i like different music.so..the 12 i put on my list for 1995 i thought all were great and diverse but in terms of volume..yes i think 1996 is deeper...i will have to have starters and a bench.

Really? I found 1996 to be very weak. Here you go, in no particular order:
Being There - Wilco
Yourself or Someone Like You - Matchbox Twenty
Bringing Down the Horse - The Wallflowers
Recovering the Satellites - Counting Crows
Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
I Feel Alright - Steve Earle
A Few Small Repairs - Shawn Colvin
Mr Happy Go Lucky - John Mellencamp
Lay It Down - Cowboy Junkies
Golden Heart - Mark Knopfler
Born On a Pirate Ship - Barenaked Ladies
Blend - BoDeans

I'm sure I missed a couple but I think it was weak year for music...or at least music I like.

exactly.....you have 5 that are starters for my list ..one man's ceiling is another man's floor.

Three quick picks for '96:

Ween "12 Golden Country Greats"
Lemonheads "Car Button Cloth"
Patti Smith "Gone Again"

MY 1996 LIST OF 14 REALLY GREAT ONES
ALPHA NOT RANKED

1. FIONNA APPLE - TIDAL
2. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - TIGER MILK
3. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - IF YOU ARE FEELING SINISTER
4. ELVIS COSTELLO - ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY
5. COUNTING CROWS - RECOVERING THE SATELLITES
6. COWBOY JUNKIES - LAY IT DOWN
7. CRASH TEST DUMMIES - A WORM'S LIFE
8. SHERYL CROW - SHERYL CROWS
9. CHRIS ISAAK - BAJA SESSIONS
10. MAZZY STAR - AMONG MY SWAN
11. REM - ADVENTURES IN HIFI
12. SUPER FURRY ANIMALS - FUZZY LOGIC
13. THE WALLFLOWERS - BRINGING DOWN THE HORSE
14. WILCO - BEING THERE

honorable mention - sloan - one chord to another
the monkees - justus - a few great songs
the swans - sountracks for the blind....- this is atmospheric music.....put it on take a nap.....ambient sleeping pill

for ben sheets and giggles - the ruttles - archeology

I liked some stuff in 1996 a lot. A quirky year really. I gotta start with two that there seems to be some confusion about their release date.
Both may have been 1995 but I'm pretty sure the latter one wasn't actually released until 1996.
Those two are drivin' n' cryin' "Wrapped In Sky" (which is the LP all D n C fans had been waiting for for forever---their best by far) and
Whiskeytown "Faithless Street" (which may not be as good as the critics thought but still it sure holds up!)

Now the actual list.

1. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers ---- "She's The One S/T" (Yea it's a soundtrack so what!, It has "Zero From Outer Space, "Grew Up Fast", "Walls", a cover of Beck's "*******" and it just rocks. It MAY be the best full band LP before 2010)
2. Steve Earle ---- "I Feel Alright" (Steve leaves country behind and begins rocking!)
3. The Refreshments --- "Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big and Buzzy" (Their debut and a great record. For awhile this was the best live band in the U.S.!)
4. Bruce Cockburn --- "The Charity Of Night" (I think this is Bruce's best LP)
5. The Wallflowers --- "Bringing Down The Horse" (One headlight, indeed!)
6. Wilco ---- "Being There" (Sure there's some excess, but it's a double LP, and it sure shows the range this band would have!)
7. BoDeans --- "Blend"
8. Fionna Apple --- "Tidal" (A teaser for what's to come but still a very good release)
9. Todd Snider --- "Step Right Up" (Slicker and not as good as the debut but it's still great)
10. Shaver --- "Tramp On Your Street" (I'm putting this on the list because I missed it in 1993 and Shaver did have a release in 1996)
Tramp On Your Street is a classic nowadays. Back then it was new, cool, and the debut partnership of Billy Joe Shaver and his lead guitar playing son Eddy. Country? Yes, but with a severe edge, and the best songs going!)

crap. forgot about Step Right Up! Bob is right. Not as good as Daily Planet but worth listening too. Also, Blend is probably my favorite BoDeans disc. Lay It Down is definitely one of, if not my favorite Cowboy Junkies albums. Also highly recommend the Shawn Colvin album. I've noticed she has yet to appear on anyone elses lists. Do you guys not like her?

I also left off a couple of Subdudes albums for earlier years. They are great!

how terrible is the franken story.....it is extremely inappropriate but it isnt it nuclear...it was a dumb photo and an unwanted kiss.....the photo was intentionally taken as a prank..it was just immature and inappropriate.....the 2 were friends on a uso tour and franken's juvenile side along him with having the hots led to the photo which was out in the open...dumb but hardly sexual assault.
the kiss was very wrong but hardly criminal......just stupid and wrong.......it is certainly not up the level of sexual assault......it was more immature then anything else........he will get slapped around a bit.....
if she was a stranger to him it would be much different......she even agreed under some pressure to have the practice kiss...did not expect the wet kiss with an al franken tongue...he went overboard.......it is a shame it takes him out of a run for president.

I normally wouldn't go back to 1982, but it seems I (and everyone else) left one of my favorite albums of all time off of their list:
All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes - Pete Townsend
I once went on a 2 week road trip through eastern Canada with a friend. We bought a cassette tape of the album (who remembers what a cassette tape is)before we left. By the end of the trip, the tape was totally worn out.
Now for my 1997 list. I didn't find 97 to be that impressive a year as far as music:
In no particular order

Whatever and Ever Amen - Ben Folds Five
Marcy Playground - Marcy Playground
El Corazon - Steve Earle
Blue Moon Swamp - John Fogerty
24 Hours a Day - The Bottle Rockets
Dan Bern - Dan Bern
Straightaways - Son Volt
It Had To Happen - James McMurtry
Perishable Fruit - Patty larkin
Little Head - John Hiatt

on the bubble:
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
The Wanderer - O.A.R.
Shaming the Sun - Indigo Girls
Lie to Me - Jonny Lang

you are fast...im working on 97.......you have some that i also like....john fogerty of course.

My favorite from 'ninety-serveern:

Bettie Serveert "Dust Bunnies"

As for Al Franken, this one hurt to read about. Right now I don't know if he can, or should, survive this. Usually with these sorts of allegations the floodgates open and a bunch of other victims come rushing forward. Let's see if that happens here.

im also worried about that...you are right...if this is the only instance it shouldnt be ignored but not blown too far out of proportion...i agree..there will probably be at least 1 more allegation....this one is not serious enough for expulsion by itself.

If Franken is guilty, than he shouldn't be a senator. Same goes for anyone regardless of politics.

i dont think that is serious enough to expel him......it was immaturity between friends....and it was before he was a senator.......it would not have been considered a crime anywhere.
isolated i say no...if part of a pattern then it might be a different story.