Let’s get this out of the way: I’m a sucker for radio hits. I love VH1 and I don’t know why. I’ll listen to anything once and then pick it apart the second time through, beat by beat. That said, I’ve been given the opportunity to voice my opinion and views on music and pop culture via this online column. I’m a hard core music fan. I have CD wallets overflowing with artists ranging from Thursday to Norah Jones and my form of heaven is a good, live show. I’ll be covering various topics over the next 16 weeks, but I thought I would let you get to know me and my favorite albums before I go about belittling Maroon 5 and talking about emo. Yeah, I said emo.

So, without further ado, my desert-island, all-time, top ten albums:

10. Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory: The sibling rivalry between Liam and Noel Gallagher clash about as often as the guitars in this masterpiece from one of Europe’s most popular exports in the mid-nineties. Melodic harmonies, soothing bass lines and a high hat here and there complete a record that any music lover has memorized word for word.

Key Track: “Some Might Say”

9. David Gray – White Ladder: “Please Forgive Me” kicks off this work of art and it never lets up. From piano-based songs such as “This Years Love” to the closing track “Say Hello Wave Goodbye,” where Gray channels Van Morrison, the English singer-songwriter bares his soul for all to hear and proves he’s the best thing to come from Whales since Dylan Thomas.

Key Track: “My Oh My”

8. Dashboard Confessional – The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most: Chris Carrabba’s voice screams with pain and loss through DC’s sophomore release, and though the lyrics are mostly downers and nothing but bad news, one can’t help but sing along. The former Further Seems Forever front man proves it’s not how tall you are (he’s Keebler elf short), but how long you can hold a note without crying.

Key Track: “The Brilliant Dance”

7. Brand New – Your Favorite Weapon: Timing is everything on this album. “Shower Scene” sets the standard for the rest of the songs to follow suit. While “Mix Tape” offers a ballad-esque sound that builds to a crescendo of sound and distortion, “Magazines” shows us all that a song can be riffs based around six chords, and fun to play on top of that.

Key Track: “Shower Scene”

6. Dave Matthews Band – Before These Crowded Streets: Dubbed as the dark DMB album, the band puts aside all the happiness from previous sessions and focuses on heavier themes and melodies. The “Last Stop” / “Don’t Drink the Water” / “Halloween” trifecta leaves Matthews screaming to the heavens for all to hear.

Key Track: “The Stone”

5. Ryan Adams – Gold: The cocky Adams, formally of Wiskeytown, knew he made it big after his sophomore release, thanks mainly to “New York, New York,” a song that only became popular after Sept. 11. Adams acoustic guitar clangs against depressing lyrics on tracks such as “Nobody Girl” and “Firecracker.”

Key Track: “Sylvia Plath”

4. Matt Nathanson – Ernst: Sorry Damien Rice, but Nathanson beat you to the punch with the combination of guitar and cello by seven years. Nathanson sings of lost loves and life’s problems in under 30 minutes and leaves the listener wanting more. While borrowing a Pat Benatar beat for “Church Clothes,” Nathanson confesses, “all those simple things you revel in/they just suffocate me.”

Key Track: “First Time”

3. Jimmy Eat World – Clarity: The Mesa, Arizona quartet takes the drop-D tuning to a whole new level on their finest work ever. Non-stop rhythm guitars and running bass lines dominate songs like “Lucky Denver Mint” and “Blister” while seconds later, harmonics and drum beats repeat over and over for 16 minutes as the epic “Goodbye Sky Harbor” closes out the album.

Key Track: “Just Watch the Fireworks”

2. Wilco -Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Jeff Tweedy intermixes off-beat rhythms and thoughtful lyrics to create an album that was rejected time and time again by the bands record company, only to become their best selling album ever. The alt-country sound offers listeners different timing structures, ranging from songs like “Heavy Metal Drummer” to “Jesus, etc” and allow Tweedy to showcase his talents both on the guitar and though his words.

Key Track: “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”

1. U2 – Achtung Baby: From the opening of “Zoo Station,” U2 grabs the listeners attention and takes them on a wild ride of distortion and ballads. “One” offers a messed up view of relationships while “Until the End of the World” glistens in despair and regret. It’s an experimental album too. Ever listen to this album with the treble all the way down or with the right speaker unplugged? Try it and listen to everything that you are missing.

Key Track: “Mysterious Ways”