way to enhance my enjoyment. Some of the artists I enjoy most use language that some consider offensive ... including me, at times. I present here uncensored versions of their art buth with appropriate warning, as marked by the Parental Advisory Stickers!

I hope you enjoy this journey through my musical mind!
parental advisory stickerDr. Scott D. Lipscombparental advisory sticker
Professor, School of Music and Dance, San Diego State University
author, Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development
(Pearson Education, 2020, 8th ed.)

 

Top 10+ Tracks [on Spotify]
  1. A Day in the Life, Beatles
  2. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
  3. Kid Charlemagne, Steely Dan [near tie: Deacon Blues]
  4. Come Together, Beatles
  5. God Only Knows, Beach Boys
  6. Starship Trooper, Yes [near tie: Close to the Edge]
  7. Imagine, John Lennon
  8. Yesterday, Beatles
  9. Tom Sawyer, Rush
  10. David Bowie, Changes [near tie: Saffragette City]
  11. Spinning Wheel, Blood, Sweat & Tears [near tie: 25 or 6 to 4, Chicago]
  12. Under My Wheels, Alice Cooper [near tie: School's Out]
  13. Iron Man, Black Sabbath [near tie: Paranoid]
  14. The Decline, NoFX [almost 20 minutes long, but worth every second ... fasten your seatbelts!!]
  15. Biggest Part of Me, Ambrosia [near tie: You're the Only Woman]
  16. The Luckiest, Ben Folds [near tie: Rockin' the Suburbs]
  17. Scene 4: Beyond This Life, Dream Theater
  18. American Idiot, Green Day [near tie: Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams]
  19. Reapers, Music [near tie: Uprising]
  20. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression, Part 2), Emerson, Lake & Palmer
  21. Feel Like Making Love, Bad Company
  22. Alison, Elvis Costello [near tie: Everyday I Write the Book]
  23. Chocolate Cake, Crowded House
  24. Play That Funky Music White Boy, Wild Cherry [near tie: Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker), Parliament Funkadelics]
  25. East River, Brecker Brothers [near tie: Some Skunk Funk]
  26. Paranoid Android, Radiohead
  27. Ballroom Blitz, The Sweet [near tie: Fox on the Run]
  28. One Bad Habit, Michael Franks [near tie: All Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go]
  29. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
  30. Burning Down the House, Talking Heads [near tie: Once in a Lifetime]
  31. My Generation, The Who
  32. White America, Eminem [near tie: Without Me]
  33. Sweet Child o' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses
  34. He's My Best Friend, Jellyfish
  35. Let It Roll, Little Feat
  36. Desperado, the Eagles [near tie: You Are So Beautiful, Joe Cocker]
  37. Rehab, Amy Winehouse
  38. Lady, Little River Band
  39. It's Oh So Quiet, Björk
  40. Black/White, Mr. Mister [near tie: Kyrie]
  41. Ice Cakes, Dixie Dregs [near tie: Cruise Control]

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Top 10+ Beatles Tracks [on Spotify]
  1. A Day in the Life
  2. Come Together
  3. Strawberry Fields Forever
  4. Something
  5. You Won't See Me
  6. Imagine [solo John Lennon]
  7. Penny Lane
  8. Paperback Writer
  9. Rain
  10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  11. Get Back
  12. Hey Jude
  13. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
  14. Nowhere Man
  15. The Long and Winding Road (despite Phil Spector's schmaltzy "Wall of Sound" production!)
  16. Help!
  17. Let It Be
  18. I Want to Hold Your Hand
  19. The Fool on the Hill
  20. I'm So Tired
  21. Got to Get You Into My Life
  22. Here, There, and Everywhere
  23. Revolution (single version)
  24. Lady Madonna
  25. A Hard Day's Night
  26. I'm Only Sleeping
  27. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Medley [Wings (Paul McCartney)]
  28. I've Got a Feeling
  29. Ticket to Ride
  30. Here Comes the Sun
  31. I Saw Her Standing There
  32. Helter Skelter
  33. Two of Us
  34. Back in the U.S.S.R.
  35. Oh! Darling
  36. From Me to You
  37. Can't Buy Me Love
  38. She Loves You
  39. When I'm Sixty-Four
  40. Julia
  41. Her Majesty
  42. Sexy Sadie (working title: "Maharishi")
  43. Savoy Truffle

