The other day, when I posted my mockery of the Grammys, I mentioned that I am a big music lover. It occurred to me shortly after I posted that, that I'd never once posted anything about any of the music I love. That just won't do.

I've added to my sidebar on the right... there is now a small graphic that links to the amazon page for each of the albums that I keep in heavy rotation. In order to qualify as a link-worthy album, each album up for consideration has to have spent weeks without having been taken out of my car stereo, or else I have to have burned a copy for my car because my wife and I constantly fight over who gets the original. Whenever I add something to the "Heavy Rotation" list, I'll post an entry about it. Here's just a few notes about the albums in this first list:

Glen Phillips - "Abulum"
Easily the album of the decade for both my wife and I so far. I'm sure that it's safe to say that we've not gone more than a week or two without at least one of us listening to it since it first came out. Phillips is the former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, and this first solo album is an amazing, outstanding effort. If you're a fan of Wilco, Toad, Ryan Adams, and the whole alt-country folk/rock singer-songwriter thing in general, then do yourself a favor and buy this CD right now.

Killswitch Engage - "The End of Heartache"
No problems fighting with my wife over this album. She hates it. I love it, though. This is old-school thrash metal, like the stuff I grew up with. Good, solid riffs and positive lyrics about love and trying to be a better person. What more could a headbanger want?


Jimmy Eat World - "Bleed American" (Newer copies are simply self-titled.)
I will never get tired of this perfect pop/punk/80's rock sounding mix. I've loved every song on here at one point or another, and I am surprised at the fact that I can still enjoy it as much as ever, considering that I've probably played it a thousand times since we got it.

Tool - "Lateralus"
Tool may well be my favorite rock band, and this is their best album. Other Tool fans might dispute that, but they are all wrong. Tool is like a Pink Floyd / Metallica hybrid, if you can imagine, and they just get better and better.

P.O.D. - "Satellite"
Probably the last good album by this strong Christian rock band (they're still together, but they've gone secular/pop and their newest stuff is garbage). "Satelite" is a great, great album. It was released on 9/11, and it almost serves as something of an emotional safety net for those of us who love it.

Jimmy Eat World - "Futures"
The newest Jimmy Eat World album came out just a few days before Wendy and I got married. This is probably the one band that she and I share the strongest mutual love for, and while we agree that "Bleed American" is their strongest album, we both love this one, too. Songs like "Polaris" and "23" are as strong as anything they've ever done.

Tony Rice - "Church Street Blues"
Tony Rice is the best musician I've ever heard. If you need proof that there is a God, listen to this guy play guitar. He's amazing. Rice's music is a constant in my life, and of everyone on this list, I've listened to him the longest. I constantly discover other Rice ablums that are new to me, but I always come back to this one as the standard I judge guitar players by.

Brand New - "Deja Entendu"
I got this album for my wife for Christmas last year, and I ended up falling in love with it as much as she did. This is sort of like Jimmy Eat World's stuff, kind of a punk/pop mix, but with more acoustic stylings, and yet with more raw punk emotion. The song titles are intentionally obtuse, but the songs are pure pop genius.

Ben Folds Five - "Whatever and Ever Amen"
Another album my wife got me into. I didn't like "Brick," the album's lead single, when it was on the charts... but once I heard "One Angry Dwarf..." I was interested in the rest of the album. Songs like "Smoke," "Evaporated," "Song for the Dumped," and "Selfless, Cold, and Composed" really hooked me. In fact, there aren't many albums from the last ten years that are as strong and consistant as this one. In the context of the album, I even got to where I liked "Brick."

Nine Inch Nails - "The Fragile"
I think Trent Reznor is a musical genius, and I can't wait to get his new album when it comes out this May. Til now, I've thought that his most recent album, "The Fragile," was his strongest and best. The guy takes some real chances here, the album is full of instrumentals and jazz-influenced experiments, and to my ear, it all works well. I've played this album to death since it came out. Check out "Just Like You Imagined" for a prime example of why I love this album.

Outkast - "Stankonia"
I do NOT like hip hop. I think most of it is crap. However, Outkast are real musicians and songwriters, and the stuff they come up with is about a mile above the average Eminem/Ja Rule/50 Cent garbage. This album is so catchy, funny, and inventive that I couldn't help but get into it. Key tracks include "Bombs Over Baghdad," "So Fresh, So Clean," and the hilarious double entendre of "I'll Call Before I Come."

John Mellencamp - "Words and Music (Greatest Hits)"
The newest CD on the list, Wendy gave it to me for Valentines Day. These are all songs I grew up with, and songs that were huge hits when I worked in radio. Giving me this CD was like giving me a scrapbook of my childhood and early adulthood. John Mellencamp, despite his typical far-left rock star goofball politics, is an American treasure.