Best Kids Music of 2015: Top 5 Debuts

Continuing on with my look back at 2015 (or Oct. 1, 2014 though Sept. 30, 2015, or thereabouts), let's turn our attention to debuts.

As always, I struggle with this list because what is a "debut" in kids music? Meaning, if someone's been recording music for adults for a decade or more and then releases an album for kids, is that a "debut"? I've leaned towards "no," especially if there's no indication that they plan to return to the kids music world. (See: The Amazing Keystone Big Band, Suz Slezak, or Hilary Grist, though I would love to be proven wrong.) Same goes for artists who've recorded kids music but in other pairings. (Waves hello to Renee Stahl, who recorded as Renee and Friends as a break from Renee & Jeremy.)

Luckily, the list of five albums below are still fine introductions to kids music from artists I've got a pretty good feeling might come back for round 2 -- at the very least they went to the trouble of creating a new band, right? So here are my top 10 favorite debuts, listed alphabetically.

Turkey Andersen - Turkey Andersen

[Review] - "Its combination of TMBG quirkiness and songwriting with Jonathan Richman-esque earnestness and vocals is pretty much instantly appealing. If this debut is proof-of-concept, then I think it's proven that Turkey Andersen needs some investors."

Big Block Singsong - Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits Vol. 1

[Review] - "Turns out that the delightful series of 2-minute music videos date back to 2009, when Canadian illustrator Warren Brown and composer Adam Goddard (now Goddard/Brown) first unleashed Big Box Singsong, as it was then known, onto the world... Now there are 59 videos, 49 of which are the Season 1 pile which provide the 24 songs drawn for the album and DVD. I, for one, welcome our new big block overlords."

Big World Audio Theatre - The Peculiar Tales of the S.S. Bungalow

[Review] - "Voice actor Kevin Barbare narrates the story, which is filled with enough dramatic plot turns, gentle good humor, atmospheric sound effects, and occasional Princess Bride-style meta-commentary to keep the target audience hooked and any adults tuned in amused. The chamber pop-folk, featuring the occasional stringed instrument, horns, and pedal steel, runs the gamut from peppy to slow as befitting the story's twists and turns."

Sonia De Los Santos - Mi Viaje: De Nuevo Leon to the New York Island

[Review] - "Mi Viaje is an engaging album, and De Los Santos has succeeded in her goal of having listeners understand her journey from Mexico to New York City. A Spanish-language kids music album might seem like a niche record, but as De Los Santos and others in this third wave of Spanish-language kids music of the past couple years have shown, it can speak to a fairly broad audience."

Rock 'n' Rainbow - Let's Boogie

[Review] - "Let's Boogie is energetic and a different spin on a lot of early childhood music education music. For families looking for a slightly glitter-infused take on music for their kindergarteners, this could fill that niche well." [Note: Mike Whitla's done some other kids music stuff, but this is of such a different character that I'm letting it in as a debut.]

Best Kids Music of 2015: Top 30 Albums

Slowly but surely, I'm getting better about writing these "Best of" lists in something approaching timeliness. Even if it might be a bit late for holiday gift-giving purposes, I'm writing about the best of 2015 in 2015.

This past year was another good one in terms of new releases, so once again it was difficult to narrow down the musical year -- I'd guess that I once again listened to 250-300 albums -- to what is, in essence, the my favorite 10%.

As always, my year-end best-of list matches the Fids and Kamily year -- that is to say, from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. So some good albums from the last couple months [waves at They Might Be Giants] will just have to wait for next year's list.

#1 (tie) - Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly - Trees

[Review] - "Like the trees they sing about, this duo's connection six years ago has grown into a sturdy friendship and musical collaboration. You're unlikely to hear a more joyful celebration of the natural world and our relation to it this year."

#1 (tie) - The Pop Ups - Great Pretenders Club

[Review] - "So often trailblazing releases are notable more for their context than their content, but in the case of Great Pretenders Club, the album's music is every bit as notable as the way it's been introduced to the world. This is, simply put, one of the year's best albums."

#3 (tie) - Lori Henriques - How Great Can This Day Be?

