As anyone who knows us knows, Sari and I love our lists. Along with my brother Andrew, we each worked up our top one-hundred albums roughly two-and-a-half years ago. Since then, we've added to the lists considerably (the fruits of which will show up here before month's end), and I'm always pestering everyone within earshot for their list of favorites.

So last year, for my birthday, my sister-in-law Leah compiled a list of her favorite six albums of all time. It was an unexpected treat, and there was a definite continuity running through the selections. You could write a book on each of them. Well, she's just posted the list up on her blog with attendant commentary. I especially like the autobiographical details, the way certain music becomes entwined with a particular period of one's life.

At one point, she wonders whether the term album even has any currency anymore, in our era of digital streaming and downloading. Do the children care about albums? She ultimately kind of posed the question to me, so I figured I'd wrestle with it a bit. And as is usually the case when I'm consulted, the answer is a long one! More on that later, but for now, check out Leah's list of six golden greats. I've heard a rumor that there are more to come...