Must-have CDs for rockers

Just came across some CDs, which I believe would absolutely delight the rockers in your gift lists. Filled with excellent performances by talented young and in one case, not so young bands, these I believe, are some of the must-have albums that came out this year.

Ocean Eyes by Owl City mainly because it has the music by which many will remember 2009. Performed by electro-rock wizard Adam Young who first made his mark on the web with Maybe I’m Dreaming, Ocean Eyes is an intricately produced collection of affecting originals that also rocks.

If you have never thought of rock as dreamy then you have to listen to Ocean Eyes. The music is all-electronic, which means, all mechanical depictions of musical sounds. Strangely though, what Owl City conjures up are images of the sun in the sky, the calm blue sea and peaceful green mountains. Credit for everything goes to Young, whom you will find in his lyrics is also a witty writer with a great sense of humor.

Fireflies is the tune everybody is listening to these days. There are also Cave In, The Bird And The Worm, Hello Seattle, Umbrella Beach, The Saltwater Room, Dental Care, Meteor Shower, On The Wing, The Tip Of The Iceberg, Vanilla Twilight and Tidal Wave.

Believers Never Die, Greatest Hits performed by Fall Out Boy. This is a gorgeous two-disc set. The CD has a whopping 18 cuts plus three bonus songs, From Now On We Are Enemies, Yule Shoot Your Eye Out and Growing Up. Then there is the free DVD that has all of Fall Out Boy’s videos and a band commentary.

The songs included all speak for themselves. Dead On Arrival, Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy, Saturday, Sugar We’re Going Down, Dance Dance, A Little Less Sixteen Candles A Little More Touch Me, This Ain’t A Scene It’s An Arms Race, Thnks Fr The Mmrs, The Take Over The Breaks Over, I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You), Beat It featuring John Meyer, I Don’t Care, America’s Suitehearts, What A Catch Donnie and Alpha Dog.

Don’t miss out on this one because you already have the Live in Phoenix CD and DVD set. This is definitely the better one because it has all the hits.

Them Crooked Vultures by Them Crooked Vultures because the members of the band are three rock legends who can really dish out great rock music. The first thought that enters your mind on getting this album is, how on earth did they get together? And these guys are TA-DA, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters; Joshua Homme of Queens of the Stone Age; and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Of course, given all those credentials, there is just no way that Them Crooked Vultures could miss. And it doesn’t.

Every cut here is amazing. It seems like these guys took all of the best parts of their previous works and then cleverly put them all in this one. Music lovers who do not like rock would also have fun peeling off the layers of sound and marveling at how such diversity came together to create a masterpiece.

Includes No One Loves Me And Neither Do I, Mind Eraser No Chaser, New Fang, Dead End Friends, Elephants, Scumbag Blues, Bandoliers, Reptiles, Interlude With Ludes, Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up, Caligulove, Gunman and Spinning In Daffodils. I do not know if a single has been released but there is really no need. The best way to enjoy this is to listen to the whole CD again and again.

Waking Up by One Republic because these guys’ music personifies emo excess of the first order. This is rock that sounds like the score for a tear-jerker. Think orchestral, symphonic and romantic. If they made MOR music, they would be Ennio Morricone. And it sounds like they have made the cello a permanent feature to create that ominous atmosphere.

This is One Republic’s follow-up to the No. 1 selling Dreaming Out Loud, which had the hit Apologize. No sophomore jitters for this band. Their performance is so confident and hints of bigger fame to come. First single out is All The Right Moves.

Also included are Made For You, Secrets, Everybody Loves Me, Missing Persons 1&2, Good Life, All This Time, Tear, Waking Up, Marchin’ On and my favorite Lullaby.