Best of Vol 1

Music to drive by again - this time, I lit upon the idea of doing a collection of the best song from each artist I typically listen to. So I did, with a few caveats:

1. If the artist only had a few songs ripped, I typically skipped them. I also skipped a few people with tunes where none stood out (Clannad, for instance). I simply missed Lesiem - oops.
2. If I tried to include a song from every single musical I like to listen to, the collection would be nothing but. So I allowed myself three musicals and a separate "slot" for Andrew Lloyd Webber.
3. This is the fourth list I came up with an idea for, so a few of the favorites were already "taken." I grabbed songs that were close runners-up in those cases.

I dropped this list into my player, alphabetized by artist - and discovered it was a pretty good mix. It was already partway to ripping when I realized that it had alphabetized by first name. Oh well.

So, with no further ado:

1. MUSICALS (#1) 1776: But Mr. Adams
Comments: Ludicrously awesome lyrics and rhyme sequences. "I won't put politics on paper, it's a mania: so I refuse to use the pen in Pennsylvania." The inimitable Brent Spiner singing in this version.
2. AMY GRANT: Oh, How The Years Go By
3. (ANNA) SAHLENE: House
Comments: What can you say about one song so infectious it started a five year hunt ending in purchasing an import CD off a foreign site - not even in English? (The music is, ironically.) Let's quote the song: "Don't want your money, just your soul."
4. ANNE MURRAY: Wintery Feeling
Comments: Murray is pretty mainstream country - and pretty famous - but I bet most people have never even heard this song. I love it. It's very softly quirky.
5. ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER: Tell Me On A Sunday
Comments: Another place where I go for the obscurity. This song is bittersweet perfection. I cannot listen to it without tearing up. (And yes, I know Andrew should be before the Anns. This one I had to alphabetize manually and my brain seized up.)
6. BLACKMORE'S NIGHT: Writing on the Wall
7. CELINE DION: Us
8. CHANTAL KREVIAZUK: Miss April
Comments: I plead guilty to actually basing a character's storyline in a roleplaying game off this song, albiet loosely. The char in question already happened to be named Gretchen April before I encountered it. It was a trifle eerie, honestly, because it fit SO well with the character's emotional pitch ...
9. CHER: Dove l'Amore
10. CHERIE: Betcha Never
11. MUSICALS (#2) CHICAGO: Cell Block Tango
Comments: I had someone who I used to work with a lot in roleplaying games tell me that this song immediately reminded them of me. I chose to take that as a compliment.
12. DIAN DIAZ: Pot of Gold
13. DIDO: White Flag
Comments: Yes, again, NOT Here With Me. Hunter is a close runner-up.
14. ENYA: Book of Days
15. GLORIA ESTEFAN: You Can't Walk Away From Love
Comments: My favorite is really Wrapped, which you'll see later. But on the strength of this one, solitary song, I bought an entire CD - Vol 2 of Greatest Hits - and I simply adore it.
16. HAYLEY WESTENRA: Dark Waltz
17. HEATHER NOVA: Walk This World
Comments: Nova almost didn't make the list at all, but this song is fantastic.
18. HELEN REDDY: I'd Rather Be Alone
Comments: When I was a new teenager and going through the sort of identity angst we humans do at that time, this song was my anthem. I still feel it holds more true than not. Listening to it is still like opening up a vein. (And yes, again I know this is a very obscure song by a high-profile artist.)

The other half is on the next volume.