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Top 10+ Albums [on Spotify]
  1. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
  2. Aja, Steely Dan
  3. Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars, David Bowie
  4. Abbey Road, Beatles
  5. A Night at the Opera, Queen [near tie: Sheer Heart Attack]
  6. Purple Rain, Prince [near tie: 1999]
  7. Jaco Pastorus, Jaco Pastorius
    • remember, I'm a bass player; this album rocked my world & opened my eyes to new possibilities for the instrument (e.g., speed, dexterity, and harmonics)!! Before Jaco, I didn't know I could do that!! :)
  8. Spilt Milk, Jellyfish
  9. Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra, Tim Minchin
    • an even better performance — if you can find it! — the video recorded at Royal Albert Hall, where he performed to two sold-out houses during the weekend of the Royal Wedding (Will & Kate)
  10. Metropolis, Part 2, Dream Theater
  11. Netherlands, Dan Fogelberg
  12. Drones, Muse [near tie: The Resistance]
  13. Overnight Sensation, Frank Zappa
  14. Rockin’ the Suburbs, Ben Folds
  15. Nilsson Schmilsson, Harry Nilsson
  16. The Stranger, Billy Joel
  17. Toto IV, Toto [near tie: Toto [debut album]]
  18. The Nightfly, Donald Fagen (vocalist, Steely Dan)
  19. Armed Forces, Elvis Costello
  20. Ten Summoners Tales, Sting
  21. 2112, Rush
  22. Dream Into Action, Howard Jones
  23. Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe), the Alan Parsons Project
  24. Desolation Boulevard, The Sweet
  25. Are You Experienced?, Jimi Hendrix
  26. Boston, Boston (debut)
  27. The End of the Innocence, Don Henley

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Top 10+ Vocalists (Male) [on Spotify]

(formerly, "Singers I Wish I Could Sound Like")
  1. Steve Walsh (keyboards): Carry On Wayward Son, Kansas
  2. Marty Balin: Jane, Jefferson Starship
  3. David Pack (bass): Biggest Part of Me, Ambrosia
  4. Bobby Kimball: Hold the Line, Toto
  5. Tommy Shaw (guitar): Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man), Styx
  6. Timothy Schmit (guitar): I Can't Tell You Why, Eagles
  7. Brad Delp: More Than a Feeling, Boston
  8. Dan Fogelberg (multi-instrumentalist): To the Morning
  9. Prince (multi-instrumentalist): Darling Nikki [near tie: Let's Go Crazy]
  10. Geddy Lee (bass): Tom Sawyer, Rush
  11. Wayne Nelson (bass): The Night Owls, Little River Band
  12. Steve Perry: Faithfully, Journey
  13. Daryl Hall: One on One, Hall & Oates
  14. Donald Fagen (keyboards): Kid Charlamagne, Steely Dan
  15. Stevie Wonder (multi-instrumentalist): All in Love is Fair
  16. Gino Vanelli: I Just Wanna Stop 
  17. Richard Page (bass): Broken Wings, Mr. Mister
  18. Ian Gillan (vocalist, Deep Purple): Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say), from Jesus Christ Superstar, especially the screams (2:25)
  19. Mark Farmer (guitar): Feelin' Alright, Grand Funk Railroad
  20. Billy Joel (keyboards): Only the Good Die Young [near tie: New York State of Mind]
  21. Peter Cetera (bass): If You Leave Me Now [near tie: Just You and Me]
  22. Kenny Loggins: Now and Then
  23. Paul Rodgers: All Right Now, Free (also lead vocalist for Bad Company)
  24. Don Henley (drums): The End of the Innocence, Eagles
  25. Andy Sturmer: Joining a Fan Club, Jellyfish
  26. Elvin Bishop (guitar): Fooled Around and Fell in Love
  27. Harry Nilsson: Without You
  28. Michael Franks: One Bad Habit
  29. Michael McDonald (keyboards), Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)

