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Top CDs

Here is a list of my Top 78 CDs of all time.

Now, let me clarify that this list doesn't go beyond what I don't own or have never heard before. Therefore, because I tend to lean toward music of the current time, and because I became a fan of music in 1994, most of this list is from 1994 onward. Even though my CD collection is over about 300 right now, unfortunately most of my CDs I'm not 100% familiar with. Although I can say I listened to 99% of them all the way thru at least twice, the ones that didn't click right away after 1 or 3 or 10 listens, I gave up on. So this list contains CDs that I do know and like most of the entire thing. I will note, however, that I decided not to allow albums that I haven't owned for a year on this list. My reasoning is that if I'm still listening to a CD after a year on a somewhat regular basis, and still enjoying that CD, then chances are it will remain a favourite of mine to some extent. Anything less than a year is still under survellience and may not pass the test of time, which I set at a year.

As for my reviews of the CDs, they may be redundent and repetative and stuff. I really don't know what I'm talking about with these and like to sound like I do. I'd like to be able to give good music reviews. Aw well. These are my essentials...!


	78 Various Artists Dance Mix '94⁽¹⁹⁹⁴⁾

	This was the very first CD I ever got back in Christmas of '94 and I was so excited. I haven't listened to it in years but it was non-stop airplay for this while my CD-collection was still in the single digits. A definate classic and worthy of a position on my all-time-favourite CDs list.
	favourite tracks More & More (Captain Hollywood), Rhythm Of The Night (Corona), Show Me Love (Robin S.), Finally (CeCe Peniston)


	77 Amanda Marshall Amanda Marshall⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	Amanda Marshall's debut CD was one where it seemed she didn't really have full control over the recording, but being new to the biz that's to be expected. The album still had an incredible seven radio releases in Canada, that's 70% of the album, and each song was worth the airplay. Her followup albums didn't seem to have as lasting impact as this one did and I think Amanda's debut will remain a Canadian classic from the 90s.
	favourite tracks Beautiful Goodbye, Let It Rain, Fall From Grace, Birmingham


	76 Smart Function Simon Wilcox⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	This album was always on the backburner for me from the time I picked it up until now. I never really gave it a lot of attention after its first couple initial listens until about mid-2005 when I put it on again. It's a very nice light-pop album with a slight hint of beats, almost jazzy. Her voice is similar in style to Sarah McLachlan but the music differs. Songs like 'Kissed' rely heavily on its trip-hop beat while 'Come Over' is more of a light-pop ballad.
	favourite tracks White Suit, Kissed, Come Over, Right Ride


	75 Cranberries No Need To Argue⁽¹⁹⁹⁵⁾

	I believe this was the third CD I picked up for my personal collection. Another mid-90s classic from the Cranberries, who were at the height of their career with this album. Now, earlier compiled versions of my all-time-favourite CDs list would put this album a lot higher but now I realize that only half of the CD really appeals to me. Some of the songs, mostly in the second half of the album, never really caught on to me, but the rest of them did and I still love them. Dolores' voice was definately one of the most distinct of the 90s.
	favourite tracks Ode To My Family, Ridiculous Thoughts, Zombie, I Can't Be With You


	74 Gwen Stefani Love Angel Music Baby⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	Gwen's solo effort from No Doubt really gave her career a boost but one would have to wonder what it will do for her credibility in the long run. 'LAMB' as an album is definately catchy. You can't deny that. But it's certainly not up to par with some past No Doubt material. She explores a lot of the urban, hip-hop, and pop side of music with the record and it's good but sometimes I have to tell myself that it's all in good fun. So then I realize that the CD is a good one and it's fun to put on once in a while. 'Hollaback Girl' makes an awesome downtown song and 'The Real Thing' is great european-dance pop.
	favourite tracks Hollaback Girl, The Real Thing, What You Waiting For, Cool


	73 Whigfield Whigfield⁽¹⁹⁹⁵⁾

	Whigfield was a bubblegum dance singer from the mid-90s who, as I just recently found out, is still involved in writing and music. Her most recent album came out in 2003 entitled 'Whigfield IV' or something. Now, for me, she was a one-album-wonder because I really doubt any of her other ones would even come close to matching the enjoyment I got out of this CD. Maybe the 8th CD in my collection, it was my favourite for quite a while. I know if she were new to the scene now I wouldn't even give her half a glance but being 11 years old, she was a star to me!
	favourite tracks Think Of You, Another Day, Close To You, Big Time


	72 New Pornographers Twin Cinema⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	A more recent album in my collection but that doesn't diminish the excellence of it. I love the stylings of some of the songs on here and the harmonies of the male/female vocalings, such as the end of 'The Bleeding Heart Show'. The instrumentation on the tracks is very interesting and really makes you listen to the detail of how the individual sounds work together. Sometimes I find the music itself to be somewhat humourous, without taking into account the lyrics that go over them. This is what alternative music should be.
	favourite tracks These Are The Fables, Twin Cinema, The Bleeding Heart Show, Sing Me Spanish Techno


	71 Madonna Something To Remember⁽¹⁹⁹⁶⁾

	Madonna's collection of ballads throughout her career were all put into one album in 1995. For me, I think Madonna's best songs from the 80s were her ballads so this compilation was definately a good idea. It included everything from 'Crazy For You' and 'Live To Tell' to 'Rain' and 'This Used To Be My Playground', plus one of my favourite songs from Madonna, 'I'll Remember'.
	favourite tracks I'll Remember, You'll See, Live To Tell, Rain


	70 Sarah McLachlan Fumbling Toward Ecstacy⁽¹⁹⁹⁵⁾

	Sarah's major breakthrough in Canada was her third CD 'Fumbling Toward Ecstacy'. Comparing this album to the two that came after it ('Surfacing' and 'Afterglow'), it's very down-low in its production but her talent shines on here more than ever. I think if any album released in the 90s should be considered a Canadian classic, it's this one. Sarah is a very important woman in the music biz and this album is a very important one for fans of female alternative rock. The songs on here take a few listens to get themselves lodged in your memory but for me, it was the casual hearing of the songs from my sister to get me hooked. 'Mary' and 'Good Enough' are the two that come to mind usually.
	favourite tracks Mary, Possession, Good Enough, Hold On


	69 Soundtrack Dumb and Dumber⁽¹⁹⁹⁵⁾

	My fourth CD. LOL! I really wanted this because of the Crash Test Dummies song 'The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead'. I was obsessed! I later became quite entranced in a lot of the other tracks on the soundtrack including the Proclaimers' remake of 'Get Ready', the Primitives' song 'Crash' and 'Insomniac' by Echobelly. The songs definately have that mid-90s Toad the Wet Sprocket lite-rock feel to them which makes it feel somewhat dated but can be very retrospective all the time. This CD is full of classics for me.
	favourite tracks The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (Crash Test Dummies), If You Don't Love Me (Pete Droge), Too Much Of A Good Thing (The Sons), Where I Find My Heaven (Gigilo Aunts), Crash (Primitives)


	68 Sondre Lerche Faces Down⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	The debut album from Sondre Lerche I won from my university in late 2002. I didn't give the CD much of a thought until I eventually got around to giving the one song 'Modern Nature' a chance. That song is catchy as hell! Then I got into a lot of the other tracks, 'You Know So Well', 'Sleep On Needles', 'On And Off Again' and others. Sondre has a very different sound but coming from Iceland with no real intention of having an American pop sound, it's pretty awesome!
	favourite tracks Modern Nature, Dead Passengers, On And Off Again, Sleep On Needles


