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Wonder what inspired the final 885 Essential XPN Songs? From our playlists to the artists the XPN tastemakers have championed over the years - listeners drew upon our vast archives to pick their favorites. Browse the lists below.

Staff Lists

Roger LaMay

General Manager

1. Sonia Dada - "You Don't Love Me No More"
2. Ani DiFranco - "Plastic Castle"
3. John Gorka - "Gypsy Life"
4. Jeb Loy Nichols - "Heaven Right Here"
5. Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels"
6. Old Crow Medicine Show - "Wagon Wheel"
7. Joseph Arthur - "Our Shadows Will Remain"
8. The Poozies - "There's Another Train"
9. Bono & The Coors - "When Stars Go"
10. R.L. Burnside - "It's Bad You Know"

Deb Ashmore

Director of Individual Gifts

1. Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (American IV: The Man Comes Around)
2. Joni Mitchell - "River" (Blue)
3. Richard Thompson - "Tear-Stained Letter" (Hand of Kindness)
4. Joan Osborne - "St. Theresa" (Relish)
5. Cracker - "What the World Needs Now (Teen Angst)" (Cracker)
6. Damien Rice - "Cannonball" (O)
7. Citizen Cope - "Bullet and a Target" (The Clarence Greenwood Recordings)
8. Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah" (So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley)
9. Loretta Lynn - "Portland Oregon" (Van Lear Rose)
10. Old Crow Medicine Show - "Wagon Wheel" (O.C.M.S.)

John Bartol

Director, Non Broadcast Distribution

1. Wilco - "Impossible Germany" (Sky Blue Sky)
2. Corrine Bailey Rae - "Put Your Record On" (Corrine Bailey Rae)
3. Amos Lee - "Shout Out Loud" (Supply and Demand)
4. Frank Zappa - "Joe's Garage" (Joe's Garage)
5. Lyle Lovett - "She's No Lady" (Pontiac)
6. Grateful Dead - "China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider" (Europe '72)
7. Warren Zevon - "Keep Me In Your Heart" (The Wind)
8. David Gray - "White Ladder" (White Ladder)
9. Simon & Garfunkel - "The 59th Street Bridge Song"
(Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme)
10. Rolling Stones - "Wild Horses" (Sticky Fingers)

Wes Bower

Corporate Business Support Representative

1. John Prine - "Illegal Smile" (John Prine)
2. Steve Forbert - "Goin' Down To Laurel" (Alive on Arrival)
3. Loudon Wainwright III - "Unhappy Anniversary" / "Your Mother and I"
(More Love Songs)
4. Lucinda Williams - "2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten" (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road)
5. Old 97's - "Designs on You" (Satellite Rides)
6. Johnny Cash - "Rowboat" (Unchained)
7. Trout Fishing in America - "My Hair Had a Party Last Night" (Family Music Party)
8. Kathleen Edwards - "The Cheapest Key" (Asking For Flowers)
9. The Waterboys - "She Tried to Hold Me" (Book of Lightning)
10. Joe Ely - "Me and Billie the Kid" (Lord of the Highway)

Ali Castellini

WXPN/Y-Rock Business Support

1. The Pixies - "Here Comes Your Man" (Doolittle)
2. John Hiatt - "Slow Turning" (Slow Turning)
3. The Beatles - "Dig a Pony"
4. Kate Bush - "Wuthering Heights" (The Kick Inside)
5. Ben Harper - "Faded" (The Will to Live)
6. R.L. Burnside - "Shake 'Em On Down" (Missisipi Hill Country Blues)
7. U2 - "Bad" (The Unforgettable Fire)
8. The Waterboys - "Whole of the Moon" (This Is the Sea)
9. Thievery Corporation - "Lebanese Blonde" (The Mirror Conspiracy)
10. Velvet Underground - "Pale Blue Eyes"

Tess-a-phonic-Tess Coffey

Assistant to the GM

1. Magnetic Fields - "The Book of Love"
2. The Heptones - "Book of Rules"
3. Mark Knopfler - "Romeo & Juliet"
4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away"
5. Paul Simon - "The Coast"
6. The Who - "Blue, Red & Grey"
7. Black Crowes - "Soul Singing"
8. Peppino d'Agostino - "Walk Away Renee"
9. Emmylou Harris - "Red Dirt Girl"
10.REM - "Night Swimming"