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Top 10+ Vocalists (Female) [on Spotify]
  1. Nancy Wilson, Straight On (Heart) [near tie: Magic Man]
  2. Tina Turner, What's Love Got to Do With It? [near tie: Proud Mary]
  3. Mariah Carey, Vision of Love ... her high "whistletones" (2:45) are amazing!
  4. Pat Benatar, Heartbreaker
  5. Patti LaBelle, Lady Marmalade (LaBelle); one of the best "hooks" ever ... and in French!!
  6. Joni Mitchell (guitar), Dry Cleaner from Des Moines (that's Jaco on bass!) [near tie: Twisted]
  7. Aretha Franklin, Respect
  8. Whitney Houston, I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) [near tie: Greatest Love of All]
  9. Grace Slick, Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane) [near tie: White Rabbit]
  10. Alanis Morissette, You Oughta Know [near tie: Ironic]
  11. Janis Joplin, Piece of My Heart [near tie: Summertime]
  12. Amy Winehouse, You Know I'm No Good
  13. Kiki Dee, I've Got the Music in Me
  14. Sinead O'Connor, Nothing Compares 2 U
  15. Bjork, Army of Me
  16. Stevie Nicks, Edge of Seventeen (also vocalist for Fleetwood Mac) [near tie: Landslide]
  17. Linda Ronstadt, You're No Good
  18. Natalie Maines, Not Ready to Make Nice (The Chicks; formerly, Dixie Chicks)
  19. Madonna, Like a Prayer
  20. Olivia Newton-John, I Honestly Love You 
  21. Courtney Love, Celebrity Skin (Hole)
  22. Chrissie Hynde, Middle of the Road (The Pretenders)
  23. Dolly Parton, 9 to 5
  24. Dale Bozzio: Noticable One, Missing Persons
  25. Joan Jett, I Love Rock & Roll

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Top 10+ Songs With a Message [on Spotify]
  1. Imagine, John Lennon [topic: anti-war, anti-religion] [near tie: Give Peace a Chance]
  2. War, Edwin Starr [topic: anti-war]
  3. Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday [topic: racism]; perhaps the most disturbing use of "fruit" as a metaphor in the history of literature!
  4. American Idiot, Green Day [topic: politics & media]
  5. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan [topic: inequality/racism]
  6. Mississippi Goddam, Nina Simone [topic: inequality/racism]
  7. Fight the Power, Public Enemy [topic: political powe & inequality/racism]
  8. Freedom, Beyonce (feat. Kendrick Lamar) [topic: political power/inequality][near tie: Formation]
  9. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield [topic: anti-war protest]
  10. Ohio, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young [topic: National Guard killing four students at Kent State University; May 4, 1970]
  11. Self-Evident, Ani DiFranco [topic: 9/11 as an excuse to go to war]
  12. Body Count, Body Count (feat. Ice-T) [topic: police violence, racism, & social inequality]
  13. One Tin Soldier (Theme Song for The Legend of Billy Jack), Coven [topic: anti-violence & political protest]
  14. Masters of War, Bob Dylan [topic: anti-war]
  15. The Message,  Grand Master Flash & the Furious Five (feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee) [topic: inequality]
  16. A Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke [topic: racism/inequality]
  17. American Skin (41 Shots), Bruce Springsteen [topic: anti-violence & inequality]
  18. Fuck tha Police, N.W.A. (topic: police violence)
  19. The Blacker Berry, Kendrick Lamar [topic: racial violence & inequality]
  20. This Land is Your Land, Woody Guthrie [topic: national pride]
  21. What's Going On?, Marvin Gaye [topic: racism/inequality]
  22. Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2 [topic: anti-violence & media; 1972 massacre of protestors in Derry (northern Ireland)] [near tie: Pride (In the Name of Love) [topic: non-violence & equality (in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.]]
  23. Black & White, Three Dog Night [topic: racial harmony & equality; though released in 1972, inspired by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools]
  24. Thank You God, Tim Minchin [topic: religion]
  25. We Shall Overcome, Pete Seeger [topic: civil rights & equality]
  26. A Church is Burning, Simon & Garfunkel [topic: racial violence & media][near tie: 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night]
  27. I Ain't Marching Anymore, Phil Ochs [topic: anti-war]
  28. Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin [near tie: When I Was a Child, Loggins & Messina][topic: parents & their children growing up]
  29. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival [topic: anti-war & social/racial inequality]
  30. Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine [topic: police brutality, systemic racism, & abuse of power]
  31. Biko, Peter Gabriel [topic: police violence; honors anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who was killed in police custody in 1977 in South Africa]
  32. Clampdown, the Clash [topic: suppression of youthful idealism, individuality, and rebellion by a conformist capitalist system, fascism, and monotonous work][near tie: Washington Bullets]
  33. Birmingham Sunday, Joan Baez [topic: racial violence; a protest song about the September 15, 1963, 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, when the KKK killed four young African-American girls, naming them explicitly in the lyrics: Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley]
  34. God Save the Queen, Sex Pistols [topic: a satirical, anti-authoritarian punk anthem attacking the British monarchy and social stagnation; release of this track was timely, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee]