	67 Our Lady Peace Spiritual Machines⁽²⁰⁰¹⁾

	Our Lady Peace have never really been an albums band for me. Even though I do own all of their releases, I've never been big on their full-length records. Why do I keep getting them? Maybe to keep up with tradition. Their CDs usually do have a few gems that don't make it onto the radio though. 'Happiness Is A Fish...' has 'Annie', for example, this album has 'Are You Sad', 'Everyone's A Junkie' and 'All My Friends'. And the theme they have going on with this one definately adds to the record.
	favourite tracks All My Friends, Are You Sad, Everyone's A Junkie, Life


	66 Soundtrack Men with Brooms⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	This soundtrack was right up my alley when I got it. It had a brand new track from Chantal Kreviazuk on it, as well as some hits from Big Sugar, Matthew Good Band, Our Lady Peace and Sarah Harmer. An all-Canadian lineup. Awesome! It also helped me discover some other artists that otherwise I may have passed over. The soundtrack had a track by new artist Kathleen Edwards and a new track from Holly McNarland, who I never really thought of listening to before this song. I'm a big fan of soundtracks but this is probably my favourite one.
	favourite tracks Watching Over You (Holly McNarland), Leading Me Home (Chantal Kreviazuk), Hockey Skates (Kathleen Edwards), Silver Road (Sarah Harmer)


	65 Corrs Forgiven Not Forgotton⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	I remember hearing 'Runaway' on Casey's Top 40 in 1995 and I liked it a lot. I didn't hear it again until I finally got their CD in 1997 after also hearing a few more minor hits from it. It's great irish-pop music. The harmonies of the three Corrs' sisters go a long way and the instrumentals were jammin'. I always thought it a shame that they got as big as they did because with that their roots went away and they lost their charm. I got their next two albums as well but after 'In Blue', my interest went away. At least I have their debut to fall back on.
	favourite tracks Runaway, The Right Time, Leave Me Alone, Love To Love You


	64 David Usher Little Songs⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	I got David's debut solo album after I got his amazing second CD. Recorded in his kitchen, this CD is actually pretty good. Contains some risqu� lyrics in a few tracks, some of which can be thought provoking. He certainly has a way with words and how he uses them. I like the beats in 'Trickster' and I find it odd how 'Jesus Was My Girl' has the entire vocal tracks audio coming only from the left. Makes listening to it in headphones really awkward. The album contains a lot of the songs that David is known for as a writer and solo artist.
	favourite tracks St. Lawrence River, Trickster, Forestfire, Babyskin Tattoo


	63 Mariah Carey #1s⁽¹⁹⁹⁹⁾

	I think the idea of releasing a #1s CD for Mariah was an awesome one because at the time, she did have enough chart-toppers to make a full-length CD, and the compilation carried a theme of having actual authentic Billboard #1 singles. Too bad she switched labels so much since because she has gained four of five more after that. The only downside to this CD was that some of Mariah's best singles didn't hit #1. I'd have love to have had 'Anytime You Need A Friend' and 'Without You' on this, for sure. Either way, the idea behind this was a great one.
	favourite tracks Always Be My Baby, Fantasy, Dreamlover, Honey


	62 Madonna Ray Of Light⁽²⁰⁰⁰⁾

	Some have said this was Madonna's best album of the 90s. I can see that. At the time it was a whole new step for her, experimenting with new producers, new dance-derived productions, new spirituality and whatnot. She was at the top of her game with this record and I think probably the best song of her career came out of this. Of course I'm talking about the title track. She made all the right moves with this disc.
	favourite tracks Ray Of Light, Frozen, The Power Of Goodbye, Swim


	61 Holly McNarland Home Is Where My Feet Are⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	I remember being obsessed with the song and video for 'Beautiful Blue', so much so that I HAD to have Holly's CD. After knowing 'Watching Over You' from the Men With Brooms Soundtrack was on it as well, I thought there was no way this album would disappoint me. I even dreamt that I went in to buy it too for $9.99, which was the price it was at the time. LOL! Well, I got it and at first I loved it but after awhile it wore out on me. The album is good but not GREAT. Still, each song isn't bad at all. I'd say the CD is consistantly average, it has its ups but doesn't really have anything below the middle.
	favourite tracks Beautiful Blues, Watching Over You, Losing My Face, Dallas, Voices


	60 Jewel 0304⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	While I think this is a good CD, at the same time I think if it were someone other than Jewel, I wouldn't like it. I thought it was a bold move for Jewel to do a record like this even though she had a point for it but some people still aren't able to see that and will still call the album a sellout for her. Her career hasn't really been the same since. About half of this CD could have worked well in the usual acoustic-sounding Jewel form. 0304 was a good experiment but one she didn't really need to do. All the same, it's Jewel and I love her and the CD isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
	favourite tracks 2 Find U, Stand, Fragile Heart, 2 Become 1


	59 Eminem The Eminem Show⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	My opinion of Eminem is that he's a genius. I'm not sure if he actually is but I think his way of holding his career is great. His ability to put rhymes into his raps and the songs he's written are amazing. The Eminem Show is the album of his that I've gotten to know the most and I do really like it. At this point he's still rapping about his mother and devotes an entire song to his daughter while even featuring her in another track. He samples Aerosmith, brings in Obie Trice. He pretty much does it all. I'd like to see Marshall return with an album that mixes his serious talent with his humourous side in an equal match on a new album soon. Until then, I'll suit myself with this disc.
	favourite tracks Superman, Hailie's Song, My Dad's Gone Crazy, Drips


	58 Sarah McLachlan Afterglow⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	I think 'Fallen' may be one of Sarah's best recordings. It's a very nice song about her messups in the relationship. The album as a whole is quite nice. Very mellow. I'd almost say it's too mellow but it's what we've come to expect from Sarah. She's not usually upbeat unless it comes to a remix of one of her songs, which happens quite often. This album has a lot of highlights, from the three singles to most of the other album tracks. I personally like it more than 'Fumbling' though but that's probably because I allowed myself to become much more familiar with this album as a whole.
	favourite tracks Fallen, World On Fire, Train Wreck, Time, Answer


	57 Melanie Doane You Are What You Love⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	Melanie Doane's first indie record after splitting with Sony was this very playful album. I don't consider Melanie really an exceptional artist but just an average singer/songwriter but that isn't a bad thing in the least. This CD contains a lot of great upbeat pop music and some wonderful ballads. She doesn't quite take herself as serious as the last album this time around on songs like 'Bionic' and 'Wilma Or A Betty Man'. It's good to let go and have some fun once in a while, even as a listener.
	favourite tracks Way Past Blue, Here I Am, As I Am


	56 Madonna Bedtime Stories⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	I think Madonna's best singles came from her Bedtime Stories CD. 'Secret' is an awesome R&B-sounding track, 'Take A Bow' is probably her best ballad and her biggest hit of the 90s, 'Human Nature' is only slightly controversial but still incredible and 'Bedtime Story' is an incredible trance-like beat-based Bjork-written track. I LOVE it! I find it hard to choose between that song and 'Ray Of Light' as my favourite Madonna song. I do try to fit 'Bedtime Story' into any playlist I can.
	favourite tracks Bedtime Story, Human Nature, Secret, Take A Bow


