Sometime in the next couple of hours I will hit 100,000 on the stat counter. Remember the lucky person wins a free book. Let me know if it is you.
My series on non-violence will not be continuous. The next installment will probably be on Thursday or Friday. Thanks for the comments so far.

Now on to my weekly top 10. A couple of rules for this list: No greatest hits packages and only one album per artist.

10. Journey–Escape: Pure candy. Every song is still a delight to listen to 25 years later. I still remember the disappointment when I bought Frontiers and realized that they were unable to maintain that level of excellence. They should have stopped recording after that Separate Ways video Favorite Track–Don’t Stop Believin’ Overlooked Gem–Still They Ride

9. Queensryche–Operation Mindcrime: For a three year period of time all I listened to was heavy metal. This is the most timeless album of those days. I could have named several other albums: Appetite for Destruction, Master of Puppets, Among the Living, Halfway to Sanity. However, this is the one album from that period of my life that I still want to listen to from time to time. Favorite Track: Revolution Calling Overlooked Gem: The Needle Lies

8. John Mellencamp–Scarecrow: Subtitled Scott Freeman Grows a Social Conscious. This album was an awakening for me and ushered in an era of listening to more overt political music: Jackson Browne, Lou Reed, Billy Bragg, etc. Anybody remember White Lion’s Little Fighter? Favorite Track–Rain on the Scarecrow Overlooked Gem–Between a Laugh and a Tear

7. Reo Speedwagon–Hi Infidelity: I still remember getting this album from Columbia House, plugging in the headphones, picking up the tennis racket and giving the ultimate concert in my room. Favorite Track–Don’t Let Him Go Overlooked Gem–In Your Letter

6. Styx–Paradise Theater: My local record store staged a phony petition to get them to come to Little Rock on this tour. This qualifies as my first true rock and roll show after years of Shaun Cassidy and Helen Reddy concerts. (Note to the band: You don’t have Dennis DeYoung with you? Then please, for the love of all that is sacred in this world, stop. Put down the instruments and back away. I Am the Walrus? Come on.) Favorite Track–Nothing Ever Goes As Planned Overlooked Gem–She Cares

5. Bruce Springsteen–Nebraska: The folkie in me awakes. The despair in this album still grabs me. The grappling with the loss of innocence, the pain of the forgotten and the stark realities of life is a reminder to me to count my blessings. Favorite Track–Atlantic City Overlooked Gem–Reason to Believe (Hope concludes the album. Priceless.)

4. Rick Springfield–Living in Oz: I know, I know. But Springfield was my favorite artist for years. This is the album where he left behind the bubble-gum and proved that he could write a great lyric. Doubt that? Listen to Souls again. Favorite Track–Souls Overlooked Gem–Alyson

3. ‘Til Tuesday–Everything’s Different Now: Still on the list of my five favorite albums of all time. If you have never heard this album then by all means find it. A tremendous deconstruction of a failed relationship. Every song bleeds in this heart-breaking paean to lost love. Favorite Track–Rip in Heaven Overlooked Gem–The whole album was overlooked but I have to give a nod to Why Must I

2. Paul Simon–Graceland: Quite simply, one of the greatest albums ever recorded. Favorite Track–Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes Overlooked Gem–Crazy Love Vol II

1. U2–Joshua Tree: What can I say? The greatest rock and roll band of my lifetime churns out a definitive disk. It doesn’t get better than this one. Favorite Track: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For Overlooked Gem: Running To Stand Still

I have to add these three honorable mentions:
* Survivor–Vital Signs: The only problem with this album is that, although I truly believed in the sentiment behind The Search Is Over, the girl that I had dedicated the song to did not agree. Favorite Track–I Can’t Hold Back Overlooked Gem–I See You In Everyone

* Stevie Nicks–Bella Donna: For this 13 year old in 1981 Stevie Nicks was the most beautiful woman on the planet. And that voice. I was in love. Favorite Track and Overlooked Gem: After the Glitter Fades

* Husker Du–Candy Apple Gray: My punk days. Couldn’t explain it then. Can’t explain it now. But I loved the melancholy in Bob Mould’s voice. Favorite Track: Don’t Want to Know If You are Lonely Overlooked Gem: Too Far Down

What about you?