#11) Madonna - You Can Dance (released in 1987, I bought a used vinyl copy in Boston over Thanksgiving weekend in 2002. I got soooo many kickass albums up there. Soooo many.)

Yeah, you can dance to this, but the remixes here are too long and too tinny for me to start busting moves in my apartment (frankly, I'd probably find these same seven songs more danceable in their original versions). Instead I appreciate this album more for its meditative grooves, zoning out as the musical slowly alters and fluctuates. Of all the disco divas (which is what she is on this album), I find Madonna's lyrics to be the most rewarding, filled with advice, encouragement and confidence (there's no Donna Summer-style pining here). When she isn't asking you to do your thing, get into the groove, dance (for inspiration) and get into the spotlight, she's making you HERS and making the party last all night. You can criticize her drive, but she won't feel paralyzed, nuh uh. This compilation doesn't capture everything that Madonna is capable of, merely encapsulating one facet of her personality perfectly. Side one builds up your spirits and side two tells you get the fuck out the house and find that party. The CD has three remixes of tracks already on the LP's seven, and I have a hard time believing those "dub mixes" are crucial.