	55 Jason Mraz Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Lives at the Eagles Ballroom⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	Jason has a style that's all his own. He has mad freestyling skills and can rap better than the rest of us but he does acoustic guitar rock music. They can blend well on some songs. His CD/DVD live collection shows that very well. Some of his vocal abilities are impressive on here. Not his range but his actually abilities to skat and use syllables at a rapid speed. I actually had to watch the DVD to make sure he was actually doing it live. This collection contains about half unreleased songs and the other half are tracks from his album 'Waiting For My Rocket To Come'. It's great to hear those tracks as a live setting such as this. Most times I don't agree with an artist doing a live album so early in their career but Jason has enough of a following to make it a good idea.
	favourite tracks Tonight, Not Again, Sleeping To Dream, Curbside Prophet, The Remedy


	54 Maroon 5 Songs About Jane⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	It took a short while for me to get into this CD. It mixes rock with pop and a touch of blues, R&B and jazz. I think the unfortunate thing is that the album got too successful for its own good because even I got sick of it from listening to it so much. But I can still appreciate the great tracks on here. And I can still remember the time when I absolutely loved 'She Will Be Loved' before the radio got its grubby paws into it. I'm really wondering where they can go from here though because I don't think there's really much higher for them to go.
	favourite tracks She Will Be Loved, Must Get Out, Sunday Morning, The Sun


	53 Our Lady Peace Clumsy⁽²⁰⁰⁰⁾

	This album was released back when Raine wasn't political, back when OLP was all about making rock music and back when they were the band everybody talked about. Even the slowest song on here '4am' is a rockin' song. Now, I got nothing against Raine helping to save the world by doing what he can. His contributions with Warchild have surely gone a long way and his voice is making him Canada's Bono, but at the same time, I think their music and his good-work have mixed alittle too much. And that's why OLP may never top Clumsy as their best record. This is Canadian rock at its best! And they still put on an awesome rockin' show!
	favourite tracks Clumsy, 4am, Superman's Dead, Automatic Flowers


	52 Mitchell Hunter People Will Believe Anything If You Whisper It⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	This CD is an indie release from Halifax' Mitchell Hunter. It was written when he was between 16-18 I think and while you can tell by the lyrics of the songs that he still had some growing up to do, he still did a great job protraying what he had to say. I think it's a shame that a lot of artists can't make a debut album as great as this one because this really is a great CD from start to finish. Really really makes me wish I could play the piano.
	favourite tracks If It Ever Was, My New Beginning, Wait For You, They Might Say


	51 Jann Arden Living Under June⁽¹⁹⁹⁴⁾

	Jann Arden struck gold with this CD. Well, Diamond in Canada as it sold over 1,000,000 copies in Canada. That's one copy per every 31 people (1:27 at the time of its release). Not bad! There are some true classics on this album including 'Could I Be Your Girl' and 'Good Mother' but there are some songs that got buried beneath the popularity of 'Insensitive' that I think should be dug up, dusted off and played again. Put on 'Wonderdrug' and 'Unloved' one more time and bring back the memories of 1995 for me.
	favourite tracks Wonderdrug, Could I Be Your Girl, Unloved, Good Mother


	50 Tori Amos Scarlet's Walk⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	This album was actually the first Tori CD I bought. I was somewhat familiar with her music before but not enough to actually admit to being a fan. If I had, I'm sure a Tori fan would have slapped me and told me to go get me some strange little earthquakes under the pink. I loved to listen to this album on a crisp autumn day or during one of the first snowfalls of the year. It was very peaceful and really brought my mood way up. The songs aren't overwelming in any sense and Tori's skills shine throughout the entire record. My only qualm with the whole thing is that the endings of each song all sounded the same. I'm not sure if that was on purpose of if that's just Tori's way.
	favourite tracks Taxi Ride, Wednesday, Amber Waves, Carbon, Strange, A Sorta Fairytale


	49 Sarah McLachlan Surfacing⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	Sarah's most successful album. It sold millions, won her Grammys and Junos, and collectively contains some of her best singles. 'Building A Mystery' is an awesome song. I didn't realize it completely at the time but I think it's incredible. I think 'Adia' could be one of my favourites from her, as well. The album is more upbeat than 'Fumbling' or 'Afterglow' and contains a wider variety of sounds and music. Definately check out the Grammy-winning instrumental 'Last Dance'. And the enhanced portion is great! For some reason I always loved the extra stuff on this CD more than any other.
	favourite tracks Building A Mystery, Adia, Full Of Grace, Last Dance


	48 Imogen Heap Speak For Yourself⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	I discovered Imogen Heap just a short time after I discovered Frou Frou. She's half of the duo and provides the vocals for it as well. As a solo artist, her work is interesting, to say the least. Sometimes I listen to some of the sounds in awe at how someone can come up with something like that. 'Headlock' is a great example. That's a song recorded with no instruments at all, just six layers of vocal tracks and a vocoder. The result is amazing. If you go on YouTube, you'll find a lot of her music put to anim�-styled videos and it really works. Her songs have that futuristic sound but they don't sound lame. She has a way with producing music and coming out with new sounds and ideas for her songs.
	favourite tracks Hide and Seek, The Walk, Goodnight and Go, Loose Ends


	47 Sarah Harmer All Of Our Names⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	Sarah Harmer followed up her 2000 release 'You Were Here' with another album of similar styled work. The mostly down-tempoed songs that make up 'All Of Our Names' sometimes have a much more acoustic feel to them in how they were written but they sound like they went through more work from when they were recorded to when the CD was completed. The second half of the album contains tracks that I never could get in to but for the majority of the CD, I do really like the songs. My favourite from the album right now is probably the post-war song 'Bullets In Dandelion Holes'. She brings things back up on the mid-tempo 'Almost' and 'New Enemy' while the re-recorded and slightly rewritten 'Silver Road' is comparible to the original that appeared on the Men With Brooms Soundtrack.
	favourite tracks Bullets In Dandelion Holes, Almost, Greeting Card Isle, Took It All


	46 Alanis Morissette MTV Unplugged⁽¹⁹⁹⁹⁾

	Alanis did an MTV Unplugged episode in 1999 and the result was a CD that came out at the end of the year. I bought it New Years Eve 1999. I never knew what to think of the tracklisting because it was just an unplugged set. It contained most of the songs she was known for at the time, leaned more toward the hits of Jagged Little Pill and the album tracks of Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. What I did like however, were the new songs. I liked the acoustic version of 'These Are The Thoughts' more than the studio recording of it that appears as a b-side on the 'Joining You' single. Her cover of the Police's 'King Of Pain' is incredible. I wouldn't disagree with anyone who said it was better than the original (or vise versa). I thought the acoustic versions of most of the other songs were alright but nothing special, except she really changed it up on 'I Was Hoping', which I did like.
	favourite tracks Princes Familiar, No Pressure Over Cappiccino, King Of Pain, These Are The Thoughts


	45 Moist Machine Punch Through⁽²⁰⁰¹⁾

	After becoming a fan of David's 'Morning Orbit' CD, I saw that Moist had a newly released Best Of CD and I did like a lot of their early stuff so I picked it up. Not being familiar with more than half of the CD gave me a chance to hear "new" songs from them. I was definately a fan of the compilation afterwards. David's voice sounds much more raw and he pushes himself to go beyond the typical rock singer. In 'Ressurection' and 'Push', for example, you can really pick up on the energy he gives in his performance. I would say the entire disc is worthwhile and surely contains their best stuff plus the remixed versions, but not owning any of the albums I guess I wouldn't really know.
	favourite tracks Breathe, Underground, Silver, Comes and Goes