[Review] - "After winning the Joe Raposo Children’s Music Award, named for the composer of classic songs for Sesame Street and the Muppets, last year, her smart and joyful music, which sounds like it’d fit right in on those classic shows, is finding a wider audience. Her new album How Great Can This Day Be shows off those musical talents."

#3 (tie) - Red Yarn - Deep Woods Revival

[Review] - "Red Yarn’s fervor for American folk music is evident on Deep Woods Revival. While folk music has never gone away in the children’s music genre, he forcefully makes the case for its continued relevance in the era of the mp3."

#5 (tie) - Big Block Singsong - Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits Vol. 1

[Review] - "So, yeah, I’m late to the party, but better late than never. Big Block Singsong is ten tons of fun. After listening and watching, your kids’ll probably have a two-banana day, too."

#5 (tie) - Duke Otherwise - Beehives and Bedheads

[Review] - "Looking for an album that provides guidance on moving through early childhood life transitions? Move along, then, because this album kicks off with a song called “Dancing Pig” that answers the question, “What would a Tom Waits song about a prancing porcine sound like?,” and never really gets any less weird from there."

#5 (tie) - The Amazing Keystone Big Band w/ David Tennant - Peter and the Wolf and Jazz!

[Review] - "The melodies themselves are unchanged, but the band's arrangement brings in a wide variety of jazz styles -- stride piano, hip-hop, free jazz, blues, cool jazz, and the like. None of the stylistic shifts seem out of place -- rather, they feel appropriate to the story."

#8 (tie) - Josh and the Jamtones - Rocksteady

[Review] - "Have I made it clear enough that Rocksteady is a party, through and through? Because it is, enough so that your kids probably won't even need that lullaby album to fall asleep to after dancing like crazy."

#8 (tie) - Jazzy Ash - Bon Voyage

[Review] - "With Bon Voyage, Jazzy Ash fully connects with her own family’s musical heritage, yet incorporates those 100-year-old traditions into 21st century kids music. It's a buoyant and warm-hearted album for the younger set."

#8 (tie) - Charlie Hope - Where the Path Will Wind: Songs, Stories and Friends 2

[Review] - "Where the Path Will Wind is essentially an audio magazine, an aural equivalent, perhaps, to her Sing As We Go! video series."

#8 (tie) - Tim Kubart - Home

[Review] - "While I've always thought Kubart's music had their share of pop hooks, Home is bursting at the seams with them and is his best effort yet... [B]less Tim Kubart and his big pop heart."

#8 (tie) - Alison Faith Levy - The Start of Things

[Review] - "Imagine, however, if other musical strains of the [1960s] -- psychedelic pop, Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production -- also found themselves working their way into kids' music with songs for the youngest listener."

#8 (tie) - Caspar Babypants - Night Night!

[Review] - "I hope Ballew doesn't take this the wrong way, but his album is forgettable in all the right ways. What I mean by that is the music, while catchy, isn't necessarily one bouncy hook-filled song after another. Rather, it features a more consistent -- and obviously far mellower -- tone."

The eagle-eyed among you will note that that list includes a baker's dozen of albums, not ten. I didn't squeeze an extra three albums into my ballot -- only 3 of those 6 albums tied for 8 made it in. But it was such a hard choice that I'm sure I'd pick a different 3 every week. For Fids & Kamily I need to make a choice. But this is my list, and so I'm listing thirteen albums.

After these top thirteen, distinguishing between the rest of my list becomes even more difficult. So once again I'm taking the easy way out - alphabetical order for albums 14 through 30.

