I started collecting 45s around the time vinyl was on the way out, in the 1980s - back when the cassette was going to 'kill the industry.' The little records with the big holes were still ubiquitous but prices were dropping with demand; who needs Frank Sinatra when there's Frankie Goes To Hollywood? I scooped up a bunch and kept my eyes on tag sales and K-Mart ... until the grunge days when cute, colored 45s sold by mail-order provided the last hurrah for the 7 inch.

My goal was (and remains) the perfect custom jukebox featuring pop tunes from 1950 (the year of the 45 debut) 'til the end of history (circa 1990) - limited to one disc per year (more or less).

There's a lot to be said for the single. On a 45, it's the song, not the singer; in this medium, even a band as slight as The Vapors can compete with a band as substantive as XTC. On a 45, the filler is limited to 50%; often a B-side is pointedly filler and a certain negative audacity is achieved - although often enough, owing to the fickle tastes of the buying public (and the vagaries of publishing royalties), truly great tracks are issued only as B sides. There's also a reductionist joy in pinpointing a certain artist's - or a certain genre's - essential moment under the sun.

Here are some of my most treasured 45s. They are all original and all-American issue (no reissue double A's or small holes). I have appended, below, corresponding LPs (whenever possible). This is NOT a 'top 10 list' - these are simply random cool tunes that have particular value to me.

1. 'It's Been A Long, Long Time' - Les Paul & Mary Ford - Columbia 41994 - 1956. This dude needs little introduction - he invented the electric guitar - but, with a discography deeper than the Old Testament and a fatal predilection for schlock, it's a rare recording in which the guitar playing genius harmonizes with the engineering genius. Here's the goods - Paul and Ford slow down and jazz up this 1945 chestnut and the result is heavenly. The eight-measure guitar solo is hammer of the gods.

2. 'Rebel Rouser' - Duane Eddy - Jamie 1104 - 1958. Here's the perfect anthem for every side-burned juvenile delinquent craving a six-pack, a hot rod and a doll who puts out. Lee Hazlewood - 'These Boots are Made for Walking' - co-wrote and produced this 'Johnny Cash-goes-to-Hell' trash masterpiece.