Mike Daly

Director, Corporate Business Support

1. Wilco - "Heavy Metal Drummer"
2. Van Morrison - "Into the Mystic"
3. Guster - "Amsterdam"
4. David Gray - "Babylon"
5. Ziggy Marley - "True to Myself"
6. Indigenous - "Got to Tell You"
7. The Mavericks - "Dance the Night Away"
8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - "Ah Mary"
9. Matt Nathanson - "Suspended"
10. Eastmountain South - "You Dance"

Andrew Davis

Broadcast Engineer

1. My Morning Jacket - "Wordless Chorus" (Z)
2. Prince - "Let's Go Crazy" (Purple Rain)
3. Talking Heads - "And She Was" (Little Creatures)
4. Joni Mitchell - "The Boho Dance" (The Hissing Of Summer Lawns)
5. The Polyphonic Spree - "Section 9 (Light and Day/Reach For the Sun)"
(The Beginning Stages Of...)
6. Midlake - "Head Home" (The Trials Of Van Occupanther)
7. Josh Ritter - "Girl In the War" (The Animal Years)
8. Steely Dan - "My Old School" (Countdown to Ecstasy)
9. Elvis Costello - "Watching The Dectectives" (My Aim Is True (Bonus))
10. The Clash - "This Is Radio Clash" (Clash On Broadway)

Brian Divver

Web Content Developer

(*In no particular order)

1. The Beatles - "In My Life" (Rubber Soul)
2. The Black Keys - "Your Touch" (Magic Potion)
3. Frank Zappa - "Peaches En Regalia" (Hot Rats)
4. T Rex - "Rip Off" (Electric Warrior)
5. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES - "INSTITUTIONALIZED" (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES)
6. The Black Crowes - "SOUL SINGING" (Lions)
7. Primus - "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver" (Sailing The Seas Of Cheese)
8. John Hadfield - "Robot Monkey Head" (Robot Monkey Head)
9. Sly & The Family Stone - "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (Greatest Hits)
10. James Brown - "Get On The Good Foot" (Get On The Good Foot)

Mandy Dollar

Traffic Coordinator / Business Support Assistant

1. Jonatha Brooke - "Steady Pull"
2. Amos Lee - "Keep It Loose, Keep it Tight"
3. Ben Folds Five - "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces"
4. Old Crow Medicine Show - "Wagon Wheel"
5. Citizen Cope - "Bullet and a Target"
6. Daniela Cotton - "It's Only Life"
7. Joan Osborne - "One of Us"
8. Fiona Apple - "Sleep to Dream"
9. Norah Jones - "Don't Know Why"
10. Jeffrey Gaines - "In Your Eyes" (cover)

Betsy Feil

Volunteer Coordinator

1. Joan Armatrading - "Love and Affection" (Joan Armatrading))
2. Bonnie Raitt - "That Song About the Midway" (Streetlights))
3. Roxy Music - "Amazona" (Stranded))
4. Lyle Lovett - "This Old Porch" (Lyle Lovett))
5. Laura Nyro - "Wedding Bell Blues" (First Songs))
6. Janis Joplin - "Summertime" (Big brother and the Holding Company))
7. Back Door Slam - "Come Home" (Roll Away))
8. Robbie Robertson - "broken Arrow"
9. Patty Griffin - "Mad Mission" (Living with Ghosts))
10. Kate Bush - "Wuthering Heights" (The Kick Inside))

Lyn Finnerty

Corporate Business Support Representative

1. Tom Waits - "Downtown Train" (Rain Dogs)
2. Huffamoose - "James" (Huffamoose)
3. Kate Bush - "The Man With the Child in His Eyes" (The Kick Inside)
4. Son Volt - "Tear Stained Eye" (Trace)
5. Johnny Clegg and Savuka - "The Scatterlings of Africa" (Third World Child)
6. The Horse Flies - "Life is a Rubber Rope" (Sampler)
7. Luka Bloom - "I Need Love" (The Acoustic Motorbike)
8. Buena Vista Social Club - "Chan Chan" (Buena Vista Social Club)
9. David Gray - "Babylon" (White Ladder)
10. Lucinda Williams - "Change the Locks" (Lucinda Williams)