Turkey Andersen - Turkey Andersen [Review]

The Bazillions - On the Bright Side [Review]

Bunny Clogs - Whales Can't Whistle [Review]

Cat Doorman - Calling All the Kids to the Yard [Review]

Sonia De Los Santos - Mi Viaje: De Nuevo Leon to the New York Island [Review]

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - Adelante! [Review]

Hilary Grist - Tomorrow Is a Chance To Start Over [Review]

Gustafer Yellowgold - Dark Pie Concerns [Review]

Lloyd Miller - Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! [Review]

Alastair Moock - All Kinds of You and Me [Review]

Keith Munslow - Tiny Destroyer [Review]

Pointed Man Band - The Flight of the Blue Whale [Review]

Recess Monkey - Hot Air [Review]

Renee and Friends - Simpatico [Review]

Rocknoceros - Plymouth Rockers [Review]

Big World Audio Theatre - The Peculiar Tales of the S.S. Bungalow [Review]

Suz Slezak - Watching the Nighttime Come [Review]

Ten Great Spanish-Language Kids Music Albums

Earlier this week, the 16th Annual Latin Grammys were awarded, and the Children's category featured 3 familiar names to fans of kindie (and Zooglobble): Mister G, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, and 123 Andrés. (The winner this time around was Mister G for Los Animales; Diaz won a couple years ago for ¡Fantástico!.)

Concurrently, as I wrote recently in my review of Sonia De Los Santos' latest album, I think we're in a third wave of Spanish kids music. And I believe that because this new wave has a broad range of musical sounds and is made for entertainment rather than explicitly educational (read: language-learning) reasons, it's likely to stick.

So I thought it was an appropriate time for me to produce a list I've been pondering for awhile, and that's this list of ten great Spanish-language kids music albums.

I'll be the first to admit that the relative paucity on this list of albums released before 2000 is a weakness of this list, but there are no weak albums here -- they are either essential albums from a historical or classroom setting, or they are lots of fun regardless of whether Spanish is your first, second, or sixth language.

I'll also say that this list was harder to compile than I initially thought it might be, not because I struggled to find ten albums to be on the list, but because I had to cut some albums that I initially thought would make it due to sheer numbers. But it's folks like Andrés Salguero and Mariana Iranzi, for example, whom I expect to continue to make quality music along with the rest of these artists.

It's a good time to listen to kids music sung in Spanish -- here are ten albums, ordered chronologically, to let you dive in.

ALERTA Sings / Songs for the Playground cover

Artist: Suni Paz

Album: ALERTA Sings & Songs for the Playground (2000 on CD; the two albums date to 1980 and 1977, respectively)

Description: 44 traditional nursery rhyme and playground songs, with some folk songs as well, sung by perhaps the best-known bilingual Spanish-language (female) kids' musician. (Paz has a number of albums for adults as well.) Released on Smithsonian Folkways. Features a handful of songs in English to go along with the primarily Spanish-language songs. Many songs for preschoolers, but also older

Artist: José-Luis Orozco

Album: De Colores and Other Latin American Folk Songs (2003 on CD, though it dates back to the '90s at least)

Description: 27 traditional folks songs for children, sung by perhaps the best-known bilingual Spanish-language (male) kids' musician. Looking for an album to learn songs for use in a (preschool) classroom setting? Start here.

Putumayo Kids - Brazilian Playground album cover

Artist (Label): Putumayo Kids

Album: Brazilian Playground (2007, tweaked and re-released in 2012)

Description: Putumayo has of course built its business on bringing songs from around the world to the English-speaking part of the world. This album is particularly dance-y. It's not necessarily "kindie," but it's a lot of fun. Oddly enough, even though the album got a second release, it's now out-of-print. Latin Playground, which draws from a broader range of countries, is an acceptable (in-print) substitute. [Review]

Artist: Dan Zanes

Album: ¡Nueva York! (2008)

Description: Probably the first "kindie" Spanish-language album, almost entirely in Spanish, but with an undeniably Zanes-ian roots-rock spin. It's not quite a "Dan Zanes" album -- it's missing some of the goofiness interwoven through his best work -- but it's generous and open in sharing the stage (or recording studio) with many wonderful artists and songs. [Review]

Artist: Baby Loves Salsa

Album: Salsa for Kittens & Puppies (2008)

Description: Part of the "Baby Loves..." series, which started with disco and then (briefly) branched into a series of different genres. This one is produced by Grammy winner Aaron "Luis" Levinson and features a host of all-star players, including Jose Conde on vocals. The lyrical content (mostly Spanish) is for preschoolers (it is "Baby Loves..." after all), but the music will appeal to a broader range.

