1. Rush Different Stages Stick It Out
Let’s face it, Rush is an amazing power trio. Understandably it can be hard for some listeners to get past Lee’s guinea-pig-esque vocal delivery. This is not one of my favorite tracks but I grew up listening to Rush so their sound always holds a close link to my childhood.

2. The Beatles Past Masters Disc 2 You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)
I don’t think I have ever listened to this track, and I made it about 20 seconds, let’s move on.

3. The Hives Your New Favorite Band Die, All Right
The Hives are good at bringing some energetic three chord punk rock to the table. They have a hi-fi recording style which fits their gritty approach.

4. Foo Fighters Foo Fighters Weenie Beenie
By far this is my favorite Foo Fighters release. Maybe it is innocence of the song writing, or that Dave Grohl took the time to cut all the parts himself. Maybe it’s both mixed with a simplistic approach to the production but I can push play and walk away on this one.

5.Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers Moanin’ Warm Up
This is just a quick 35 second track of some dialog and instrument tuning before a session. However Art was a skilled instrumentalist and no drummer ever drove a band harder. He is one of my personal favorite jazz drummers to listen to. (The clip linked is a 10 minute jam session - which is just phenomenal)

—Chris Darby