I've been a John Mayer fan for as long as I care to remember. My older brother, who is infinitely smarter and more cultured than yours truly, introduced me to his work about six years ago. I remember "Love Song for No One" being the first song I'd ever heard by him, even before his Room For Squares album hit the shelves; I knew this guy was going to make something of himself.I enjoyed Inside Wants Out. That feeling matured and evolved a little with the release Room for Squares. By the time I was a freshman in college, Heavier Things was something new and exploratory, and his lyrics always caught me pleasantly off guard; you can't go wrong with saying, "I wish there was an over-the-counter test for loneliness like this" when you're feeling down. Anyway, right before I bought my ticket for his Halloween performance on his Heavier Things tour, I was sitting in my professor's office for Music101, shooting the breeze on how John Mayer had this home grown, down-to-Earth, boy next door feel, and no matter how his music changed, he'd always have that same endearing boyish charm hiding behind some big emotions.I got front row tickets for that concert, and I can honestly say that John Mayer puts on the best acoustic show I've ever seen. If you think you know people who can play some amazing guitar, you haven't heard anything until you've heard a five minute, free-flowing guitar solo a la John. Not a lot of people appreciated Heavier Things; it wasn't "Your Body Is a Wonderland," and it certainly wasn't as bubblegum as its predecessors. The thing about that album was, that he was growing up, and so was I. It all just fit together. Then some time flew by, and I'd heard rumors of a John Mayer Trio album, and I was nothing less than excited: a live album, no less. Eleven tracks of jazz infused joy found its way to my iPod, and I pawned it off on all my friends. He went a different way that I'd thought, and more importantly, he was traveling away from mainstream radio. I could sit and listen to "Another Kind of Green" and relate to every word, and "Good Love Is on the Way" always made me crack a smile no matter how bad I was feeling. I was starting to grow a little skeptic of where he'd go next. I was growing weary of change, and starting to feel a little nostalgic of my high school days where Inside Wants Out was pretty much my life. I missed the plain old, simple acoustic music. A few months had gone by, and then I realized that his cd, Continuum, was soon to be released. And you know what? I was pleasantly surprised. Even though he repeats a few songs from his Trio's album, "Gravity" and "Vultures," he manages to creat a perfect medley of all his albums. Where "Stop This Train" reminds me of Room for Squares and "Waiting on the World to Change" of Heavier Things, songs like "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and "Heart of Life" seem to blend those albums together for a polished, yet rough around the edges, final product. It even had hints of his Trio's work, outside the songs included on their album, with "I'm Gonna Find Another You." I don't think that fifteen dollars could've been spent on something more worthwhile.I understand his music isn't for everyone. Not all people are going to grab Continuum, or any of his albums for that matter, and hear exactly what I hear, but that's the beauty of music. It's all in how you perceive it. And if you aren't a John Mayer fan, so what? I don't really fancy Metallica, but there are some people who are just as die-hard about them as I am about John Mayer. What I'm really trying to get across here is that, even if you don't like his music, there's something to be appreciated. The man tries new things, and in the music business now, artists like that are much too far and few between.