1. Liza Minnelli. Generally speaking, I can live without hearing another Broadway show tune. Nevertheless, one of my earliest musical memories is my mom playing the soundtrack to the Liza with a 'Z' TV special the real Divine Ms. M performed in the early 70s. The music and lyric duo of Broadway stalwarts Kander and Ebb provided Liza with her best material. She has always worn her heart on her sleeve -- not to mention her hair in that shellacked helmet 'do -- and inherited untouchable genes. Not to mention a bring-down-the-house set of pipes.

2. Bon Jovi. The nonintellectual Bruce, but what can I say, the man can write songs that you can't shake. Once you get a chorus in your head, it's stuck for days. "Shot through the heart/And you're to blame./You give love/A bad name." See what I mean? And don't you wish someone "cooler" wrote "Wanted Dead or Alive."

3. John Mellencamp. Look, when you live in Indiana, as I did for four years, this guy is inescapable. At the very least, give him credit for ditching the stage name an early manager hung on him. I never will be mistaken for Mr. Red, White and Blue, but as far as Americana goes, I'll give it to the man in the pink house.

4. Duran Duran. Sure, everyone says the first record was the best and "Planet Earth" is a great song and blah, blah, blah. There is little doubt of their role in putting MTV on the map, back when there actually was music on that channel. And speaking of maps, you probably know where Sri Lanka is courtesy of the "exotic" videos from Rio. OK, the covers album was a mistake, but "Come Undone" was another brilliant pop song years after their prime.

5. The Go-Go's. Why should I feel guilty about this? These girls were tough; I guarantee that they would have drunk your garden variety Dartmouth frat boy under his Delta house. Belinda and Jane met when they lived in a punk rock hostel in Hollywood in the late '70s. And like all good punks, they couldn't play for crap at first. But they improved. All along they knew a hook and chorus could go a long way and they were right. They never cease to put a smile on my face.