1. Bon Iver - "For Emma, Forever Ago":
This first album by Justin Vernon just grips you from start to finish - as you listen to it, you can feel the journey of loss, regret, the winter chill, and self-doubt, but within every twist and turn he maintains a sense of hope. It's a masterpiece.

2. Feist - "Let It Die":
I actually ran into Leslie Feist on the street in NYC right after she had released her second album, "The Reminder", and we chatted a bit - she's just as wonderful in person as the songs she weaves with her guitar. "Let It Die" is playful: it has a way of placing you in a specific time and space, while also facilitating memories that aren't even your own. The play on the chanson style throughout the album makes me want to rent a chateau in the French countryside, eat cheese and drink wine all day, laugh in fields of lavender, and forget all my worries. It's a smile wrapped in an album.

3. Donny Hathaway - "A Donny Hathaway Collection":
This album reminds me of Sunday dinners after a full day of church services in Tennessee. My parents went to different churches, so i had to go twice! Gospel choir, Piano & organ, safety in community, endless hugs, blackness, and black joy. This album, to me, is an ode to a glorious vision of what Black America could and should be - free, hopeful, with shoulders down, relaxed jaws, full of abundance, and endless possibilities to turn from dream to reality.

4. Dolly Parton - "Jolene":
If Queen Elizabeth is the head of state of England, then Dolly Parton must the same to every Tennessean. Growing up, myself, on a farm in Tennessee, this album encapsulates both the simplicity and nuance of REAL life - no Hollywood glory, no glamour, just the beauty of the bare necessities, and it shows that even though life can be simple, it can be riddled with complexities...and that's what makes it so wonderful.

5. Jessie Ware - "What's Your Pleasure":
I've always loved her voice and writing - ever since her album "Devotion". But this album gets it's strength from all of the moving parts that makes an album something memorable - exceptional production, clear and focused songwriting that takes you on a journey, and a voice that does all the heavy lifting you could ever ask for. Released last year, this album allowed me to forget, for at least a moment, what I was missing from dancing at clubs and festivals, and gave me a chance to dance - even though it was only in my living room.