Esperanza Flury

Assistant General Manager for Business Affairs

1. Joan Osborne - "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)"
2. Maia Sharp - "One Good Reason"
3. U2 - "Desire"
4. My Morning Jacket - "Old September Blues"
5. Enya - "Orinoco Flow"
6. Norah Jones - "Come Away with Me"
7. Raul Malo - "Everything About You"
8. Cloud Room - "Devoured in Peace"
9. Shelby Lynne - "Just a Little Lovin'"
10. Los Lobos - "Emily"

Jeanne Griffin

Web Producer

1. David Gray - "Babylon"
2. Alexi Murdoch - "Orange Sky"
3. Warren Zevon - "Keep Me In Your Heart"
4. Mike Doughty - "27 Jennifers"
5. Joan Osborne - "St. Theresa"
6. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - "Ah Mary"
7. Emmylou Harris - "Where Will I Be (The Wrecking Ball"
8. Old Crow Medicine Show - "Wagon Wheel"
9. Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"
10. John Hiatt - "Cry Love"

Richella Grimsley

Front Desk

1. Greyboy All-Stars - "How Glad I Am"
2. Ike & Tina Turner - "Proud Mary"
3. Jasmine Sullivan - "I Need You"
4. Joan as Police Woman - "Eternal Flame"
5. Yael Naim - "Toxic"
6. Yael Naim - "New Soul"
7. Suzanne Vega - "Tom's Diner"
8. Radiohead - "Weird Fish"
9. Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
10. Ingrid Michaelson - "Breakable"

Cathy Heard

Web Content Developer

*In no particular order but specifically honoring the shows I listen to the most

1. Talking Heads - "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"
2. Indigo Girls - "Closer to Fine"
3. Tori Amos - "Silent All These Years"
4. Elvis Costello - "Pump It Up" (Free at Noon intro theme)
5. Timmy Thomas - "Why Can't We Live Together?" (Funky Friday)
6. Mott the Hoople - "All the Way from Memphis" (Highs in the 70s)
7. Barnes & Barnes - "Fish Heads" (Kids Corner)
8. The B-52s - "Planet Claire" (Land of the Lost theme)
9. The Replacements- "I Will Dare" (Y-Rock and Afternoon Mix)
10. Cinderella - "Gypsy Road" (the all-staff cover band led by Dan Reed at 2007's 885 costume party)

Sarah James

Member Benefits Coordinator

1. R.E.M. - "Radio Free Europe" (Murmur)
2. Astrud Gilberto - "Girl from Ipanema" (The Best of Astrud Gilberto)
3. Lucinda Williams - "Changed the Locks" (Lucinda Williams)
4. The Waitresses - "Christmas Wrapping" (Best Christmas Ever)
5. Elvis Costello - "Welcome to the Working Week" (My Aim is True)
6. Patti Griffin - "Rain" (1,000 Kisses)
7. They Might Be Giants - "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (Flood)
8. Jose Gonzales - "Down the Line" (In Our Nature)
9. Fountains of Wayne - "Mexican Wine" (Welcome Interstate Managers)
10. Spoon - "Don't You Eva" (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)

Kim Junod

Senior Producer, World Cafe and Conversations from the World Cafe

1. Andrew Bird - "Imitosis" (Armchair Apocrypha )
2. Rhett Miller - "Come Around" (The Instigator )
3. Kathleen Edwards - "Back to Me" (Back to Me )
4. Jeff Buckley - "Last Goodbye" (Grace )
5. Aimee Mann - "Choice In the Matter" (I'm With Stupid )
6. Damien Rice - "Volcano" (O )
7. Lucinda Williams - "Essence" (Essence )
8. Gomez - "Revolutionary Kind" (Liquid Skin )
9. Clem Snide - "I Love the Unknown" (Your Favorite Music )
10. Sarah Harmer - "Almost" (All of Our Names)

Janis Martin-Hughes

Corporate Business Support Representative

1. Bruce Cockburn - "Pacing the Cage"
2. Steve Earle - "Hardcore Troubadour"
3. David Burn - "Women vs. Men"
4. Los Lobos - "Kiko"
5. Sonny Landreth - "Congo Square"
6. Lyle Lovett - "She's No Lady"
7. Etta James - "Tell Mama"
8. John Hiatt - "Cry Love"
9. The Mavericks - "O, What a Thrill"
10. Rickie Havens - "I Hear Your Voice in the Wind"

