My musical tastes incorporate many so-called genres. The word genre, as it is usually applied has a useful purpose, but it is particularly limiting when speaking about music. The best music trancends this sort of labeling. So, I've decided to put the music I love in categories that are indisputable: 1) Noel's absolute favorite, 2) Hard for ME to live without, 3) Other stuff I love, and 4) From MY friends and family.

Noel's Absolute Favorites

	Artist	Favorite Album(s)	Comments
	Billy Bragg	Talking with the Taxman About Poetry Back to Basics	Billy Bragg is a punk/folk political rocker. A tremendously gifted wordsmith ("In the end it took me a dictionary to find out the meaning of unrequited; while she was giving her love for free at a party to which I was never invited") with a socialist bent. After seeing a live show, my life is always changed dramatically for about a month.
	The Clash	London Calling Sandinista!	"The Clash are the only band that ever mattered," according to the fairly famous quote. There's so much shit out there. But you know, there's also a lot of really great music. And then there are bands like The Clash who are so far above it all.
	Patsy Cline	The Patsy Cline Story	Patsy Cline has one of those voices. I won't try to describe what a million other people have tried to describe with varying degrees of success. Suffice it to say that you'll never hear anything like it for the rest of your life.
	John Coltrane	Giant Steps A Love Supreme	In San Francisco, there is actually a Church of John Coltrane. Some (very down!) Christians have been so influenced by the music of Trane that he is, in their minds, a saint. His music is tremendously spiritual and pushes the boundaries of what music is and can be. The opening of "A Love Supreme" is one of the greatest first moments of an album in history
	Loretta Lynn	Country Music Hall of Fame	Yeah, I used to be one of the fools who said, "I like everything except country." Then I started listening to some real country music. Loretta Lynn is real country music. And real country music is exceptionally good music.
	Bob Marley and the Wailers	Exodus Catch a Fire	The Red Hot Chili Peppers characterized Bob Marley with the line, "Bob Marley, poet and a prophet." This is true. Bob Marely's music is transforming. You can't listen to it deeply and not be a changed person, because he speaks the truth in a way that has no pretensions. I am moved simply by listening to him call out "Yeah."
	R.E.M	Murmur Fables Monster New Adventures	Probably the most important band in my life. This band was involved in my change from likeable but uninspired and directionless frat boy to what I am now for good or bad.
	The Replacements/Paul Westerberg	Let It Be (R) Stereo (PW)	Well sonny, back in the ole' days while I was in college...The Replacements are one of those bands at the heart of my coming of age as a music listener. Their career had it's ups and downs but there are only a handful of rock and roll albums that operate at the same level as Let It Be. Tim and Pleased to Meet Me are also shining examples of 80s alternative/punk rock
	The Velvet Underground/Lou Reed	Loaded (VU) New York (LR)	It's hard to describe the Velvets. They're probably one of those love/hate bands. Woe to those of you who fall into the wrong category. There's a famous quote about the Velvets. "It's been said that only a handful of people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every single one of them formed a band."
	Mike Watt/Minutemen/fIREHOSE	Double Nickles on the Dime (M)	Mike Watt is my punk rock hero. He's one of these dudes whose integrity is unquestionable. When I lived in LA I used to see fIREHOSE play every couple of months. Watt and the bass...live. Amazing.
	Bruce Springsteen	Nebraska Born to Run Ghost of Tom Joad	Bruce Springsteen is everything everybody says about him.
	Lucinda Williams	Car Wheels on a Gravel Road World Without Tears Sweet Old World	Lucinda Williams may be my favorite all time artist. Her lyrics are so simple, raw, and true. In fact, this is the truest music I've ever known. The single greatest concert event of my life was Lucinda and her band ripping through 'Joy' in Pittsburgh at Rosebud.
	Neil Young	Comes a Time Ragged Glory Decade	Neil Young transcends so much of the crap that gets put into music. How can you sum up a guy who can do Sugar Mountain at one turn and rock as hard as Pearl Jam on the other. It doesn't get more real than Neil Young.

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Hard for ME to live without

	Artist	Favorite Album(s)	Comments
	Dave Alvin	King of California Blackjack David	Dave Alvin, formerly of the Blasters, is simply great rock and roll/americana music. This is a guy who plays with heart and soul, writes stories that you can see as if they were moving pictures and simply rips through a live show like nobody's business.
	Miles Davis	Kind of Blue	Miles Davis IS jazz music. Kind of Blue (which features Coltrane on sax) is a perfect album start to finish. I haven't studied jazz enough to get the full effect of his influence, but I know enough to know that Miles Davis is it.
	Bob Dylan	Blonde on Blonde	Bob Dylan should be on my top list, but I haven't been a good enough listener to deserve to have him up there. Arguably the greatest lyricist in music history. "The Times, they are a Changin'" is in my top 5 alltime song list. There is no one in music better than Bob Dylan.
	Husker Du/Bob Mould/Sugar	Zen Arcade (HD)	Punk legends. Zen Arcade is one of the most intense albums I've ever listened to. It took me some time to really get it, but it was worth the wait.