1. “Honey Bee,” Lucinda Williams
She’s country, and she’s blues, but her awesome raspy voice is what makes it so sweet. And her new album is almost better that “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.”2. “Florida,” Mofro
This song will change you. Mofro will save your soul. Apparently they call it “front porch soul.” Regardless, since I started listening four years ago, I have never found a sound like them.
3. “The Simple,” Scratch Track
These guys came to LU three years ago, and they’re just great. It’s acoustic, it’s hip-hop, it’s funk, it’s the bomb.
4. “Addicted,” Kelly Clarkson
There is no question that if Kelly Clarkson comes on at a party, everybody will be singing, no matter how poorly. And that cracks me up every time.
5. “Jenny,” Flight of the Conchords
Are they a real band? I don’t know. Is it even a real song? I don’t know. But is it still real hilarious? Duh.
6. “Warehouse,” Dave Matthews Band
No, it didn’t actually come up on shuffle, but I could not skip my favorite song by my favorite band. The Central Park version is the best.
7. “Fajista,” Gerry Mulligan/Ben Webster
My aunt got me way into jazz a couple years ago. She gave me a “starter set” of about 15 of her favorite albums. This was on one of them. I owe her big for that.
8. “Before You Hit the Ground,” Jonny Lang
How crazy is it that this guy once had a Disney Channel concert? Around the same time as ‘N Sync! And now he’s a badass blue
guitarist. Kooky!
9. “Cuka Rocka,” Chingon
They did that song at the end of “Kill Bill: Vol. 2,” too. The album title, “Mexican Spaghetti Western,” is pretty descriptive of the style of music.
10. “Better Off,” Ashlee Simpson
Ha! Man, she is no good. But summer of my senior year of high school my buddies and I actually listened to this album a lot. Yeah, but we don’t need to talk about that anymore.