25 Albums I Can't Live Without, #7

Jimmy Buffett, "Meet Me in Margaritaville"

This might be the most controversial entry on this list.

I know it’s a cop-out to include a greatest-hits collection on a list like this, but here’s the thing: Jimmy Buffett had a long career, and his music has meant so much to me for as long as I can remember. It was tough for me to pick a single album to represent his career.

I thought about using the classic collection “Songs You Know by Heart” or my favorite older greatest hits album, the Israeli import, “All the Great Hits,” but they’re both from 1985 and miss out on decades of Buffett’s amazing songs.

Now, “Meet Me in Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection” is from 2003, which leaves out the last 20 years of Buffett’s career. But it’s a comprehensive collection of classic songs, re-recordings of some of his best songs, live recordings, and a little bit of new stuff.

You can count on hearing the Parrothead standards:

Along with some live recordings of some classics:

And a special new song, which is a Buffett reimagining of someone else’s classic:

I know that some of the videos aren’t the exact versions from “Meet Me in Margaritaville,” but if you can get your hands on a copy of the 2-disc set, you’ll see why this is my choice to represent Buffett’s career.

And man, do I miss him.

Photo Credit: Chief Mass Communication Specialist Michael W. Pendergrass, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

MIDDLE EASTERN PORT (Jan. 28, 2008) Recording artist Jimmy Buffett performs a USO concert for the sailors of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during a recent port visit in the Middle East. Truman and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 are underway on a scheduled deployment supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and maritime security operations.