	44 Heart These Dreams - Heart's Greatest Hits⁽¹⁹⁹⁸⁾

	Another greatest hits album that I absolutely loved. I realized at around 1998 or so that I liked a lot of Heart's songs that I would occasionally hear so it was only common sense that I get this CD. 'Alone' and 'These Dreams' were two songs I loved. And to my delight when 'Stranded' came on, I remembered the song vaguely but didn't know it was Heart and when it was, "Wow! I love this song!" This CD is full of true classics like 'Baracuda', 'Crazy On You', 'What About Love', 'Dreamboat Annie'. I would say this is a must in your CD collection from the band deemed the female Led Zepplin.
	favourite tracks Stranded, Alone, These Dreams, Will You Be There (In The Morning), What About Love, Crazy On You


	43 Roxette Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus!⁽¹⁹⁹⁶⁾

	Uh huh, it's another one. The second highest Greatest Hits album. Roxette's songs were some of the first songs I loved as a child so I had to have this CD. Their work was pop music at its prime. With songs like 'Joyride', 'The Look' and 'Dangerous'. The only downside was that the version I got came out before their amazing song 'Wish I Could Fly' was released, and I think they've had enough hits since the release of this CD in 1995 to put out another one. I think if you like a couple of their early 90s songs enough, you really should get this CD. Show your love for pop music and get some of the real stuff.
	favourite tracks Joyride, Fading Like A Flower, Sleeping In My Car, You Don't Understand Me


	42 Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	I'm not a huge fan of Celine Dion today. Actually, I think her music has gone vastly downhill since the 90s when most of the songs she did were all not bad. She's gotten too big for her own good and none of her original writers want to write for her anymore due to the demands her people puts on the songs she sings, from what I've heard. Needless to see, she did have good music, such as the stuff on 'Let's Talk About Love'. I'm not talking about the dreaded Titanic song, even though that was good for a very short while. But other tracks such as 'The Reason', 'Let's Talk About Love' and 'Us'. Celine does have a good voice and when good songs come along, she can sing them like no other.
	favourite tracks Us, The Reason, Let's Talk About Love, Love Is On The Way


	41 Alanis Morissette Under Rug Swept⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	Alanis' third studio release. I really liked the album at first but after a short while I grew off of it. It was around this time when it seemed that Alanis was either running out of good ideas or just trying to see what she could come up with in order to test her fans. Granted, this CD does contain some of her best work, like in 'Utopia', but her run-on lengthy lines seemed to get the better of her and some tracks seemed alittle off. I did, however, really like the piano-ballad 'That Particular Time'. It was different for Alanis at the time and she did a great job with it. Either way, I do like to go back on this album once in a while. It's not as experimental sounding as the last one but it did the job it was meant to do.
	favourite tracks Surrendering, Utopia, You Owe Me Nothing In Return, That Particular Time


	40 Jewel Pieces Of You⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	I sometimes wonder what would happen if Jewel's career was moved up about 10 years and if she would have the same success starting now that she did 10 years ago. This album is extremely acoustic sounding and in fact a lot of it was recorded in an actual coffeehouse setting complete with the applause of what sounds like twenty people. Her voice sounds sweet in a lot of the songs and the music is quite raw, often times with just her and her guitar. I really like the version of 'Foolish Games' that's on here. It's a shame the Batman+Robin version removed half of the second verse. One thing about this album though is that I must have listened to it a hundred times since I was late getting it in 1997 but there are a few tracks that I was never able to get in to. 'Painters', for one. I couldn't hum a line if my life depended on it. A few others I was never fond of. But at the same time, there are a few gems on here too. 'Near You Always' and 'Little Sister' and how could you forget the innocent and pure 'I'm Sensitive'.
	favourite tracks Foolish Games, Near You Always, Who Will Save Your Soul, Adrien


	39 Madonna Music⁽²⁰⁰⁰⁾

	I'd probably be stoned to death if I announced out loud that 'Music' was better than 'Ray Of Light'. I know the general consensus doesn't agree with that but I did like it better. I'm thinking it's because I listened to 'Music' much more than 'ROL', maybe because I bought it as a new release. Madonna took her experimental sound she had worked with before and pushed it into more of a heavier dance mix as appeared on tracks like 'Runaway Lover' and 'Music'. Not quite anything new or unheard of but just typical dance with interesting lyrics and phrases. "I like to singy singy singy, like a bird on a wingy wingy wingy." She does lighten it up a bit on the more acoustic sounding 'Don't Tell Me', which still has a good beat and the last track 'Gone', which feels like a 'Music' version of 'The Power Of Goodbye'. I just always felt that this album was more consistant in the sounds than 'ROL'.
	favourite tracks Runaway Lover, Music, Gone, Impressive Instant


	38 Jason Mraz Mr. A-Z⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	Jason Mraz released his CD in August of 2005 as a dualdisc with some DVD features. Nothing really amazing on there but it was still neat. I just liked the regular album though. More great music. I wasn't fond of the first single 'Wordplay' as much as I was with the rest of the album, especially 'Did You Get My Message'. That song is genius! It's incredibly catchy, light and fluffy, has an amazing piano hook and with Rachel Yamagata on it, they both did the whole answer/question dealie-thing that Nelly and Timbaland do on 'Promiscuous'. Jason also adds some extra style to the album with 'Geek In The Pink' while he puts some feeling into the project on the opening track 'Life Is Wonderful' and check out his opera skills in 'Mr. Curiosity'. The album definately impressed me!
	favourite tracks Did You Get My Message, Mr. Curiosity, Plane, Geek In The Pink


	37 Sarah McLachlan Mirrorball⁽²⁰⁰⁰⁾

	Sarah seems to like to release a couple side projects to follow every album she does, usually somehow derived from the album itself. 'Afterglow' got 'Afterglow Live' and 'Bloom', 'Fumbling Toward Ecstacy' got 'The Freedom Sessions' and 'B-Sides, Rarities, and Other Stuff', while 'Surfacing' got 'Remixed' and 'Mirrorball'. 'Mirrorball' is a 14-live-track recording of a concert on her tour for 'Surfacing' she released in 1999 and contains a lot of her well-known stuff. Six of the songs come from 'Surfacing', six come from 'Fumbling', one from 'Solace' and then there's 'I Will Remember You', which was on her 'B-Sides' CD. I can't complain about the track listing because it is good and some of the songs, mainly 'I Will Remember You' and 'Angel', she almost has to put on there because those are her biggest hits despite me not liking them. I think she could have included a song or two from 'Solace' but otherwise it's fine. The songs do sound top notch, quite often better than the album versions, such as with 'Ice Cream' and 'Fumbling Towards Ecstacy'. All in all, it's good to have the live experience on occasion.
	favourite tracks Fumbling Toward Ecstacy, Building A Mystery, Adia, Possession