Artist (Label): Minimusica

Album: Los Animales / Els Animals (2012)

Description: There is plenty of traditional Spanish-language folk music and instrumentation on this list, but this compilation was the first album that really changed my notion of what Spanish-language kids music could be -- it's basically indie rock for kids in Spanish, made for Spanish kids. Subsequent albums (Stateside) took a similar approach, but this is my favorite from Minimusica's four such collections. [Review]

Artist: Moona Luna

Album: Vamos, Let’s Go! (2013)

Description: Sandra Velasquez's band for kids can sometimes feel like it has an "educational" bent in that its lyrics are simple, often mimicking the English in its Spanish verses and vice versa. But she has a sharp ear for hooks, and this particular album, which uses the sounds of late '50s and early '60s rock and roll, has a unique sound not duplicated elsewhere on this list. Definitely one of my favorite bilingual artists. [Review]

Artist: Mister G

Album: Los Animales (2015)

Description: As the Massachusetts-based Mister G has recorded more albums in Spanish and English, his songs have become pared down more to their bare essentials. This album focuses on animals and is focused on preschoolers, but he brings in a number of top-notch musicians to give the songs a rich folk-rock texture with Latin accents. [Review]

Artist: Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

Album: Adelante (2015)

Description: Diaz is another artist who is pushing the boundaries of what Spanish-language kids' music can sound like. This is a big, poppy bilingual record with a foot planted in English-language pop-rock and the other foot planted in more traditional Spanish sounds. If there's an album on this list that will challenge preconceptions of what Spanish-language kids music made in America can sound like, this is it. [Review]

Mi Viaje: De Nuevo Leon to the New York Island album cover

Artist: Sonia De Los Santos

Album: Mi Viaje: De Nuevo León To the New York Island (2015)

Description: I think it's appropriate that one of the artists featured by Dan Zanes on his ¡Nueva York! album gets a spot of her own. It takes a very broad view of Spanish-language music, covering songs from either side of the Atlantic Ocean and recounting, in a manner of speaking, her own journey from Mexico to New York City. Ecumenical in its musical approach, from traditional instrumentation to Dan Zanes roots-rock. [Review]

Best Lullaby Albums

It was foolish, perhaps, but I went ahead and did it anyway -- I boiled down more than a decade's worth of listening (and more than a half-century's worth of recordings) to what I thought were the five most essential albums for new parents. Despite my trepidations in providing such a list (including the insanity in thinking that such a list could even be limited to five), it seemed to be well-received.

So now I'm providing my second list of top albums -- this time, it's my list of best lullaby albums.

Before I provide my list, I should note that, unlike the broader set of albums for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, as far as I can tell there weren't nearly as many lullaby albums dating back a half-century -- I can't find evidence that Pete Seeger or Ella Jenkins, for example, bothered recording a specific album of just lullabies. That is an interesting musicological question worth exploring, but not today. In any case, the upshot is that the notion of a "classic" or "best" lullaby album is far less settled than it was for the "new parents" list above.

As a result, this list feels more idiosyncratic to me than that other list, like I'm going out more on a limb. I do have a particular preference for lullaby albums in a way I might not for kids music albums generally and that preference is for music that would conceivably be played to lull a young child back to sleep. I have memories of taking the 3 AM feeding shift, or of calming a restless infant, and sometimes (some of) these albums were the soundtrack for that. In my experience, many lullaby albums seem far too hyper and vocally piercing to be very useful for that quiet, darkened room.

So, with that, here are my five picks, listed alphabetically by artist.

Julianne Baird, Madeleine Kapp, Mela Tenenbaum & Richard Kapp: Lullabies (A Songbook Companion) (1997) -- This might have been the first lullaby album we had that we truly enjoyed, so it's possible that personal affinity drives this selection more so than most. But as with the other albums here, even today it holds up very, very well. With piano, violin, and viola accompanying the vocalists, this is unsurprisingly by far the most traditional (and classical) album of all those listed. It covers a wide range of lullaby songs from not only the English-language tradition, but also others. There are also a handful of instrumental tracks that serve as nice counterpoints to the vocals. And while a few tracks are more emotive than I'd prefer, on the whole, it's both thorough and gorgeously done -- a one-stop lullaby shop.

