My music collection is, well, for lack of a better word, extensive. I have over 600 CDs (not including each individual disc in a box set), around 100 vinyl LPs, nearly 200 vinyl EPs, maybe 150 cassettes, 50 8 tracks (yup), and some 2,000 MP3s. Those numbers change so frequently that its near impossible to keep an accurate tab.
But never fear, I am a self-proclaimed music geek and that is why should you ever boot up my computer you’ll encounter a Excel file called “MUSIC.” Yes, I’m that lame that I’ve listed every CD, LP, EP, Cassette, 8 Track, and MP3 that I own. Glancing through that list the other day I noticed that, simply put, I buy a lot of music. You can too, and there’s no reason that having a large music collection needs to break the bank. So here at Blog of Sound, we’re offering up five CDs that you can pick up for a penny thanks to the good folks at Amazon Marketplace. In an effort to spread music love, we’ll be posting five picks each month. The albums may be old, new, or relatively unknown but we’ll be offering up 5 CDs you should have in your collection and you can pick up for one penny.
Here’s our five picks for January:
Smash Up Derby: The Gearhead Records
In all honesty and fairness, the only reason I ever picked up this CD was not because of the amazing collection of songs compiled here. No, A quick glance at the track listing should tell you all you need to know: The Donnas have a song on here.
Now wait! Don’t dismiss this album. Smash Up Derby is one of the best CDs I ever picked up (and I, too, paid only one penny for it). The CD features 24 tracks by artists you may have never heard of like New Bomb Turks, The Hellacopters, The Demonics, and the Flaming Sideburns. It also features artists you’ve most likely heard of like The Hives, Red Planet, and yes, The Donnas.
At the time this album was released all these bands were on indie labels (and in many cases, some still are or have returned to their indie roots). This is loud, fast, down and dirty rock and roll of the garage rock variety. Some of these bands may never have left their garage, but we sure have fun rockin’ out to their offerings on this album.
Tracks to check out: “Here We Go Again” by The Hives, “Truckloads of Nothing” by The Hellacopters, “Saigon Hooker” by The Nads, “Dune Buggy Gang” by The Demonics, and “And She Said Yes” by the New Bomb Turks.
Tracks to miss: “Intro,” “The Race is OVer” by the Sewergrooves, “Altamont Boogaloo” by Hypnomen.
Home by Deep Blue Something
If you were alive in the 1990s there’s a very good chance you remember a song called “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The band that released it was Deep Blue Something 
and after offering up this hit, they seemingly disappeared. But I loved “Breakfast” so much that I bought their CD, “Home.”
With 12 tracks, this album reminds me of the college-style rock being put out by bands like Collective Soul and the Gin Blossoms. Nevermind that, in just a handful of tracks, Deep Blue Something shows that no, the rest of the songs on the album could never be hits like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was but acoustic, alternative rock can be appealing and enjoyable.
Tracks to check out: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Halo,” “The Kandinsky Prince,” and “Home.”
Tracks to miss: “Gammer Gerten’s Needle,” “Song to Make Love To,” and “Red Light.”
Deconstruction by Meredith Brooks
Everyone remembers Meredith Brooks for her biggest hit “Bitch.” You won’t find that song on “Deconstruction.” What you will find, however, are songs that SHOULD have been hits.
In 1999 the Lilith Fair original put out her sophomore release and yet none of the songs made it to radio. Whether Capitol records decided Brooks was no longer worth promoting remains to be seen, but “Deconstruction” should be in any self-respecting music lover’s collection.
There are 12 tracks on this album which ooze energetic, melodic, funky rock and roll that I’ve never heard anyone else do. With guest work by Queen Latifah on “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)”, a cover song given a whole new life, “Deconstruction” remains one of my favorite CDs of all time.
Tracks to check out: “Shout,” “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” “Nobody’s Home,” “Back to Eden,” “Bored With Myself,” and “Sin City.”
Tracks to miss: “I Said It.”
Relish by Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne is still releasing music but it’s nothing like her splash major-label 
debut with “Relish.” This was the album that brough us “One of Us,” and lesser-known hit “Right Hand Man.” For a while, 1995 seemed to be the year of Joan and then she faded away.
“Relish” is blues, it’s rock and roll, it’s roots, it’s Joan Osborne. A unique combination of Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Nicks, Osborne delivers gritty alt-rock in a way that few have been able to do. And while she may have only had a few quick hits, her biggest hit “One of Os” is not the best on the album. “Relish” is one that you should, well, relish.
Tracks to check out: “Right Hand Man,” “St. Theresa,” “Lumina,” “Crazy Baby,” “Pensacola” and “Spider Web.”
Tracks to miss: ironically it’s her hit, “One of Us.”
Songs in the Key of X: Music From & Inspired by The X-Files
Everyone remembers the X-Files. We all loved it and watched it every week, hooked on its interesting story lines. Ask anyone to sing the theme from the show and there’s a very good chance they can. And for most of 1996, “Songs in the Key of X” acted as something of a soundtrack.
There were no super-well known names on this compilation (well, at the time, most were relatively unknown or little-known). We got tracks from Soul Coughing, Sheryl Crow, Foo Fighters, Nick Cave and the Badseeds, Filter, Danzig, and even Elvis Costello. Virtually an indie bonanza of music and Sheryl Crow performs as dark as she will ever be.
Tracks to check out: “On the Outside” by Sheryl Crow, “Down in the Park” by Foo Fighters, “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Thanks Bro” by Filter and “If You Never Say Goodbye” by P.M. Dawn.
Tracks to miss: “Star Me Kitten” by William S. Burroughs and REM, and “X-Files Theme (P.M. Dawn Remix)” by P.M. Dawn.
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