John Myers

Line Producer, World Cafe

1. Ben Folds Five - "Underground" (Ben Folds Five
2. Huffamoose - "James" (We've Been Had Again)
3. Jeff Buckley - "Lover, You Should've Come Over" (Grace)
4. Kathleen Edwards - "Hockey Skates" (Failer)
5. Emmylou Harris - "Where Will I Be" (Wrecking Ball)
6. The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations" (Boys & Girls In America)
7. Fairport Convention - "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"
8. Wilco - "A Shot In The Arm" (Summerteeth)
9. Radiohead - "No Surprises" (OK Computer)
10. Francis Dunnery - "Riding On The Back" (Let's Go Do What Happens)

Larry Rayborn

Business Support Representative

1. The Replacements - "Alex Chilton"
2. Midnight Oil - "Beds are Burning"
3. Suddenly, Tammy! - "Plant Me"
4. Crash Test Dummies - "Superman's Song"
5. Sally Barker - "Another Train"
6. David Gray - "Shine"
7. American Music Club - "Johnny Mathis' Feet"
8. Morphine - "Buena"
9. Horse Flies - "Life is a Rubber Rope"
10. Laurie Anderson featuring Peter Gabriel - " Excellent Birds"

Lauren Roccia

Production Assistant, WXPN/Kids Corner

1. Matt Nathanson - "Car Crash" (Some Mad Hope)
2. Jeff Buckley - "Last Goodbye" (Grace)
3. Ray Lamontagne - "You Can Bring Me Flowers" (Til The Sun Turns Black)
4. Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago" (Illinois)
5. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - "Falling Slowly" (Once)
6. Sea Wolf - "Winter Windows" (Leaves In The River)
7. Rhett Miller - "Our Love" (The Instigator)
8. Amos Lee - "Shout Out Loud" (Supply and Demand)
9. Citizen Cope - "Penitentiary" (The Clarence Greenwood Recordings)
10. Brandi Carlile - "The Story" (The Story)

Paula Rogers

Finance and Development Coordinator

1. Jeff Buckley - "Last Goodbye" (Grace)
2. Bob Dylan - "All Along The Watchtower" (At Budokan)
3. The Waterboys - "Sweet Thing" (This Is The Sea)
4. Radiohead - "The Tourist" (OK Computer)
5. Pink Floyd (w/ Van Morrison) - "Comfortably Numb" (The Wall: Live in Berlin)
6. Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (American IV: The Man Comes Around)
7. Roxy Music - "Avalon" (Avalon)
8. Peter Gabriel - "I Have The Touch" (Plays Live)
9. Jah Wobble (w/ Sinead O'Connor) - "Visions of You" (Rising Above Bedlam)
10. Bonnie Raitt (w/ John Prine) - "Angel From Montgomery" (The Bonnie Raitt Collection)

Ken Sambucci

Financial Analyst

1. Robert Randolph & The Family Band - "Ted's Jam"
2. North Mississippi All Stars - "Drop Down Mama"
3. Marc Broussard - "Home"
4. Toots & The Maytals - "Pressure Drop"
5. Derek Trucks - "Joyful Noise"
6. Cold War Kids - "We Used to Vacation"
7. Dr. Dog - "Old News"
8. The A-Sides - "Were the Trees"
9. Martin Sexton - "Happy"
10. Rodrigo y Gabriella - "Tamacun"

Liz Scott

Member Services

1. R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People"
2. Indigo Girls - "Shame On You"
3. Radiohead - "Karma Police"
4. Talking Heads - "And She Was"
5. Fiona Apple - "Criminal"
6. The Beatles - "All You Need is Love"
7. Parliament - "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"
8. Vampire Weekend - "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
9. Dr. Dog - "Ain't It Strange?"
10. Spoon - "Don't You Evah"

Debby Seitz

Marketing Manager

1. Joni Mitchell - "A Case of You" (Blue)
2. Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightening" (Rumor and Sigh)
3. Lyle Lovett - "If I Had A Boat" (Pontiac)
4. October Project - "Bury My Lovely" October Project
5. Bonnie Raitt/John Prine - "Angel From Montgomery" (John Prine)
6. Indigo Girls - "Hammer and a Nail" (Nomads Indians and Saints)
7. Dar Williams - "When I Was A Boy" The Honesty Room
8. Crash Test Dummies - "Superman" (The Ghosts That Haunt Me)
9. Jane Siberry - "Everything Reminds Me of My Dog" (Bound By The Beauty)
10. Luka Bloom - "I Need Love" (The Acoustic Motorbike)