	36 Melanie Doane Adam's Rib⁽¹⁹⁹⁸⁾

	I met Melanie Doane a couple times since this album came out. She was actually the first singer I ever met and got an autograph from and I remember being really nervous and thinking back now, I should be embarrassed for myself but she was very friendly and signed a postcard for me... I didn't have her CD at the time. This album is actually pretty good. She takes a few concepts and puts them into interesting metaphors or plays around with various ideas, like in the songs 'Adam's Rib' and 'Goliath'. I've come to appreciate later the song 'Sweet Sorrow', as well. I always liked her light-pop songs with the violin thrown in there, probably as a replacement for the guitar since so many songs in this genre uses a guitar for the instrumental hook and break between verse/chorus. Melanie's win of the Best New Solo Artist at the Junos was a deserved one.
	favourite tracks How You Cried, Adam's Rib, Waiting For The Tide, Sweet Sorrow


	35 Sondre Lerche Two Way Monologue⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	Once again, it's Sondre Lerche, back for more with his second album. Again, his interesting sound and mixture of odd lyrics and strange sounding musical arrangements appear on this CD. The first two songs with vocals on here (since the first track is just a 1:37 instrumental) are killer. "Meet me halfway by the bedrock on the tower." How does one make a song with that as the chorus? The song 'Wetground' is as interesting to listen to as 'Headlock' on Imogen's CD (back at #48) because it's a song he did 100% himself with all the vocals and instruments and has a sound almost all his own. A personal favourite of mine on here is 'Stupid Memory'. I like the slight twang present with the slide guitar and the light drum beat. Sondre is an artist to watch for to see what interesting lyrics and compositions he can come up with.
	favourite tracks Stupid Memory, Two Way Monologue, On The Tower, Track You Down


	34 Paula Cole This Fire⁽¹⁹⁹⁸⁾

	I'm not sure what it is about this album from Paula Cole that makes it so great. I don't think there's anything really different or special that makes it stand out from anything else, it's just a good CD. Aside from the two huge hits she had from it, there are also some other great tracks on here that I always really loved like 'Feelin' Love', 'Mississippi' and the third often-forgotten single 'Me', which is an awesome almost-southern-style pop song. I think what makes this CD special for me is that I listened to it so often that I learned to love the songs and Paula has a surprisingly strong voice with a good range that she doesn't show off too often but definately check out the extended remix of 'I Believe In Love', which is on her 'Amen' album, to hear for yourself.
	favourite tracks Me, Feelin' Love, Throwing Stones, Road To Dead


	33 Anna Nalick Wreck Of The Day⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	Anna Nalick is a pop singer, with song structures similar to Avril Lavigne and the voice of Damhnait Doyle. She has a higher maturity level than, say, Lindsay Lohan or Hilary Duff type songs, but her lyrics still present a youthful feeling to them, as I pick up in songs like 'In My Head' and 'Paper Bag', whereas 'Breathe' is an instantly catchy but somewhat depressing song that apparantly is about abortion. If so, then we can agree that Anna isn't just another run-of-the-mill Michelle/Vanessa/Avril. Her entire CD is filled with great pop tunes however but I don't think we should lump her into a category just yet.
	favourite tracks Paper Bag, Citadel, In My Head, Satellite


	32 Real McCoy Another Night⁽¹⁹⁹⁵⁾

	Classic! 6th CD I got? Something like that. This was my absolute favourite CD for over a year. I actually listened to it a few months back and the songs are still great. Dance pop at its best right here, during the peak of the euro-dance-pop invasion of the mid-90s. I remember being obsessed with the album, especially 'Another Night' and 'Come And Get Your Love' while 'Run Away' I loved for a while, then got over and now I love it again. 'I Want You' was another great song. I dunno, this was just a good CD and without being anymore redundant, if you like 90s music, you must have liked a song of theirs.
	favourite tracks Another Night, Run Away, Come And Get Your Love, I Want You


	31 Green Day American Idiot⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	Honestly, I was never a big fan of Green Day. I didn't care for their antics or much of their songs aside from a few 3 or 4. But then I read so much about this album that I had to pick it up. I don't know much about their stuff aside from a few of their hits but they've definately shown a mature side that I've never seen before with this album. Lots of tongue-in-cheek references to some of societies problems today including the blatantly obvious war and Bush along with America's problem with homosexuality. I remember someone saying that I wouldn't like this CD because it was too "hard rock" for me, being the big light-music fan that I am but I listened to it and it's not hard rock at all. It's amazing. I really love 'Jesus Of Suburbia' and the video that goes with it is visual-audio genius. I'm waiting to see if they actually are going to do some sort of storyline or movie or whatever it's supposed to be based on the album. I'd definately go see that.
	favourite tracks Jesus Of Suburbia, Give Me Novacaine, Homecoming, Are We The Waiting


	30 Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces⁽¹⁹⁹⁸⁾

	I'm not a country music fan. Once in a while a song will come along that I like but other than that, I tend to steer clear of country music. But I do have a soft spot for the Dixie Chicks. Please note I didn't jump on the bandwagon after the infamous 2003 "incident". I've been a fan since 1998, the year their CD came out. Now, I realize they've been together before that and I admit that it was in about June of that year that I got this album and by then 'There's Your Trouble' was halfway up the chart so I wasn't there "from the beginning" but I'm proud to say that as a non-country music lover, I was an early fan and have been ever since. This album is nothing short of amazing. From the first listen, the song 'Wide Open Spaces' I really loved. A sweet story about a girl growing up and beginning to live her own life. 'You Were Mine' is another great track about the breakup of a couple who have two children. The protrayal of that in the song is heart-wrenching. And even though it's probably as country-sounding as this album gets, the song 'Tonight, The Heartache's On Me' was another song I really loved. I don't know why it is I like them so much. Maybe it's Natalie's voice. The songs are just all great for whatever reason. Or because they really aren't too country sounding for too long. Either way, I know I'll be a fan for life. It all started here!
	favourite tracks Wide Open Spaces, You Were Mine, Tonight, The Heartache's On Me, There's Your Trouble


	29 No Doubt Tragic Kingdom⁽¹⁹⁹⁶⁾

	Here's another huge CD from the mid-90s, courtesy of the single 'Don't Speak'. Back when Gwen was considered the hot rocker-chick of the coolest alternative rock bands around. I know for me, the music from this CD was alittle different then what I listened to, even if just slightly. They just really appealing songs, a lot of them had that novelty sound to them but the novelty for most of them really didn't wear off. 'Excuse Me Mister' and 'Spiderwebs', for example. I always loved 'Sunday Morning' though and 'The Climb' was a track that built up near the end until the climax slowly died down until the end of the song. It's an album that one can't help but like to some degree.
	favourite tracks Sunday Morning, The Climb, Don't Speak, Excuse Me Mister


	28 Holly McNarland Stuff⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	Quite often, I find that an artist's debut album will be their best. Most of the time, I think for me, is because I get that one first and grow into it and then come to expect any of their future work to build on the debut. There are only a few cases where an artist can surpass their first CD, in my books. The odd thing for Holly here is, while I do like this CD more than its followup, I didn't get this one until after so while I got used to 'Home Is Where My Feet Are' to the point where I expected it to be somewhat like 'Stuff', it's not. 'Stuff' is a lot harder in sound and is more rock based, and I like it much better. The album just flows well and is consistantly good. There's no real downer throughout the entire thing, which is always a plus, and sometimes Holly just lets loose, such as in 'Elmo'. I'm really glad I didn't miss out on this album though, even if I was six-years late.
	favourite tracks Water, Porno Mouth, Elmo, I Won't Stay, Numb


