Nerf Herder
American Cheese

Call me a dork, but I love Nerf Herder. And of course, by that I mean even though you can call me a dork, I still consider myself worthy of loving these guys. Watch the videos for Mr. Spock and Van Halen, and if you don't love these guys, too, well, then I guess you shouldn't waste your money on any of their albums.

Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection

When I told someone that Honky Chateau was my favorite Elton John album, she told me she had to lend me this one, her favorite. I finally had to return it to her, so I'll now have to buy a copy for myself. The most famous song, and one of the best, is "Burn Down the Mission". It's not a song I listened to a lot until hearing this album, and I appreciate even more now. But songs like "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun" and "My Father's Gun", and a lot of other songs in between, make this an album that doesn't force you to dive for the "skip" button.

Cheap Trick
The Essential Cheap Trick

I could listen to "Southern Girls" ten times in a row. But luckily, I don't have to, because I can also play "He's a Whore", "Surrender", "I Want You to Want Me", and "Gonna Raise Hell" on the same CD, without even putting in the other half of this 2-CD set. I heard "The Flame" about a thousand times in high school, and was never really sold on these guys until my chronic listening to Howard Stern forced me to realize recently how good these guys are. (He's a big fan and unpaid spokesman.) I bought the CD for "I Want You to Want Me", plus "Surrender", and I was pleasantly surprised that there are some other songs just as catchy. There are some songs I skip over, but the ones worth listening to are so good, it makes the CD well worth it.

Rancid
Indestructible

I have a feeling that slowly but surely, I will buy all of Rancid's albums. This is nice to know, because a lot of punk bands can be hit or miss. This is only the second album I own by these guys (the other is ...And Out Came the Wolves), so I feel like an amateur when it comes to their music. But this CD has officially passed the test of time, and the upbeat melodies can always cheer me up, even if the best song on the album is about the "evils" of consumerism ("Born Frustrated"). Fortunately, the typical anti-life philosophy of punk rock is not very prominent in their lyrics, and you can focus on the music. My next album to buy is Lars Frederiksen's solo album. This guy knows how to get you jumping around and smashing things.

The Rolling Stones
Sticky Fingers

This is the only Rolling Stones album I own other than their greatest hits, and probably the only one I'm ever going to buy. You might say that's because I don't want to shatter the image I have of them after listening to the amazing songs on this album. Or you might say something that's not complete bullshit. Anyway, the song that really did it for me was "Dead Flowers", which is the song that made me ask the bartender at the Irish bar where I was drinking what the hell album they were playing. This album is amazing, and as usual, made me pissed off at every radio station who thought that they should play the same ten hits rather than actually giving me a chance to hear the breadth of what a band is capable of.

NOFX
Pump Up the Valuum

For me, NOFX is the George Carlin of music. I love listening to them, even though their philosophy of life isn't worthy of a bathroom wall. (I only say that because I'm a big fan of bathroom graffiti.) I had to refrain from buying their last album, just like I had to refrain from buying Carlin's last book. September 11 forced all their evil shit to seep out of their brains and out of their mouths. So for now, I will allow time to freeze in the year 2000 and continue to listen to this album, back in the sweet, innocent days when they were still singing about sex changes and parents who listen to the Misfits and smoke pot. But that's ok, I have faith. I think they'll forget about being pissed off at America for not turning the other cheek before their next album and get back to singing about stupid shit. Until then, it's the super-fast, melodic whining of my favorite band I hate to love. Their music kicks ass.