I wouldn't exactly call it a "Top Ten" listing of my rank-ordered all-time favorite albums... Nevertheless, I've kept my listing to ten items, and they are all among my personal list of constantly evolving "favorites." 

Halcyon Bird (by Eva Ellingsworth)

This is the debut album of American-born, Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter Eva Ellingsworth.  And while it definitely has some of the classic "girl-with-a-guitar" / singer-songwriter / indy music feel to it -- the album also has some surprising arrangements that show off a varied musical pallette.

My personal favorite on the album is actually the first track -- "Television," with its funky non-instrumental chant feel.  But I also really enjoy the songs "Life is the Giving" and "It Won't Be Long."

The songs also have a special affect on me because I've watched a number of the songs be "born" -- also having the privilege of counting Eva as a personal friend and tracking her development as a musician from very early on. 

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Why Should the Fire Die? (by Nickel Creek)

I bought the album just for the song "Doubting Thomas" -- which I had heard on the (internet) radio; the songs tight harmonies and heartfelt lyrics made it unforgetable to me long before I had the song in my own collection.  But after acquiring a copy of the CD for myself, I came to appreciate each song on the album in its own right.  "Country music" is usually not my thing (though this album would be more accurately labelled as "Bluegrass" or -- as some have told me "New-grass")... But I'm glad to make an exception in the case of Nickel Creek.

Other tracks that have become favorites include "When in Rome" and "Somebody More Like You."  I tend to skip over a few of the songs in the middle of the album (the ones that tend to be a little bit closer to the "Country" end of the spectrum) -- but this is only to be expected with most albums.  All in all, "Why Should the Fire Die?" is a great album.

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Bootleg (by Larry Norman)

It's funny how music has such specific associations in our minds, isn't it?  When I listen to this album, I can still remember the first time that I heard the music of Larry Norman -- on one of my first weekends home from college, in the tiny upstairs apartment of a run-down house that my parents were renting after my Dad had changed careers, with my brother and my father trying to explain the album to me (the song they sang was "Walking Backwards Down the Stairs") until I made them give up and just play the old record for me in the room that my brothers were sharing at the time.

Larry Norman was one of the first people to combine "Rock 'n Roll" music with Christian lyrics.  Although I would consider the musical genre to be more "Folk" than "Rock" -- there's still something beautiful and pure about Larry Norman's music, especially from the early years (i.e. Bootleg).  If you've never given Larry Norman a try, I'd highly recommend it (though you may need to listen through a few songs to really get a feel for him).

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Anthology of Bread (by Bread)

I think my parents must have had an 8-track tape or audio cassette of one of Bread's albums -- because I can vaguely remember a number of the songs as being a part of our family's car rides.  At the time, I usually viewed it as a bothersome interruption to a string of kids' music (like Psalty the Singing Songbook or "Songs that Tickle Your Funny Bone")... But I understand now why our parents would occasionally say, "OK.  OK.  Now it's time for Mommy to pick a tape!"  And as far as Mommy and Daddy tapes went, Bread was a pretty good one...

I rediscovered Bread again in my teenage years, and I've continued to appreciate their music to this day.  They're the ultimate in 1970s mellow, smooth sounds with guitars, strings, and voices.  Favorite songs from this album include "Aubrey" and "Diary" -- but the all-time favorite has to be "If."  Among other reasons for loving the song, Marci and I consider "If" to be "our song."  We danced to it at our wedding, and the song continues to provide a meaningful expression of our love for each other.  It's a really beautiful song with beautiful words.

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 In Between Dreams (by Jack Johnson)

I think I discovered Jack Johnson about a year and a half after everyone else in the Western hemisphere did... So I won't pretend that this is a highly original pick for Recommended Music -- nevertheless, I feel that it deserves a place among my Recommendations.

If I could play guitar and write music, this is the kind of stuff that I would want to be playing and writing.  I appreciate the clever lyrics and meaningful commentary on life, love, and memory -- and the smooth sounds of Jack Johnson's voice and guitar are a great backdrop to any cafe conversation (which is, incidentally, how I actually discovered this album, on a date with Marci at our local Cafe Springer) or bicycle ride through the streets of Amsterdam (via headphones).