	27 Alanis Morissette Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie⁽¹⁹⁹⁸⁾

	I think this album is by-far the most anticipated of any CD I have ever wanted. In the age before downloading music (for me), I wasn't able to get any clips or anything of any song on here aside from the amazing build-up single 'Thank U'. After her perfect debut CD and then the perfect strings-rock hit 'Uninvited', I was in need for new Alanis material. The hype will built up so much. Probably too much. At first I was obsessed with the CD but after a short while, I began to select my favourites and eventually started to pass over about half the album. I don't think I was able to appreciate the songs I skipped at the time. Alanis' style was different than the first CD. She was beginning to really focus more on her ability to build words into a sentence and form them around the music and work with the syllables and such. However, the album has proven to be a grower. Just last year I finally fell in love with 'Your Congratulations' and 'Heart Of The House', the album's last two tracks that I never got to because 'Joining You' was too awesome a song to follow with anything else.
	favourite tracks Joining You, So Pure, UR, Sympathetic Character


	26 David Usher Hallucinations⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	This album actually went the opposite way for me than the Alanis one. I bought it, listened to it, and was somewhat disappointed following the greatness that was 'Morning Orbit'. Now when I listen to it, I take in every track. It was a more modernized David Usher with a slight dependancy on technology that build this record but it still has a classic feel to it, especially when compared to his newer release 'If God Had Curves'. I don't know what it was that made me not love songs like 'Devils On My Side' or 'Message Home' but whatever it was, it's gone now. I think what I love most is the music in those songs. Somewhat simplistic over complex beats.
	favourite tracks Surfacing, Hallucinations, Numb, I'm Coming Down


	25 Kathleen Edwards Back To Me⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	Kathleen took me by surprise with her debut album, could she do it again? Not quite but this CD is modest. She didn't disappoint. There aren't any low points to the record at all, just not really a lot of major highs. 'Back To Me' was definately worthy of its success and 'In State' was a grower but is now a keeper. I always liked the closing track 'Good Things'. I adopted the chorus for a while, "good things come when you stop waiting around." 'What Are You Waiting For' is almost a replica of 'Failer's '12 Bellevue' but it's still a good song. I think for me the album didn't offer a lot of variation among the tracks to make it as good as 'Failer' but nonetheless, I know I'll still be enjoying it deep into tomorrow so...
	favourite tracks Back To Me, Good Things, In State, Old Time Sake


	24 Gavin DeGraw Chariot⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	This CD I got during a special time in my life. I remember specifics about the time when I listened to the album a lot, the people I spent my time with, the things we did, and that sorta thing. So I think this album is as high on my list as it is mostly because of the memories that surround the songs. 'Just Friends' somewhat applied to me at the time, I felt. Gavin really was able to make a lot of songs that were easy for me, or probably anybody else, to relate to. His voice isn't really all that great but I loved the piano-based tracks that the CD offered and that most of the songs were all upper-mid-tempo tracks. He didn't hide much in the lyrics and just made everything straightfoward.
	favourite tracks Just Friends, Belief, Crush, (Nice To Meet You) Anyway


	23 Frou Frou Details⁽²⁰⁰⁶⁾

	This is the only album on my list that was bought in 2006. I know, I set an "unwritten" rule that no CD purchased within the last year would be allowed for various reasons, but this album was able to slide by because I've been hearing most of the songs on here for over a year. It was a natural transition from my computer to the actual CD and the CD is awesome. I find that 'Details' seems to have a more natural feel amongst the songs than Imogen's solo CD does. Being a duo, there's less emphasis on her and more on the music with her singing complimenting what comes first. I really like some of the ideas that they were able to get in on here such as the odd beat in 'Psychobabble' and the ending of 'Only Got One'. I think they paid special attention to the details of the songs and surely the album title compliments that as well.
	favourite tracks Breathe In, Let Go, Only Got One, It's Good To Be In Love


	22 Jewel This Way⁽²⁰⁰¹⁾

	I called 'This Way' Jewel's best recording about a month after I got it. By that time, I had had enough time to get into the songs, both as a group and on their own. 'Standing Still' was a lengthy-favourite of mine for months. I really liked her country-side coming out on the folk-pop tunes that she wrote. Even 'Jesus Loves Me', a song I didn't like a whole lot at first, appealled to me after. Actually, the only song I could do without is 'Break Me', the rest are all keepers. It should have been her biggest album.
	favourite tracks Standing Still, Till We Run Out Of Road, Everybody Wants Someone Sometime, I Won't Walk Away


	21 Avril Lavigne Under My Skin⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	I think Avril went in the right direction when she put out her second studio album in 2004. 'Let Go' was a great entry into the music scene but she really needed to appear to have some control over what she was doing and start to show signs of growing up and she did on this one. Her collaborating with Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida was a good idea too and Ben Moody on 'Nobody's Home', he added so much to that song. Avril showed her fun side in 'He Wasn't' and 'Freak Out' but showed that she did have a serious side where she was aware of things going on around her that did or didn't involve her such as 'Don't Tell Me', 'Nobody's Home' and 'Slipped Away'. I really think Avril's next CD will definately be a move in the right direction if this one was any indication.
	favourite tracks Nobody's Home, Fall To Pieces, Together, Don't Tell Me


	20 Michelle Branch Hotel Paper⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	When Michelle Branch first hit the music scene, I really wasn't too interested. She was alright but really gave nothing that no other artist had ever done before. Her second album was released early in the summer of 2003 and while I had no plans to get it and the first single 'Are You Happy Now' didn't do much for me, I read so many good things about the CD that I got it anyway. I was definately impressed with most of the album. Michelle's style of guitar-pop fit very well into my music collection and helped to round out 2003 as a good year in music. 'Breathe' was an awesome song that didn't do very well chart-wise but still was big for me. I think my favourite track on here was definately 'One Of These Days'. Beautiful song! This album has great consistancy!
	favourite tracks One Of These Days, Breathe, Desperately, Tuesday Morning


	19 Alanis Morissette So-Called Chaos⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	So every subsequent album that Alanis released after her breakthrough 'Jagged Little Pill' was slightly downhill in terms of how good they were, for the most part. When word that she was working on a new album came out, I remember thinking "already? It's too soon!" because it hadn't even been two years since 'Under Rug Swept' and just over a year of 'Feast On Scraps'. Needless to say, I swallowed my tongue. Alanis' fourth studio album beat the two previous ones as well as her other random releases. What 'Under Rug Swept' lacked in the rock category and 'Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie' lacked in consistancy, was all picked up on this record. Now, for the record, the album does have its faults but I believe they lie outside of Alanis' realm. She chose producer John Shanks, who did an awesome job on Michelle's album (@ #20!) but I think he held back Alanis' potential on here. This CD was meant to be a more alternative-sounding rock album, not a pop rock that it turned out to be. I really want to see Alanis make another rock record and this album, specifically the song 'So Called Chaos', was the closest she's come to it since the 90s.
	favourite tracks So Called Chaos, Not All Me, Doth I Protest Too Much, Out Is Through


