To make the list easier to compile, I decided to set a hard and fast rule. For inclusion, the artist must have put out a full-length album that has no more than one song that I hate. I'm not including anyone I classify as a "one hit wonder", no matter how great that one song may be.

One artist Gary Numan - is listed in his own section of this website, because he is my favourite of all, and can easily fit into all of the categories below.

It's a bit frightening, looking back in my vinyl museum (yes, children, vinyl - some of it over 50 years old, too). CDs are great for their clean sound and extended playtime. But they just ain't records. Each cardboard sleeve was different from every other one - the smell and feel brings back memories like no piece of clear plastic ever could.

Hey, it's my webpage, and I'll get nostalgic if I darn well want to.

Anyway, records have soul. They wear out, they warp, they crack, they melt; each time one gets played, a little bit of that vinyl is sacrificed for your listening pleasure. They are fragile manifestations of a creative moment.

I guess I'm getting old enough (no, not mature, nope, just older) to see how those favourite songs shaped part of my personality. Funny how I seem to have been influenced in more profound and subtle ways than I expected. I truly believe that you get what you're ready and able to handle during a musical performance, whether live or recorded. Music is a personal experience, never the same twice. At least, that's what I tell darling hubby when he complains about me leaving the same CD playing all afternoon.

dark / gothic / punk

classical composers

classical artists

dance of all types

rock / pop / alternative

soothing and/or relaxing

electronica

Copyright © 2002 by Barbara Anne Richardson. All rights reserved. Send comments here.