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Give Up (by The Postal Service)

Props to Eva for turning me on to The Postal Service.  This is definitely a different kind of band from what I would typically listen to -- very electronic, very beat-driven, very artsy -- but I've really come to enjoy this album.

In particular, the lyrics of the songs really catch one's attention.  They're sometimes very bizarre and raw and seemingly apoetic -- but they really give fresh perspectives to timeless well-worn themes, like the following lyrics about a break-up:  "I can't accept that it's over...
And I will block the door like a goalie tending the net
In the third quarter of a tied-game rivalry."  The music itself is also interesting (even if somewhat artificial), and the tunes really stick in one's mind hours after listening to the music.

And, for an extra-unusual side note about this album, the song "Such Great Heights" serves as the ringtone for my mobile phone -- a nice, subtle, instrumental section leading off the song that works well for creating a unique signal that my phone is going off without annoying the heck out of the guy sitting next to me on the tram.

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Rubber Soul (by The Beatles)

I've heard that there's supposed to be some kind of personal profile that can be developed for a person based solely on their favorite album by the Beatles... so I don't know what "Rubber Soul" might have to say about me -- but whatever it is, that must be what I am, because this is definitely my favorite of the Fab Four.

After their bubble-gum pop rock days... but before their psychadelic maharaja trippy days... "Rubber Soul" is a great blend of infectious melodies, tight three-part harmonies, and bizarre story-telling.  Many of the songs on this album are great... but if I had to pick just one, I'd probably go for "Run for Your Life."

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Greatest Hits (by Simon and Garfunkel)

What is it about me and early 1970s folk rock music?  I have a strange affinity for the music from this decade before my consciousness began.  And nobody defines this era and this genre of music quite like Simon and Garfunkel.  This particular "Greatest Hits" collection (that is to say, there are others as well) seems to me to be the most complete.  Regretably, this album (like any other Simon and Garfunkel greatest hits compilation) does not contain what might be my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song of all time:  "Seven O'Clock News / Silent Night."  However, with "Mrs. Robinson," "The Sound of Silence," and "The 59th Street Bridge Song" -- among other classics, this album more than makes up for the one omission.

For some reason, I've never really been able to latch onto Paul Simon in his post-Garfunkel era quite as much as the stuff that the two of them managed to put out together... But that's the beauty of recorded music, I guess.  The music of the early 1970s can be just as real and beautiful today as it was then.

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Songs for Silverman (by Ben Folds)

I've had to very seriously wonder if this might be my favorite musical album of all time.  Piano-driven accompaniment, smooth vocal solos with occasional well-blended harmonies, clever lyrics... these are all ingredients for a great album, in my mind.  So it only makes sense that Ben Folds' "Songs for Silverman" would be so darn appealing.

I will say (and take this as a warning, for those with a more sensitive nature) that there's a good bit of profanity on the album -- which could probably be done without.  But even so, I appreciate the sense of honesty that comes across in Ben Folds' music.  "Jesusland"... "Landed"... "Trusted"... "Late"... "Sentimental Guy"... Any one of these could typically qualify for a "best-song-on-the-album" number -- so when they're all together on the same disc, you know you've got a good one.

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The Planets (composed by Gustav Holst)

I remember it as clearly as the sun coming up over the summer prairie.  The thunderous refrain of "Mars" rumbling through the massive speakers mounted in the back of my cousin Andy's hatchback as we spanned the distance between the North Dakota / Manitoba border and our Winnipeg destination.  The golden sun was pouring out its first light over the Great Plains of Canada.  And it felt like the three of us in the car were the only human beings in existence -- racing toward the end of the world.  This was the first time that I heard the classical work of Gustav Holst's "The Planets."  And the feeling that I described above is still the feeling I get whenever I hear this album again.

"The Planets" was written like a film score -- decades before the first true Hollywood film scores were composed.  It's got such powerful mood and imagery... A truly great piece of music.