Eric Olsen asked people to post "Top Ten" lists of some sort this week. Having posted a list of "Perfect Albums" a while back, I'm half tempted to just beg off. I like listening to myself type, though, so I'll post a slightly different list. Not a "top ten albums" list, but something like a "ten top albums" list-- top albums in various (mostly flippant) categories from my collection of CD's.

• Top Album That Should've Sold a Billion Copies, But Didn't No question here, it's 1965 by the Afghan Whigs. This is the only overlap with the "Perfect Album" list. Featuring their trademark mix of blue-eyed soul crooning and alternarock skronk, with the angst turned down from 11, this is the Afghan Whigs party album, if you can believe such a thing. Greg Dulli's got a little wine, some Marvin Gaye, and a kick-ass backing band-- buy the album, enjoy the party.

• Top Album That I Was Faintly Embarrassed to Buy in a Store. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket by Blink-182. I'm over thirty, and never did own a skateboard, which puts me outside this band's demographic by about fifteen years, but for some reason, I really enjoy a lot of the pop-punk bands that I end up associating with annoying skateboarders (an association that's also probably five years out of date. Whatever.). These guys are really good at what they do-- "Rock Show" is pure pop gold-- but they always throw one cringe-worthy song on for the amusement of their fourteen-year-old core audience ("Happy Holidays, You Bastard," which appears to exist solely for the amusement value of saying "I'll never talk to you again,/ Unless your dad will suck me off"), and I hate the "So, you're buying this for... your kids?" look from the tattooed high-schooler at the record store. I'll order the next one of these I buy on-line.

• Top Obscure Album Bought Due to Vague Personal Connections. This one's a tie, between an Acoustic Junction album that appears to be titled Acoustic Junction (which I can't find on Amazon), and Play Each Morning Wild Queen by the Flash Girls. The former I bought in a Borders in DC, having seen the band play a couple of times back when I was in college, once in an art museum (one of the band members was also a cousin of somebody I played rugby with). The second Kate bought after we saw the Flash Girls perform at Boskone, and is notable for featuring a couple of funny songs written by Neil Gaiman. Also, noted fantasy author Emma Bull is one-half of the Flash Girls...
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