	18 Chantal Kreviazuk What If It All Means Something⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	This album came out in November of 2002, my first year of University. I remember the hype I created for the record because it was the followup to Chantal's 1999 release 'Colour Moving And Still' and I was obsessed with 'In This Life'. I think the album was definately my favourite of the end of the year. Sometimes I listen to it and it brings back memories of going to class or just walking around while the air is cold and crisp with leaves falling down around me. As for the actual music, Chantal was travelling closer to the usual over-produced pop sound that plagued so many before her. The songs were still good and the usual Chantal-fare, meaning they were still grade-A songs but all that was blanketed by the apparant desire for either Chantal or the label (I'm thinking the label) to finally break her into the American mainstream... to no avail. The CD has its ups and downs but it still makes for a good listen.
	favourite tracks Waiting, Miss April, In This Life, Ready For Your Love


	17 Sheryl Crow The Very Best Of⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	Sheryl Crow is an artist that I hold in very high regard. She's done a few things during her career that some would consider questionable for credibility purposes but she has more than made up for those things with other work she's done and the friends she's made in the music business. Her first Best Of collection shows that Sheryl has gone a long way from 1993-2003 and that she still has much more distance to cover. I believe this compilation may be the most complete, best put-together Greatest Hits/Best Of CD by any artist released in the 2000s so far. She doesn't do the lame include-every-hit on here nor does she limit the tracklisting to only singles. Sheryl gives each of her albums generous consideration and adds a few new tracks on here, as well. There really is nothing of much significance to Sheryl's career that wasn't included on this CD which therefore makes it a must for any fan, casual or other, of Sheryl.
	favourite tracks Everyday Is A Winding Road, The First Cut Is The Deepest, My Favourite Mistake, A Change Would Do You Good, Strong Enough


	16 Avril Lavigne Let Go⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	When Avril hit the music scene in 2002 with 'Complicated', I liked the song but I wasn't blown away. Actually, I really didn't want to get into her and after the dreadful 'Sk8er Boi', I had to put my foot down. I saw her as a rocky Britney Spears and therefore a singer the industry really DIDN'T need if we wanted music to become more "real". But I downloaded 'Let Go' and I was surprised. It's pop music, yes. Manufactured pop? Probably. But it's just so catchy and awesome! Aside from 'Sk8er Boi', the awkward rap in the still-not-bad 'Nobody's Fool' and the overplayed 'Complicated', the rest of this CD is Grade-A pop greatness! I'd call it a guilty pleasure but I'm not ashamed to admit that this CD rocks!
	favourite tracks My World, Mobile, Anything But Ordinary, Tomorrow


	15 Jason Mraz Waiting For My Rocket To Come⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	Ultimately, the thing that made me get Jason's CD wasn't because my poor-quality mp3 of his single 'The Remedy' convinced me, nor was it his following or good reviews of his performances. It was because him and Chantal Kreviazuk were touring together in the US and Canada. I figured if they were committing themselves to performing together for a couple months, his music must be decently similar enough to Chantal that I must like it. So I got his CD. Not a noble reason but it worked out. The album is solid and a great introduction to the genius that is Jason Mraz. His way with words and rhymes are incredible when listening to playful songs like 'I'd Do Anything', 'Too Much Food' and 'Curbside Prophet'. His voice reminded me of Don McLean in a number of songs like 'You And I Both' and he has a an upbeat folky side that would please any music fan over 30 on 'On Love, In Sadness'. Jason's not just a guy with a guitar. He knows what he's doing and he's a champ on his debut CD.
	favourite tracks On Love, In Sadness, The Remedy (I Won't Worry), Tonight, Not Again, Sleep All Day


	14 Sarah Slean Night Bugs⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	Sarah Slean's 'Night Bugs' was another disc that was a victim of my downloading... but I did actually buy the actual version later on and am glad I did because a couple of the album's best tracks I actually didn't get. It was 2002 when 'Sweet Ones' came out and I fell in love with Sarah because of that one song, but most of the other songs I didn't latch on to as easily. Actually, I gave her music a lot of chances but I just couldn't get into it. I'm thinking it's because I actually had a bunch of older tracks as well as songs from this album so it was just a random mix and honestly, this album does work best when listened from beginning to end. It starts off with the piano introduction of 'Eliot', which builds up to a huge ending so there's no disappointment there. Sarah goes on to tell stories of 'Duncan' and 'Book Smart, Street Stupid' to showing her sweet side on 'Sweet Ones' and 'Drastic Measures', which has an amazing instrumental ending. I think the highlight of the album however has to be the final track, the humourous 'Bank Account' which Sarah is just wacky on. I love the piano and horns during the bridge on that one. Great mix!
	favourite tracks Bank Accounts, Drastic Measures, Eliot, Duncan


	13 Tegan and Sara If It Was You⁽²⁰⁰²⁾

	Tegan and Sara, for me, are a duo that are able to make fairly-instantly catchy songs that really don't dwell or make a huge impression. They just present themselves as they are and once the song is over, it's over. Then when you listen again to the album, a light comes on and you said "I remember this! This is awesome!" At least, that's how I remember it. I wasn't huge on this album at first when I got it in late 2002. I slowly got into the album but the songs managed to creep themselves into my brain until one day while listening to the disc, I was surprised to find that I actually remembered every single track to one degree or another. It was weird! So now that I'm past the getting-to-know-you stage, I can listen to each song knowing what to expect and being familiar with the album as a whole. The songs are simple, the hooks are catchy and the Quinn sisters have the spice to make it work.
	favourite tracks Don't Confess, Want To Be Bad, Living Room, City Girl


	12 Sarah Harmer You Were Here⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	I was late getting this album. Three years after it was released and long after she was done with it. I just saw it at cdplus one day and thought, I really should own this. So I bought and listened to it on my walk home. I was surprised to realize that I recognized the track 'The Hideout' from years before. I think it came out before 'Basement Apartment' did and the radio played it alittle too. I kind of put this CD on the back burner for a bit while listening to it off and on but eventually, I came to absolutely love it. It pretty much fits my mood anytime so if I can't find an album that I want to listen to, I'll come to this one and stick it in. Most times I put it on just so I can hear 'Lodestar', which is probably one of my favourite songs ever and Sarah is rockin' on 'Weakened State'. The album can get alittle quiet at times but Sarah knows what she's doing!
	favourite tracks Lodestar, Weakened State, Around This Corner, The Hideout, Basement Apartment, Don't Get Your Back Up


	11 David Usher Morning Orbit⁽²⁰⁰¹⁾

	I bought this album out of some of my money for working at the fish plant so I'll be damned if I was to let it go to waste. Actually, it was somewhat of an impulse buy because at the time, I really loved the single 'Alone In The Universe'. This album was a new side of David that I never knew before. I was vaguely familiar with Moist and honestly only knew OF but not the actual songs from 'Little Songs', so really, this disc was my first impression of David Usher. I think we became great friends right away. The album had some great rock tracks like the hidden-track 'Black Black Heart V 2.0', which is 50X better than the original dull version. There's also the awesome 'Blinded', which should have been a hit. I loved the closing track 'Closer'. Short and sweet. His cover of 'Fast Car' is alright. The song with Snow is pretty neat too. All in all, it's a great disc!
	favourite tracks Too Close To The Sun, Joy In Small Places, How Are You, Blinded, Closer, A Day In The Life