The Innocence Mission: Now the Day Is Over (2004) -- This album more closely resembles the majority of the lullaby albums here -- unique interpretations of songs, only some of which might originally have been considered lullabies. This is the band's only venture into the kids music world, and were it not for the cartoon-y cover art, the listener might not necessarily file it there at all. Low-key, minimally-arranged, the "hushed" on this album is dialed up to 11. Singer-songwriter Karen Peris' voice is distinctive and has a bit of a distinctive taste, but I've heard this album so many times that I can't think of many of the songs they cover ("Stay Awake" and "Moon River," among others, along with some instrumentals and one original) without it. Definitely a secret to be passed from one fan to another.

Dean Jones: Napper's Delight (2007) -- First, yes, that's an awesome album title. But moving beyond that, this is probably the most daring lullaby album on here (it's the one whose inclusion on the list I took the most time debating). How many times do you hear drum machines on lullaby albums, or at least on lullaby albums you want to listen to repeatedly? More so than the other albums listed, this is also more of a journey as the first few songs aren't super-sleepy. But give it a few songs and by the time Elizabeth Mitchell lends her vocals to "Grow Little Flower," the relaxed vibe is definitely established. Jones' eclectic taste in instrumentation (see drum machine above) makes this the most unique album here -- definitely not a lullaby album in the strictest definition of the phrase, but a superb take on sleepy time and relaxation.

Mae Robertson & Don Jackson: All Through the Night (1995) -- I don't even remember how I first heard this album. I think it was probably one of the (comparatively) few (at the time) kids music CDs at the library, but I remember playing it over and over in a darkened nursery. Robertson has a lovely voice, but doesn't oversell (i.e., over-emote on) the songs. Her choice of songs -- relatively few of which would be considered lullabies in any traditional sense -- delighted and surprised me. And the musical arrangements from Robertson and Jackson, featuring guitar, piano, and a handful of other stringed instruments, are warm enough to snuggle in. In short, this is the lullaby album I imprinted on and the one I still implicitly judge all other lullaby albums by today.

Renee and Jeremy: It's a Big World (2007) -- Finally, this album is the most modern-sounding lullaby album on this list, a combination of Jack Johnson and Elizabeth Mitchell with a series of (mostly) original lullabies. I remember liking the album a lot, then hearing it on a really good pair of headphones while recording an NPR review of the album and being blown away by how spare and intimate the album sounded. Since then, I've also become a much bigger fan of how Renee Stahl and Jeremy Toback meld their voices together. Between the sound, their intertwined voices, and the whimsical cover art, this is the lullaby album most likely to be named "not your parents' lullaby album."

As with any of these "best" or "most essential" lists I'm creating, limiting your choices to these is a little foolish, but people also want them. But if you're looking for a few more suggestions, here are some other categories of lullaby albums you may want to consider:

Artists I've Already Mentioned: Raffi (with his Quiet Time compilation), Laurie Berkner (with Laurie Berkner Lullabies), Caspar Babypants (with Night Night), and Elizabeth Mitchell (with significant chunks of most of her albums) would definitely have been under consideration for this list were it not for the fact that they already appeared on my best kids albums for infants and toddlers list. Somehow it's not surprising that artists who record a lot for the youngest of listeners know their way around a lullaby. As for Justin Roberts, his album Lullaby is excellent, but since he'll be appearing on a future list, I omitted him from consideration for this one.

Putumayo Kids: As I noted in the earlier "new parent" list, Just like its "parent," the themed albums of kids offshoot of the Putumayo label scours are a nice way to dip into the music of a non-American culture (though they offer some nice English-language compilations, too). Their "Dreamland" albums feature lullabies from around the world -- the sounds can sometimes be unfamiliar to the older ears of the parents (and therefore less than fully relaxing), but that shouldn't be a problem for the kids.

The Secret Mountain: This Canadian label has had an excellent run of nearly 15 years of publishing books and accompanying albums (or is it the other way around)? I've found their non-lullaby works to be pitched at a slightly older crowd (meaning, non-infant), but their lullaby albums, just like Putumayo's, span the globe in their coverage. Now if would only start publishing picture or board books that were specifically targeted at kids who might be just year or two old, that would be an awesome combination.