    35. Global Voices on America (more recent recordings):
  35. This is America, Childish Gambino [topic: U.S. gun violence, systemic racism, and the entertainment industry's role in distracting from these issues]
  36. El Apagon, Bad Bunny [topic: government corruption, gentrification, & frequent power outages; an anthem celebrating local culture in Puerto Rico]
  37. This is Not America, Residente [topic: cultural identity; challenges the U.S.-centric definition of "America"]

    Using the "protest song" format for tongue-in-cheek, humorous presentations:
  38. Almost Cut My Hair, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young [topic: defiance against societal conformity and police harassment]
  39. M.T.A., the Kingston Trio [topic: protests a 5-cent fare increase that forced Boston passengers to pay to exit the train!!]
  40. Rockin' the Suburbs, Ben Folds [topic: tongue-in-cheek "protest" about the challenges of "being male, middle class, and white"]

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Top 10+ Unique Tracks [on Spotify]
  1. Revolution 9, Beatles
  2. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
  3. Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
  4. Good Vibrations, Beach Boys [near tie: Heroes and Villains]
  5. The Trial (from The Wall), Pink Floyd
  6. The Decline, NoFX
    • if you believed that punk and musical virtuosity were mutually exclusive, this track provides compelling evidence to the contrary!
  7. God Shuffled His Feet, Crash Test Dummies [near tie: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm]
  8. White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplay, based on the "Bolero rhythm" [added Ravel's "Bolero" as the next track in this playlist, so you can hear that rhythm]
  9. They're Coming to Take Me Away, Napoleon XIV
  10. Witch Doctor, David Seville & the Chipmunks [near tie: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)]
  11. Symphony for the Devil/Sympathy for the Devil, Blood, Sweat & Tears
  12. Help, I'm a Rock/It Can't Happen Here, Frank Zappa
  13.  Stephen Hawking Sings ... Galaxy Song, Monty Python  
  14. It's the End of the World As We Know It, R.E.M.
  15. You're Breaking My Heart, Harry Nilsson
    • I'd Rather Be Dead ... for this one you gotta check out the video
  16. O Superman, Laurie Anderson
  17. Killer, Alice Cooper
  18. Word Crimes, "Weird Al" Yankovic
    • like many comedians, I consider Weird Al quite brilliant [Beware: if you listen carefully, you may learn something from this track!]
  19. Yellow Submarine, Beatles
  20. It's Oh So Quiet, Björk [near tie: Cvalda from the soundtrack for Dancer in the Dark (I love the way this track grows out of the industrial sounds [drills & other mechanicals], which then serve as the rhythmic foundation for Bjork's vocal excursions)]
  21. A Quick One, While He's Away, the Who
  22. F Sharp, Tim Minchin
  23. One Tin Soldier, Coven
  24. Principles of Lust: Sadeness / Find Love / Sadeness (reprise), Enigma
  25. BOOM BAP, Doechii
  26. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow, Frank Zappa [near tie: The Central Scrutinizer]
  27. Jesus of Suburbia, Green Day
  28. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Medley, Paul McCartney & Wings
  29. The Magician's Birthday, Uriah Heep (check out the kazoo virtuosity; beginning @ 1:35)
  30. We Didn't Start the Fire, Billy Joel; a history lesson in song form, decade by decade  [near tie: Scandanavian Skies]