	10 KT Tunstall Eye To The Telescope ⁽²⁰⁰⁵⁾

	This album was another impulse buy for me too. I had been seeing the cover for KT's CD around and judging by the cover and general album design, something told me the CD was something I'd like. I held off on buying it for a few weeks but eventually just gave up and bought it anyway without actually hearing any of the songs. I was definately impressed right off the bat as the opening track is the incredible 'Other Side Of The World'. And 'Suddenly I See' just took me away! I thought 'Black Horse And The Cherry Tree' was an odd song and found it strange that it was the track they were using to promote the album in North America but alas, it worked. I'm absolutely fascinated by 'Stoppin' The Love', because of the background vocals during the chorus. I imagine KT in Norway sitting around a fire with a bunch of vikings who are beating the drums and doing the deep-male singing in the song.
	favourite tracks Stoppin' The Love, Other Side Of The World, Miniature Disasters, Black Horse And The Cherry Tree, Suddenly I See, Heal Over


	#9 Tegan and Sara This Business Of Art⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	I sometimes find it hard to decide whether I like 'This Business Of Art' more than 'If It Was You' but in the end, I settled on this one. Really, I'm not quite sure why. I just think the songs on here seem more "real" and what Tegan and Sara are all about. 'If It Was You' is definately a good CD but I really like how on this album, no song really stands out from the others. That could be taken to mean that all the songs sound the same but not really, they're all their own but they all work together to form the entire CD. Tegan and Sara are actually probably the only artist I know (or at least can think of right now) whose entire list of recorded songs on their combined 4 albums are all good. They don't have one song I don't like. That's probably not a big deal but really, when you think about your favourite singers and bands, surely they must have at LEAST one song you don't care for. Tegan and Sara don't even have that. In retrospect, that's incredible and in retrospect, so is this CD!
	favourite tracks My Number, Superstar, Freedom, The First, Proud, Not With You


	#8 Sarah Slean Day One⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	I can kind of remember getting this CD and I remember the first couple times I listened to it, nothing really jumped out at me right away aside from 'Lucky Me', which I was already familiar with, and 'Day One'. After a couple weeks, I loved the CD! LOVED! Sarah's ability to write lyrics that provide such imagery is incredible. Her style of singing is very dramatic and even the music is so theatrical. She's such a classy lady and she lets her personality flow into the music and the words so when you finish listening to the album, you know the type of person she is and could probably make a good guess as to everything from her hobbies to the types of drinks she likes. I think she said she likes scotch. A highlight on the album has to be 'When Another Midnight'. The lyrics on here are killer!
	favourite tracks When Another Midnight, Pilgrim, Out In The Park, Mary, Lucky Me, The Score, Day One


	#7 Melissa McClelland Stranded In Suburbia⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	It was weird when I bought this album because I went into HMV the day Avril Lavigne's 'Under My Skin' came out and I saw this one and I thought, hmm, she looks like Sarah Slean a bit. And I took a look at the cover and the back and decided, based on the album design, the label info and whatever other information was printed on the back, it would probably be an album that I'd like to some degree. It definately didn't have rap packaging nor country designs so there was no reason why there shouldn't be something on here that I'd like. It took a few months but I eventually loved the CD. Melissa, to me, is a mix between a more-mainstream Sarah Harmer meets Kathleen Edwards with a very slight hint of Sarah Slean. The album contained a few folk-rock sounding tracks, a few made-for-radio songs, songs with corky lines, interesting instrumentation and great tunes overall. There's a cover of Bruce Springsteen's song 'Factory', which sounds awesome and a touch if Italy in 'Smoke Signals'. Melissa seems to write about some of the underground situations but wraps them in polite music. The song to really get me was 'Picture Postcard'. There was always something about that one that really stuck with me. Probably the idea that we're free to just get up and leave whenever we feel we have to and go away but not know what to expect. An awesome album all around!
	favourite tracks Picture Postcard, Little Birds, Encinitas Rainstorm, Jaded, Good As Gold, Glimpse Into Hell


	#6 Chantal Kreviazuk Colour Moving And Still⁽¹⁹⁹⁹⁾

	Back before I was able to download music, my anticipation levels for CDs was so huge. Being from a small town, there wasn't a lot to look forward to but I really looked forward to the second Chantal album. After her first, I couldn't wait to expand on her music. 'Before You' is a song I unofficially named my favourite song ever a few years back and while I'm not sure if that still stands, I wouldn't quite say no to that. I was immediately grabbed by this CD and every song held something new for me on so many different levels. I've listened to the entire CD so many times and listened to it under so many layers, paying attention to many different details the songs had from the different instruments to Chantal's piano to her lyrics and everything in between. I don't really know what to say about this CD to explain how important it was for me at the time and it remained so for a while afterward. It's just an incredible disc.
	favourite tracks Before You, Souls, Blue, Little Things, Eve, Far Away


	#5 Kathleen Edwards Failer⁽²⁰⁰³⁾

	Kathleen's is another CD I got that I didn't really know any of the tracks before getting the CD, aside from 'Hockey Skates', which I knew from the soundtrack to Men With Brooms. 'Failer' is probably my first alt/country album I got and it certainly opened me up to a new genre of music. The album opens with 'Six O'Clock News', a song about a woman who's lover went on a crime spree and was killed by the police. I love how she rocks out on '12 Bellevue', with its awesome closing music and 'Westby' is a great song about an extramarital affair that features probably the album's best line "You call me Danny and I'll call you Mable, you passed out so I flick thru cable, and I stole your gold watch from the bedside table."
	favourite tracks 12 Bellevue, Westby, Six O'Clock News, One More Song The Radio Won't Like, National Steel, Mercury


	#4 Tegan and Sara So Jealous⁽²⁰⁰⁴⁾

	I'm still alittle skeptical of putting this album so high on my list but really, I love the album! 'So Jealous' is just an incredible CD of music plain and simple. Tegan and Sara aren't trying to really do anything special or outdo anyone on here, they're just making music and they're doing it great. One thing I do always have to point out about this album is that, for the most part, the songs themselves don't stand out alone but when they're placed where they are on the album and it's listened to in its entirety, they work very well. It's a CD of all or nothing. I can't appreciate it unless I play it from the beginning until the end. When first buying the album, at the time it really meant a lot to me. I wasn't sure what it was about the CD itself but there was just something about it that I couldn't put my finger on that really had an effect on me. I still can't quite explain it but the album shines!
	favourite tracks Wake Up Exhausted, Downtown, So Jealous, Fix You Up, You Wouldn't Like Me, Where Does The Good Go


	#3 Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	If you've at least glanced through this list, you would have seen most of Alanis' albums so for sure her most important CD was expected. I think this album really does have a place among all those typical best records of all time lists, despite it being a mid-90s release but the record was just so huge and marked a major change in music when it came out. Alanis might not be considered significant now but credit is to be given where it is due and she deserves it with this album. I don't know what to say about this album that hasn't already been said. It's just a nearly perfect CD where Alanis displays such emotion on tracks like 'You Oughta Know' and 'All I Really Want'. Even songs that I didn't like initially like 'Mary Jane' I think are amazing. I don't quite know what 'Mary Jane' is about but my theory is that it's about a best friend with a drug addiction. Musically, my favourite might have to be 'Wake Up'.
	favourite tracks You Oughta Know, Wake Up, Forgiven, You Learn, Mary Jane, Perfect


	#2 Chantal Kreviazuk Under These Rocks And Stones⁽¹⁹⁹⁷⁾

	I think this might have been the CD that changed my life. Well, maybe I'm being overdramatic here because really, there's nothing on here that would have given me any reason to make any major changes to myself. But I loved this one so much and I was so obsessed with the album that it probably did give me some sort of personality chang