Patti Singer

Corporate Business Support Representative

1. Aimee Mann - "Going Through the Motions" (The Forgotten Arm)
2. Pete Yorn - "Life on a Chain" (Musicforthemorningafter)
3. Zero 7 - "Destiny" (Simple Things)
4. Citizen Cope - "Sideways" (The Clarence Greenwood Recordings)
5. Alexi Murdoch - "Organ" (Sky-Four Songs)
6. Gillian Welch - "The Revelator" (Time The Revelator)
7. R.E.M. - "The Great Beyond" (The Best of R.E.M.)
8. Kathleen Edwards - "6 O'Clock News" (Failer)
9. Old 97's - "The New Kid" (Alive & Wired)
10. Amos Lee - "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight" (Amos Lee)

Lauren Valle

Traffic.com Reporter

1. Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"
2. Citizen Cope - "Son's Gonna Rise"
3. My Morning Jacket - "Lay Low"
4. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - "Ah Mary"
5. James Brown - "Cold Sweat"
6. Jeffrey Gaines - "In Your Eyes"
7. Thom Yorke - "Harrowdown Hill "
8. Subdudes - "(You'll Be) Satisfied"
9. Daniel Johnston - "Speeding Motorcycle"
10. John Flynn - "Road Kill Cafe"

Beth Warshaw-Duncan

Line Producer

1. Aimee Mann - "That's Just What You Are" (I'm With Stupid))
2. Tim Hardin - "Reason To Believe" (Tim Hardin I)
3. Patti Smith - "Gloria" (Horses)
4. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - "Parents Just Don't Understand"
(He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper)
5. Ani DiFranco - "Not A Pretty Girl" (Not A Pretty Girl)
6. Richard & Linda Thompson - "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight"
(I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight)
7. XTC - "Generals & Majors" (Black Sea)
8. Al Green - Let's Stay Together" (Let's Stay Together)
9. The Kinks - "Waterloo Sunset" (Something Else by The Kinks)
10. Billy Bragg & Wilco - "California Stars" (Mermaid Avenue, Volume 1)

Naima Woodson

Administrative Assistant to the Director of Finance

1. Amos Lee - "Arms of a Woman"
2. Danielia Cotton - "Back in Black"
3. North Mississippi All-Stars - "Shake What Yo Mama"
4. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - "We Are Rock Stars"
5. Pearl Jam - "Jeremy"
6. Katy Perry - "Kissed a Girl"
7. Living Colour - "Cult of Personality"
8. Fountains of Wayne - "Stacy's Mom"
9. Joss Stone - "Fell in Love with a Boy"
10. Lifehouse - "Whatever It Takes"

Erica Zito

Traffic Manager

1. Radiohead - "High and Dry"
2. Jeff Buckley - "Lover, You Should Have Come Over
3. Cowboy Junkies - "Sweet Jane"
4. Damien Rice - "Volcano"
5. Janis Joplin - "Me and Bobby McGee"
6. Moby - "Porcelain"
7. Tracy Chapman - "Fast Car"
8. Otis Redding - "Dreams to Remember"
9. White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army"
10. Bob Marley - "No Woman, No Cry"

Top

Host Lists

Bob Bumbera

News & Sports Director, XPN Morning Show

1. Chris Whitley - "Big Sky Country"
2. Patti Griffin - "Making Pies"
3. U2 - "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
4. The Lemonheads - "It's a Shame About Ray"
5. Chuck Prophet - "Summertime"
6. Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Walk on the Water"
7. Tori Amos - "Silent All These Years"
8. John Prine/Bonnie Raitt - "Angel From Montgomery"
9. Jamie Cullem - "All At Sea"
10. Bruce Springsteen - "Rosalita"

Debra D'Alessandro

Host of Amazon Country

1. Elvis Costello - "Almost Blue"
2. Mary Chapin Carpenter - "He Thinks He'll Keep Her"
3. Indigo Girls - "Power of Two"
4. David Wilcox - "Leave It Like It Is"
5. The Story - "Grace in Gravity"
6. Rosanne Cash - "God is in the Roses"
7. kd lang - "Big Boned Gal"
8. James Brown - "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose"
9. Bonnie Raitt - "Blender Blues"
10. Sue Fink - "Leaping Lesbians"