  31. If You Wanna Boogie, Brecker Brothers
  32. Tall Trees, Crowded House
  33. Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads
  34. Dreadlock Holiday, 10cc
  35. Veronica, Elvis Costello [topic: cognitive decline]
  36. Now Do You Wannta Dance, Graham Central Station [near tie: Happ-E-2C-U-A-Ginn]
  37. Rap God, Eminem [rap flow speed; 4:25]
  38. Opera Singer, Cake [near tie: Comfort Eagle]
  39. Mother, the Police
  40. The Fish Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag, Country Joe & the Fish
  41. Vegetables, Beach Boys (sounds of munching vegetables!)
  42. Pilentze Pee, Bulgarian State Television Female Choir
  43. River Why, Manu Chao
  44. Flies, Cheekface

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Top 10+ Albums You May Not Have Heard ... But Definitely Worth a Listen! [on Spotify]
Before I get started with my list in this category, there are two albums that I want to recommend highly ... but I also want to acknowledge a potential "conflict of interest." ;) Those two albums are:
  • Mr. Green, Volume 1, Carney
  • Good as New, Aiden Moore

My son, Aiden Moore, was bassist for Carney (Interscope recording artists), and the 2nd album above is one of his solo recordings. The Carney album remains one of my all-time favorites, and it is not because my son is playing on the album. I consider it a truly phenomenal album ... very creative songwriting, superb musicianship (even virtuosic at times), and the production is excellent. I also really love Good as New, which is in a lighter, folk-influenced style. I hope you'll listen to both of these albums and let me know what you think about them. 

Each member of Carney is incredibly talented. In a way, their success caused the eventual demise of the band. Out of hundreds who auditioned, director Julie Taymor and Bono & the Edge (of U2), who composed the music for the show, selected Reeve Carney (lead vocalist & songwriter) for the role of Peter Parker in the Broadway production of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. After Spider-Man, Reeve went on to star in the Broadway productions of Hadestown and The Great Gatsby. Zane Carney (guitar) went on to perform as John Mayer's lead guitarist and proved to be amazingly entrepreneurial during the COVID period. Aiden Moore (bass) performed at various gigs with Jonny Lang and toured as bassist with the Broadway production of Hamilton for about six years. Jon Epcar (drums) has been releasing his own music and traveling the world to perform it.

Now, on to my list of 10+ ... without any potential family bias. ;)

  1. Spilt Milk, Jellyfish
  2. Metropolis, Part 2, Dream Theater
  3. Sheer Heart Attack, Queen
  4. Desolation Boulevard, The Sweet
  5. Rockin' the Suburbs, Ben Folds
  6. Nilsson Schmilsson, Harry Nilsson
  7. Woodface, Crowded House
  8. Comfort Eagle, Cake
  9. Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Rick Wakeman
  10. Over-Night Sensation, Frank Zappa
  11. Boston, Boston
  12. Inside Outside, The Tubes
  13. God Shuffled His Feet, Crash Test Dummies
  14. Welcome to the Real World, Mr. Mister
  15. Spring Session M, Missing Persons
  16. Mandatory Fun, "Weird Al" Yankovic
  17. Last of the Runaways, Giant
  18. Eye to Eye, Eye to Eye
  19. MCMXC a.D., Enigma

    even with my broad definition of "rock," this one doesn't fit, but the sounds of this recording really "tickled my ears" ... enjoy!
  20. Les Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, Bulgarian State Television Female Choir