Best Kids Music Albums for New Parents

Although I run a well-respected kids music site (psst, it's this one), it's not something I'm constantly trumpeting. (I still get co-workers walking into my office with a quizzical expression the morning after an All Things Considered review airs saying, "I was driving home last night and I heard this familiar voice on the radio…") As a result, I'm often in the situation of explaining this interest of mine to co-workers or neighbors, and it's not uncommon for the following question to come up:

"So what albums do you recommend for my kid/niece/grandson?"

Now, I probably should have developed a concise answer by now. But when you've been listening to this music critically for more than a decade, trying to distill that knowledge into, say, three albums is difficult, and probably a little unfair as it leans too heavily on my own personal tastes.

Having said that, giving that response doesn't do the person asking the question any good. So I've decided to dive in and provide a list. I'm actually going to provide a series of lists, but the one I want to start out with is for new parents and their infants, toddlers, and maybe early preschoolers -- basically, kids ages 0 through 3.

There are lots of great kids musicians whose music isn't specifically targeted towards that age group. I love Justin Roberts' music, for example, but most of his music is pitched at a slightly older age group. (Believe me, when I get to the next age group, there will definitely be a Justin Roberts album in that collection.) The albums for this age group feature more simple, classic songs you may already know or faintly remember.

Now, there's no way I can limit this list to the number of albums I've featured. (For example, I was struggling immensely until I realized that I could make lullaby albums their own category. That'll be a future post.) So I've suggested some possible music series if you think my list is too limited or not diverse enough in its musical scope.

With all of that said, here's my list, organized in no particular order -- and if you want to add any for consideration, please feel free to do in the comments.

Raffi: The Singable Songs Collection (1976-1979) -- OK, this is cheating slightly, since this is actually a 3-CD set featuring the kids music superstar's first three albums. I've always suspected that people who make fun of Raffi have never actually listened to more than five minutes of his music (or have only listened to his later albums, which sound more dated in parts and a little more preachy). These 3 albums, particularly the first 2, Singable Songs for the Very Young and More Singable Songs for the Very Young, are a mix of traditional kids' songs and Raffi originals, arranged with a light but not too-light touch and with actual instruments. Raffi has the best male singing voice in kids' music (even today), and here, it rarely sounds treacly. Just try it -- I'm pretty sure you'll be fine with it and (more importantly) your kids will probably swoon.

Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower: You Are My Sunshine (2002) -- I might be accused of sticking too close to home -- Mitchell was the start of my kindie journey -- if it weren't for the fact that everyone else adores her as well. As with many artists on this list, narrowing it down to just one album has flummoxed me. (Really, I've been staring at a blank spot for the album title for far too long.) What I really want Mitchell to do is to release her first 3 albums as the You Are My Collection, named for the fact that those first albums all start with the words "You Are My..." I slightly prefer the album after this one, You Are My Little Bird, but think it's pitched at a slightly older age group, maybe starting at age 2 or 3. But if you want to substitute that one for Sunshine, I won't judge.

Old Town School of Folk Music: Songs for Wiggleworms (2000) -- Saying that singing to your child is important isn't some dramatic statement on my part, because early childhood experts agree that it's a Good Thing. But I think it's important to have a CD that helps model singing songs to the very young in addition to music that takes those songs and performs them in more varied and elaborately ways (such as these other disks). There are about 3 dozen songs here, arranged very simply so that the focus is on singer themselves and the lyrics of the song. The new parent who is tentative about singing to his or her child should feel more confident after listening to this, and the kids will be drawn to the renditions as well.

Laurie Berkner: Whaddaya Think of That? (1997) -- The closest we have to Raffi's spiritual heir. She's generally been content to write music for preschoolers and not have her music change to address an older age group. She's also the biggest kindie superstar, able to draw large crowds for her occasional shows. In part, that's due to her presence on Jack's Big Music Show on Sprout in the mid-to-late-2000s. But it's also due to the earworms of hooks she writes and the verve and humor with which she delivers them. You could always make your own Laurie Berkner mix on iTunes, or maybe get the follow-up Buzz Buzz instead, but this'll do you just fine.