Robert Drake

Producer, Kids Corner, Host of Land of the Lost and Q'Zine

1. Crash Test Dummies - "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" (God Shuffled His Feet)
2. Happy Rhodes - "Feed The Fire" (Warpaint)
3. Joan Osborne - "One Of Us" (Relish)
4. The Story - "Grace And Gravity" (Grace And Gravity)
5. Moxy Fruvous - "King Of Spain" (Bargainville)
6. Lyle Lovett - "Memphis" (Joshua Judges Ruth)
7. Shawn Colvin - "Tenderness On The Block" (Fat City)
8. Spanic Boys - "Keep On Walking" ((self-titled))
9. Jevetta Steel - "Calling You" (Baghdad Cafe Soundtrack)
10. Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" (Rumor and Sigh)

David Dye

Host of World Cafe and Funky Friday

1. Joan Osborne - "One Of Us" (Relish)
2. Lyle Lovett & Al Green - "Funny How Time Slips Away" (Rhythm Country and Blues)
3. Ben Folds Five - "Brick" (Whatever and Ever Amen)
4. Kirsty MacColl - "In These Shoes" (Tropical Brainstorm)
5. Iguanas - "Oye Isabel" (Nuevo Boogaloo)
6. Jeb Loy Nichols - "Heaven Right Here" (Just What Time It Is)
7. Old Crow Medicine Show - "Wagon Wheel" (Old Crow Medicine Show)
8. Crash Test Dummies - "Superman's Song" (The Ghosts That Haunt Me)
9. Jeffrey Gaines - "In Your Eyes" (Live on WXPN)
10. Phil Roy - "Melt" (Grouchyfriendly)

Josh T. Landow

Host, Y-Rock on XPN

1. Silversun Pickups - "Well Thought Out Twinkles"
2. Editors - "Munich"
3. The Fratellis - "Chelsea Dagger"
4. Interpol - "Obstacle #1"
5. Arcade Fire - "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"
6. Bloc Party - "Banquet"
7. The New Pornographers - "Use It"
8. Against Me! - "Thrash Unreal"
9. Peter Bjorn & John - "Young Folks"
10. Animal Collective - "Peacebone"

Helen Leicht

Host of XPN Midday, Leicht Lunch and Philly Local

1. Coldplay - "Yellow"
2. Ray Lamontagne - "Trouble"
3. David Gray - "Please Forgive Me"
4. October Project - "Take me As I Am"
5. Norah Jones - "Don't Know Why"
6. Back Door Slam - "Come Home"
7. Moby - "Porcelain"
8. Crash Test Dummies - "Superman's Song"
9. Tori Amos - "Winter"
10. Matthew Sweet - "Girlfriend"

Helen's Philly Local Essentials

1. Amos Lee - "Arms of a Woman"
2. 4 Way Street - "Several Thousand"
3. John Flynn - "Road Kill Cafe"
4. Mutlu - "Running away"
5. Birdie Busch - "Wild Mountain Honey"
6. Phil Roy - "Melt"
7. Illinois - "Alone Again"
8. Melody Gardot - "Worrisome Heart"
9. Matt Duke - "30 Some Days"
10. Sharon Little - "Follow that Sound"

Michaela Majoun

Host of the XPN Morning Show

1. Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" (Rumour and Sigh)
2. The Story - "Angel in the House" (Angel in the House)
3. Happy Rhodes - "Feed the Fire" (Warpaint)
4. Jeffrey Gaines - "Hero in Me" (Jeffrey Gaines)
5. Billy Bragg - "Sexuality" (Don't Try This At Home)
6. Lyle Lovett - "Church" (Joshua Judges Ruth)
7. Phil Roy - "Melt" (Grouchyfriendly)
8. Crowded House - "It's Only Natural" (Woodface)
9. Lucinda Williams - "Changed the Locks" (Lucinda Williams)
10. Marc Cohn - "Walking in Memphis" (Marc Cohn)

Jim McGuinn

Program Director, Y-Rock on XPN, Host of XPN's Afternoon Mix

1. The Jayhawks - "Blue" (Tomorrow the Green Grass)
2. David Gray - Babylon (White Ladder)
3. Air - "La Femme D'Argent" (Moon Safari)
4. William DeVaughn - "Be Thankful For What You Got"
5. The Hold Steady - "Chips Ahoy" (Boys and Girls in America)
6. Wilco - "Heavy Metal Drummer" (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
7. Beth Orton - "Central Reservation" (Central Reservation)
8. John Prine - "Angel From Montgomery" (John Prine)
9. Lyle Lovett - "She's No Lady" (Pontiac)
10. Toots and the Maytals - "Pressure Drop" (Funky Kingston)

Jonny Meister

Host of The Blues Show and Blues and Beyond

Muddy Waters - "I'm Ready"
Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"
James Taylor - "Sweet Baby James"
Aretha Franklin - "Respect"
Tom Rush - "Urge For Goin'"
Koko Taylor - "Wang Dang Doodle"
John Coltrane - "Acknowledgement (A Love Supreme, Part 1)"
Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi"
Big Mama Thornton - "Hound Dog"
Reverend Robert Wilkins - "Prodigal Son"

Joey O.

