Time for a Mr. Dilettante Mix

A while back we did a quick survey of bad songs from the 70s, and then guilty pleasure songs. Since my diverse readership (consisting of friends, family, former B of A associates and at least one spammer with a UN fixation) have consistently demonstrated their good taste through their patronage of this feature, I thought it was time for us to put together a Mr. Dilettante mix, i.e., good tunes.

I am asking for your help here. Let's have folks weigh in on some of their favorite tunes. Tell me some of your favorites, and why you like them. Once we've established a formidable enough list, I will then work with my musical director, a/k/a Stinger, to put together a Mr. Dilettante mix. A few ground rules:

Please pick songs you like. No one really likes "We Built This City," "Rock Me Amadeus" or "Having My Baby," and your faithful correspondent knows that his erudite audience is too smart for that crap.

Please pick songs that are generally available. You may love some Bolivian pan flute opus and have excellent reasons for doing so, but we're not going to search all over hell for it.

Please be patient: this could be a long project, but I think a good one.

Okay, I'll prime the pump with three of my favorite tunes:

"Moondance," by Van Morrison. Van has recorded many great things and a lot of really weird stuff, too, but this one is special for a lot of reasons. The eponymous album is also one of the best collections of songs you'll ever find.

"Reach Out I'll Be There," by the Four Tops. Levi Stubbs, the most dramatic singer in the Motown stable, at his peak.

"Ticket to Ride," by the Beatles. Not their most famous song, or even their most popular, but to me a song that packs the essence of what made the Beatles great.

The floor is open.