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Top 10+ Tim Minchin Tracks [on Spotify]

parental advisory stickerparental advisory stickerWhy Tim Minchin? That's a reasonable question. During a sabbatical from my position at the University of Minnesota (January 2011), my family & I were living in New York City. My wife stumbled upon Tim Minchin's musical performance on a Showtime special ... it was a one-and-a-half-hour version of his two-and-a-half-hour concert at the Royal Albert Hall (2010), which you can rent or buy via YouTube. To this day, it remains one of my all-time favorite musical performances ever, and he performed for two sold-out nights at the Royal Albert Hall during the Royal Wedding (Will & Kate). I identified Tim Minchin as my "musical discovery" for 2011 ... wondering why I hadn't heard of him earlier. I consider his comedy performances the pinnacle of his success. In my opinion, he is not only a highly creative, gifted creative talent, he is also a truly phenomenal performer, composer, and comedian. [Side note: I consider comedians among the most highly intelligent communicators in our culture.] Tim brings together his musical brilliance (not a word I use often) with what I consider to be hilariously comedic narratives between the songs. Many of his lyrics are either outright hilarious or cause you to think ... a LOT! He then went on to portray Judas in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "arena tour" of Jesus Christ Superstar (DVD released 2012); as you may be aware, that story is told through the eyes of Judas. Then, he went on to create the music and lyrics for Broadway musicals: Matilda (2011) and Groundhog Day (2017).parental advisory stickerparental advisory sticker

I hope you enjoy the songs below. Like any decent comedian these days, I guarantee that just about everyone will be offended by at least something he says, sings, or does. I encourage you to take it as a challenge ... and think!!
  1. F Sharp
  2. Storm
  3. If I Didn't Have You (an "interesting" approach to a love song)
  4. Thank You God
  5. White Wine in the Sun
  6. Prejudice
  7. School Song [from Matilda]
    • listen carefully and you will hear the alphabet integrated into the lyrics (warning: in Australia & Britain, the letter "z" is represented as "zed")
  8. Cont
    • YOU MUST COMMIT!! ... if you begin this song, you HAVE TO commit to finishing the track. [Otherwise, in Tim's words, he "might be misconstrued."]
  9. Lullaby
  10. The Song for Phil Daoust [a warning: should you dare write a bad review of Tim's performance! Kinda the song ALL artists would have liked to composed in such a circumstance!]
  11. If This Plane Goes Down
  12. Mitsubishi Colt
  13. Not Perfect [a pretty awesome life philosophy, if you ask me ...]
  14. I'm in a Cage/Rock n Roll Nerd [the opening of his Royal Albert Hall show (2010)]
  15. Leaving L.A.
  16. Talked Too Much, Stayed Too Long
  17. You Grew On Me 

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If you're interested in exploring the foundational music that contributed to making me the person me who I am, beyond the "Top 10" lists provided here, I have been compiling a Spotify playlist for several years now, containing hundreds of tracks! If you're interested in checking out this collection -- not yet exhaustive, as I keep adding things! -- you can play it on Spotify. I sometimes load this list and listen in "shuffle" mode. :)

Now, on to my lists ...

 


In-Progress Lists Below ... not quite yet "Ready for PrimeTime"

 

Top 10+ List of Hit Single Perfection [on Spotify]
  1. Come and Get It, Badfinger (composed & arranged by Paul McCartney)
  2. Imagine, John Lennon
  3. Hip to Be Square, Huey Lewis & the News
  4. I've Got the Music in Me, Kiki Dee
  5. Yesterday, Beatles
  6.  

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