Host, Y-Rock on XPN

1. The Beatles - "A Day In The Life" (Sgt. Pepper's...)
2. R.E.M. - "Radio Free Europe" (Murmur)
3. Talking Heads - "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" (Speaking In Tongues)
4. Patti Smith - "Gloria" (Horses)
5. Elvis Costello - "Accidents Will Happen" (Armed Forces)
6. Old 97s - "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)" (Fight Songs)
7. Ben Folds Five - "Jackson Cannery" (Ben Folds Five)
8. Spoon - "The Underdog" (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
9. Billy Bragg & Wilco - "California Stars" (Mermaid Ave Vol. 1)
10. The Clash - "Revolution Rock" (London Calling)

Kathy O'Connell

Host, Kids Corner

1. Trout Fishing in America - "No Matter What Goes Right" (Over the Limit)
2. Matt Sevier - "Marry Katherine" (Faultlines)
3. Dead Milkmen - "Punk Rock Girl" (Beezlebubba)
4. Van Morrison - "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" (St. Dominic's Preview)
5. Lucinda Williams - "Changed the Locks" (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road)
6. Dar Williams - "The Babysitter's Here" (The Honesty Room)
7. Paula Cole - "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" (This Fire)
8. Junior Brown - "My Wife Thinks You're Dead" (Guit With It)
9. Jane Siberry - "Everything Reminds Me of My Dog" (Bound by the Beauty)
10. Robert Earl Keen - "Merry Christmas from the Family" (Gringo Honeymoon)

Matt Reilly

Assistant Music Director, Host, Jamnation

1. Michael Penn - "No Myth"
2. R.E.M. - "7 Chinese Brothers"
3. Tom Petty - "You Don't Know How it Feels"
4. U2 - "A Sort of Homecoming"
5. Beth Orton - "Stolen Car"
6. The Waterboys - "We Will Not Be Lovers"
7. Wilco - "Impossible Germany"
8. Eric Clapton - "The Core"
9. Til' Tuesday - "Voices Carry"
10. Grateful Dead - "Terrapin Station"

Samantha Sullivan

Host of Sleepy Hollow

1. Leonard Cohen - "Closing Time"
2. Tom Waits - "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
3. William DeVaughn - "Be Thankful for What You've Got"
4. Emmylou Harris - "Wrecking Ball"
5. Air - "La Femme D'Argent"
6. Suzanne Vega - "Tom's Diner"
7. Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"
8. Feist - "Mushaboom"
9. Oasis - "Wonderwall"
10. Patti Smith - "Frederick"

Tracey Tanenbaum

Producer and Host, A Musician's Life

1. Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"
2. Jeb Loy Nichols - "Heaven Right Here"
3. Norah Jones - "Come Away with Me"
4. David Gray - "Please Forgive Me"
5. Richard Thompson - "Bees Wing"
6. Indigo Girls - "Closer to Fine"
7. Billy Bragg/Wilco - "California Stars"
8. Gillian Welch - "Elvis Presley Blues"
9. Dar Williams - "The Christians and the Pagans"
10. R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"

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The Heart of XPN

From the tens of thousands of titles in its music library, WXPN asked you, our listeners to vote for the 885 quintessential XPN songs. These are the tracks that are at the heart of the XPN listening experience. The ones we could not be without.

View the 2008 list of the 885 Essential XPN Songs
(Printable PDF File)

The Final 885 Essential XPN Songs
(2008 Countdown)

Resources

What inspired the countdown playlist? Check out our Resources page, a treasure trove of information about the aural history of XPN - Artists to Watch, festival lineups, Featured Albums, and more!

885 Countdown Video

Watch a clever remake of the classic Bob Dylan "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video starring Jim McGuinn promoting the 885 Essential Songs Countdown. Click to watch and share