(You can tell I’m really hurting for blog ideas, huh?)

So the other day, I was bored and I started thinking, “What if I was stranded on a desert island and I could only have 50 songs to listen to for the rest of my life? What would those 50 songs be?” (I also started thinking why every island is a “desert” island. I mean, is there some other kind of island? And how can it really be a “desert” island when there’s all this water around it? I mean, isn’t a “desert” by definition devoid of water? Anyway…)

So I looked over my highest rated songs in iTunes and here’s what I’ve come up with. This was a lot harder than it sounds. But these are the 50 songs I’d want to listen to for the rest of my life.

1. Win One For the Reaper – Michael Giacchino
2. Locke’d Out Again – Michael Giacchino. These are two songs from the LOST Season 1 soundtrack and they’re incredible. One of the best things about the show is Giacchino’s moving score.
3. O Praise Him – David Crowder Band. Crowder at his best.
4. How Great Is Our God – Chris Tomlin
5. Lonesome Dove Theme. Another great instrumental tune.
6. Go To Sleep – The Avett Brothers. Love to hear this live. Gotta see them again sometime soon.
7. Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Band Show.
8. Rocky Top – The Osborne Bros. Every time I hear this, I feel like I’m back home.
9. Folsom Prison Blues – Cash
10. Fix You – Coldplay
11. Hard To Get – Rich Mullins
12. The Idler, The Prophet, And A Girl Called Rain – Michael McDermott
13. Deirdre Dances – Michael McDermott. He’s one of my all-time faves, but most of you have probably never heard of him. Which is a crying shame. He’s the man.
14. Breathe – U2. The best song on their latest batch of awesomeness.
15. I See A Darkness – Cash.
16. The Mercy Seat – Cash. Without a doubt, the best, most haunting songs from Cash’s American canon. It doesn’t get much better than this.
17. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2
18. Thunder Road – Springsteen
19. Song of the South – Alabama. This song makes me want to roll down the windows in the truck. Don’t ask me why.
20. Daughter – Pearl Jam
21. Better Man – Pearl Jam. Reminds me of my Senior year of high school. Good times.
22. Tennessee Flat Box – Cash. For Dad.
23. Let It Be – Beatles. For Mom.
24. I Walk the Line – Cash
25. My City of Ruins – Springsteen
26. Swept Away – Avett Brothers. The non-sentimental version.
27. The Last Cowboy Song – The Highwaymen. This song makes me think of my Dad; he absolutely loved this album. Actually, I probably owe my whole love of music to my Dad. I was the only kid I knew who had the words to Folsom Prison committed to memory.
28. Imagine – John Lennon
29. If I Had a Million Dollars – BNL. Classic. I need to take Sunny to see them in concert again.
30. Piano Man – Billy Joel
31. She Talks To Angels – Black Crowes
32. You’re The One – Dwight Yoakam. Best country kiss-off song ever.
33. Used to Be – Lost and Found. I have a live version of this song. It’s my favorite song by this great speedwood band.
34. Still Ain’t Over You Yet – Michael McDermott
35. I Go To Extremes – Billy Joel
36. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant – Billy Joel. Can you tell that I’m also a big Billy Joel fan?
37. Ocean of Noise – Arcade Fire. This song has layers and layers of sound. Love it.
38. You Got It – Roy Orbison. Takes me back to Little League and being 11 years old.
39. He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones
40. Good Day Sunshine – Beatles. For Sunny.
41. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
42. Layla – Clapton. I am seriously in love with the instrumental outro on this song.
43. One – U2
44. The Measure of a Man – Dennis Jernigan. For my boys.
45. Paranoia in B Major – The Avett Brothers
46. Denouncing November Blues – The Avett Brothers
47. Viva la Vida – Coldplay
48. Man of the Family – Mark Erelli. Best song I’ve ever come across that expresses what a young man feels when his father dies. Great.
49. My Weakness – Moby. For my parents.
50. How Deep the Father’s Love For Us – Phillips, Craig, & Dean

How about you, music fans? Which songs would be in your Top 50?