Adult Alternative
- On The Nights You Stay Home-Donovan Woods (A compelling tune about making a relationship work when one partner is more extroverted than the other.)
- Richard Strauss: Sonata For Violin and Piano in E-flat major, Op. 18 (Itzhak Perlman, violin; Emanuel Ax, piano) (Just knowing these two giants in their fields are performing, you almost don't have to hear the piece. You just know they capture every nuance of the pathos with their customary blend of delicacy and force.)
- The Shake (Avengers Theme)-Laurie Johnson Orchestra (Combine Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" theme with some Nelson Riddle-style, "Route 66"-ish orchestral arranging and a bit of "West Side Story"'s "Maria," and you get this theme.)
- Sambou Sambou-Eliane Elias (An energetic breeze of a Brazilian melody; Elias excels equally well on vocals and piano, as this track shows. Elias has a long record of consistency from CD to CD, and her latest release, "Dance Of Time," builds on this.)
- This Side-Nickel Creek (An advisable outlook to have when jumping enthusiastically into a relationship; Sean Watkins nails this, especially in the closing lyric, "...but I don't think I'm scaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrred!")
- Luigi Boccherini: Cello Concerto No. 8 in D major, G.478-II. Larghetto (Tim Hugh, Scottish Chamber Orchestra & Anthony Halstead) (Tender and moving, with rationed optimism. Yet another example of the cello as the most ear-catching of stringed orchestral instruments.)
- I'll Take You There-The Staple Singers (One of the more effective, attention-getting opening notes and a sense of conviction in the vocals that sounds just as convincing today.)
