I admit it...I do not possess as much knowledge on music as I wish I did. I owned "Hanging Tough" by the New Kids on the Block once upon a time and I even knew all the words to "Ice Ice Baby". However, bare with me because as I have grown into a mature, responsible adult, my music pallet has widened and I have discovered layers upon layers of musical taste that I never knew (or admitted) existed.

With that being said, I own five albums (technically they are CD's, but....that's not important) that I feel every music lover should own. Most of these albums do not contain songs that you will find on your favorite radio station. Unless, of course, you listen to public radio. If that's the case, then you probably will agree with my album choices.

Jeff Buckley - "Grace"

This album was released in 1994 on Columbia records and it didn't make it's way into my life, sadly, until 2004. I had been told several times that this CD would make me cry, but felt confident that I'd be able to hold it together for the duration of CD. It was night time and I had put headphones on so that I'd be able to hear every single note, word and emotion that was put into each and every song. By the end of the first track, Mojo Pin, I was in tears. Never had I heard such emotion in a song. Every chord and note seems to pull at your heart, dragging out every ounce of empathy and sensitivity you may contain within. I continued to listen based on how impressed I was with just the first song. That's when I heard Lilac Wine. With it's a cappella intro and it's slow, lackadaisical music background throughout the rest of the tune, you can easily close your eyes and envision the images Jeff is painting for you.

There is a cover of Leonard Cohan's Halleljuah that has additional lyrics, and to me, really makes the listener enjoy the song more because of lyrical content rather then the music itself.

The fifth track, So Real, actually wasn't going to make it onto the album. That place was originally meant for Forget Her, which ended up coming out on a single at a later date. According to rumors, Jeff felt that Forget Her was too personal and too revealing, so he opted to replace it with So Real instead. I love both songs, but I feel that So Real made more sense on this album. It seemed to flow with the emotional content seemingly well and it just so happens to be my favorite track on the entire CD. With lines such as, "And I never stepped on the cracks 'cause I thought I'd hurt my mother/And I couldn't awake from the nightmare/It'd suck me in and pull me under/Oh, that was so real", I was immediately hooked.

And just so no one can say that I don't know my obvious music history, yes, Tim Buckley is his father.

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

The sixth studio release by Conor Oberst, a.k.a. "Bright Eyes", this is by far my favorite. It starts with what seems to be a conversation between Oberst and his therapist, almost a confession or a rundown of a terrible nightmare gone wrong - but the jokes on you. It's actually the introduction to a song which seems almost as chaotic as you would hope it'd be.

This album was released the same day as "Digital Ash for a Digital Urn", it's more techno sounding counterpart. "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" has more a folk sound to it, Conor using his voice and his acoustic guitar in correlation with stinging, powerful Dylan-like lyrics.

It's important to pay attention to this artist, not only because he has some important, potent view points on modern issues ("My parents have their religion, but sleep in separate houses"), but the way that he non apologetically expresses those views. He recently did a late night performance of his single, "When The President Talks To God" in an all red, rhinestone cowboy outfit and spit out line after line opinions about the so-called "war on terror". Not afraid to stir things up and make some noise, I believe Oberst may be the new generations version of Bob Dylan or even Woodie Guthry.

Tracks to pay attention to would be "Lua", "Land Locked Blues" and "Road To Joy", which is basically a rock rendition of an old patriotic song with new, more precise lyrics.

John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People

This was my favorite album of 2004 and I almost didn't buy it. I knew John Frusciante as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers who left the band in the middle of a tour and the nearly destroyed himself over a drug addiction. I never would have imagined him as being such an amazing lyricist, nor would I have ever dreamed that he'd have such an appeasing voice. Luckily for me, both these things are true.

John seems to have traveled into a different time and space after (or during) his drug binging days, but that in combination with his impressive interest in what most would consider complicated mathematics makes this CD original and refreshing. The entire album, even with a track like "Regret", which only has two lines repeating through the entire song ("I regret my past/Stay alone"), makes you find yourself both emotionally crippled and mentally renewed. Many may also enjoy the religious undertones that are prevalent through the album, but not in favor of Christianity.

There are three "breaks" in the album which are still songs in their own right, but seem to be more experimental then intentional. The first two, -00Ghost27 and Failure33Object, I can't tolerate listening to for more then a minute due to the high pitched tones and repetitiveness. The third, 23 go in to end, is actually very beautiful and well arranged. I never skip that track!

This was released on Warner Brother Records, but John released 6 albums/EP's within a 6 month time period on a label known as 2004 Record Collection. They aren't as high quality as Shadows... is, but they are still worth owning.

Wilco - A Ghost Is Born

Although this wasn't my favorite album of the year, it does contain my favorite song of the year, At Least That's What You Said. This is a brilliant way to open up this CD; very subtle and yet with the amazing musical talent that this band possesses, you are able to envision that this is what an argument with your significant other would sound like if you didn't use words.

Muzzle with Bees, the fourth track, is very simple and melodic, but as you can guess, the lyrics grabbed with on this song as well. I don't want to steer the direction away from the music that this band creates, however, because they are by far the greatest live band I have ever seen. I wasn't even a fan when I first seen them in concert, but have seen them 3 times since then and would recommend them to anyone. The line from Muzzle with Bees that really grabbed me says, "I’m assuming you got my message on your machine/I'm assuming you love me, and you know what that means". So profound, yet so human and simple. The entire album is like this.

Ryan Adams - Cold Roses

This is the greatest modern musician, lyricist and performer of our time. Little known yet widely acclaimed, Ryan has released five albums before this and will be releasing two more before the year is over. This particular albums is a double album, nine tracks per disc. This is by far his best work and he has paired up with The Cardinals to make the sound even more incredible.

The album has more of a country tone then any other genre, but it's not a country album. There is no way to classify the range of musical genres he explores in this album; it's just good music. You have more somber, melancholy songs such as Now That You're Gone, How Do You Keep Love Alive and Friends, but they are balanced with more upbeat and fast paced tunes such as Beautiful Sorta and Life Is Beautiful. There is not a bad song on either of these discs and I find myself playing them over and over again, hearing each song differently then I did before. You can find something personal and memorable in each track and that makes it an album worth owning.

The next album, Jacksonville City Lights, is due out in America on September 6, 2005 and there will be a third release, 29, by the end of the year.

No matter what you think of my judgment, there's an album listed above that is meant for you. The best music is usually the stuff you've never heard before so don't be afraid to explore and open up your horizons to artists you've never heard before. If you end up not liking it, you can always sell it to your local music store and tell them that Jennifer gave you a bad recommendation.