Record Collection: Top 10 Desert Island Disks

Longtime readers know that while I love to write lists of songs (and I promise I will finish that Top 50 Kids Songs list very soon), I haven't done much in the way of lists of albums.

Well, with these occasional "Record Collection" entries, I hope to remedy that ever-so-slightly.

The not-quite-out-of-beta Education.com asked me to write some articles on on kids music for them, and the first entry has just been posted: "Ten Kids CDs to Take to a Desert Island." You could probably ask me for a Top 10 list 10 different ways or at 10 different times and I'd come up with 10 different lists. This particular list is "a list of CDs (in no particular order) whose enjoyment has stood the test of time in our household." I bet a few of the CDs on my list would be on yours, too -- feel free to tell me which ones I've cruelly omitted.

For a taste, here's my comment on one of the albums:

They Might Be Giants, No! – You can't go wrong with either of the two kids albums from They Might Be Giants, who've been turning out quirky pop songs for adults for more than 20 years. This collection, the first of two for kids, gets the nod over its successor Here Come the ABCs for sheer consistency of material, but, really, either would be a great addition for your sandy retreat.

More pieces of mine will be running there in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, if you've got a preschool through grade-12-aged child, you should stop by the site. Reference articles, community features, and expert advice. Not much for the snark, but man cannot live by snark alone.

Comments

[Phil]

Great list! My kids' list would definitely include John Lithgow's "Singing In The Bathtub," one of the "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego" compilations with Rockapella, and, uh, probably a disc from that obscure Australian group that wears the colored t-shirts.

[Stefan]

It's OK, Phil, you can say it.

THE WIGGLES!

Besides, with many of these albums, even if your kids or you have "outgrown" them, they're still family favorites because you've listened to them so often.

[Katy L]

To misquote Dr. Suess, "From there to here, from here to there, my, but you've been everywhere!" When do you sleep???So, here's the inevitable "but-what-about-this-album-" comment for the day: I agree with nearly every album on your list (and the rest I haven't heard yet) but while we love Ralph's Green Gorilla, Kid Astro is tops at our house. How can you beat a kid who's a super hero??? Maybe it would inspire our kids to conjure enough of that super power to get our family off the island. And BTW, while I might get tired of coconuts, I'd never get tired of Mary Anne's coconut cream pies :)

[Phil]

It's funny, but you could really pick any of Ralph's CDs to take, as they are so consistent and enjoyable. My preference would be At The Bottom of The Sea, but my son says Kid Astro. My daughter just wants Beatles discs. She's in love with the Fab Four right now.