I GET TO ENJOY MY MUSIC MORE NOW

One of the nicest gifts I got this Christmas was, of all things, a portable CD player. Nothing fancy, one you can buy for maybe $20 at Wal-Mart, but my daughter always seems to pick the right thing.

After a hard day at the office dealing with rude, obnoxious people who are angry because their long distance or local service has been shut down after they didn't bother paying their bill, I like to relax while waiting for my Citrus Connection bus. This will allow me to do that without listening to local right-wing blowhard Lynne Breidenbach or skipping though the FM channels waiting for some decent music to pop up.

My CD collection, small as it is, is rather diverse. The only styles you won't find are country and rap/hip-hop. I tend to enjoy lighter selections. Among the favourites in my collection:

John Tesh / Live At Red Rocks: Say what you want about Tesh, but he is an excellent writer/musician. This is his best work, performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and featuring some of the music he wrote for NBC's 2000 Olympic Games coverage.

Jeff Wayne / War of the Worlds: The Broadway/East End veteran puts together this wonderful musical version of the H.G. Wells classic. It features actor Richard Burton as the journalist who tells the story of the Martian invasion of 19th century England, Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward, and actress/singer Julie Covington .

Chicago / Chicago 18: Mainly a greatest-hits package with a couple of new tunes to spice things up. I have always been a fan of the jazz/rock fusion style served up by bands such as Chicago, and Earth, Wind, & Fire. The only bad thing is that Chicago moved away from it's rocking peak to do a lot of cheesy ballards.

Barry Manilow / Ultimate Manilow: The classic American singer/songwriter. No other description applies here.