Twenty-one years ago, I started writing music critiques of albums that ranged from Miles Davis to Miami Sound Machine. If you had told me that I’d be expounding on the merits of kids’ albums two decades after conducting interviews with George Benson and Melissa Etheridge, I’d have laughed and maybe even sneered (given my musical snobbishness back then). However, regular readers of the Family Man Recommends section know that I take great joy in reviewing the latest family-oriented albums because they have consistently risen to (or above) the level of the best music in the grown-up genres.

So, it’s with pride that I present to you the first yearly Family Man Recommends Top 10 Family Albums of the year. The following CDs represent the finest of those I actually had a chance to listen to and they all had to be released between November, 2005, and the end of October, 2006. To learn more about a number of these picks, click on the review next to the title.

1. Charity and the JAMBand – Rock Your Socks Off (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=19)
2. Justin Roberts – Meltdown! (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=20)
3. Baby Loves Jazz – Go Baby Go! (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=24)
4. Elizabeth Mitchell – You Are My Little Bird (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=27)
5. John Lithgow – The Sunny Side of the Street (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=25)
6. Rebecca Frezza – Tall and Small (http://www.bigtruckmusic.com - Here is a rootsy-rock effort with a lyrical knack for the kid state-of-mind.)
7. Beethoven’s Wig – Many More Sing Along Symphonies (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=21)
8. Trout Fishing in America – My Best Day (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=26)
9. Daddy A Go Go – Eat Every Bean and Pea On Your Plate (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=22)
10. Debi Derryberry – What a Way to Play! (http://www.debiderryberry.com - From the voice of Jimmy Neutron comes a CD with clever renditions of kid standards and nifty new songs that range from country to jazz.)

A few other excellent albums did not quite make the cut because of the date constraints, namely, Buck Howdy’s Giddyup! album (http://www.familymanonline.com/recommends.php?id=18) and SteveSongs’ Marvelous Day. I know there are more great ones, so please send in your thoughts on these or other CDs that were your favorites this past year.