MOG

1. Eric B. & Rakim, "I Ain't No Joke." Rolling Stone: "When did you realize that music was important to you?" Common: "When Paid in Full came out."

2. Suzanne Vega, "Luka." "Yes I think I'm okay. I walked into the door again. If you ask that's what I'll say, it's not your business anyway."

3. LL Cool J, "Goin' Back to Cali." Shuffle play doesn't know enough to put this with Eric B. & Rakim. This one first turned up on the soundtrack to a movie where Robert Downey Jr. played a junkie and James Spader played his dealer.

4. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, & Emmylou Harris, "My Dear Companion." When our kids were young (they were 12 and 9 in 1987), they would sit in the back of the car when we'd hit the road. The rule of car music was simple: Mom had to at least tolerate it. This meant no "bangie-bangie music," as she called most of what her husband listened to, and no bass-heavy music, hip-hop or other. The Trio album by these three lovely singers was one of her favorites, and we listened to it often in the car. I think it became something to be feared by the youngsters in the back seat ... oh no, not Trio again!

5. Terence Trent D'Arby, "Sign Your Name." Here, on the other hand, was a song that the whole family could like.

6. Bruce Springsteen, "Valentine's Day." Bruce's last great album, and one of the best breakup records ever made. His acknowledgement to his wife, "Thanks Juli," says everything when combined with the songs on the album. It ends with this beautiful song, but even here, when reconciliation approaches, the singer is on the road thinking about the person he misses, he's not there yet, and he's terrified he's lost her. After the Tunnel of Love tour, Bruce put most of these songs on the shelf, playing them far less often than you'd imagine, given their quality, and one can only surmise the album brought back too many bad memories for him. "Valentine's Day" must have hit him the hardest ... although the album came out in 1987, he didn't sing this one live until 2005.

7. 10,000 Maniacs, "What's the Matter Here?" From the album that originally included "Peace Train", until Cat Stevens started mouthing off and Natalie Merchant decided she didn't want to be associated with his songs any longer. I suppose this answers the titular question.

8. George Michael, "One More Try." I can't say I'm a big fan of George Michael ... my daughter loved him around the time of this album ... but I could listen to this song a dozen times in a row.

9. Lyle Lovett, "If I Had a Boat." The German version of Rolling Stone called this album the 201st best album of all time. Christgau gave it a B-.

10. The Pixies, "Caribou." Repent!

Bonus track: