Happy New Year, y’all! Let’s kick off 2026 with a bit of fun.
Since 1942, BBC Radio 4 has featured a short program (programme?) called Desert Island Discs, in which the host interviews a celebrity and asks what eight albums he or she would take if he or she were deserted on an island. I’m not famous enough to warrant a call from Lauren Laverne to come on the show (although Kirsty Young is my favorite former host), so I guess I’ll share them here.
So picture me in my Swiss Family Robinson treehouse — somehow with electricity — and the books I also get for the island. Guests get the complete works of Shakespeare, the Bible (ESV or NIV84 for me, please), and a book of my choice, which is The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor.
Cue up the theme music, and gather round as I share my desert island discs in no particular order:
The Beatles, Abbey Road
My mom instilled a love of the Beatles in me, but her fandom only extended through the Fab Four’s early career. As I got older, I explored the Beatles’ later catalogue, and the band’s swan song caught my attention. Let It Be came out later, but Abbey Road was the last set of recordings the band did before breaking up.
Abbey Road has lived with me since my teenage years, and my growth in musical knowledge only deepens what is so familiar. I’ve had it on cassette, CD, digital, and, of course, vinyl. There’s something special about hearing the needle hit the groove, but it’s equally impressive to pop in my AirPods and listen to every detail and nuance of the music.
I’ll probably need two copies on the island because I’ll wear out the grooves — especially on side two.
Maria McKee, You Gotta Sin to Get Saved
Some voices grab you from the minute you hear them, and Maria McKee’s is one of those voices for me. I’ve loved Maria since Lone Justice, and this is her best album hands down. She released it in 1993, but it feels even more vintage than that.
Borrowing from rock, country, and even Brill Building-style songwriting, You Gotta Sin to Get Saved is a magnificently underrated gem. I’ll be harmonizing at the top of my lungs on the island.
For Our VIPs: Underappreciated Albums: ‘You Gotta Sin to Get Saved’
Jimmy Buffett, All the Great Hits
I feel like I’m cheating a bit by choosing a greatest-hits collection, but it would be difficult to land on a single album of his. This 1985 Israeli import collection is my go-to for the first decade or so of Jimmy Buffett’s classics. It’s far more comprehensive than Songs You Know by Heart.
Jimmy’s music has been a constant thread throughout my life. I can’t think of an era of my life (other than my baby and toddler years) where his music hasn’t been present. I’ve seen him live more than any other artist, and his music is probably more the soundtrack of my life than that of any other artist.
Besides, if I’m stranded on an island, why not have the music that matches the vibe?
Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
Some artists have long, sustained careers, while others devote themselves to shambolic self-destruction. Amy Winehouse was in that second camp — the dreaded “27 Club” — but she burned bright while she was making music.
Back to Black turned heads for Amy’s glorious take on ’50s and ’60s soul from girl-group sass to rocksteady to Spectoresque “wall of sound” production. It was retro yet fresh, and it still sounds like nothing else two decades later.
But what sets Back to Black even further apart from the vast majority of pop music, especially on repeated listening, is the lyrical content. Amy’s lyrics are vivid and often poetic. It’s fun to sing along and harmonize, and on the island, I’ll have plenty of time to do that.
Paul Davis, Cool Night
You might consider this one a guilty pleasure pick. But don’t we all need something light and frothy in our record collections, even on deserted islands? Paul Davis fits the bill.
I wrote an Underappreciated Albums column about Cool Night a while ago, and I would add that Paul is one of the more underappreciated vocalists of the ‘70s and early ‘80s. His music is what I’d call Southern Pop, and this album doesn’t demand anything of the listener other than enjoyment.
It’s not art, but it’s good music. And I couldn’t live without that masterpiece of a title track.
For Our VIPs: Underappreciated Albums: ‘Cool Night’
Blossom Dearie, Blossom Dearie
If Cool Night fits the demand for smooth, undemanding pop, Blossom Dearie’s self-titled album gives this desert island collection a class quotient. I’ve referred to her music as “elegant, sophisticated, supper-club jazz,” and her restraint as a vocalist and pianist has no rival.
Blossom Dearie contains familiar standards along with some lesser-known material. It’s a throwback to a time when people dressed up to board a plane, a night out meant something special, and music was uncomplicated. I always feel classier when I listen to this album.
Amy Grant, Lead Me On
I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring one Christian album to the island with me, and there would be no other first choice for me. This is a seminal album for me: It came out the summer before I turned 16, and was a more mature look at faith than a lot of Christian music of its time.
Lead Me On wasn’t afraid to point out that life wasn’t always easy or happy, yet Amy Grant always counted on God’s faithfulness. Only two of the songs sound dated today, so it holds up really well all these years later. I wouldn’t be able to do without this album in my island rotation.
Van Morrison, Moondance
I can tie this album to a specific moment. I had heard some of Van Morrison’s music growing up, but when I was in college, I fell in love with Moondance. I can still remember going into The Clubhouse, a UGA merchandise shop in downtown Athens, Ga., and hearing “Into the Mystic” for the first time as I looked at t-shirts. I’d never had a song stop me in my tracks quite like that.
Hearing that song led me to the album. And I can still picture standing in that store hearing it come through the speakers. That memory alone is enough for me to take Moondance on the island with me.
There’s my list! I’m hoping that some of my fellow writers will weigh in with their lists, and I know of one who is already planning to.
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