Caspar Babypants: Sing Along! (2011) --The adults reading this may be more familiar with Chris Ballew's run with the Presidents of the United States of America, but I think it can be legitimately argued that 20 years from now his most lasting impact will be on kids music. What's most impressive in his career making music for families is the sheer consistency of his polished and reformulated folk music for the 21st century -- generally an album every less-than-a-year, all of high quality. It took me a long time to try to figure out which CB album I should list here (other contenders: More Please! and, well, just about any of the originals). What I'm saying is that you should just get a Caspar Babypants album and don't sweat the details too much.

Now, as I noted above, limiting your choices to these is, well, a little foolish. I could easily list another 5 or 6, and then complain that I couldn't limit myself to 10 or so, and I think you can see where that is leading to. So instead I'll list a few series that offer a broad range of options for the very youngest for you to dip into.

Smithsonian Folkways: In addition to Elizabeth Mitchell, Folkways has an amazing collection of recordings for kids. Some of them are more appropriate for a slightly older kindergartener-ish (the many Pete Seeger albums come to mind), but Woody Guthrie's and Suni Paz's records and the many albums of the legendary Ella Jenkins are targeted at the under-5 crowd.

Putumayo Kids: Just like its "parent," the kids offshoot of the Putumayo label scours the globe for interesting sounds, and many of the resulting themed albums are a nice way to dip into the music of a non-American culture. The "Playground" albums are geared toward a slightly older audience, but their "Dreamland" albums feature lullabies from around the world (including, sometimes, the English-speaking world).

Music Together: Having spent a number of years with my kids in this music-participation series, I'm biased in that I'm familiar and comfortable with the songs on their many in-class CDs. They've collected favorites on 3 different CDs they sell to the public, and I find the sound -- engaged vocals, restrained but not simplistic production -- to be reminiscent of Raffi's.

Baby Loves...: They started out as Baby Loves Disco, producing dance afternoons for kids barely old enough to walk (and their older siblings and parents). And they've sort of returned to that. But in between, they produced 4 albums -- disco, jazz, hip-hop, and salsa -- that are worth checking out for your almost-preschooler.

Kindie's Ten Best One-Hit Wonders

Kids music has its fair share of workhorses -- artists like Recess Monkey and Joanie Leeds and Dean Jones who consistently release albums. And of course there are artists like Raffi and Bill Harley and Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer whose careers have spanned decades and who are still releasing music relevant to an entirely new generation of families.

And then there are the one-hit wonders -- the musicians and bands who released albums for families… and were never heard from ever again.

Well, not in any existential sense, just in the kindie world. The reasons for recording a single album for kids and families, then deciding to abandon that particular creative vein are, no doubt, as complicated -- or simple -- as they are for any choices made by people. Perhaps they hated doing it, it didn't fill them creatively, it didn't make enough money, they didn't have enough time -- these are the complications of life, generally. (As is the work of keeping up a website -- in a few cases, the sites have lapsed, a clear sign that the artists aren't returning to the kindie fold.)

But it doesn't mean that we can't be disappointed that they never came back. So here's a list of my ten favorite single-shot kindie albums. I would love to have to take these off the list for technical reasons, i.e., they come back with a second album.

A couple definitional points:

1. I chose not to include albums from "adult" artists who released one album for families -- think of folks like Harry Nilsson or Carole King or Barenaked Ladies (though I keep hearing rumors that they're working on kindie album #2) as their family recordings were neither their first nor last recordings. This is a loose restriction -- it's painful not being able to put the Barenaked Ladies or Medeski Martin & Wood's albums on this list -- but if I didn't impose it this list would be long and useless. (Perhaps what I really need is another list that reflects those artists.)

2. I gave at least a couple year window -- meaning, if someone's released just one album, but that was within the past couple years, then they were ineligible. Unless you're Recess Monkey, churning out an album every two years is a normal timeframe.

Here, then, in alphabetical order, is my list: