I rarely do this, but I'm in love with a 4-disc compilation I just borrowed entitled "Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground". It's all the best stuff we heard on CFNY in the 80s. Seriously, if you find yourself missing the spirit of radio, you have to hear this.
How awesome is the song selection? Check this out and tell me it's not the coolest.
Disc 1
1. R.E.M. - "Radio Free Europe" - 4:06
2. The Jam - "Going Underground" - 2:56
3. The Cure - "A Forest" - 4:55
4. Dead Kennedys - "Holiday in Cambodia" - 4:39
5. The Passions - "I'm in Love With a German Film Star" - 4:01
6. The Replacements - "I Will Dare" - 3:19
7. Mission of Burma - "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" - 3:53
8. X - "Johnny Hit and Run Paulene" - 2:50
9. The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Just Like Honey" - 3:02
10. Depeche Mode - "Black Celebration" - 4:53
11. Dream Syndicate - "Tell Me When It's Over" - 3:33
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Hollywood (Africa)" - 5:03
13. New Order - "Temptation" - 5:44
14. Japan - "Ghosts" - 4:32
15. Magazine - "A Song From Under the Floorboards" - 4:11
16. Aztec Camera - "Oblivious" - 3:12
17. Hüsker Dü - "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" - 3:32
18. Black Flag - "Rise Above" - 2:26
19. Wall of Voodoo - "Back in Flesh" - 3:43
20. The Go-Betweens - "Cattle and Cane" - 4:01
Disc 2
1. The Pretenders - "Message of Love" - 3:26
2. Ultravox - "Vienna" - 4:40
3. Dinosaur Jr. - "Freak Scene" - 3:37
4. The Smiths - "This Charming Man" - 2:44
5. Ministry - "Stigmata" - 5:45
6. Lone Justice - "Ways to Be Wicked" - 3:26
7. Killing Joke - "Wardance" - 3:47
8. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - "Enola Gay" - 3:32
9. The English Beat - "Mirror in the Bathroom" - 3:08
10. The Raincoats - "Fairytale in the Supermarket" - 3:00
11. The Smithereens - "Behind the Wall of Sleep" - 3:24
12. Minutemen - "Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" - 1:32
13. Dead Milkmen - "Punk Rock Girl" - 2:39
14. Concrete Blonde - "Still In Hollywood" - 3:45
15. Joy Division - "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - 3:27
16. Violent Femmes - "Blister in the Sun" - 2:26
17. Meat Puppets - "Lake of Fire" - 2:00
18. The DB's - "Amplifier" - 3:08
19. Prefab Sprout - "When Love Breaks Down" - 3:46
20. The Cramps - "Goo Goo Muck" - 3:07
21. The Sisters of Mercy - "This Corrosion" - 8:59
22. XTC - "Senses Working Overtime" - 4:36
Disc 3
1. Echo & the Bunnymen - "The Cutter" - 3:55
2. Bad Brains - "Pay to Cum!" - 1:28
3. The Sugarcubes - "Birthday" - 3:59
4. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - "Madonna of the Wasps" - 3:07
5. Faith No More - "We Care a Lot" - 4:05
6. Sonic Youth - "Teen Age Riot" - 6:58
7. Gang of Four - "To Hell With Poverty" - 3:28
8. The Feelies - "Fa Cé-La" - 2:03
9. They Might Be Giants - "Ana Ng" - 3:21
10. The Chameleons UK - "Swamp Thing" - 6:00
11. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "The Mercy Seat" - 5:12
12. Rain Parade - "I Look Around" - 3:07
13. The Psychedelic Furs - "All That Money Wants" - 3:52
14. The Church - "Under the Milky Way" - 4:59
15. Public Image Ltd. - "Rise" - 6:08
16. Love and Rockets - "Kundalini Express" - 5:51
17. Green on Red - "Gravity Talks" - 2:34
18. Throbbing Gristle - "Adrenalin" - 3:58
19. The Stone Roses - "She Bangs the Drums" - 3:45
Disc 4
1. Pixies - "Monkey Gone to Heaven" - 2:56
2. The The - "Uncertain Smile" - 4:54
3. Bauhaus - "Bela Lugosi's Dead" - 9:34
4. Siouxsie & the Banshees - "Christine" - 2:59
5. Minor Threat - "Straight Edge" - 0:46
6. Lyres - "I Want to Help You Ann" - 2:30
7. Beat Happening - "Our Secret" - 2:48
8. Jane's Addiction - "Jane Says" - 4:53
9. Julian Cope - "World Shut Your Mouth" - 3:34
10. Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill" - 5:00
11. The Gun Club - "Sex Beat" - 2:48
12. Camper Van Beethoven - "Take the Skinheads Bowling" - 2:30
13. Suicidal Tendencies - "Institutionalized" - 3:49
14. Cocteau Twins - "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" - 4:11
15. Happy Mondays - "24 Hour Party People" - 4:38
16. Hoodoo Gurus - "I Want You Back" - 3:11
17. Descendents - "Surburban Home" - 1:42
18. The Pogues - "A Pair of Brown Eyes" - 4:53
19. The Three O'Clock - "Jet Fighter" - 3:27
20. Butthole Surfers - "Moving to Florida" - 4:31
21. Billy Bragg - "A New England" - 2:13
I'm playing all 82 tracks like crazy. Buy this now for someone you truly care about.